Well Portland, Oregon and sloe gin fizz, if that ain't love then tell me what is

We're just about near the end of our loop.  After eating breakfast with Eliza's sister this morning, we'll be starting the final two-day leg of our trip back to Walnut Creek.  If everything goes according to plan, we'll be back where we started three weeks to the day after leaving Pasadena.

The last few days have been rather interesting.  The first place we stopped after leaving South Dakota was Yellowstone National Park, where we beat the crowds and claimed a campsite.  Our claim staked, we spent the day hiking around Old Faithful (which is as spectacular as advertised) and Fairy Falls.  The Fairy Falls hike is notable for featuring some of the largest and most aggressive mosquitoes I've ever seen.  They certainly beat the ones I saw in India.  I managed to escape without serious "injury," but some others were not so lucky.  Still, the falls were spectacular, and we had a great day.

Then came the night.  We had failed to anticipate just how cold 37-degree temperatures are when one is sleeping outside.  A near-sleepless night ensued, with the four of us trying various techniques to stay warm, and mostly failing.  I would estimate that I got about three hours of sleep, with everyone else hovering around that number as well.  To anyone else considering camping in Yellowstone, BRING WINTER CLOTHING!

Still, we had a great time, and we all wish we could have stayed longer.  Nevertheless, it was on to Montana, and the college town of Missoula.  It was nice to finally encounter a walkable city, and we had a good time exploring and a great meal at a small downtown restaurant.  From there, we spent a night in Spokane, Washington, and admired the roaring Spokane River.  Now we're in Portland, where we just had a great Lebanese meal and some desserts at an out-of-the-way establishment called the Pied Cow.  Not only is the food delicious, but this city is an absolute gold mine for hilarious quotes.  Another city on the list of places I want to return to.

And now, the final push.  See you all in California.

Rushmore and beautiful landscape

Today we began by visiting Mount Rushmore, which we all found enjoyable. Even though I don't get as much of a thrill from visual attractions, I have three companions who are good at describing things, and Jake always provides us with a wealth of factoids on anything (and everything) historical. Plus, Erin and I enjoyed the walk.
We then took a VERY long drive from there to Cody, from where I am writing. We ate at Adriano's - an Italian restaurant in town - which makes now two towns and one establishment named after our famous friend Adrian. We discovered, on our drive, that Wyoming is probably the most beautiful state we've seen - forests and mountains and the like -, which surprised some of us. We also learned a very important lesson: when driving down long hills, DO NOT RIDE THE BRAKES! We stopped when we saw smoke, and a very nice Floridian lady showed us how to check the engine's vitals. We were fine, the brakes still function perfectly, and we should have no further problems, now that we know how to coast and only brake on turns or when speed is getting to fast. Adrian and Sarah are out at Albertson's buying camp food supplies in case we can get a camp site tomorrow morning. It will be another early start. If the sites are filled, though, weve found out that West Yellowstone, Montana always has rooms available, so we'll have a backup plan. Wish us luck!

NEWS FLASH: the window to the west is in Wall!

Well, we're not camping tonight...that didn't work out so much due to the threat of inclement weather. We're just outside of Rapid City, SD. We've spent a thrilling day driving, but it was brightened by visits to the Badlands, and to Wall Drug, in Wall, SD. The Badlands are crazy, because they look like a bunch of crazy rock formations rising suddenly out of the grasslands.
The title of this post comes from the sign we saw, which said that Wall is "THE WINDOW TO THE West." I'm not sure how to describe the store, or complex, called Wall Drug. It contains the craziest array of stupid souvenirs we'd ever seen. My favorites were the "buffalo chipper" (a frisbee made to look like a buffalo turd), and "Bibleopoly" (a Bible-based version of Monopoly. I got a mint-chocolate shake at the soda fountain, and we all laughed at the anamatronic cowboy orchestra, the six-foot jack rabbit statue, and the fifty foot dinosaur. This is a world famous and highly entertaining old drug store that began more than fifty years ago as a relished source of five-cent coffee and free ice water for old-time travelers. The ice water is still free. Signs for the store can be seen world-wide, from the New York City subway to Africa. We recommend it for a great laugh. Tomorrow we're staying in Cody, so that we can try to get up early the next day to grab a camp site in Yellowstone before they fill up (usually by 10:00 am)...or at least that's the plan. Good night from all of us in the prairie.

Where are they Now?

What a good (and valid) question! We are currently in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, after having been through Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, and New Mexico - where we last left off. I could write a lengthy essay on all that we have seen and learned, but as we are about to go to dinner, the crew might not appreciate it. We all appologize, by the way, for the lack of posting. We swear that our intentions are good, but sometimes you just can't get everything done. We usually get back from driving and dinner late, and are pretty exhausted, so when it comes to the choice of sleeping or posting...well, we need our energy. Anyway, we've had a really great time everywhere, and an especially great weekend in St. Louis, thanks to a wonderful and very knowledgeable resident, who Adrian and Jake knew at Conn. We went to The Arch, had some great local food, went to a Cardinals game (they were beaten 20 to 2), and drowned our resulting sorrows with the best frozen custard in the world - thank you Ted Drew's! The highlight in Chicago was probably the long walk along the lake shore, during which we worked off some of the food we've been enjoying. Last night we found our first vegetarian restaurant, and who knew, it was located in La Crosse, WI! It's called The Cheese Factory, and it comes with the highest recommendations from all of us. The variety is terrific, and the entrees and desserts are incredible - this coming from a staunch carnivor! Ok, it's dinnertime. We may be camping tomorrow night near the Badlands, after visiting Wall Drugs, which apparently is a must-see in SD. Anyway, we'll give more details when we can, or give us a call. We'd love to hear from all of you, and thanks.

