HOME: 218.3 miles; 3:30

We gassed up and stated at 6:25 ( a new record) while it was still dark.  During the night we had heard a mystery noise from the folks upstairs.  Thankfully it stopped at bed time.  This morning the mystery was solved as we saw the couple upstairs packing out and saw their teenaged son come out with a basketball.

The rain had stopped and we followed the familiar path along the Columbia River home and noted that we live in one of the most scenic areas of the country.

The Columbia River Gorge goes from arid, treeless hills to our familiar tall tree forests just after The Dalles.  We saw boats on the river and a lot of people fishing for Chinook salmon.

We stopped at Multnomah Falls to stretch out legs, enjoy the view and take some pictures, and then headed home.

It's been a great trip from Moose Drool Beer in Montana to Bison on the road in Yellowstone to the white sands of Pensacola to the winds of Winslow, Arizona.  Lots of good memories.  The only thing we left behind was a bag of boiled peanuts in G&K's fridge.

Day 26: Pendleton, OR: 373.5 miles; 5:30.

We started out at 7:35.  Miss Direction plotted a straight path (no turns at all) to Pendleton.  We passed through Idaho's farmland an potato fields.  The landscape looks flat here, but that is deceiving because the Snake River has carved a canyon through this area called the Snake River Gorge.  This becomes evident at Twin Falls (pop. 44,125; elev. 3,745).  There is a bridge over the gorge at the north end of town.  According to the AAA Guide Evel Knievel "attempted" to leap across the canyon in 1974.  Jim said, "he made it."  I wondered...

The bridge is reputedly the only US location where BASE jumping is allowed year-round without a permit.  No thank you.  Shoshone Falls, just to the northeast, plunges more than 212 feet and is known as the Niagra of the west.  However, it is downstream from an irrigation project and can be DRY during droughts.

We noted on the news as we were having breakfast at the motel that other states were opening some of their larger and more popular national parks and landmarks.  We passed the exit for Fossil Beds National Monument and Minidoka National Historic Site (WWII Japanese relocation camp).  We doubted they were open and went on.

Although the windshield remains clear, we have run into flies.  Had several in the room and they seem to be thick in Pendleton as well.

We passed by Glenns Ferry (pop. 1,319; elev. 2,560 feet).  We are on the Oregon Trail now having left Route 66 back in Arizona.  Glenns Ferry is where wagon trains were forced to ford the Snake River from early 1840's until 1869 when the ferry began to operate.

We are now in semi-arid hilly country.  No trees to speak of.   As we got closer to Boise, the land flattened out and we saw signs waring us of "frequent high winds."  We passed the Hammett exit for Bruneau Dunes State Park where the wind-blown sands collected in this swale for 15,000 years of relatively constant winds have formed what is said to the the tallest single-structured sand dune in North America.

We passed Mountain Home (pop. 14,206) and wondered, "Where are the mountains?"  The town is on flat ground with some Arbuckle-type hills in the background.

We were getting close to Boise now so I looked it up.  It has a population of 205,671 and an elevation of 2,736 feet.  It is known as the "City of Trees."  That is because the French-Canadian trappers who worked in this area were grateful to reach a forest again after trudging across the semi-arid plains.  So we started looking for trees.  About 10 miles out of town, we spotted our first tree.

These are short trees, just peaking over the cement wall along the freeway.  Boise does have a lot of trees and they are showing off their fall colors.  As we get into town, the road widens to 8 lanes and driving through town is a breeze (of course, it is Saturday).  The only thing missing was an HOV/Toll lane.

Then as we leave Boise, the trees disappear again and we are back to arid country.  We passed a sign announcing the 'Snake River Valley Wine Region." We are 34 miles from Oregon and Jim says, "it smells like home." Soon we crossed the Snake River into Oregon.

We immediately got to Ontario (pop. 11,366; elev. 2,153 feet) which is in an agricultural belt along the Snake River.  About 20 miles later we hit the Pacific Time Zone and gained an hour.

Next town of note was Baker City on the Oregon Trail.  Gold was discovered here in 1861.  The city experienced several gold rush booms and was known for staying up late, rowdy saloons, dance halls and red-light districts.  Many historic buildings of that era remain.  Baker City was voted one of 6 most beautiful small towns in America by Rand McNally and USA Today in 2011 and 2012.

The scenic drive from Baker City to Pendleton takes you through the Blue Mountains and an exciting 6 miles of 6% grade as you approach Pendleton.  It rained all the way (feels like home.)

Pendleton has a population of 16,612 and an elevation of 1,068 (after that drop out of the mountains). The True West Magazine voted Pendleton the "Top True Western Town" in 2011.  It is known for the Pendleton Roundup Rodeo which has been held every September since 1910.

We went to the Pendleton Woolen Mill to look at all their beautiful designs, then headed to the Tamastslikt Cultural Institute, a wonderful museum put together by the local tribes.  That was for me. Jim sat in the car and listened to his football games. Then we went off to the motel and some TV football for Jim.

We will be home tomorrow.

