We definitely fell in love with the beauty of the desert after this trip! I had traveled out this way in the summer between my 3rd and 4th grade, and my goal was to recreate some of the amazing things we saw on that trip for Evan's first time out west. I had my grandma make me a scavenger hunt like she did for me and Aaron. I made sure to include the stops along old Route 66 that I knew were some of my favorites. I knew our stopping points would be to visit family in the Tucson and Albuquerque areas, so I planned our stops around that. To prep for our trips, I use different lists I can find on Google, either 'top things to do' or 'hidden secrets', etc. I also use Trip Advisor so I don't miss any popular things along the drive. Now that I made our itinerary, it was time to hit the road!
We also read about different state facts and trivia with each state we drive through. We were amused that the state of Oklahoma seems to point us to the west. We stopped at a Native American gift shop and saw some bison. We stopped at the Roy Rodgers Overpass that goes across the interstate. When I was a kid, this used to be a McDonald's and the second largest one in the world! We passed the Uranus Fudge Factory. We marveled at the size of the giant wind turbines. We loved seeing the changes to the environment the further we got. We loved the colors of the red dirt and rocks. In Texas we saw the 'leaning water tower' and the giant cross with a replica of Jesus' tomb. We made it all the way into New Mexico and stayed the night in Tucumcari at the Holiday Inn along the interstate. We saw a Hulk Hogan themed motorcycle there, which had Evan excited!
We drove through the mountains in New Mexico. It was so cold, but Evan had to roll down his window to touch one of the low clouds. We saw lots of interesting artwork along Route 66, including a giant pistachio and a metal road runner. While reading the atlas as we drove along, we found an unplanned stop at the White Sands National Park. This is along the San Andreas mountain range near Las Cruces. This is where they first tested the atomic bomb! There were signs that sometimes the road shuts down if they are doing missile testing. This park was so unexpected and amazing! The dunes and white sand made us feel like we were at the beach in the middle of the desert. There were lots of trails, and you were free to walk around, but we didn't want to venture too far and get lost. We did enjoy seeing the different plant life in the area.
We got to see several dirt devils along the interstate. We went through a border patrol, which we were surprised to see inside of the US (my cousin Corey later laughed at us for not knowing these existed). We kept passing signs to see 'The Thing', which my cousins John and Doug were disappointed we didn't stop to see. We finally arrived at my Uncle Chris and Aunt Brandi's house in Tucson. By paternal grandparents were also there visiting from Indiana. We stayed at the Courtyard Marriott, which was a little further from the house than we expected. Chris gave us his original Star Wars toys from the 70s. We saw hot chili peppers drying in the back of a truck. I kept singing "Riding Through the Desert on a Horse with No Name". While on one of our drives, I decided I wanted to kick a cactus (I still don't know why I wanted to do this). Luckily the needles only got in my shoes, but it took an hour to get them all out!
We went to the International Wildlife Museum, which was full of animals that had been stuffed. There was an entire room about Teddy Roosevelt and his adventures. We visited Old Tucson, where they filmed Bonanza, McClintock, and many other westerns. I bought a baby cactus as my souvenir! We also went to the Sonora Desert Museum, which is more like a park with different exhibits and displays. We got to see coyotes, pet sting rays, take a hike through a desert trail, and dig for gemstones! I was excited to get malachite, one of my favorite stones. We saw prairie dogs doing their famous yells. We used inkpads along the museum of different animal tracks. The next day, we had lunch with my family before we headed towards our next stop. We ate at a crazy popular place called Mi Nidito's. We had to wait in line for at least an hour for the doors to open. When they did, I thought it was like Black Friday shopping. Everyone just ran in to grab a table! There wasn't a host to seat everyone.
Leaving Tucson, we headed north through Sedona. These red rock formations were absolutely breathtaking! As we kept driving higher into the mountains, the drop-offs on the side of the road kept getting bigger and bigger. I quickly realized I was about to have a panic attack. Thankfully, we leveled out and entered into Flagstaff. We stayed at a Hilton while we were there. We woke up the next morning to a layer of snow on our car!
We kept heading north to see Bedrock City, a small park area that is a replica of the Flintstones. I always get excited for the super tacky stops, but Evan was anxious to get to our next stop, The Grand Canyon!
The views at The Grand Canyon just make you feel so significantly small when staring into the deep ravines. It just makes you marvel out how amazing and majestic our country truly is. We saw elk and ravens while there. I took a rock as a souvenir from one of the hotel flowerbeds (it is illegal to take rocks from the national parks themselves, so I don't recommend doing this!)
Our next stop was a meteor crash site off I-40 between Flagstaff and Gallup. This crater was so large! It was 700 feet deep and 4000 feet across. They had binoculars set up so you could look across the crater. One of the 'rocks' was actually the size of a house! Not far from here, we stopped at the Painted Desert and the Petrified Forest. I wanted to buy the expensive souvenirs, but I settled for one of my smashed pennies. We didn't do a lot of hiking here, but we hit the highlights. We finished our day making it to Belen, NM to John and Deanna's house.
While in the Albuquerque area, we went to the zoo, aquarium, and botanical gardens. One of the birds at the zoo kept telling us hello as we were watching him! I was so excited and hated leaving him. We went to the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science with Doug. We met up with Kelly to visit Old Town Albuquerque. We visited the Rattlesnake Museum and got to see an alligator snapping turtle (one of our favorites) eat a goldfish!
3 dormant volcanoesJohn and Deanna took us to eat chicken and waffles. We also had to visit John's favorite comic book store. We stayed two nights with Michelle. She took us back to Old Town where we did more shopping. I got a bracelet with a piece of 'Sleeping Beauty' turquoise on it. The turquoise pieces are named after which mine they came out of. I loved the jewelry, and one day I'm going to go back and get some more! We also went to the Tinker Town Museum, an eccentric place filled with odd toys. We drove along the 'singing highway'. If you drive over the rumble strips on the side at a certain speed, the noises from the bumps plays "America the Beautiful". We went by the theater where Michelle works, where Vivian Vance once acted!
We had many game nights at Carlene and David's while we were there. On the drive home, we stopped outside Armadillo at the Cadillac Ranch. The altitude changes really messed with Evan's bladder; we had to stop every two hours on the drive home! Despite that, we made it home from Albuquerque in one day! As our usual, Evan even did all of the driving the entire trip!
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