Day 16 (Delayed)

Josh and I woke up bright and early this morning and headed out to do our Ranger led hike on the South Kaibab Trail below the Grand Canyon rim. The hike was a three mile round-trip to a point known as Cedar Ridge. The elevation change from the rim of the canyon to Cedar Ridge was over 1100 feet!

We met up with the Ranger and the rest of the people going on the hike and started out. Along the way, the Ranger was pointing out various things of interest in the canyon, including information about the different rock layers, native plants and other things. We were descending at a very moderate pace.

As we were headed down, some people were on their way back up, and you could tell they were having a pretty rough time of it! I started to worry a bit about the return trip.

We arrived at Cedar Ridge, which was where the Ranger led aspect of the hike ended. Josh and I hung out for a little bit and took some pictures, and then we decided to start hiking back up. We had 1100 feet to climb over 1.5 miles in very hot direct sun for a good portion of the hike. It was a very difficult hike!!! We got to the top and then headed back to the campground to pack up our stuff and hit the road to Albuquerque.

After packing up, we started the drive. It was expected to take about 6 hours, but along the way, we had the option to stop at Petrified Forest National Park. We decided to stop at the park, in part, to break up the trip. As it turned out, it was a good decision. The park was pretty interesting … on one end of the park, there were the petrified trees which were pretty cool to see. At the other end of the park, referred to as the Painted Desert, there were some beautiful landscapes created by different layers of sedimentary rock. It reminded us of Badlands National Park in South Dakota which we had visited about 9 or 10 years ago.

After touring the park, we got back on the highway and finished the drive to Albuquerque. We got there a little after dark and had to set up the trailer in the dark for the first time. It didn't turn out to be a problem.

Since it was so late, we decided to go out for dinner rather than cooking at our campsite. When we returned, we went to sleep. It had been a long day.

Day 15 (Delayed)

We woke up this morning and made breakfast. Next up, was our first look at the Grand Canyon. We drove to the visitor's center and then walked along the South rim walkway to the Mather Point lookout.

From there, we got back in the car and drove the 25-mile South Rim Drive to the Dessert View visitor's center, stopping along the way at all of the lookout points. The canyon is truly beautiful.

After that, we drove back to the campground, made lunch and then decided to drive just outside the park to the town of Tusayan to view an IMAX film about the Grand Canyon. By the time that was done, and we got back into the park, it was time to head back to the campground to make dinner and hang out.

The weather forecast for Thursday was calling for afternoon thunderstorms. Josh and I wanted to do a “below the rim” hike, and as it turned out, there was going to be a Ranger led hike on the South Kaibab Trail at 7:00 am the following morning, so that seemed like a pretty good idea. After talking about it a little, we decided that Josh and I would do the hike in the morning, and then we'd come back to the campground, pack things up and head to Albuquerque a day earlier than planned. I added an extra night to our reservation in Albuquerque and then we called it a night.

Day 14 (Delayed)

Josh and I woke up very early this morning and set up on the roughly 90 minute drive to Las Vegas to pick up Patty and Rachel. We arrived at their hotel and found our way up to their room. We gathered up their stuff and then went back downstairs to get some breakfast. After about 15 – 20 minutes walking in and the hotel, I was ready to get out of their … talk about sensory overload!!!

We got in the car and started back towards Kingman, AZ to pick up the trailer on the way to the Grand Canyon National Park. Along the way, we stopped at Hoover Dam. Given the time, we decided not to go down to the dam itself. We parked in the parking area for the Pat Tillman Bridge and then walked up the trail and onto the bridge to view Hoover Dam. 

After that, we got back in the car and drove back to our campground to get the trailer. From there, we drove to the Grand Canyon.

We arrived in the late afternoon and got our campsite set up. We needed a few grocery items so we went to the general store in the Grand Canyon Village to get what we needed, and then went back to the campground to make dinner. We decided to save our first view of the canyon for the next morning.

Trailer Pictures

As requested by "Jimmy Jones", here are a couple of interior pictures of the trailer.

Yeah ... we're really "rouging it"!!!

Day 13

We woke up in Banning, CA this morning and it was pretty cold. The winds were also very strong. As we were driving to Banning, we passed some absolutely enormous wind-mill "farms". Now we know why!!!

We ate breakfast, packed up the trailer and started our journey back to the East. Our first destination for the day was Joshua Tree National Park.

After arriving at the park, the first order of business was to get a picture of Josh with a Joshua Tree ... mission accomplished.

The scenery in the park was really cool. We took several short hikes, one of which was to a place called Barker Dam. The park had received some significant rain about 8 or 9 days ago. When we had arrived at the park and stopped at the visitor's center, the Rangers told us that we should definitely do this hike, as it was the first time in five years that there was actually water in the dam!!!

After doing a couple of hikes, our last stop in the park was a place known as Skull Rock.

In addition to Skull Rock, there was a huge "field" of rocks that were just begging to be climbed. We spent about 30 minutes scrambling on the rocks. On the way back to the car, Josh decided to do one last scramble ... into the left eye of Skull Rock!!!

