Wednesday, June 15, 2016

Road Trip

My niece recently moved back to Texas after studying at the University of Hawaii.  When she moved to Hawaii she hired a transport company to drive her car to the coast and ship it, but they no longer do the cross-country transport piece.  So last week she, her grandmother (my mom), and I flew to LA to pick up her car at the port and drive it home.  Who knew I'd be back in the desert a month after my last trip?

We flew into LAX at 7am on Monday to paramedics waiting on the tarmac at the gate (we had a little excitement during the last hour of the flight when a passenger a few rows up had repeated medical emergencies, losing consciousness a couple of times - she ended up ok, but it's scary to wake up from a drowse to see a flight attendant running past you down the aisle then running back up a minute later with an oxygen tank as an announcement is made over the intercom asking if anyone on board is a doctor or nurse).

After we were cleared to depart the plane, we caught our shuttle to the port at Long Beach, picked up the car from the shipper's lot, stopped for a tank and tire fill-up then a car wash to wash off the ocean salt.  After that we made a pit stop at the Walmart across from the car wash for water and snacks, then were on our way.  Our route followed a large portion of historic Route 66.

The route
Photos after the jump.


First stop: Wienerschnitzel in Barstow, CA for lunch.  It was cheap and good.
I took a lot of photos from the car to mark the change in the passing landscapes as we drove.  First it was just dirt and scrubs.
Then the scrubs started getting a little denser

The rest stop near Needles, CA, where it was...
Yep, 109°.  When you stepped out of the car it was like stepping into a convection oven - the heat rose from the ground, bore down from the sun, and there was a hot, hot wind constantly blowing.  A marked difference from a month ago when the desert was cold with a bitter, cold, harsh wind blowing.
A view from the rest stop.  By the way:  those trees in the picture above were the only trees around for miles, and they were full of birds.
Assuming these "needle"-like formations are how the town of Needles got its name
Hmm, exit 48 conveniently leads to Las Vegas, NV or Memphis, TN.  Neat trick!
Rock formations flank the road
First glimpse of Kingman, AZ where we spent the first night
Back on the road the next day to some flowers and clumps of grass
Omg, trees!  Short, squatty trees.
Nope, false alarm.  Back to scrub, now with grass.
Pretty, though
It's hard to tell in the picture, but this rise towered over the highway and the boulders were huge.  Many of them were balanced on top of other boulders and looked a little shake would bring them tumbling down.
Back to grassland now
And the random mountain or two.  I don't have a photo, but we stopped for a break about halfway between Kingman and Flagstaff in Seligman, AZ.  Apparently its residents were instrumental in getting Route 66 declared an historic highway, and allegedly the town (Radiator Springs) in the Disney/Pixar movie Cars is loosely based on Seligman.
The area around the Grand Canyon is nice
The turn off to the Grand Canyon.  Unfortunately it's about an hour to the south rim.  With sightseeing time and the return trip to the highway that would have added at least about 3 hours to our day, and we still had another day of driving to do.  The GC is already on our list for a proper vacation trip, so we'll save it for when we can really take our time to explore and enjoy it.
The vibrant reds and greens of these hills were amazing
Entering Albuquerque, NM, our stop for the 2nd night.  About this time, Todd sent me a text joking that maybe we could visit some of the Breaking Bad locations while we were here.  45 minutes later we were driving across town to dinner and at a stoplight when Mom saw a drug deal taking place on the corner.
The Owl Cafe was our dinner stop in Albuquerque.  It had come recommended and was a good choice.
A 50's-style diner, they had some amazing shakes.  I had the "Scotchoffee".
Gate on the patio
They were having a vintage car show when we arrived.  Apparently they have these all throughout the summer.
Good cars, good food, and a friendly waitress - what more could you want?
More classic cars
Chevy Bel Air and what looks to be a Corvette C5
While waiting for our food I felt something drop onto my head, then onto my (dry, dry) hand.  Looks like I made a little praying mantis friend.
The next day we drove from Albuquerque to DFW, stopping in Amarillo for lunch.  We could have had lunch on the road, but the 75mph corn dog stand was closed.
Back in Texas.  Hello green grass.
Luckily everything went smoothly on the trip, and we had no issues.

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