Tuba City, Arizona to Colorado Springs, Colorado (July 8, 2010)

July 8


We got up Mom and Doug took a shower, we packed up our stuff, ate our complimentary breakfast, a choice of biscuits and gravy, breakfast sandwiches or eggs, hash browns, sausage and toast. We got in the car and headed east on Hwy 160, towards Monument Valley. The terrain got so sparse and barren. We starting nearing the valley because you could see what they called “mittens” spread out all over the horizon.



We got to the town of Kayenta, the scenic byway to Monument Valley. We took the route up to Monument Valley on Hwy 163. We stopped on the side of the road to take some pictures of the “mittens.”





We continued up towards Utah and finally reached the turn off and the Welcome to Utah sign. We got out and took pictures with the signs and then decided to head east towards the visitor’s center.



We drove the two miles only to find out it would cost $15 bucks to get in. We said eff it and turned around. We stopped at the sign for Monument Valley and took some more pictures before getting back in the car and heading back towards Kayenta.







We still had a long way to go. We stopped and used the bathroom at a Chevron Station before heading towards Four Corners. We were amazed on how remote some of the shacks the Navajo people lived in. They were very spread out from one another. We hit road construction about 40 miles from the Corners. We neared the sign that said Four Corners. We turned left and saw a huge fence surrounding the monument and several puzzled people. I was literally crushed. I drove all that way for nothing. I so wanted to be in four states at the same time. I even talked about what I was going to do when we got there. We got out of the car and took a few pictures. I was so upset it was closed because of construction. The year I come down there and they decide to do construction. Ahhh! I just couldn’t get over it. I kept thinking, when will I ever be down here again? Seriously!





About 100 yards down the road was the Welcome to Colorful Colorado sign. We finally made it. Doug had to pee so he ventured off down the trail while we talked to a family from Houston, Texas. Doug came back in a hurry stating that he had seen a rattlesnake.



We got back in the car and continued on to Cortez, Colorado. Mom had a patient come into the dentist office one day and told her about Mesa Verde in Southwest Colorado. She had to go see it. We turned off of 160 and entered the park. We paid our park fee and took a picture of the sign before heading up the mountain, all 20 miles of it.



Construction must have been the lucky word of the day, because we got stuck in it while going into the park. We had to wait for the pilot car because they were re-doing the road. Seems like an hour later we finally got to the cave dwellings. We could only see the Spruce Tree House because all of the other ones required tickets/Ranger tours and they were all sold out. Probably for the better, we had limited time there anyway. We parked the car, went to the bathroom and started down the trail to the cliffs. Parts of the trail were pretty steep, I kinda felt bad for the older people coming back up from the cliffs, huffing and puffing. It was really warm that day, yet the clouds said otherwise. We spent a good half hour at the cliffs taking pictures and listening to the random park rangers.







We walked back up and walked through the visitor’s center and looked at some of the artifacts and displays of the cave dwellers.



We thought we should hit the road because it was going to be a long night. We left the visitor’s center and headed the 20 miles back down to the park entrance. It took a while because of the construction. We finally got back down to the highway and headed towards Durango, Colorado, the next large town. On the way there, we hit our first rain storm of the entire trip. There was even thunder and lightening. We got to Durango and looked for something to eat and an accessible gas station. Mom wanted KFC and when we got to the drive-thru, it poured down rain. I hurried with the order so I could roll the window up. We didn’t quite hear her total, we got up to the window to pay, she had messed up the order, we wanted a 12 piece, not a 3 piece, so she fixed it and we had to wait in the parking lot for our food. She came out about 10 minutes later with our food in the pouring rain. We grabbed it and left to go find gas. We found a Shell station; mom pumped the gas while I used the bathroom. I came out and cleaned the windshield and finished up the gas. We got comfortable in the car and got back onto Hwy 160 towards the Continental Divide. While driving, we ate our KFC, which hit the spot, mom talked to Dad until we lost service and Doug continued to watch Friends on the DVD player. Erika called, wondering where we were. We told her that it was going to be a while until we got to Denver, we were still a good 270 miles away. We hit Pagosa Springs just as it was getting dark and it began to rain quite heavily again.



As we headed up the mountain pass, it got darker and darker. I have never been on that steep of a mountain pass before. I had to put the car into different gears so it wasn’t working as hard as it was. We got up on the top of the Continental Divide (where the rivers flow eastward) and to our left was the sign. I wanted to stop but it was too dark and rainy. You could actually feel the altitude change in the car as you got higher and higher.