We then left the park and headed to our destination for the night, Kingman, AZ. Along the way, we received a text from Patty & Rachel letting us know that they had arrived in Las Vegas. I had taken a quick look at our route map while we were driving, and I noticed that we were going to be very close to Lake Havasu, AZ. It was a fairly short detour, so we decided that we'd head that way. I had a recollection that the original London Bridge had been rebuilt in Lake Havasu City, AZ. Apparently, my memory was correct!

We arrived at our campground, got everything set up, and we've settled in for the night. Tomorrow morning, we'll head to Las Vegas to pick up Patty & Rachel and then it's on to the Grand Canyon.

We may not have internet access once we arrive at the Grand Canyon, so I may not be able to put up another blog post until Friday night.

Day 12

Today we drove from Tucson, AZ to Banning, CA. Along the way, we stopped at Saguaro (pronounced Sa - Wah - Ro) National Park, which is located just outside of Tucson.

The park is divided into two sections. One section is located to the East of Tucson while the other is located to the West of Tucson. We went to the Western section, which is known as the Tucson Mountain District. This area of the park is full of cactus "forests" and have lots and lots of the traditional cacti you see in most cartoons. (By the way, Josh was thrilled to find out today, that the plural for cactus can be: cactus, cacti and/or cactuses.)

We stopped in to the visitor's center to get some information and then headed out for a few very short hikes. The longest hike we did was 0.8 miles long, but that was long enough!!! The heat in the Sonoran Dessert was incredible. Even after just a short walk, you could sense dehydration setting in. It was really important to drink lots of water before, during & after each of our hikes, even though they were so short.

After our hikes, we left the park and headed for our destination for the night, Banning, CA. Banning is located a little West of Palm Springs, CA. This is our Western-most destination, and upon arriving at our campground, we have driven 3,888 miles since we left home.

Our arrival in California left a bit to be desired. First, California state law sets a speed limit of 55 MPH for all vehicles towing another vehicle. After traveling at 70 - 75 MPH for most of the trip, this was really a bummer. It added almost 30 minutes to our travel time for the day ... I wasn't very happy.

Then, when we arrived in Banning, we needed to get gas, as we were almost on empty ... boy were we in for a shock!!! I had filled up in Arizona, a little West of Phoenix and had paid $2.89 per gallon (this was after having paid $2.35 per gallon in Mississippi & Louisiana). Anyway, we found a couple of gas stations and discovered that the best we could do was $3.99 per gallon ... CASH ONLY!!!

The good news, is that tomorrow morning we'll be heading back to the East to visit Joshua Tree National Park and then we'll continue East back into Arizona. I won't be terribly sad to say goodbye to California!!!

That's it for today ... back tomorrow night with a report on Joshua Tree National Park. Also, tomorrow morning, Patty & Rachel will leave New York to fly out to Las Vegas. We'll be picking them up Tuesday morning. It should be really interesting having them with us!!!

Day 11

There's not too much to say about today. We drove from Carlsbad, NM to Tucson, AZ. Along the way, we drove through the White Sands Missile Range and past the White Sands National Monument. It might have been interesting to check things out here, as they have a museum and a "missile park", but we were focused on just getting to Tucson, so we didn't stop.

We'll be spending the night here and then leaving tomorrow morning for Banning, CA, our Western-most stop, which is a little West of Palm Springs, CA. Along the way, we're going to drive through Sagauro National Park, and probably take one or two short hikes there.

Day 10

We spent the day today at Carlsbad Caverns National Park.

When we arrived, we went to the Visitor's Center to get some information on the best way to see the caverns. We spoke to a Ranger who told us that we could start out by hiking into the "natural entrance" to the cave, which is a 1.25 mile hike that descends 750 feet into the cave!!!

After that we could see the "Big Room", which is also about a 1.25 mile trail, though mostly flat, which winds its way through the caverns.

He told us that there might still be some spaces left on one of the "King's Palace" tours, which would enable us to see a portion of the caverns that is only accessible on a Ranger led tour.

With that information in hand, we went to the ticket counter, and luckily, got the last 2 spots on the 12:00 King's Palace tour. It was about 10:15, so we decided that our plan would be to do the natural entrance hike, then take the tour, and then do the Big Room trail.

We walked over to the natural entrance and started heading down.

At the entrance to the caves, there were dozens of small birds flying in and out of the cave. As we were walking down the trail, one of the birds decided to "drop a bomb" on my shoulder. Josh was hysterical!!!

The caverns were amazing, and as usual, the pictures below don't do it justice. It was also really interesting to see the things my camera's "night scene" mode did with the lighting. Any colors you see in the photos below were created by the camera ... the rock is all essentially the same light brown color.

We finished our first hike, rode the elevator back to the top and grabbed a quick snack and then took our King's Palace tour. After that, we did the Big Room trail hike and then headed back to town. We needed to pick up a few things so we stopped at the Wal-Mart and then headed back to our campground. It was blazing hot (about 102 degrees) so we went back to the game room and played a few games of ping pong.