Day 25: Burley, Idaho: 469.6 miles; 6:39

At breakfast we overheard a conversation:  "Is Zion open?"  "Yes, or it will be soon."  So we went back to the room and turned on the TV.  Turns out the Utah Governor made a deal with congress and will be opening 5 National Parks in Utah.  Utah will pay the employees until the government gets their act together.  They are hoping that after the shutdown they will be reimbursed.

Only question was WHEN are they going to open?  Looks like it won't be till Saturday.  And I'm guessing all those folks at Hoover Dam will descend on the park.  We tuned into 1610AM and they were still saying the park is closed, so we decided to head home. Should be an interesting development.  I wonder what the governor of Arizona will do?

So we started out at 7:45 and took the back roads back to the freeway.  It is definitely beautiful country, whether you are in the park or not.  And this was the early "magic" hour for photography.  We didn't get to Zion, but we caught a glimpse of Zion's beauty.

We love Utah.  The scenery is very photogenic and the speed limit is 80!  Jim sad that "Hurricane" means go like the wind.

We got back on the Interstate and soon came to Cedar City (pop. 28,857; elev. 5,840 feet).  This towns has pages of accommodations in the AAA guide -- much larger that you would expect from it's size.  The city was a mining center until 1920 and then, because of its proximity to the National Parks, became a tourist center.  They also host the Utah Shakespeare Festival.

We have noted since we hit the desert (New Mexico) that our windshield has remained clean.  No bug splatter to speak of.  Also, Jim noted that we have had virtually no roadkill.  (We were up to 10 deer, 1 raccoon, 2 possum, and an alligator head).  And the bug sounds have stopped, plus all the insect bites that I encountered in Texas have disappeared.  I realized that bugs were a way of life in Texas when I went to Walmart and discovered an entire isle labeled "itch relievers."

Rest areas in Utah seem to be a joint venture between Utah and Cheveron/Subway.  Signs inform you that this is a "public/private partnership."  You get off at a rest stop and end up at a Cheveron.  Works for me...  There was another interesting public/private partnership going on in Las Vegas.  There were  freeway signs that would tell you how long it takes to get to a specific destination  One of those destinations was the "Tropicana" Jim figured someone had paid for that.

We were at about 6.600 feet surrounded by 12,000 peaks.  This I-15 corridor was really scenic and remote.  I mentioned to Jim that soon we would be getting to civilization as we approached Provo.  He remarked that that was not a good term as the driving would be less civilized.  So I changed the term to "urbanity," or as Jim coined "urbananity."

We soon entered urbanity related to Provo (pop. 112,488; elev. 4,549 feet) home of Brigham Young University and an important industrial area for steel, pig iron, and foundry products.

We saw signs that were very confusing related to an HOV/toll lane.  It said that "2+" was "no toll" and every so often mentioned a toll -- usually 25 cents.  We got into the lane for a while and then got out (given our suspicion of toll roads from our experience in Texas).  We wondered how they collected the 25 cents with no toll booths.  It also mentioned an "Express Pass"  (reminding us of the "EZ-Pass" in Houston).

I got out the Samsung and looked it up.  Turns out that you buy a "transponder" and attach it to your windshield.  Detectors on the freeway determine that you traveled a certain leg of the freeway in the "toll" lane and automatically charge you.  The price change with the amount of traffic present from 25 cents up to a dollar per segment.  

Although confusing at first, this seems like a very easy system for tolls.  Houston take note!

We went through Salt Lake City (pop. 186,440; elev. 4,390 feet). Salt Lake City was founded by the Mormons and is in a spectacular setting at the foot of the Wasach Mountains with the Great Salt Lake to the northwest and the Great Salt Lake Desert to the west.  A nice setting for urbanity.

We continued into Ogden.  The HOV/Toll lane briefly stopped, then started up again until we got through Ogden.  Ogden (pop. 82,825; elev. 4,300 feet) is am important railroad distribution cneter for products headed to the West Coast.  It is also historical because the "golden spike" uniting the nation by rail was driven at Promotory, northwest of Ogden in 1869.  We passed the exit to this historic site, but since it is a "National Historic Site" concluded it was CLOSED.  So we drove on by.

After we left Ogden, urbanity just disappeared. Highway exits warned us of "no services."  The landscape changed as well as we headed towards Idaho.  There is an amazing contrast between the urban area of Salt Lake City and the relative desolate rural areas of the state.

The signs for Motels were now for distances of 100 miles.  We stopped at Snowville near the border with Idaho since they had "services", a lone gas station.  It was very crowded.  Then we headed on to Idaho.

The sign said, 'Welcome to Idaho."  That's all, no slogan.  We soon encountered a stretch of highway with no services and multiple signs warning us we were in a "dust storm area."  We knew about that from Winslow...

Then we saw a number of potato fields and  "potato trucks."  We must be in Idaho...

We stopped in Burley (pop. 10,345; elev. 4,165 feet).  Burley is along the Snake River and hosts the National Speedboat Races each June.

On to Oregon tomorrow.  We will be home soon.













meant "Go like the wind."

