Wednesday, October 08, 2008

Travelogue - An update

HAH. I finally gave up. We are not staying in Elk City, Oklahoma. We'll stay in El Reno, OK, just outside of Oklahoma City.

But, I did get the reservations made for the Blue Swallow in Tucumcari, NM and the Wigwam in Holbrook, AZ. Those were Max's two requests. Historic Route 66 hotels. Each of the rooms at the Wigwam are shaped as a ... you guessed it ... wigwam. We'll be there for Max's birthday.

I thought I was being clever and found this beautiful lodge near the Grand Canyon. Not terribly priced, but guaranteed beauty. Ummm ... as I placed it on my map (I have place markers on Google Maps for everything we want to see and do), I discovered that it will require a 3 hour trip to get there and another 3 hour trip to get back on the road. Doggone ...

My brother thinks I should just hit the road and hope for the best with hotels. The worst we could do is sleep in the car. Thank you very much, Jim ... ummm ... no.

We're really looking forward to this. The first 5 days will be complete tourist crap. Traveling Route 66 and seeing all of the sites we can possibly see. Things like the blue whale and the world's largest totem pole. Then, there's the world's largest McDonald's and Cadillac Ranch (yup, old cadillacs - buried in the ground). Should be an absolute riot!

The last half of the trip will be nature exploration. While I will enjoy the Route 66 fun, I'm really looking forward to this part of the trip. I can't wait to see Canyonlands and the Arches, Castle Valley and Monument Valley. I have to say that I saw the Grand Canyon, and I'm certain that it will be glorious ... but the further away I can get from tourists, the better.

Now ... if we can just get my Google Map placemarkers onto our Garmin GPS ... we'll be set! Max????

3 comments:

Unknown said...

chicken!

nebelle said...

Ok, you haven't mentioned the trip into the canyon on burros?? I want some pictures of that! And remember your new mantra about time - "Whatever!" Go for the extra 3 hours if it looks promising - maybe a lot of photos along the way!! Oh, and don't startle the buffalo. Oh, and don't put honey on your cheek so that the bears will kiss you (for a good picture). About all the travel advise I have.

Diane Muir said...

I AM a chicken. Oh, if you could just see the lists I have made for this trip. When I map out the interior of the Jeep with all that we are taking, I'll post it and you can laugh at me.

Canyon? Burros? Me? HAHAHAHA! That's absolutely hilarious! You know. Even when I was 20 years old, in shape, and a little nutty, that never sounded like a good idea. 30 years later? Even worse (hahahaha)