I said A, L, B, U, Querque

Hello from New Mexico. After a marathon day of driving (350+ miles), it's hard to summon up the energy for another post, but here we go.

Yesterday was our big visit to the Grand Canyon. The weather cooperated, and it only got up to 78 on the rim. We took a short hike down to Ooh Ahh Point on the South Kaibab Trail. Erin the guide dog had one of her biggest workouts yet, but she came through, and we all made it out in one piece. The views, as expected, were spectacular, and we all got a real nice workout.

Today was mostly devoted to driving, but we found the time to stop and see a few sites. Our first stop was the Meteor Crater, which we learned was formed by an impact over 50,000 years ago. Much like the Grand Canyon, the crater overwhelms the human capacity for perception. We devoted equal time to admiring the view and trying not to be blown off by the very high winds. Big thanks to Eliza for picking up a lifetime pass to all national parks and getting us in for free.

Our other big stop was in Petrified Forest National Park. Once again, the free pass came in handy, and we got to not only see some remains of these trees, but to admire the view of the Painted Desert. I'm now realizing that I need to purchase a new memory card for my camera, as I've run out of room and it's only day four.

We had a wonderful dinner tonight in Albuquerque at the Nob Hill Bar and Grill, and tomorrow it's on to Santa Fe. To wrap things up, I should mention that Erin has fallen in love with Adrian, and now continues to attempt to lick his face each day at 3:30 AM. Truly a match made in doggie heaven.

Thoughts from the rest of the group.

Adrian: The Painted Desert was definitely surreal.

Eliza: Be sure to include how I saved us $25 so far! (ed note: I already had included this)

Sarah: When you fly and change time zones that's one thing, but when you drive and change time zones, that's pretty trippy.

Til next time,,.

Wild Wild West

Dateline: Williams, Arizona, sixty miles south of the Grand Canyon.

Today's route took along over a hundred miles along the old Route 66. Arizona has some of the longest surviving stretches of the old road, and we took full advantage. We traveled north from Lake Havasu to Oatman, leading us to one of the most surreal experiences on our journey thus far.

Oatman is described in one of our guidebooks as a town that "looks likes a Wild West movie set, but it's real." When you follow Route 66 onto Oatman's Main Street, you see about twenty souvenir shops, all with names like "Outlaw Willie's House o' Tacky Kitsch." We ate lunch at the main tourist trap restaurant, and Adrian was brave enough to tackle the Navajo Taco. In Adrian's words: "Picture in your mind a Hostess Cupcake. Now remove what's on top, but keep sort of the deep-fried element of it down. Add on top of this cheese and chili, and you have the Navajo Taco." We're convinced it's taken at least a decade off his life, but that's the price you pay on an adventure such as this.

After this lunch, and after ensuring that the heart attacks would at least hold off for the immediate future, we headed on to Kingman, which holds nothing except gas stations. From there, it was a straight shot on 66 all the way to Ash Falls, where we rejoined I-40 into Williams.
This stretch of 66 takes you by many of the old motels for which the route used to be famous. As I sit here, we're drawing a blank on the names, but stay tuned to this post to see if we recall anything. We also passed many remains of rusted-out RVs and other vehicles.

Before I wrap this up, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the portion of 66 between Oatman and Kingman. And I leave it to Adrian to describe it: "The road from Oatman to Kingman winds up through the mountains, through old rocky paths that present full views of the dry, yellow labyrinth at their peaks. One sign on this path bears the weight of an unfortunate rattlesnake, slumped over the top as if to give a warning to travellers. Eventually, the path weaves down from the mountain, past abandoned RVs and cafes, and leads to a wide valley between the mountains. Within this valley is the town of Kingman."

Tomorrow: the Grand Canyon. Pictures coming whenever we get a chance to upload.

Stop in all the byways, playin' rock and roll

Good evening from Lake Havasu, home of a startlingly out-of-place London Bridge. There's also a Thai restaurant, and come to think of it, I'm not sure which is more out of place.

We got our first taste of endless desert as far as the eye can see. You might call it boring, but I've always thought that these landscapes had kind of a surreal beauty to them. Adrian put on some flamenco as we were driving through one patch, and it seemed to fit the surroundings somehow. I'm still at a loss to explain it.

Most of today was spent on the interstate, but we got a taste of the old road between Ludlow and Needles. We passed through Amboy, CA (population 2) and saw some abandoned roadside businesses. We took some pictures next to some of the signs. I'm not even a real shutterbug, but thanks to Sarah and Adrian my lack of acumen for photography is more than made up for. I think we'll have a real nice album by the time we're done.

Tomorrow: Williams, Arizona and the Grand Canyon. We still don't have a place to sleep tomorrow. This sure is a road trip.