On the way down, it got so steep, you had to have the gears set on low. There were even blinking signs telling you how fast you were going; and in the background, your mom yelling at you to slow down every two seconds. We could not wait to get to Walsenburg and I-25, we were so tired of being in the car. We still had a while to go and it was nearing 9:00 p.m. mountain time. Most of our trip up I-25 was 75-80 mph, so we made up lots of time we lost on the slow highway. We finally got to Walsenburg and merged onto I-25. We got to Colorado Springs, the first major city since Las Vegas around 11:00 that night. We saw signs for the Olympic Complex and the Garden of the Gods. Too bad it was dark and nearing midnight.

Las Vegas to Tuba City, Arizona (July 7, 2010)

July 7

I woke up around 9:30 a.m. the next day and mom woke up earlier and took a shower. We started packing up all of our stuff while Doug took a shower. We made sure we didn’t leave anything behind. We walked into the area where they were serving food and found a place to drop off our luggage. I ordered a cinnamon roll, mom and Doug got a breakfast sandwich. I went and got a few other things from the gift shop. We finished eating and onto the car we go. We went through the doors and were blasted with the 103° heat. Mom had to catch up to us because she wanted a purse. We got to the parking garage and rearranged all of our stuff so it would fit better than when we arrived in Las Vegas. We threw away the garbage that we’ve accumulated over the course of the trip. I found my CD’s so we didn’t have to listen to the same songs over and over again. We left around 11:00 a.m. and went to find some gas and to get ice for our cooler. Gas was so cheap in Vegas. We drained the cooler and put the new ice in it and arranged our drinks so they could fit better. We packed up the car and we were on our way towards Henderson on I-15 and Lake Mead. As we got further and further away from Vegas, you could see it getting smaller through our back windshield. As we went through Henderson, you could see Lake Mead in the distance. We got onto US 93 and drove towards the Nevada/Arizona state line.



Just as we got to the Lake Mead Recreation area, we got stuck in a 3 mile back up nearing the Hoover Dam. 45 minutes later and we finally made it down to the dam. We saw tons of tourists, mostly Asians. We noticed that they were trying to build a by-pass for people who didn’t want to drive over the dam. We made it over to the other side and stopped for some pictures and to get some snacks and drinks from the cooler.



I took a picture with the Arizona sign and we took a few of the dam.



From there we were off to Kingman. When we got to Kingman, we stopped at the grocery store and used the bathroom. We also picked up some chips and cheese dip because it sounded good. We got back on the road and watched the desert turn into trees and cliffs. We got to Williams, where Route 66 snaked through, and got gas before driving north towards the Grand Canyon.



We started up Highway 64 and a bit later, we noticed the Flinstone campgrounds to our left. I actually remember those from when we came down to see Grandma Karen, many years ago. We made it to the town of Tusayan. We stopped at the visitor’s center because mom had to potty. Doug and I went in to browse. We signed the guest book and picked up some free brochures and fliers. I got in line and picked up our park pass for $25 bucks. We got back in the car and headed towards the gate and the South Rim of the canyon. We found the parking lot, parked and got a drink before we walked to the rim.



We made it to the first view point and stood there in awe. It was such as beautiful view. Breath taking. We got there as the sun was starting to go down in the late afternoon. That allowed us to see the shadows in certain areas of the rock formations and crevices. You could see the Colorado River just barely to the left of the main river valley. We started walking west towards the information center taking pictures as we went.





We definitely were the minorities. There were lots of people from many different countries, not a lot of English speaking people. Along the journey east, I’ve taken random pictures with my stuffed possum Jingles. I was really hoping someone would ask about him and someone finally did. An Italian couple had never seen a possum before and at first they thought it was real. I reassured them it was a stuffed animal and that he was along for the journey. Kind of like the Travelocity Gnome.



They nodded with a smile and continued on. We walked at least two miles down the trail before we decided to walk back to the car. We went back into town to look for a hotel and something to eat. Hotels were hard to find and the ones we did find were too expensive for what we wanted to pay. We decided we were hungry and like the entire trip has been so far, no one wanted to make a decision. So I said, we’re stopping here, at the We Cook Pizza and Pasta restaurant. We ordered, got our drinks and sat down. Mom got a salad so it took her a few minutes to join us at the table. A few minutes later, it seemed like the whole town showed up. “Aren’t you glad we got here when we did?” Our number was called and Doug went and got the pizza. “Oh my god! That’s a medium?” It was huge! I didn’t think we’d finish it, however we did. From there we went back to the entrance and took a picture of the Grand Canyon sign before leaving the park and heading east towards Cameron.