After we got back on the freeway we hit Cedar City (pop. 28,857; elev. 5,840 feet).

Day 24: Hurricane, UT: 450.4 miles; 7:26

We saw a sign about Interstate road closures on the freeway yesterday, but didn't get time to read it entirely, so I checked online and found a wonderful site listing traffic and construction sites.  I did not find any problems with I-17 south (which we planned to take to Sedona), but I discovered that highway 89 near Page, AZ was CLOSED.  Since that was our planned route, we had to make adjustments.

We were also questioning going to Sedona since the forecast called for rain all day.  The strong winds turned out to be associated with a large front passing through today.  It rained hard overnight and the sky to the west was looking ominous.  We couldn't avoid Flagstaff where they were predicting 2-4 inches of snow, but we thought we would go west and try to get through to the other side of the weather.

Note on Arizona time.  Right now it is the same as Pacific Time.  This confused us when we saw the clock in the room since according to the map, we do not get to Pacific time until we cross the border into Nevada.   I looked it up and found that: "Most of Arizona does not observe daylight saving time, however, the Navajo Nation in northeastern Arizona does observe daylight saving time."  Guess that explains things...

So we started off at 8:23 (7:23 AZ time). It had stopped raining and we planned to take exit 237 for Meteor Crater. I had called yesterday and their message was clear: We are not affiliated with the Federal Gov. WE ARE OPEN. So, finally something we could see. Then Jim said, "What time do they open?"  I looked it up and they open at 8AM (Arizona time) We didn't want to sit there for a half hour and it started raining again, so we went on.

The sky got darker and darker and then we saw a rainbow arched over the Interstate -- that has to be a good sign, right?  Then it turned into a double rainbow.  Then the sky darkened and it started to rain hard.

About 20 miles from Flagstaff, it started to snow.  Flagstaff (pop. 65,870; elev. 6,905 feet) is nestled in the mountains.  it was named by the locals in 1881.  The name referred to a tall pine tree that was stripped of its branches and used as a giant flagstaff during the city's 4th of July celebration in 1876.  The flagstaff was visible from afar and remained in place as a landmark for wagon trains.

Now it was really snowing and Jim broke out singing Christmas tunes.  "I'm dreaming of a White Christmas." To our minds the words "Arizona" and "snow" do not go together, but there they were.  We noticed that the trees were TALL again and dusted with snow. It reminded us Highway 26 over Mt. Hood.

We passed the exits for the Grand Canyon and then close to Seligman the snow just stopped.  The trees disappeared and we were back to desert country. 

The largest existing stretch of Historic Route 66 goes off from the Interstate at this point.  It is a 158 mile stretch of the original highway and it goes north from here then through Kingman and south.  Each year classic car buffs gather here and drive the old road.  Route 66 was the first completely paved national highway in the country and ran through the main street of most towns along the way.  It's nickname was "Main Street of America."

There were no rest stops along the highway, so we got off at Seligman and stopped at a Chevron station and found ourselves on "America's Main Street."

Back on the Interstate, we turned off at Kingman and took highway 93 north to Las Vegas.  It was a deserted, desert road with signs warning, "No services for 30 Miles."  About half way to Hoover Dam, we saw the turnoff for the "Grand Canyon Sky Bridge."  The Hualapai Tribe built the "Sky Bridge" on reservation land in 2007.  It extends 70 feet out from the canyon rim and is suspended 4,000 feet above the canyon floor and the Colorado River.  It weighs 1.2 million pounds and is unquestionably an architectural wonder.  The views were described as "jaw-dropping."  Even though this was one of the few attractions in the area open during the government shutdown, Jim said there was "NO WAY" we were going there.  

We went past the White Hills ghost town and saw a sign inviting you to shoot a 50-caliber machine gun at a shooting range 30 miles down the road.  The scenery was becoming colorful with yellow wildflowers and singular Joshua trees.  As we entered the Lake Mead National Recreation Area we entered the west end of the Grand Canyon.  The views were spectacular.

We went over a bridge and around a few curves until we got to the Hoover Dam exit.  We had seen people walking along the side of the bridge, so we suspected that this Federal area just might be open.  And it was.  We parked at the area for the "bridge walk."  Jim stayed with the car and I took the camera and started up the stairs towards the bridge.  It was crowded and lots of non-English languages were spoken.  I figured that all the poor foreign travelers that came to this country to find out our national parks were closed must be here. 

 The Mike O'Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge on US 93 links Arizona and Nevada.  The Bridge is arched, 1,00 feet long, made of concrete and steel.  The bridge was opened in 2010 to replace the 2-lane part of highway 93 that actually took the traffic over the top of the dam in the past causing quite a bottleneck.  The bridge includes a 6-ft wide pedestrian sidewalk.

Hoover Dam is 726 feet high (6 stories).  It is one of the highest dams ever constructed. It was built during the Depression (1931-33) in an Art Deco-style 

Once back on the highway, we entered Nevada and immediately ran into a casino.  We went through Boulder City (pop. 15,023; elev. 2,501 ft.) known as "the town that built Hoover Dam."  It sprang from the desert in 1931.  We found ourselves on the Interstate again and in the outskirts of Las Vegas.  The contrast between the remote countryside in Arizona and this busy, urban area was huge.  What a difference a border makes.

