Road Trip

On Tuesday, May 8th, my husband and I started our road trip to Texas. We left our middle child (DS3), darling son 3 home with our youngest child, darling son 4 (DS4), to look after things. We left home around 10 am-ish and drove to Great Falls, Montana. We had decided to depend on OnStar to get us where we wanted to go. Only by the time we needed it we discovered that it didn't work. We took it to a GM dealer in G.F. and paid them $70.00 to unplug the system and plug it back in again. That also wasted a good couple hours of good traveling time. So, with our OnStar working, and both the car and us refuelled we set out again. We drove from Great Falls to Billings and then down to Wyoming. In a small town in Montana we saw a place called, The Cozy Corner. I wanted to stop there for supper until I realized it was a bar. I should have taken a picture. I think that bars should not be allowed to call themselves, The Cozy Corner. That name conjures up visions of small antique stores or gift shops with homemade quilts and small intimate tables that are being served tea and sandwiches. At the very least tea with warm crumpets and jam. Not a place where people go to get drunk and forget all their troubles, with gas pumps out front. My big disappointment of the day.

We opted for salads from McDonalds and spent our first night in Wyoming. 

A small cheat, we didn't get a photo going in so we had to cross the road while getting Colorado and take this one as well. Wyoming was our second state.

Hard to get focused pictures when you are blind. I need reading glasses for this kind of stuff. Colorado was number 3.

We drove though Colorado and just south of Denver we went through a small town with an antique store. We stopped there to use the bathrooms and browse.

 The yellow one is the antique store we browsed in. Then we went to the little grocery store on the corner to buy water.

From there we drove right through to Oklahoma, which was the the fourth state we passed through, and into Texas to Vernon. 

While I went in to get a room, my darling husband (DH) went to pick up our darling daughter (DD). We spent the night at the hotel and then went and to DD'd dorm to pack up her things. She was attending school there on a volleyball scholarship, but has decided to give up the scholarship in favour of attending a school closer to home. 

A very full car, the reason why shopping would have to be put on hold.

While we were in the process of getting DD packed up, DS3 called to say that her horse had colic and was not doing well. A vet was coming out and he would let us know. 

DD a little upset after getting the first call from her brother.

We drove from Vernon to Amarillo and we were having a great time in a hoarders antique store, how I wish I had got pictures of that store, when DS3 called to say that the vet thought the horse needed to be put down. We hung up went back to the car has a small family meeting among lots of tears, called back my son and gave the go ahead to have the horse put down. Big damper on first day with DD. She cried for a few hours while we drove and we did our best to comfort her, but in the end she just needed to cry herself out. 

Texas was fifth. We missed the sign going into Texas so we had to cheat again. But it was better this way because DD was with us and this way she got to be in the picture, which was fitting, since she spent the better part of the last 9 months there. Good by Texas, hello New Mexico.

New Mexico was the sixth state we drove through, and the one with the best sign.

We drove to Albuquerque, New Mexico and spent the night there. The next day we started back on the road for our first destination, The Grand Canyon, west rim in Arizona.

DH and DD in Arizona. Seventh state and ninth as we passed through a different part going from Nevada to Arizona.

We were thrilled to discover we were driving along route 66. We got our kicks on route 66 and I can now cross that off my bucket list.

Stopped for gas at a fun little place along the highway and took a few pictures.

DD in front of a teepee standing on a piece of petrified wood. They had tons of the wood laying around and lots of old buildings.

The wood had lots of different colours in it. It was actually very pretty.

Spent that night in Kingmen, Arizona as it was too late to go the Grand Canyon. DD and I took a walk that evening and took some pictures.

The original, Route 66 Motel. I would love, love, love to buy this place.

The sign is being historically repaired.

I know all the fuss is over, but I have never seen one of these signs up close and in person. Had to get a photo.

Next morning bright and early we were off to the Grand Canyon Sky walk.