Through my eyes...: Route 66 Day 1 and 2

Blogging is proving difficult when you spend 21 hours on the road the first day, another 11 the next day, and reach the Grand Canyon. No part of me wants to sit at my laptop and update on what's happened the last 2 days. There's also no internet in our hotel room which means walking to the main lodge to use it. I'll try my best to update tonight, but right now. I have some hiking of the Grand Canyon to do!:) More from Vegas I swear!!! Here's some pictures of our adventures so far.....and here is Kara's update that she kept on her iPod the whole time!

ROAD TRIP LOG

DAY 1: Mon Jan 5th

I stayed the night at Samm's house in EL the night before (Nov 4th). We packed up the car and got the car top carrier all situated and after a quick test drive down 127 we chowed down on a wonderful Mexican style dinner!!! Then it was time for us to head to bed at 830! I think this is the first time I have been to bed before my parents since I was little.

Finally the morning of our trip!! I couldn't believe it was finally here. Samm and I awoke just after three, finished putting together the finishing touches and loaded up on coffee. Katie met us at Samm's just after four in the morning and we proceeded to pick up Greg and Miles on our way to the expressway. Thus began the long haul for "Road Trip 2012"!!

Miles took the first leg as the rest of us slept through Indiana and most of Illinois after the initial hype of it all wore off. Next Samm took over the second wave (we had gained an hour!!!) and drove us past the arch in St. Louis, Missouri!! (Wave hi to Jen Palmer)!!! It was rainy but still a really sweet landmark to see. Shorty after that I took over and drove us through the rain and hills that continued on throughout the rest of MO. Katie continued to check the radar to let me know when we would finally be out of The gross weather conditions. Figures it was pretty much the only spot in the entire US that was raining that day. Better than snow and ice though!! Next it was back to Samm for another four hours (which we tried to average per driver as long as the gas tank and lack of sleepiness permitted it). She took us through Oklahoma which was finished off by a gorgeous sunset. The first of many I'm sure!! Next it was my turn to finish us up... I took us across the border into my old stomping grounds... TEXAS!!! We didn't have to go too far (which what isn't too far after driving over 21 hours and passing through six states in one day) before reaching Amarillo where Samm had booked us a hotel a few hours prior. The last hour started to get brutal so I made the mistake of telling Greg (who was keeping me company in the front) that I enjoy doing mental math to pass time while driving. Well then he threw a problem my way which, under normal circumstances of not being sleep deprived/stuck in a car all day or maybe just simply having a pen and paper, would have been a piece of cake. But after our day it was seemingly impossible to complete. Thankfully that passed a good twenty, ok thirty, minutes!!

Of course we were all exhausted when we finally got the hotel and just wanted to pass out but our car top carrier has no locks so we had to undo that and get that in the car for safe keeping. Naturally, some of the synchs got twisted so it made for an even more complicated situation to top it all off. Thankfully everything was taken care of and Samm was able to get the air mattress blown up which enabled us all to crash for a little while.

We must all thank Katie for the puzzle books she brought along for the trip. Without those I think there would only be four of us left on this venture!

DAY 2: Tues Jan 6th (Election Day)

We awoke around 730 in the morning and scarfed down a very minimal continental breakfast (what do you expect for $69 a night?!?) before re-packing the car and hitting the ground running.

Katie had been to this Cadillac Cemetery with her grandparents when she was little and it was right on our way so we stopped there and boy was that a good choice!! There were these ten Cadillacs sticking up out of the ground that you are legally allowed to spray paint graffiti on. Miles found some unfinished cans of paint as well as part of a car so we were all able to spray paint our names on it and get pictures. My dad had given me a book that breaks down interstates and different things to do along them. In it was a picture of the cars taken many many years ago and it is crazy how different they look today!! Of course we also decorated some of the cars for Sparty as well... Greg got in one and pretended like he had crashed. Needless to say we have some pretty cool pictures from that adventure!

We quickly gased up and grabbed any food or drinks we needed before heading out. We stopped quickly in Albqerqe, NM to once again gas up (boy does it go quickly!!) and I gave Samm a break and took over. Next it was a race against time to get to Painted Desert and Petrified Forest. I was there when I was younger but definitely did not remember all of it. All I could say was, "wow!" So much so that Samm began counting how many times it came out of my mouth! They were both in the same state park which was nice because we got there at 435 and it closed at 5. We quickly drove around and stopped off at a few lookout points. First it was Painted Desert which was incredible!! Then after a few stops we drove what seemed like forever until we got into the Petrified Forest. There we pulled off once and were able to see the sunset (5:17) from there. We set up Samm's camera and were fortunate enoua picture of all five of us (which didn't work so well earlier with the Cadillacs ha). Katie and I ran over and got a few pictures of the petrified wood before the visibly annoyed ranger came by and told us very sternly that the park had closed at five and we were to leave immediately without making any further stops. Sadly we all got back in the car and continued on our way. That didn't stop us from "pausing" our game as it came to be known (because we would pull up to a lookout, hop out with the car still running, get our pictures, hop back in and continue on) and snapping a few more priceless moments. The sky was a gorgeous pink and blue... How could we not??? Thankfully just past the exit was a group of petrified logs so Samm was able to get some shots.

Miles took over driving the last leg to get us to the Grand Canyon!!! Food was impossible to find so we ended up munching on some vegetables!! I cannot wait to have a real meal... Hopefully it is soon!! Thankfully we won't be driving for an entire day so we won't be rushing around. An hour and a half out Greg proclaims, "this trip isn't that long when you compare it to.... Jail! I'm out in an hour and a half!? Sweet!" The things that come out of his mouth have sure kept is entertained along the way!! Plus all the different voices he does. Kudos to Katie for only napping once today (yesterday we were all laughing because she couldn't seem to stay awake whatsoever). We were actually able to find some real food once we got off the expressway so with happy bellies we hopped on 180 for our final stretch toward the Grand Canyon!!! Once we got away from the city lights and saw all the stars the past two days of non-stop driving seem so obsolete. In fact Miles spotted two elk. He was able to turn around so we all got a chance to see them clearly!!! It was definitely a site to see!! Ah not ten minutes after that we passed an entire herd of Elks!!! So cool. After that Miles and Samm navigated our way to Maswik Lodge which will be our home for the next two nights. Once we got settled we watched Obama win the election and had a night cap so hopefully we can sleep through Greg's crazy snoring!!

Please disregard any grammar or spelling errors in this blog... It was done late at night and there is no time to correct it before putting it on the blog!!!