Miss Direction got us through Las Vegas in one piece and we headed east through the desert, back to Arizona.  The Nevada countryside was desert and stark, broken by the view of mountains in the distance.  By the time we got to Arizona, we were back in the mountains and Grand Canyon Country.  Then we hit Utah and the landscape changed again with red cliffs.  Beautiful country.  

We ended up in Hurricane, Utah for the night.  This is a nice little town about 12 miles off the freeway on the way to Zion National Park (which remains closed.) The town was named after the "Hurricane Fault" rising 7,000 feet above the town.  We had dinner at Sonny Boy's BBQ which was awarded the "Best BBQ in the State" award in 2013.  I'm not sure that Utah is known for its BBQ, but it was quite good.  

We are heading north towards home tomorrow.

Day 23: Winslow, AZ : 383.7 miles; 5:41.

We started off early at 7:15 and headed towards Albuquerque looking for balloons.  Turns out that the Balloon Fiesta is going on (Oct. 6 - 13).  It is sort of like the Kite Festival in Long Beach, WA.  They have some events each day and then on the last weekend have a "Grand Ascension."  They do their events in the early morning or evening hours.  We saw the local newscaster broadcasting from the launch zone in the morning before we left.  We were hoping that they might still be in the air when we got to Albuquerque.

But we had about 100 miles to cover.  The countryside started out flat.  The monotony was broken by many billboards.  One inviting us to visit the brewery for "Alien Amber" beer.  We ran into some road construction with no workers in sight.  We decided that the only reason for the construction zone, which kept changing the lane closed (right to left) must be to keep people awake at the wheel.

At 7:59, we had our first siting of what we considered "real" mountains on the horizon.  Soon we were in the mountains to the east of Albuquerque and passing into the city.  Albuquerque (pop. 545,852; elev. 4957 feet) is New Mexico's largest city.  It was founded in 1706 as a Spanish colonial outpost and farming community along the Rio Grande.  Jim noted that there were very few high-rises in downtown here and the overpasses were decorated and looked nice.  The houses were all brownish, cream, or reddish and blended very well with the countryside.  It is a very pretty town. We passed some subdivisions that looked like Walter White's home in Breaking Bad.  But sadly, NO BALLOONS.

After Albuquerque, we passed mesa lands which looked like they might have been formed by the Rio Grande.  We passed through Navajo lands and came to a town called Grants (pop. 9,182; elev. 6,450).  A Navajo rancher named Paddy Martinez was curious about a yellow rock he found about 10 miles out of town.  Turns out the rock was uranium and within months the town changed from a farming community to a mining community.  This all lasted until a recession in 1982-83 which forced many of the mines to close.  

The countryside was scenic and colorful.  We passed signs for many National Monuments, which due to the government shut-down are closed now.  The wind was strong and we saw some dust devils.  We saw a sign that said we had crossed the Continental Divide.

We got off the Interstate at Gallup.  Gallup has a population of 21,678 and an elevation of 6,508 feet.

The railroad came to the Gallup region in 1881 to use the regions coal deposits for its engines. At thetime Gallup was a stagecoach stop consisting of a saloon/general store called the Blue Goose.  Gallop is known for coal mining and the railroad, but it is best known as the main trading center for most Navajo as well as nearby Zuni and Hopi wares.  The town has over 100 trading posts.

We got downtown and found it lined with trading posts, pawn shops, and galleries.  I didn't know where to begin, there was so much beautiful pottery, jewelry, rugs, blankets, etc.  Jim found a store he liked and we went in.  We were the only ones in the store and Jim immediately asked the proprietor how we could tell we were buying authentic goods.  We had a good conversation with Mike and he was eager to answer any questions we had.  I found a pot that kept calling to me, so we now have it in a large box in the back seat.  The pot was made by a Hopi artist named Stetsen Setalla.  Mike emailed a picture of the artist holding our pot in his store.  He takes pictures with his phone when the artists bring in their pieces for the store.

There is a Zuni Pueblo 30 miles south of Gallup.  The community has a population of 6,302 and is the only surviving settlement of the "Seven Cities of Cibola" sought by Francisco Vazquez de Coronado in his quest for gold.  It is one of the largest existing inhabited pueblos.  Ancient rites and traditions are still practiced.  You can arrange to visit the pueblo, but no pictures are allowed without a special permit.

We made a rest stop at McDonalds and got back on the I-40 West.  Soon we were in Arizona.  It was very windy.  The speed limit remained 75mph, so Jim was happy.  We passed through the Painted Desert and a sign for the Petrified Forest National Park.  We tuned to 1610 AM for information and the park person told us the park was closed and thanked us for our "understanding."  Jim said, "We don't understand at all."  When we stopped at the Arizona Welcome Center to pick up some maps, an older man was complaining about the Grand Canyon being closed.  He said it was closed unless you broke in at gunpoint.  Seems to me that Congress has grossly underestimated the wrath of seniors who cannot get into the National Parks.

