On the Road

I have been MIA for almost 2 weeks now.  I was last spotted in Casey, Illinois. 

I wandered through Missouri, then Kansas, into Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, and finally California. 

I decided to take the scenic route through Kansas on Hwy 50.  It was a gorgeous drive, there were many markers for the different trails that cattle were driven north toward Dodge City, Witchita, etc.  My favorite thing, though I didn't get a picture was a round about in the middle of nowhere. 

I spent the night in Durango, Colorado, pretty city, but very touristy so I didn't take any pictures.  My first intended stop was the Aztec Ruins in Aztec in Aztec, New Mexico. 

They are not actually Aztec, they are Pueblo.  The picture above shows a door that still had the woven grass curtain hanging from it. 

I then headed through the Navajo Nation to Four Corners where Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico meet.

Then to the south rim of the Grand Canyon, where I was greeted with this.

Yes there were about 2 inches of snow on the ground, and the clouds were touching the ground, so the visibility was -0-.  But when it finally stopped the sun came out and 2 hours later it was this.

So I drove back into the park and got some great shots as the sun was setting.

The Watchtower

The next day I took the bus out to Hermit's rest and stopped at several of the view points along the way.

By the time I had done some walking, and enjoying the gorgeous weather I could finally check into my cabin on the Rim at Bright Angel Lodge.  I can't even begin to tell you how much I loved it!  One thing I had always wanted to do. 

I had a partial view because of the tree.  But out the door to my cabin was the rim!

Look at this gorgeous room.  Definitely a must do again!  Nothing fancy, but it was perfect!

The next day I headed to Death Valley.  I think I was tired of driving, I didn't stop and get ice and water before getting there, so I didn't stop a whole lot there, I just wanted to get to the next place I thought I was going to stay the night.  But that didn't work out so well.  The pass had snow, so I had to drop south, then I went over the mountains into Bakersfield, CA. 

After a shower, and better prepared I drove a short way up to Oakland, California to meet up with a girlfriend from high school.  I had a great hotel near her home, and we went to dinner at a place called The Fat Lady's.  I won't share a pic, because it is inappropriate, but it used to be a brothel.  The food was wonderful, as was the company.

The next day I headed up to the Hoopa Reservation to meet up with my parents to make arrangements.  But that story is for another day.

Some of the scenery and if you look carefully you can see the road going into the Reservation.