En route to Page, Arizona

Ok, trying out something new. I'm going to try to write as much as I can while laying in a tent and then post it next time I find internet.  Not that it really matters to any of you but... it will save us a lot of time at internet cafes.  And I won't feel rushed. So please, enjoy this non-rushed entry.

Driving out of Colorado was sad but still absolutely beautiful.  We crossed the continental divide and ended up driving down some pretty epic roads.  (7% grade for 5 miles for all you technical folk)

standing over the divide

OKOK I know, I'm sorry. Enough with the Colorado pictures, right?  Just wait til we get to Antelope Canyon. And Zion.  You think I'm picture-crazy now.  Things kept on getting even more spectacular. But enough with that. RIGHT NOW in the story, dear reader, we had finally driven out of Colorado and Jimmy and I were back in the desert. This leg of the drive took us through New Mexico and right on through to Arizona.  We were actually right in the Four Corners area... and followed the signs to go check it out... but when we realized that you have to pay to go look at this one random spot in our country where four invisible lines apparently all line up and a bunch of people use it as an excuse to overprice random objects like jewelry, tee-shirts and probably a kitchen sink... we promptly turned around right before the pay station and drove out of there- snapping as many FREE pictures as we could.  All we got were these two:

But, hey, no big deal.  Better things were waiting for us. It was really during this part of the drive when the scenery really started changing drastically for us East Coasters.  Huge mesas and buttes were just popping up in the horizon like it was no big deal and Jimmy had a moment of "THIS is what I've been waiting for."  

Alright so ANYWAY, the final destination for this drive was a campground right on Lake Powell in Page, Arizona.  But the main attraction here wasn't the lake (although it was an amazing color and it did feel FANTASTIC to finally jump in some water since we hadn't showered in days.  No sirree.  The pull for Page, AZ is Antelope Canyon - basically one of the most amazing slot canyons in the US.  ( I want to say in the world but I won't claim that authority since I have seen them all... yet).  And I say one of because we saw one of the other ones in Zion National Park.  Now, I think to really do Antelope Canyon justice I'm going to give it its own entry and just overwhelm all of you with the pictures we took.  Since there is no other way to explain how beautiful it is.  But in the meantime, I promise there are still good things about the Lake Powell area that aren't just totally awesome slot canyons.  In our extra downtime (stayed there for two nights as well) we: swam in the lake, found a secret beach, saw some beautiful sunsets, AND visited Horseshoe Bend.  And can  just say I was not at all prepared for the stomach-dropping awe that Horseshoe Bend inspires?  It was like having the wind knocked out of you.  It made me feel like I was in a constant state of free fall.  And for something so absolutely huge, I'm baffled as to why it's not a much more important landmark.  It made me want to fly, to kayak for days, to yell and to just sit in silence for days just staring at it.

All in all, kind of completely amazing.  Page, AZ also supplied us with a much needed A/C and internet break and an overdose of an international community.  By this I mean, there were about 7 million more Frenchies, Germans and unidentified other Euros also all camping and touring around the city at the same time as us.  But none of them found this secret beach:

Ok, enough of this. Next up: Antelope Canyon aka nothing short of amazing

Land of the Pine

Alright, now to answer the question you all were dying to ask:  "Meg, did you love Colorado?"

Answer: YES.

But before we get to that... the fun stopover activity of the day - and polar opposite of the Enforcer in Arkansas the day before - was a quick little drive and walk around a volcano.  Hmmmwhat? Volcanos in New Mexico?  Yep, we found one.  Capulin Volcano.  Almost hit some cows that decided they'd rather stand in the road than on any inch of the MILES of grass around the road but we drove up a volcano just to look around.

Jimmy learnin' up about volcanos

And then we hopped back in the car and rolled back down the road, steering clear of all four-legged animals once again.