In the distance we saw what looked like clouds.  Turns out it was a giant dust storm.  The wind kept getting stronger and stronger, so we decided to stop at Winslow (pop. 9,655; elev. 4,856).
The town was named after a president of the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad and is a railroad, shipping, and trading center.

We stopped at one motel and they said they were full.  So we went across the street and found a room at the Quality Inn.  I asked the clerk if there was something going on in town.  He said no, that it was probably the wind.  He said they might shut the Interstate down, so folks were stopping early.  He also told me that the nickname for Winslow is "WindsBlow" and that the town had been chosen as the site for an international airport...until they considered the wind.

Winslow became known in the 70's from the lyrics of the Eagles first hit single, "Take it Easy."  The verse "Standin' on a corner in Winslow, Arizona" was the inspiration for "The Corner" in downtown Winslow featuring a life-size bronze statue and a two story mural depicting the story behind the famous song.  Winslow is also on "Historic Route 66."  We found the corner and took some pictures.  Notice that Jim's hair is horizontal from the wind.

Another downtown attraction in Winslow is the La Posada hotel restored to look like a Spanish hacienda.

Back at the motel, we watched the local weather and found out that the wind gusts in Winslow (50mph) were the highest in the state.  They also said it might snow tonight in Flagstaff.  Yipes.

Day 22: Santa Rosa, New Mexico: 402.3 miles; 5:56.

We left at 9:00 AM and headed down the Interstate for a few miles and got off to see Fort Reno.  After we got off, we didn’t see any signs, just a long road.  Finally we saw a sign for a visitor center and pulled in.  Something looked wrong.  Jim was saying that there were some very interesting buildings in the complex, but it looked like a prison not a fort.  It was a prison, a Federal Prison.  And it was open (despite the government shutdown).  A guard was looking at us curiously so we turned around quickly. I wanted to take a picture of the interesting buildings, but decided against that.  This wasn't a museum.

After entertaining the thought that the Fort we were looking for was cleverly disguised as a prison, we saw a small sign off to the right for the real Fort Reno.  Unfortunately, the Fort (also run by the Federal Gov.) was closed.   We couldn’t even see the fort from the gate.  

Back on the Interstate, we discovered that we were following the Chisholm Trail and Old Route 66. We pulled off in Elk City (pop. 11693; elev. 1912 feet).  This city was originally a rest stop for cattlemen driving their herds from Texas to Kansas.  They discovered oil in 1948.  It was depleted in the 60’s.  The city is on the “Historic Route 66” and home of the “National Route 66 Museum.”  We were afraid that this would be another Federal shutdown location, until we saw the huge Route 66 sign in front of the museum.  Jim said, “No way is this being run by the Feds.”

There were 5 museums in the compound and a number of old replicated buildings.  In the Farm and Ranch Museum they had one of the first vehicles that Studebaker made, a covered wagon, and in the Route 66 Museum, they had a Studebaker auto the last year they were made. We wandered through lots of interesting memorabilia.  We learned that Route 66 connected Chicago to Los Angeles and for 40 years was one of the best known routes for commerce and leisure travel.

Jim wondered if Route 66 was so famous because of the TV show he watched when he was young.  I said that the route was probably the equivalent of the Chisholm Trail, just next generation.  That maybe in the future we would have an I-5 museum in Vancouver.  He said, “Not unless they make a TV show about it.”

We hit Texas (again) at 12:06.  And once again were being told to “Drive Friendly the Texas Way.”  The speed limit increased to 75mph and once again “feeder” roads appeared parallel to the highway.  Then we passed a sign saying that the information center exit was in 100 miles.  Only in Texas... Jim said that that is probably a "short" distance to them.

We passed Shamrock (pop.1910; elev. 2342 feet).  Shamrock was incorporated in 1911, but was originally established as a post office at the home of an Irish sheep rancher. It is the location of the U-Drop Inn, a Route 66 landmark.

As we approached Groom, we saw a huge cross towering over the highway.  It is the "Cross or our Lord Jesus Christ" and is 190 feet tall and weighs 2.5 million pounds.

We soon arrived in Amarillo (pop. 190,695; elev. 3,672 feet).  We noted that we are gaining elevation, but gradually.  No Mountain passes so far (unless you count the Oklahoma "mountains."  Amarillo was established in 1887 and renamed at that time.  Amarillo means “yellow” in Spanish and according to the AAA tour guide, many citizens painted their houses yellow to celebrate.  We looked and looked for some yellow houses, but did not spot any.  "Yellow" referred to the color of the earth in this area.  Didn’t see that either, although it was different from the red dirt of Oklahoma.  

After Amarillo, Jim said, “I’m bored.”  The road was straight, the country flat and not a tree in sight.  It reminded me of Western Kansas.  Then suddenly as we got close to New Mexico (mile 15 or so) the countryside changed and we had mesas and high dessert hills.  We entered New Mexico (“The Land of Enchantment”)  and switched to Mountain Time at 2:39 ---> 1:39.

