this is where we started...

22,623 - 16,214 = 6,409 miles

and I'm tired.

home again

Six thousand and some odd miles later and we are safely home again.

we're back in California!

here we are in Death Valley, covered in dust and salt!

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Greetings from las vegas.

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Woot!

more trees rocks

A tree turned into a rock turned into a crystal for auntie carol.

we're petrified!

Today's first stop, tree rocks. Poor Buc-ee.

Status Report (photo free)

So we're in Gallup, New Mexico, headed to Vegas to pick up David (did I not mention that we dropped him off at the Tampa airport on Sunday? Ooops!), then up to Death Valley so that he can finish the journey with me, and so we can not end our journey with the trite, predictable and boring drive from Vegas. Ick.

I've given up on getting Blogger to post photos, so I promise to take some phone photos today, but we've seen some cool stuff over the past few days. Yesterday was Bandalier Nat'l Monument, with Anasazi cave dwellings, petroglyphs and a fantastic CCC visitor center, as well as a great drive through the mountains (and Los Alamos Nat'l Lab - a little strange). Oh, and Sante Fe and Route 66 and...

Before that, Arkansas was beautiful, with the amazing little teeny Hot Springs National Park (the town of Hot Springs is Bill Clinton's childhood home). It's totally bizarre - you're driving through the hills of Arkansas, and then you come into this little town that could be from England - Roman-style bathhouses, an old promenade for promenading between your treatments, the whole kit and kaboodle. That's all one side of the street, and all the park. The other side of the street isn't park, and is appropriately filled with tacky tourist stuff. It's very cool.

A few sightings and crossings...
Mississippi River again
Continental Divide
Snow! (and I thought Amanda was a wimp for putting the top up!)
Rio Grande (twice?)
Where Planters peanuts come from
Mini dealership! (Albuquerque - also two Mini billboards along the way)
Deer! (three sets - those last ones might have been elk, though)
A crazy town in Texas where one side of the freeway is an Air Force base, the other a strip mall.

Ok, that's it for now, Route 66 is calling, and we have miles to go before we get to Vegas, and many miles again after that. Hopefully David can make the photos work tomorrow.

Dear Best Western,

Thanks for the "free" internet. Wish I'd used it to find a Holiday Inn Express. Or perhaps book a room at that campy Route 66 motel down the street.

Kisses,
Amanda

Dear New Mexico DOT,

So we love the 75 MPH speed limit, the signs telling people to stay right except to pass, and the fantastic mountain roads for motoring. Really, we do.

But, having crossed the state twice in 2 weeks, on two different freeways, and utilizing several delightful highways, that you haven't yet discovered the wonder of the "cat's eye" reflector. You should Google it. Seriously. It would change the way people drive at night. It would, in fact, make it possible to take advantage of your delightful speed limit, even after dark. (I mean, seriously, even Texas uses them, and their nighttime speed limit is 65. See what we're saying?)

I couldn't help but notice that you're currently undertaking a number of roadworks, including resurfacing of I-40. Perhaps this might present an opportunity for you to make it possible to actually see where the road is in the dark.

Just a thought.

Miles

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We've been bad bloggers today, but we've been to sante fe, and are currently checking out cliff dwellings just outside of los alamos.