While the drive to Colorado through northern Texas and New Mexico was ridiculously flat, kind of boring, and rather hard to stay awake through (see picture for reference):

Yes, that's a welcome to Texas sign that the Texans themselves have destroyed

When we finally did roll into Colorado, even though we were greeted with more rain, it was an explosion of terrain, curving roads, and PINE TREES.  And then as we got closer to our campsite we found ourselves on this road lined with perfect cliffs and pine trees everywhere.  I had this odd realization that THIS terrain is what everyone tries to mimic in those "frontier town" exhibits in Disney World.  I had this realization over and over again while in Colorado.  It was just so beautiful.  I mean, you could argue that the reason why I loved Colorado so much is that after a few days of intense heat and dry, flat land, the sight of pine trees just made me so happy and made me feel so at home that I instantly fell in love with it all.  It's ok, I'll accept that argument.  It's probably at least half true.

We stayed in Colorado for two nights just so we could really take advantage of the landscape.  And the fact that mornings were actually cool, the days weren't overbearingly hot and the air was just so fresh.  We went for a hike the next day in search of black bears.  No, just kidding.  We didn't see any sign of black bears at all while we were there.  Went for a hike jus'cuz.

Oh and then we stuck our tired feet in this river after.

We made burritos for dinner that night, since we were getting so bored of pasta and chili. Fun fact: fresh veggies are super refreshing after a day of hiking.  Actually, scratch that.  They're always good.

Blast, I wish I could write more but we've already been at this internet cafe for a while and we're about to leave Arizona... Jimmy's getting a little antsy with me and all my typing.  I'll try to type while we're driving or something creative like that.

Hugs and kisses to everyone!
Meg

OOOOOOklahoma

Oh man.  I keep on having moments while driving (namely through random states I didn't really think of like... Arkansas) where I remember that I'm going to California.  It all still seems a little crazy. And then I either start smiling like an idiot or hyperventilating.  Or laughing at some of the crazy southern accents we've encountered.

So after our awesome one-night stop over at the cabin we rolled back down the mountain and set off for Oklahoma.  We really started hitting the flat lands at this point.  (Although things got even flatter on the drive through northern Texas) I honestly don't remember much from this part of the drive. More rain. 

driving into a rainstorm

Somewhere in the middle of Arkansas - after the requisite lunch stop at some random Subway - we stopped at a gas station to switch drivers and to make a pit stop.  And it would appear that we picked out quite possibly the sketchiest gas station of them all.  In addition to the guys at the register behind the counter and the very very thick metal bars over all the windows... there was also an Enforcer behind the counter.  And by Enforcer (yes that's with a capital E for emphasis) I mean - large man hired to also stand behind the counter with a gun.  But he was very pleasant to both of since we weren't stealing or shooting up the place.  Anyway, long story short, we rolled out of there pretty quick. 

Once we got across the majority of Oklahoma it became pretty obvious that there is pretty much NOTHING out there.  Apart for the random ranch it was pretty much all just, for lack of a better word, land.  Also, we quickly discovered that it is incredibly hot in that part of the country.  I'm pretty sure it was a solid 103 degrees until about 10pm that night.  Finding the campground proved a little difficult in a maze of epic long North-South roads intersecting occasionally with their complimentary East-West roads.  And when we finally did roll into the campground we were met with even more nothing-ness.  By this I mean... the campground was completely deserted.  Except for one spooky trailer.  That I'm still convinced is haunted.  I'll admit, I was about 95% freaked out by the whole scene.  No ranger, no check-in, no other people, no running water and one really creepy silent camper trailer.  But the pros we came up with were: our pick of the best campsite, a beautiful pond right next to the campsite, no loud neighbors, and free camping.  So with that, we stayed.  See: creepy campground below...

Ok, fine. Add to the list of pros: rope swing

definitely haunted

definitely all alone

Oh and then we found this dead guy

Sleeping that night was also a challenge.  What with all the heat, the assumption the ghost of that trailer would eventually find us in our tent, random interjections from howling coyotes or jackals or some other four-legged animal that howls in large packs late at night, and at least three thunderstorms.

I think we were up by 6:30 the next morning.  Jimmy noticed as we were packing up around 8 that you could already feel the heat setting in.  So we gladly packed everything back in the car and set out for the drive to Colorado.