We passed through Tucumcari (pop. 5363; elev 4086 feet).  Tucumcari takes its name from Tucumcari “Mountain” (4,999 ft) which was used as a lookout point (“tucumcari”) by the Indians.  An alternative story is that the name is derived from a Romeo and Juliet tale about a love affair between an Apache warrior named “Tucum” and the daughter of an Apache Chief named “Kari”.   However the name originated, Tucumcari was known as the first New Mexico stop on Route 66.

We stopped for the night at another Route 66 stop, Santa Rosa (pop. 2,280; elev. 4,620 feet).  It is a nostalgic small town with at least 3 Route 66-style diners and a number of motels.  You can drive along a stretch of the old Route 66.  They have a car museum and a restored City Hall built from red-stone blocks.  

On to Arizona tomorrow.  We are really enjoying the LOW humidity and warm, sunny weather.

Days 18 - 21. Houston to El Reno, OK: 453.4 miles; 6:57.

Day 17 continued: Lake City, LA to Houston.

There is no nice way to say this:  Louisiana roads are horrible.  We have renamed I-10 through Louisiana the "washboard highway." It has been thump, thump, thump all through the state.  It is pretty much the side roads as well.  Thump, thump, thump.

We started out at 7:57 and turned south off the Interstate onto the Creole Nature Trail.  We quickly got into rural countryside and passed a Family Dollar Store, followed by a Dollar General.  So competition is alive and well in rural LA.   All of a sudden, Jim turned off the road.  We had come to a very interesting old graveyard.  I'm not quite sure what the tools on the cross represent, but it was a wonderful old church and graveyard.

We passed through picturesque swampland and Bayous.  There was a drawbridge over the intra-costal waterway that looked similar to the I-5 bridge over the Columbia in Portland.   We passed some oil pumps busily pumping and a group of storage tanks.

Then the land turned to marshes similar to the wetlands along Willapa Bay, but much more massive.  We passed another drawbridge, then a Marina and very rustic Motel.

We entered the Sabine Wildlife Refuge -- Jim thought I said "wild rice" and was looking for rice paddies until I corrected him.  (I wish he would get a hearing aid!)  All of the trails, points of interest, and information center were closed thanks to the government shut-down.

 The area had many canals (called bayous) running through the area and many areas for fishing.  We hit something in the road and Jim said, "I think we just ran over an alligator head."  Confirming his conclusion, we almost immediately passed an "alligator crossing" sign.  I guess alligators here are like deer on other parts of the country.  Don't know why it was just the head though.  That was the only alligator that we ran into, which is fine with me.

The Bayous were numbered and we finally crossed over the First Bayou.  Soon we got to a "T" in the road and there was the Gulf of Mexico.  We turned right and headed towards Texas.  The road was right along the beach so we stopped and discovered that this was not nearly as nice a beach as Pensacola.  Sand was brown and lots of kelp, but still an impressive landscape and they had tons of shells.  In the far distance we could see some off-shore oil rigs and fishing boats.

It didn't look like a good beach for resorts, but when we got to Johnson's Bayou we ran into a group of beach houses (all on stilts).  Some places, we just saw stilts -- all that was left after hurricane Ike.  We passed a small community all on stilts.  The houses that had been rebuilt appeared to be on higher stilts than the older structures.  It was very strange to see manufactured homes on stilts, Victorian homes on stilts, industrial buildings on stilts, a parking lot on stilts, and even a church on stilts.  Then we passed a construction area with a massive number of stilts -- they were building a new High School -- on stilts.  Jim said that these buildings were definitely not Parkinson friendly.  My guess is that hurricanes trump accessibility here.

I didn't think we would see a "Welcome to Texas" sign on this backroad, but I was wrong.  There it was telling us to, "Drive friendly the Texas way."  We determined later that that meant to drive fast and aggressively.  Speed limit:  75mph.

Once we were in Texas there was oil stuff everywhere and on a massive scale.  Port Author has a massive area of industrial sprawl.  It is surreal.  We got back on the freeway and headed to Houston on I-10.

Texas has an interesting concept of a frontage road.  It is usually a parallel freeway that periodically allows you to enter or exit to the actual freeway.   They call them "feeders" which is a pretty accurate description.  Because they usually parallel the entire length of the freeway, it makes access relatively easy.  If you get on a feeder, you can be assured you can eventually get onto the freeway.  On/Off ramps are relatively short and everybody is going 75mph.   So to survive, you really have to "Drive the Texas Way."

Ok, so we got into Houston and turned onto the beltway.  Soon we encountered signs that said that to continue on the beltway, we had to have an EZ-pass.  I had my billfold out ready to pay any tolls, but the signs said, "No Cash, EZ-pass only."  We didn't have an EZ-pass, so we exited onto the "feeder."  Miss Direction was having fits and trying her best to get us back up onto the beltway, but the signs kept saying "EZ-pass only."  Finally, the feeder split two ways: one going into Houston, the other away from Houston.  Given that choice, I would always choose "away" from Houston, so off we went.  Fortunately, Miss Direction had us make a U turn on the feeders and got us back and onto the beltway -- which for some reason was free now.  But not for long.  Soon we had to get off at the "last free exit" again crossing over two lanes of incoming traffic... Anyway, it was a nightmare.

