09/04/05

My first trip after leaving work was to get to Lake Tahoe for a ski trip and then on to Washington state to visit my mother and sister.

Route 66 (Amarillo, TX ð Albuquerque, NM ð Flagstaff, AZ)

I started my trip across the path of old U.S. Route 66, which was interesting because each of the little towns along the way is packed with cheap motels, diners, and tourist stops advertising things like reptiles, petting zoos, or caverns.  Many are out of business now, but it does give a small feel of what it must have been like back in the 50s and 60s.

Along this route I stayed in hostels.  Before planning this trip, I didn't even know they existed in the U.S., but it turned out to be a great way to travel.  At only $12 - $15 per night, the cost can't be beat for traveling alone.  Plus, I met a number of interesting people.  About half seemed to be Europeans touring the U.S., and the other half were Americans mixed between people like me adventuring across the country and a few considering relocating from their hometowns.

Amarillo, TX Cadillac Ranch	Albequerque, NM
Albequerque, NM Gambling Net: +$65	Santa Fe, NM Fine arts museum.
Santa Fe, NM	AZ Mountains along the highway.
AZ More highway.	Winslow, AZ "Take it Easy... Standin' on a corner in Winslow, AZ." - Eagles

Around Flagstaff

I stopped over a few days in Flagstaff.  From here, I was able to visit the red rock formations in Sedona, a copper mining ghost town called Jerome, Native American ruins at Tuzigoot, and, of course, the Grand Canyon.

Sedona, AZ Cathedral Rock.	Sedona, AZ
Sedona, AZ	Jerome, AZ A copper mining town of 15,000 that dwindled to 100 people when copper ran out in the 30s. The town was brought back to life in the 60s when hippies moved in.
Jerome, AZ Copper mine shaft.	Jerome, AZ Drain field that must be kept wet to prevent mining "residue" from flying away.
Tuzigoot, AZ Ruins of a Native American village around 1100.	Tuzigoot, AZ
Grand Canyon In the morning, it looked like the fog was going to prevent us from seeing anything.	Grand Canyon Snow from a few days before had melted and turned the trail into mud.
Grand Canyon By afternoon, the fog had cleared out.	Grand Canyon
Grand Canyon Mules moving up the trail.	Grand Canyon Raven that followed me from tree to tree while I was eating my apple.
Grand Canyon Raven enjoying my apple core.	Grand Canyon After a 3 hour hike down, we got our first peek at the river. From here, about half way down, we turned around and trekked back up.

On to the Desert (Flagstaff, AZ ð Death Valley, CA ð Lake Tahoe)

I had planned to stay at a hostel at the south end of Death Valley, but when I got there on Saturday afternoon, it was already full.  The proprietor told me that I should go 30 miles east back into Nevada to a small gambling town called Pahrump.  Due to President's day weekend (I never knew it was such a big holiday!), I couldn't get a room there either.  I ended up gambling as late as I could stay up, and then slept for a few hours in the well-lit RV parking lot.  (Gambling net: +$95)  Early the next morning, I took off towards Death Valley.  After driving through the desert and the small gambling towns of Eastern Nevada, I was ready to find civilization!

AZ/NV Border Hoover Dam	AZ/NV Border Hoover dam generators.
Death Valley, CA	Death Valley, CA

Lake Tahoe and Reno

Ten days into my trip, I hit Tahoe on the border of California and Nevada, just south of Reno.  I got there a day before my friends.  (Gambling net: +$150).  After they arrived, we skied 3 days.  It was 40s in the days and upper 20s at night.  Overall, pretty good weather for skiing.  We also did some gambling on the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe.  In one really bad day, I lost $295.  (Gambling net: -$145).  Ben & I spent the last night in Reno before he flew out and I drove on to Washington. The tables treated me pretty well.  (Gambling net: -$25).

Lake Tahoe	Lake Tahoe at CA/NV Border Julie, Ben, Vince, Amy, Brent
Lake Tahoe Vince, Brent, Amy, Ben	Lake Tahoe Amy taking a break from skiing.
Lake Tahoe Snow covered trees following a night of snow.	Reno, NV

On the Road Again (Reno, NV ð Oregon ð Washington)

From Reno, I headed north through Northern California.  I spent the first night in Ashland, OR and then started north again.  By now, I was sick of seeing mountains, so I detoured west to drive up the Oregon coast.  That was a good move!

Lassen Park, CA The interesting thing here was that the entire forest was burned by a volcanoe in the 30s and replanted in the 60s.	Redding, CA Shasta Lake
OR	OR Umpqua River
OR Ocean dunes.	Lincoln City, OR My hotel for the night.
Lincoln City, OR A room with a view.	Lincoln City, OR
Lincoln City, OR Clams.	Lincoln City, OR 4:26 PM
Lincoln City, OR 5:45 PM	OR 5:49 PM
OR 6:55 PM	Portland, OR Nice downtown. Not only a Starbuck's on every corner, but one in the middle of every block, too!

Washington

I went to Washington to visit my mom and my sister and her family: Theresa - my sister; Matt - my brother-in-law; Heather - my niece; and Kyle - my nephew.  We spent lots of quality family time jumping trampoline and playing games.  Theresa and Mom took me up to see the sights in Seattle one Saturday.  One evening, Matt, Theresa, and I took Mom to the casino.  (Mom's gambling net: +$100.  My gambling net for the trip: -$50)  Also, Matt and Kyle took me to Boeing's flight museum one Sunday.  While touring the old Air Force One, we heard a pretty good story about an ex-president that I don't remember right now (Ford maybe).  He was a control freak and was driving the flight crew crazy by constantly requesting that the thermostat be adjusted.  Finally, the military installed a fake thermostat control in his office.  He could turn it up and down all he wanted, and the problem was solved.

Seattle, WA Mom, Theresa, Vince. Cheers at Pike's Pub.	Seattle, WA Me and Mom with the Space Needle in the background.
Seattle, WA Mom and Theresa racing bumber cars at Seattle Center.	Seattle, WA Theresa buying salmon for dinner at the fish market.
Seattle, WA	Olympia, WA Mom celebrating her Blackjack winnings from the casino!
Seattle, WA Matt - my brother in law, Kyle - my nephew, and I went up to the Boeing Flight Museum one afternoon.	Seattle, WA Kyle and me riding the flight simulator.
Seattle, WA We toured the first Air Force One used from Eisenhower to Ford.	Seattle, WA Boeing landed a test flight of their newest 777 Exteneded Range model while we were touring.

The Fast Track Home (Olympia, WA ð Boise, ID ð Salt Lake City, UT ð Denver, CO ð Fort Worth)

After traveling for nearly two months, I was ready to be home, so I only made a couple stops on the way back to the sunny skies and 70 degree temperatures in Texas.  I took a very quick self-guided driving tour of Boise.  It looked nice, but what I'll remember most about Idaho are the manure farms.  Pee-you!  I spent a couple hours walking around downtown Salt Lake City, and a few hours hiking in Arches National Park in southeast Utah.  If you like Sedona, AZ, then you'd love Moab, UT!

Salt Lake City, UT	Moab, UT Arches National Park "Balanced Rock"
Moab, UT Arches National Park "Delicate Arch"	Moab, UT Arches National Park "Landscape Arch"
Home, Sweet Home When I got back, Hercules was there to give me a couple quick rubs on the leg and then go back to his business of patrolling the neighborhood.

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