There and Back Again – AZ, NM, TX, OK, MO, KY, WV

Just like the end of a television series, the end of a journey is well complimented by a recap of events.  So, before I tell you about the rest of our drive home, let’s relive the happy memories of the past seven days:

Days 1-3 were spent in Moab, Canyonlands NP, Arches NP, and Indian Creek.
Days 4-6 were spent in Capital Reef NP, Kanab, Bryce Canyon NP, Zion NP, and North Rim NP.
Day 7 and the morning of day 8 were spent at Grand Canyon NP.

If you think that’s a blur, wait until you hear about our 3 day journey from Arizona to West Virginia!  Along the way we finished “A Storm of Swords” and moved on the book 4 of “A Song of Fire and Ice”, “A Feast for Crows.”  The cats slept all day, except for when we made them come out of their carriers to stretch, eat, and drink.  We were very proud of them!  They didn’t even need their “Cativan” this trip!  Maybe that’s because we bribed them with tuna?

Day 8
(713 miles/12 hours)

After seeing the sun rise over the Grand Canyon, we packed up the cats and headed for the Petrified Forest National Park. 

 

The park’s claim to fame is an abundance of petrified wood, fossils, and…well, that’s about it.  As you can see from the pictures, the park didn’t have much else to offer. 

Though, there was a museum with some glossed up petrified wood and dinosaur fossils.

 

 

We spent a disappointing hour driving through the park with no much to look at.  At one point we passed the “Teepees”, which are a small collection of sedimentary mounds like those at Badlands NP.  We also passed a rusted out car frame and an area called “Blue Mesa”.

  

From there we drove through Flagstaff, AZ, where we saw some snowy mountains and blue skies.

We drove along a portion of Historic Route 66 in Gallup, NM.

A special treat for me was a drive through Grants, NM, where my dad (the Conductor) was born and spent most of his childhood.  We took lots of pictures for him and he says that the town hasn’t changed a bit.

We stopped for a quick dinner and a trip to Walmart in Albuquerque, NM; then trudged on to Amarillo, TX, where we spent the night at an “updated” Motel 6.  It was pretty nice—our persnickety Fyodor even approved.

Day 9
(771 miles/12.5 hours)

For the following states, one could correctly assume the number of photos taken corresponds to our level of interest in that area.

Amarillo, TX
Pretty much just flat…

Oklahoma
Still flat, but we now have some fall foliage.

Kansas
The same as Oklahoma.  We just drove through a small corner to to say we’ve been there.

 

St. Louis, MO
We drove right by the famous arch!

 

Bilbo and the Cats were just as excited to see the Purina headquarters as they were seeing the Arch.

With over 2/3 of our journey complete, we bedded down at a not-so-nice Motel 6 just outside of St. Louis.  I’m sure you won’t be surprised to learn that the cats were unappreciative of our choice.  They are such hotel snobs!

Day 10
(561 miles/9.5 hours)

By the time our last day of travel rolled around both the humans and the cats were getting a little antsy.  Luckily, this was going to be our shortest day with only 561 miles to go! 

 

About halfway through Kentucky, Fyodor reached his limit.  Our normally silent cat meowed louder than I’d ever heard him meow before!  All was well after a short stop and some time sitting on his people’s laps.  We couldn’t blame the poor little guy, though.  Both of us were about to scream ourselves, but we persevered and soon found ourselves back in the Mountain State!

I cannot explain how happy we were to drive up to the house were a warm welcome awaited us…with icing on top!

Now it’s time for us to visit with family, catch up with friends, and celebrate the holidays!  We’ll see you again after Christmas when we begin making our way to California.  Until then, Feliz Navidad!

Grand Canyon: North Rim and South Rim

What’s a trip out west without a stop at the Grand Canyon?  That’s like cookies without milk, Fred without Wilma, or a movie without popcorn.  So we made sure that we zigged on over to Arizona for a look at America’s most famous canyon.

You’ll remember from our last post that we visited North Rim National Park in between visits to Zion National Park.  It was cold and snowy, but we had a wonderful morning hiking out to Bright Angel Point.  As it happens, we were the only visitors to the park that morning; which made the canyon seem even larger and even more awe inspiring. 

  

 

When we arrived, our car thermostat read –12 degrees.  Needless to say, we bundled up like a couple of kids getting ready for a long day of building snowmen and igloos.  There were a lot of layers, but you bet your bottom dollar we stayed toasty as we traipsed through the snow!

 

The trees were covered with icicles in perfect Christmas tree fashion.

Ut-oh!  No sitting down on that bench!

 

The trail, usually quite friendly on sunnier day, leads to a series of vantage points at which to absorb the features of the North Rim.

 

 

The day we visited the trail was icy and just a little treacherous. One more slid down the hill than walking down it.  In fact, Bilbo even busted his little hobbit tush. 

 

 

I guess he was head-over-heels for these awesome views!

   

    

At the Visitor Center, a volunteer told us about a special little critter that lives only at the North Rim, the Kaibab Squirrel.  We didn’t expect to see any on such a snowy day, but caught a glimpse of one of the little guys scurrying across the yard.  Just like with my coveted big horned sheep, we weren’t quick enough with the camera. We did get a shot of the stuffed Kaibab in the Visitor Center. 

Even with our return to Zion National Park, the next morning found us on our way to the South Rim, which makes up Grand Canyon National Park.  Along the way we made a quick pit stop outside of the Glen Canyon Recreation Area, with Lake Powell as its center piece.  Bella even got out of her cubby to take a peek.

 

 

After we found a hotel for the kitties—and Fyodor liked this one much better—we made it out to the South Rim.  The Grand Canyon doesn’t need much introduction, so I’ll just let you look at these pictures from our day on the Rim Trail.

 

 

 

 

One thing we really appreciated about the Grand Canyon was the shuttle bus service that runs throughout the park.  It is extremely helpful for folks like us who only have a day and a half to explore. The next morning we hopped on the shuttle bus to Yaki Point for a sensational sunrise! 

 

 

By that time we were all tired and ready to start our journey home.  So we pack up the kitties, gave them a peace offering of tuna, and typed West Virginia into the GPS.

Of course, three days of travel still laid ahead of us.  Next time, we’ll tell you about what we saw along the way!