We stopped off and had lunch and a glass of Texas wine to de-stress, and made it to G and K's house early afternoon.

Day 18:  Houston

We had a relaxing day at G and K's house.  They just moved in to a beautiful house in Spring, TX. They had a major leak last week and are having work done to the house, but we were very comfortable and enjoyed our visit.  On Sat. we went out to look at G's office and then they treated us to dinner at Papa-citos (Tex-Mex).  We had margaritas (I did not know then that margaritas were invented in nearby Galveston).  Dinner was delicious. We ended the day by watching the season finale of "Hell on Wheels."

Day 19:  Spring, TX to Spring, TX.  199 miles.

G and T took us for a tour of the area.  We went through Houston (with a restroom stop downtown that Jim thought they ought to pay him to use).  Then on to Galveston where we drove by thebeach and boardwalk.

We passed the historical spot where the Balinese Room once stood many hurricanes ago.   The legend has it that this is the place where the margarita was invented in 1948 by head bartender Santos Cruz for singer Peggy (Margaret) Lee He supposedly named it after the Spanish version of her name.

Then we took the car ferry to Port Bolivar.The ferry was free (no EZ-pass required - although parking on the beach seemed to require one).

We saw a lot of dolphins and pelicans from the ferry.  The bay seemed to be teeming with sea life.

Once we got to Port Bolivar, we drove around and stopped at the hurricane-damaged jetty where a lot of folks were "fishing"  (it seemed strange to see a fishing hook baited with a chicken drumstick) for blue crab.  We walked the jetty until it started to rain then drove around and looked at the old fort and lighthouse before taking the ferry back to Galveston.

Back in Galveston, we went to a local restaurant called Shrimp 'n Stuff.  We had fried catfish, sweet potato fries, and hush puppies.  Delicious.  Then we went downtown to the historic "Strand" for ice cream.  Yum.

On our way back to Houston, we stopped by the memorial for Texas Independence.  It looks like the Washington Monument complete with it's own reflecting pond (except for the lone star on top of the monument.).  You can take an elevator to the top for an expansive view of Houston.

We ended the day by enjoying a pumpkin pie from Sam's Club.

Day: 21  Spring, TX to El Reno, OK.

We departed at 8:19.  K made sure that we were well provisioned for the trip  We passed Huntsville (pop. 38,548, elev. 400 feet).  Once known as the "Athens of Texas" for its cultural attractions, Huntsville was originally founded  as an Indian trading post in 1836 (the year of Texas Independence.)  Sam Houston lived here and it is the headquarters of the Texas prison system.  K had warned us not to pick up any hitchhikers in the area -- we didn't.  We stopped at the Huntsville rest area which interestingly did not have armed security.

We were getting back into the plains.  As Jim noted, "the trees are slowly sinking into the ground." We passed through Corsicana (pop. 23,770; elev. 328 feet.) Ironically, officials in this city were disappointed in 1894 when they struck oil -- they were looking for water. Turns out they found plenty of both and Corsicana became one of the first commercial oil-well and refinery sites west of the Mississippi.  the rotary droll bit used in commercial wells was invented here.

Soon we hit Dallas.  Miss Direction earned her keep and we got through the city.  The skyline is very distinctive and Dallas is known for it's layered, elevated freeways.

We got out of Texas at 1:19 -- a new record.  We immediately saw signs for casinos and passed a larger than huge casino complex that was modeled after the Greek Colosseum, British Parliament and other famous buildings all lined up.  We stopped at the Oklahoma information center rest stop and had our lunch.  We noticed that the humidity had dropped significantly.  It was 70's and very pleasant.

Back on the road, I looked on the map and told Jim that we were getting into the "Arbuckle Mountains."  He said,  "Where?"  We looked around and laughed.  All we saw was the flat horizon all around.  We did start to get into some hills -- not mountains by any stretch of the imagination.  They reminded me of the Flint Hills in Kansas -- note they are not called Flint Mountains.  We passed a "view point" sign and I made Jim get off.  There was no view, just a grassy field.  We passed a few more hills, than another "view point" sign.  Jim said no way would he get off.  Something about, "Fool me once, same on you."

Just before we got to Oklahoma City, we passed Norman (pop. 110,925; elev. 1168).  Norman was established in 1869.  At that time it had 500 people, 4 churches, 2 newspapers, and 29 businesses.  A year later the University of Oklahoma was built.  The rest is history.

We passed through Oklahoma City with the help of Miss Direction.  We stopped in El Reno for the night.  El Reno was established in June of 1889 when the Rock Island Railroad picked the South bank of the North Canadian River for a depot.  The angry citizens of nearby Reno City did not want to be left out of the fortunes that the railways brought, so they packed their belongings and loaded houses, stores, and even a hotel onto log rollers, forded the river and re-settled in the new town of El Reno.  Sounds like an episode from "Hell on Wheels."

We are headed west tomorrow.

