Happy Father's Day from Durango!!!

First off, Happy Fathers Day! We could only make this one post today, because between 9 this morning and 6 tonite, when we got to the hotel, there was zero cell service. We had an eventful drive from the Grand Canyon to Durango today. The transition from the mountain forest (a lot more trees around the Grand Canyon than we expected) to the deserts of the Hopi and Navajo Reservations to the mesas and meadows of Colorado was quite striking. The rock formations on Hopi Reservation were a sight to see, especially the structure below.

We stopped at the Four Corners Monument, of course, so that we could include 4 states in our itinerary at once. The site is on the Navajo reservation, and very popular with the road-tripping tourist set - we had to wait at least 15 minutes for the 4 Corners to open for this photo op. It was a little windy out there, too - Allegra's FULL water bottle almost got carried away in a gust!

Entering Colorado, the landscape changed almost immediately, getting green and colder right away. We arrived at Mesa Verde National Park. It's not Yosemite, but it is pretty cool. The winding road up from the park entrance would be a favorite of Jeremy and Richard from Top Gear, except for the 35 MPH speed limit.

Mesa Verde NP is worth the work to get there, because the restored and preserved pueblo cliff dwellings are amazing. After the climb up the mesa (up to 8,000 feet!) we walked to the Spruce Tree House, one of the largest sites in the park. 

Of course, I had to point out a few things to Allegra, as I am an expert on 13th Century masonry construction. Legs is such an attentive student!

Wisely, Allegra escaped the lecture by hiding in a kiva, an underground chamber used for spiritual and worship ceremonies. Eventually she had to climb out, so we could get to the main event of the day, a tour of Cliff Palace, the largest pueblo cliff dwelling in the park.

The Cliff Palace was massive, in a chamber more than 60 feet high and 400 feet wide, but apparently it wasn't a "palace" in the traditional sense. It was more of a government center than a residence, as the archaeologists who have studied the site found very few hearths (indicating residents) but 23 kivas, showing that many ceremonies were held there. 

The climb down to Cliff House was kind of treacherous, thru some narrow passages and on non-OSHA compliant stairs (according to the park ranger, anyway - no lawsuits resulted from our tour group). We all made it up and down OK.

We got to Durango just in time for dinner, and we found a great, if understaffed, pizza place, Home Slice Pizza.  The pizza was the bomb, so be patient as the rastafarian staff messes up your order once or twice, because it is worth it.

Tomorrow we will be crossing two 10,000 foot mountain passes, including Wolf Creek Pass (a special place to all you folks from the Lair!), so we hope to survive to post another day! Talk to you later!

Farewell, Big Ditch

One more afternoon spent at the Grand Canyon, and many more sites to see. We thought it was strangely empty at Mather Point and the Visitor Center yesterday, but we realized why today. All of the crowds are around the lodges and the head of the Bright Angel Trail, which can take you all the way across the Park to the North Rim - in about 2 days hike. Our friends George and Denise did that a few years back - or, did they?

We passed on that strenuous exercise and opted for the touristy stuff, walking on the Rim Trail and seeing a few new vistas (but to be frank, they all kinda look the same after a couple days). We also walked around the historic El Tovar Hotel, which opened in 1905, just up the hill from the Grand Canyon Railroad. It's quite a view from the 3rd floor rooms, since they are maybe 50 feet from the edge of the abyss.

We did find this view, on the Trail of Time (don't ask unless your REALLY love geology, gneiss, and that sort of schist) to be pretty sweet. The bright foreground gives a nice perspective on the vastness of it all.

Instead of being adventerous by hiking down into the Canyon, Allegra and Blythe decided to live on the edge, as it were. Legs thought we had something of a death wish, posing all the way out there. "Ok, move back just a little bit more...."



And with that, we say "Farewell, Big Ditch!" Someday we may come back and get down to the Colorado River, but until then many new places await. We are off to Durango, Colorado tomorrow, passing through the Hopi, Navajo, and Mountain Ute Reservations. We'll talk to you again then!

A Bird's Eye View

We took a flight around the Grand Canyon this morning, and it was spectacular! A little bumpy in the twin prop plane, but when you're maybe 500 feet above the ground, you can expect that.

Allegra got to sit in First Class, of course, and was able to carry on a conversation with the pilots thru the cockpit door. Blythe was able to brush up on her Japanese, thanks to the multi-lingual narration on the plane.  

While they aren't allowed to fly you below the canyon rim (like in the old days), the view from 500 feet is incredible. Photos from cell phones hardly do it justice, but Blythe captured a couple beautiful views. Below you can see where the Little Colorado meets the Colorado River - the Little Colorado is turquoise because of mineral springs that feed it as it flows from northern Arizona.

The view of the North Rim is also gorgeous - the climate is very different, so many more trees over there!

We're going back for a ground-level view of the Canyon later, so we'll post some more tonight!

Day 1 - Grand Canyon

Kind of gray day here in the Grand Canyon, but still an amazon site. It was strange (to me at least) that it wasn't more crowded - we even found a parking space right by Mather Point!

What really cracks me up, though, is the shade, second tier hotels and restaurants that congregate at the gates to national parks. Something more upscale than a Best Western couldn't survive on the ONLY road to the South Rim? Sounds improbable to me.

The Prius ran perfectly, and traffic was nonexistent, so it was a very good, if tiring day.

grand canyoga

For my friend Lisa

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We made it!

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The Grand Canyon

We made it and the view is SPECTACULAR! Here at Mather Point you can see for miles and miles, and the sun is just starting to come out. But even when it's overcast, the colors are beautiful.

Gas prices - Yikes!!

Stopped for gas in Needles - $4.79 per gallon! Some nice scenery out here in the Mohave Desert, just a few more hours to the Grand Canyon.

Gorgeous California morning!

A lovely day here in LA. Getting on the 15 get to Barstow!

About time to go!

It's 5am and time to grab some breakfast, pack the car, wake up Allegra and get on the road...

Now its 615, the car is packed and we are ready to go!

Tomorrow it begins!

Just 20 hours until departure, and we are barely ready to go! We are all really looking forward to seeing the Grand Canyon tomorrow afternoon, because we expect it to look just like this. I hope we're not disappointed.

At least our first day's drive won't be the 13 hour, LA to Salt Lake City marathon we did in 2008, that was a little much, even for the first day. And at least we will get away from this serious June Gloom in the LA Basin - can we get a little Spring, anyone?!?

Just 3 more days!

It's getting close now, just 3 more days until the epic (and epically educational) road trip of 2011 begins! I hope that the heat wave in the South breaks just a bit in the next few days - or is it just normal for all of Texas and Lousiana and Oklahoma to be in the 90's in mid-June?

The anticipation is building...

We're all very excited about the big trip - less than 10 days away now! And we may get a slight reprieve on gasoline prices - down to $3.98 here in the South Bay. We'll be sure to include some tracking of gas prices on our trip, and have some kind of award for the town with the lowest price. What's the odds of that town being in Texas?

First post

Hi Folks and welcome to our blog. We want to keep all of you informed about our upcoming road trip. Stay tuned for more exciting updates.