Road Trip Vacation: Out West and Back Again
We've recently returned from a three-week road trip through the U.S. It covered around 5,400 miles spread over about 85 hours in the car and a 7,000-foot elevation change, with an average speed of 64.0 mph (max of 90.8 mph), across around 13 states, and using countless gallons of gasoline.
It's the kind of trip I've been wanting to do for a while, but have always had difficulty finding the time for, let alone the sense that it was the best use of money and energy (on that point, with the way energy prices are headed, perhaps it was one of the last opportunities for such free-wheeling). But we did it, and it was great, and I'm thankful for the privilege and resources that made it possible to see the land in that way.
You can view my photos of the trip, and then fill in the gaps and see some different angles from Anna Lisa's photos from the same.
Some highlights include:
...enjoying a late meal at a local restaurant and brewery in Socorro, New Mexico after a long day on the road...
...reconnecting with old friends and meet a new addition to their family...
...camping on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, hiking down into it, surviving the hike out, and then sitting on a swing with the breeze cooling our tired muscles as we watched the sun go down over the Canyon...
...speeding through the open desert, bouncing on the uneven roads, laughing with miles ahead of us...
...sitting by the pool and reading about the craziness of politics...
...savoring the amazing food at Cafe Pasqual's in Santa Fe...
...seeing that the museum at the Los Alamos National Laboratory's Bradbury Science Museum, which tells the story of the creation and use of nuclear weapons, had allowed for outside groups to set up their own exhibits with differing opinions and perspectives...
...sitting in the remains of a cave system inhabited by ancestral Pubelo in the 14th century, and then climbing up into their ceremonial cave...
...seeing the Very Large Array where Jodie Foster used to work...
...experiencing the vibrant and progressive Main Street of Silver City, New Mexico, and being inspired by two men who had created a wonderful business built around quality foods and healthy eating...
...camping in the dark woods of east Texas where the stars were bright and the creatures were LOUD (and the solar shower wasn't quite hot enough)...
...escaping from the debauchery on Bourbon Street in New Orleans to eat a spicy and authentic falafel sandwich around the corner...
...setting foot on the beach again, wading into the waves even if were just tiny ones on the Gulf...
...starting each day with a sense of possibility, and on most days, knowing that my main obligation was to enjoy my book, the places around me, the new tastes and sounds, my wonderful company...
And now I'm here again, jacked in, volume up, hustle bustle...but the experiences and sense of perspective remain, at least for now.
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Looks like a great trip, Chris. Good documentation as well.