OH and also - I got stung by this crazy red bug at the campsite.  My thumb turned bright red and swelled up to almost the size of Jimmy's and felt like a useless piece of hand whose main goal in life was to look more like a fat little sausage rather than a finger.  I didn't take a picture of the thumb but Jimmy did get a picture of the bug.  Avoid this guy at all costs:

see him? that nasty little red guy sitting on the pole?

Ok but anyway.  Time for lunch right now.  Next up: Land of the Pine (also known as: How Much I loved Colorado)

OKCOOLBYEEEE
Meg

On top of a random mountain in the Ozarks

Ok well that's a lie. Specifically, it was White Rock Mountain.

Tuesday I was up early with hopes to leave equally early again that morning but thunderstorms got in the way of packing the car.  Well, more specifically, no one wanted to pack the car in the pouring rain... so we waited.  Then, after some delicious muffins and a good cup of coffee we threw everything back in the car, squeezed the Southern Salocks's into one last hug and we set off again.  This time to go find a cabin in the Ozarks. 

The drive was a mixture of rain, sudden surprise that we were crossing the Mississippi (almost didn't have the camera ready in time) and general shock at how hot it was outside.  Oh and then a whole dirt road up a mountain that I had to drive.  Terrified? Yes, I was. Thanks for asking.  But the Subaroo reminded me once again that it is indeed a Subaroo and made it to the top.

I wish I could write more but after spending two absolutely beautiful days in Colorado we are about to hit the road again for Arizona and Antelope Canyon. (Actually currently sitting in the car in the back parking lot of the only coffee place in South Fork, Colorado drinking delicious coffee and mooching off someone's wifi....)  But hopefully these pictures will be enough to tide you over until we have more time!

Jimmy says hi and would like everyone to know that he is now unofficially growing a beard.  It wasn't on purpose but it's totally happening now. Oh and I have about 9 million more freckles. 

Love to all!
Meg

OH HEY! we're totally still alive, i promise

SO, to do this in different chapters - one for each day of travel... here is a quick little entry on our drive to tennessee:

We pulled out of Mechanicsville, VA bright and early on monday morning and set off for our longest drive on this trip - about 10 solid hours of only three states.  which is funny when you think about the fact that it took us about 10 hours to drive down the east coast on friday... but that was due to far too much traffic and we still went through at least 7 states. but one of those three includes the infinitely long state of tennessee. ANYWAY. lots of driving. we've officially fallen in to the 2 hour driving shifts; which came in handy for such a long drive.

Overall, a pretty uneventful drive except for the hike up and over the Smokeys.  Beautiful winding roads, perfectly green trees and awesome scenery that can only be ruined by gigantic trucks that wobble along in long chains of 5 or so at a time. I made Jimmy take a picture, but if you're still not catching the windy awesome drift of these roads you should probably go give them a shot yourself.

Other good news from Monday includes: NO RAIN! and arriving in Tennessee just in time for some delicious dinner with Pete, Hope and Bradley.  I do have to say, I don't envy their Tennessee summers much.... I'm pretty sure I was sweating as soon as I got out of the car.  We quickly unloaded the essentials.  I'm proud to say that we're getting much better at pulling out only the essentials without getting confused and messing up all our beautiful puzzlicious packing. But Tennessee was the first night we really had to do that annd things are always a little harder when there's sweat dripping off your nose.  ANYWAYS, we went out for dinner with Pete Hope and Bradley at an awesome noodle place (very veggie friendly Jimmy added) and then returned to the house to hang out and chat before bed time.

Brief interlude- I had forgotten that I do this thing, right before i got on a trip anywhere really (france, college, chicago.. you name it... and now california) that I basically just don't sleep all night.  So when we hit the road on Monday, I was working on barely any sleep. So by the time I hit the pillow in that little house in Knoxville, TN I was out.  So, Dear Pete, Hope and Bradley, not only do I want to thank you for the dinner and the warm welcome but ALSO for the bed.  I slept so well that night. 

OK NEXT CHAPTER!

One last day in the good ol' South

Hello hello!

So, as of July 10th we FINALLY have our trip mapped out.  Our campgrounds set.  Our clothes all packed.  It actually, surprisingly, took us all of one attempt to fit everything in the car.  But I'm getting ahead of myself.