After that, we made dinner and then pretty much hung out for the rest of the night.

On day 11, we'll be driving from Carlsbad, NM to Tucson, AZ. It's another fairly long drive, with little or nothing to see or do on the way.

Mea Culpa

For those who have been posting comments, my apologies for not responding.

The stupid GMail web interface had been putting the comment notification messages in a separate tab and I just noticed them this morning!!!

I'll pay closer attention now!

Here's a picture of sunrise in New Mexico and the trailer.

Day 9

Today we drove from San Antonio, TX to Carlsbad, NM. Once again, it was a pretty straight-forward drive. There was absolutely nothing to see or do on the way, so we took our time getting out in the morning and then got started. Once we got about an hour West of San Antonio, there was pretty much nothing for as far as the eye could see.

We followed I-10 West to the town of Fort Stockton, TX and then got onto US-285, heading Northwest towards New Mexico. We were now in the heart of "West Texas". There's really only one word you need to describe West Texas ... OIL!!!

Everywhere you looked, there were oil wells, oil tanks, tanker trucks, drilling equipment suppliers, etc, etc, etc.

We finally arrived at our campground in Carlsbad, NM, crossing into the Mountain Time Zone. It was extremely hot outside, around 100 degrees, but it was definitely a "dry heat". We got set up and then went into the game room at the campground and played a few games of ping pong. Our campsite has cable TV hookups, so Josh asked if we could give our TV a try. We hooked it up, and wound up watching a "Naked and Afraid" marathon!!!

We made dinner, and then decided to buy a pint of Ben & Jerry's from the campground store. It was very over-priced, but well worth it!!!

Tomorrow, we get a little break from traveling. We'll be driving about 45 minutes from here to Carlsbad Caverns National Park. The good news, is that the caverns are very cool, so while we're there, we won't have to worry about the heat. The bad news, is that apparently, contrary to what I expected, this park is actually quite popular this time of year, as it provides a way to get out of the heat. Hopefully the crowds won't be too bad.

Back tomorrow night with a report on the caverns.

Day 8

Today we drove from Lafayette, LA to San Antonio, TX. It was a relatively easy drive, following I-10 the whole way. We passed through Houston, TX on the way. The traffic there was a little heavy, but not too bad.

We arrived at our campground in San Antonio and dropped off our trailer without setting it up. We wanted to get downtown to see The Alamo first.

For those who have been there, you know there's really not too much to see. We walked around for a little while, looked at some of the exhibits and read the Wall of History. After that, we decided to take a short walk along the San Antonio River Walk, just to pass some time. It was actually fairly nice down there, as it got us out of the sun, and I guess between the shade and the coolness of the water, it was much more comfortable down there than it was up on street level.

After our short walk, we went back to our campground to get the trailer set up. While we were setting it up, we noticed that there was a bike/walking trail right behind our campsite. When we finished setting up, we took our bikes over to the trail and went for a short ride. It was a really nice trail, but it was so hot, so we didn't go too far.

When we got back, it was time to make dinner. Since we were in San Antonio, we figured tacos would be a good choice.

Now we're just hanging out and we'll probably play a board game or something. Tomorrow, we have a pretty long drive, 475 miles, from San Antonio, TX to Carlsbad, NM.

Day 7

So, as previously mentioned, today's drive took us from Toomsuba, MS, through New Orleans, and ultimately to Lafayette, LA.

We arrived in New Orleans a little before noon. We parked at the Basin Street Station, just a few blocks from Bourbon Street.

We walked up Bourbon Street towards downtown, pretty much to the end. Once again, it was really hot & humid. On our way back down, we passed a place that seemed to be very nicely air-conditioned, so we went inside to get our Po' Boys.

In actuality, Josh chose a cheeseburger and I went for the fried catfish Po' Boy. The food came, and I have to say, it was really good. Josh really liked the fries, and the catfish on my Po' Boy was some of the best fried fish I've ever had. Usually, when you get fried fish, it tends to be really greasy and the fish gets kind of mushy ... in this case, the batter on the fish was really light, with no sense of grease at all, and the fish was really nice. It was a very good lunch.

After lunch, we walked back down Bourbon Street to Musical Legends Park. Siri had told us that Cafe Beignet, located next to this little park, was the best place to get beignets.

We got two orders ... one for Josh, and one for me.

We continued walking down Bourbon Street for a few more blocks, but clouds were moving in and it was beginning to look like there might be a pretty good downpour.

We made our way back to the car and went to work on the beignets ... Siri was right ... these things were amazing!!!

After that, we left New Orleans and made our way to our destination for the night, Lafayette, LA. Tomorrow, we move on to our next state ... Texas!

We expect to arrive in San Antonio in the mid-afternoon, and our plan is to drop the trailer off at the campground and then immediately head downtown to see the Alamo. I was originally hoping that we'd be able to bike the San Antonio Riverwalk to see some of the other San Antonio Missions, but it looks like we're going to scrap that plan. It's probably going to be too hot, and given the problem we have with loading the bike rack directly on to the car, it's just not going to work out.