Day 18: Houston ; 197 miles; 4:05

Made it to Houston. Gary has wireless, but they just moved and packed the password somewhere. So will resume blog on Monday.

Day 17: Lake Charles, LA: 390.4 miles; 5:52

I went for an early walk on the beach and collected some shells and pictures.  We packed up and headed out at 8:07 after a conversation with the morning clerk who wanted to charge us extra for our beach-side room.  I explained that when my husband checked in the clerk asked whether we would mind if she switched our room, but never mentioned a price difference.  Fortunately, the manager was there and told the new clerk to give us the lower rate.  This clerk was definitely NOT a sweetheart.  I  think she was most irritated about having to do the receipt again.  She didn't tell me to have a nice day.

Off we went. Two bridges later, we were in Pensacola.  We hit Alabama at 8:39.  After spending two days to get out of Florida,  we are zipping through states today like crazy.  We are still in the swamplands.  We discussed the difference between swamplands and the "wetlands" that we have at home.  Jim determined that they are almost the same except that wetlands do NOT have any #% alligators.

We got to Mobile in no time and took a bridge over Mobile Bay. I'm beginning to think that this area should be called the land of bridges. We spied the USS Alabama moored in the bay on the left and some interesting high-rise buildings then we plunged into a tunnel under part of the bay.  We decided that the tunnel is definitely not a place to hang out in a hurricane.

We hit Mississippi at 9:50.  Soon we passed Pascagoula (pop 22,392).  The Pascagoula River is called the "Singing River" because of the occasional eerie sound that is best heard on still evenings in late summer.  Legend claims it is the death chant of a Pascagoula tribe that committed mass suicide in the river rather than be conquered by the Biloxi Tribe.

Next town was Biloxi (pop. 44,054; elev. 22 feet). Biloxi seems to be hurricane central.  Until Katrina in 2005 the town history had two eras:  BC and AC (before Camille and After Camille).  Camille (1969) had a 20 foot storm surge which destroyed much of the city.  It was rebuilt with the help of the casino and tour industry.  Then in 2005 along came Katrina with a 28 foot storm surge which wiped out many of the old antebellum homes that were spared by Camille and pushed the casino barges into shore while washing away everything within a half mile of shore.  The casinos are back now with everything from  barges to high-rise luxury hotels along the beach.

Mississippi rest areas are modern and "security provided."  Billboards are tall again. We hit Louisiana at 10:54.  It was 86 degrees and partly cloudy (or as we say in the rainy Pacific Northwest, "partly sunny.")

We passed through Baton Rouge (pop. 229,493; elev. 60 feet).  The name means "red stick" and is derived from a cedar tree that was de-limbed and draped with freshly killed animals marking the boundary line between hunting grounds of two Indian tribes many years ago.  The city today is the second largest city in Louisiana and located on the Mississippi River, it is one of the largest ports in the nation. But the most important thing to Jim is it is home of the LSU Tigers.

We passed over yet another bridge, this one over the Mississippi River and spotted some oil refineries upstream.  At this point I noticed a huge swamp on the map.  It is called the Atchafalaya (pronounced:  uh-CHA-fuh-lie-uh) Basin and is the largest river swamp in North America according to the visitor center.  When we got to the swamp, the Interstate became an elevated highway (this went on for 20+ miles) and we went over the Intracoastal Waterway and a number of smaller rivers and bays including Whiskey Bay and Henderson Swamp.

We went through Lafayette (pop. 120,,623; elev. 40 feet).  This is Cajun central.  When the French Arcadian farmers were expelled from Nova Scotia in the 1700's, they settled here.  Their descendants known as "Cajuns" still speak a French dialect and observe many old traditions.  We saw lots of signs for Cajun food including "boudin" which was advertised as "our favorite finger food."  I wanted to try some until I found out it was Cajun sausage.  I'm not a sausage fan, so I'll pass.

We stopped for the night in Lake Charles (pop.71,993; elev. 18 feet.)  When I checed in the clerk asked if we were going to the casino.  After looking at the guide, we found they have 4 big ones here.  They even have a casino/resort with its own dog track.

We went for a drive and found the Charpentier Historic District.  There are 40 blocks of homes and Victorian mansions built by carpenters here during the lumber boom at the turn of the 20th century.  Some are restored, some being restored and some need to be restored, but they are all very impressive.  We also went downtown to the lake.  There is a park and Lakefront Promenade.  We talked to a man who was fishing.  He informed us that the water was saltwater, but couldn't answer Jim's question, "Why is the water so black?" Google can't answer it either.

 We parked by the Calcasieu Parish Courthouse, a distinctive domed building.  In front of the courthouse was a Civil War Memorial and across the street was the City Hall.  When we parked, we heard bells ringing and discovered it was the bell tower in a wonderful brick church that took up an entire block.  It is a charming old town.

We headed back to the motel and stopped off at Sonic for dinner and a chocolate malt.  Tasted so good.
 

We are planning to take part of the "Creole Nature Trail" tomorrow from Lake Charles to Port Authur (just over the Texas line).  Then on to Houston.