The last week in Massachusetts was lots of fun... in between packing and cleaning and running and saying hello/goodbye to people. I drove back up to Fairlee on the 6th to pick Jimmy up - a beautiful empty-car drive... one of the last I'll have for a while.  We threw a futon and bedframe in the back of the car and drove over to Keene, NH to see Jimmy's other grandparents for a day and spend a beautiful day on another beautiful lake.  Drove home that night to arrive in a misty and cloudy Massachusetts.  Thursday we spent the first half of the day enjoying Harvard Square and the wonders of Trader Joe's, then I raced off for one last doctor's appointment and then we spent the warm afternoon packing up the car with my stuff and tying a futon frame to the top of the blue subaroo.  (I totally MEANT to take a picture of this but alas, my camera was packed before I even realized it. Sooo no pictures for yous guys! At least not yet.

Friday morning we hopped in the car at 7:30 am and began the trek down the East Coast.  In terms of driving weather.... Friday was absolutely AWFUL.  I don't know if any of you were paying attention to the epic wave of thunderstorms that was working its way up and down and all around the east coast BUTTTT I'm pretty sure we hit every single storm on the way down. See: weather map below for reference of how much of the east coast was drenched.

Blue means rain. As does green. As does anything that is covering the east coast

I put on my sunglasses for all of 5 minutes probably.  Otherwise the drive was a panorama of torrential downpour, epic bolts of lightening, distant rumbles, not-so distant rumbles, and brief dry spells complimented by large rolling purple clouds approaching in the distance.  BUT we took it slow and calmly... using the excellent NEW GPS from Uncle Wicked Awesome (AKA Uncle Steve) and made it to Virginia after 10 hours of rainy roads. 

Saturday was an excellent day spent in good ol' Virginie.  We (all four of us now) went for a [suuper sunny] bike ride to lunch at Homemades by Suzanne.

And spent the rest of Saturday hanging out in a southern sort of way.  (Hint- for Meg this means staying out of the sun and humidity.) Saturday evening we all got gussied up for a weddding (Jimmy next door neighbor and old classmate/friend got married to her boyfriend since 8th grade) and I got my first taste of a wedding in 10+ years and a good dose of how a wedding might look on a Southern-plantation style house.  It was gorgeous, in case you're wondering.  Once again, totally failed to bring the camera but if you just want to use to ESP to tap into my brain you can TOOOTALLLY get an idea of how pretty the wedding was.  (wahwah!) ALSO more importantly.  Everyone should know that I successfully made it all night in 4-inch heels.  And yes, that did include some standing and walking.  Bam, day = successful

Anyway, on to today. the Day of Packing.  And camp reservations. And mapping. In a panicked rush - since I think we all thought it would take ALL DAY for us to pack the car we threw all of Jimmy's stuff in various bags, threw the roof rack carrier on top of the car, started working out the puzzle of how pieces should fit in and discovered suddenly that we were done.  Sure, there was perhaps a bit too much sweating and a lot of sunshine BUT we were done packing the car by 1pm.  Definitely was not expecting that. Final result is... HERE!

that's one full blue subaroooo

Which means we had plenty of time to sit down and finally map out the rest of the trip.  Attached is our trip planned out.  Also, as a side note, can I just say how much I love it when technology ACTUALLY works out well?  Anyway, feel free to click around on this map or follow the link underneath it to the Google Maps website.  Either way, each landmark will tell you a little bit about where we're going, when we plan to be there and how sunburned I'll be by then.  Wait no, scratch that last one.  There will be no sunburns.  I am going to prematurely veto each and every sunburn attempt RIGHT NOW!


View The Adventure in a larger map




Have fun exploring the map.  It's just about dinner time here in Mechanicsville (Jim - not Jimmy- is grilling up some tasty treats on the grill tonight) and we're planning on leaving bright and early tomorrow morning.  Pete, Hope and Bradley... tell your driveway to get ready for my full car and tell your arms to get ready for lotsa hugs!

Ciao for now,
Meg