My brain is back on the road and less in the past. I forget how desperate I become to talk to adults when trapped in a car for 10 hours having discussions like:
I don’t know why the road is bumpy, it just is. No the car is not bouncing. Please give you sister the Cinderella coloring book. Stop throwing crayons in the back! No, we cannot play the Aladdin music, it is all broken.
All that is in my renewed southern accent and when I am so desperate for conversation and start talking got myself, Bea says, “stop talking like that, mama!”
We managed an early start yesterday morning and left my sister’s house in Albuquerque at 7:00. Which I now realize means we had a 12-hour car day. Anyway, I fueled up the car and decided to forgo a Starbucks run to get on the road. Because surely, I would find another one along the way... do you see where this is going? I made a series of bad choices yesterday that created some eye twitching and a disappointing end to our travels. Yesterday was the first day I deviated from the Eisenhower Interstate System. There is no direct route from Albuquerque to Salt Lake City because the area is blocked in by little things like the Rocky Mountains, the largest Native American reservation in the world (their claim) and the Grand Canyon. I didn’t mind the two-lane highway ride, but I seemed to not notice when the road would lurch unexpectedly in a new direction. When I looked at the larger map, it seemed like a straight shot which must be why I drove 40 miles in the wrong direction.
I finally realized my mistake and had to back track the same 40 miles. I remembered seeing that particular turn, but a truck was obscuring the sign. When I reached the correct turn I at least jad the sense to listen to my inner voice when it suggested we stop there for lunch and might as well get fuel since they have diesel even though I still had half a tank. After lunch (I resigned to Burger King since they had a playground and I saw no other signs of commercial life), we were treated to the most amazing landscape scenery of the last three weeks. I readjusted my jaw when it hit my lap more than once. I took a lot of pictures. I might also add that one disadvantage to the route off the interstate is there is a lot more road kill along the little highways. Especially dogs, which makes me cringe. I guess the upside is there are a lot more living creatures standing along the wayside as well.
In the west, the view of the earth from my windshield is cracked in half by the horizon. The sky seems so much bigger past the Mississippi. While I appreciate the beauty off the beaten path, it is more unsettling to be away from the security of the Interstate system where I can count on hotels and restaurants and gas stations hawking diesel number 2. But I did come across a cute little playground just shy of Moab, Utah where Tavi and Bea were set free from the confines of the car for a 15-minute respite. We moved on passed Moab an hour later where we went to Arches National Park. I had purchased a Federal Parks Pass this summer on our California trek so I didn’t have to pay the park entrance fee. Tavi and Bea had a blast and I took more of them pictures.
Oh yeah –Note to self: Moab, Utah probably doesn’t have a single hotel room available on a Friday night. I really thought the summer vacation season would be over. I haven’t had to acquire a hotel room on a weekend until now this whole trip. I realized we wouldn’t have a hotel room there for the evening unless I wanted to pay the $150 tab for an unnecessary King size suite. I decided to brave on to the next town. We landed in Green River, Utah where the choice came down to a Motel 6 handicap room – you should have seen this bathroom- or continuing on even further down. I jumped on I-70 and wasn’t sure how many miles it is until we cut over to HWY 6. So stayed in another crappy hotel room without WI FI – dear lord what did I ever do before 1996?
I considered traveling all the way to Salt Lake last night, but I was pretty beat. My fantasy of making it home tonight is fractured. Instead I am indulging in a little higher end hotel room as out last hurrah on the road. This will be our most expensive night, but I like going out with a bang. We should be home by early afternoon tomorrow. Today the alien landscapes of southern Utah gave way to the plain colorless hills of Idaho by late afternoon. (No offense to Idaho, but it is pretty bland.) Crossing the river into Oregon tonight was a welcome relief and a scenic treat. We’re almost all done with the road and I’m glad tomorrow is a short trip.