For some reason, it got dark really fast for what time it said on our clock. I knew Arizona didn’t observe daylight savings time but I didn’t know parts of the state did. We followed a retard from Nevada all the way down to where 64 met up with the 89, and they were going 20 under the speed limit the entire time. I was getting sick of him and we finally had a chance to pass him. We got to Cameron and we weren’t impressed with the selection of places to stay. We continued on to the next town. We finally got to Tuba City, which seemed like forever getting there. We got into town and a pair of horses ran through the middle of the highway near the stop light. I said, “Welcome to Tuba City, where horses roam wild through the streets.” Mom laughed. We found the hotel and went to see if there were any available rooms. We dropped mom off at the front and went to find a parking spot. She was able to get a room, which came with a comp breakfast, and we got back in the car and drove around back to our room. She told us the only available room was a queen bed smoking room. I was not happy. I really didn’t want my stuff to smell like smoke. I was proven wrong, however I left my pillow in the car anyways. The room was not that bad. It kinda smelled weird when you first walked in but then it subsided when we turned on the AC. We unpacked and relaxed a bit. I made a bed for Doug on the floor with my sleeping pad and sleeping bag since mom and I were sharing the bed. I took a quick shower and got on the internet. I posted our pictures on Facebook of our trip up to that point. Mom fell asleep and Doug was watching TV. While uploading pictures, I did some research about where we were. The Arizona Navajo Nation, a piece of Arizona that does observe daylight savings time. That’s why it got dark so fast. We lost an hour without realizing it. We went to bed because the next day would be very very long.

San Diego to Las Vegas (July 6, 2010)

July 6

We all got up around 6 a.m. and I got up about a half an hour after they did. I went into the bathroom and got ready then made some toast because I knew it was going to be a long day. Doug showered while I crazily packed up our stuff so we didn’t have to come back because it was like a 20 mile out-of-the-way drive, if we didn’t pack it up before court. I knew after court I just wanted to leave town as quick as I could. We had to be there at 8 a.m. to check in so we allowed ourselves an hour to get there, find a place to park and get all checked in. We got there and dropped Doug off so we could find a place to park the car. We parked in a designated area just for the San Diego court area. We walked in and had to put all of our stuff in an x-ray scanner, just like you would in an airport. We found the floor that we were supposed to be on and asked Doug what we had to do. He said that they’ll just call his name when they were ready for him. They told us they would begin at 9 a.m. They didn’t until 10:30 a.m. We waited and waited. I started getting hungry. Luckily I had a Milky Way and some M&M’s in my bag to get me by. Some lady came out of the court room and called out six people to meet with councilors and Doug was among them.

We waited as their names and other names were called. Doug’s folder was on the bottom, just as I called it, and other files were being stacked on top of it. I was sitting there, starving, tired and irritated. It was around 11:30 a.m. and they councilor finally called Doug’s name. We all went over to the booth to hear what they guy had to say about his case. He basically told us stuff we already knew. He went into the police report and the cop who reported it made Doug look really stupid. As he read it, Doug would correct what had really happened. Apparently, Doug’s BAC was higher than he thought was and he pulled out his Blockbuster card instead of his license. The only reason that happened was because the dog had chewed his other one and Nate and Genna bought him a new one, the pockets are different than his old one and his license wasn’t in the same pocket. So that made him look really dumb. He shouldn’t have been in that situation to begin with but whatever I guess. Hopefully he learned from it. After meeting with the councilor, we found out what he thought would happen with the judge, he would not get any jail time, but he would have to take some alcohol classes in Washington (MADD) and a $2000.00 fine. His license will be on probation in Washington and he CANNOT drive in California without taking the classes in California. After all of that was taken care of, we went into the court room and waited until his name was called. We were in there maybe five minutes before his name was called. I honestly don’t think the judge even looked at the case; he just went with what the councilor had written. He was on the stand for about two minutes.

We left the courtroom and went to our next line. The process room. We were in there for maybe 45 minutes before our name was called. They explained the ruling and they things we needed to do and the class due dates. They had messed up and didn’t put the completion dates on the classes before we were doing it in Washington. So we went upstairs for him to have a brief meeting about alcohol. Twenty minutes later, we went down stairs to the process room and got our new copy with the dates on them. We then had to go wait in another line to figure out a payment plan. Our name was called and we didn’t fill out the paperwork correctly so we wasted more time by having to wait again. But luckily after we finished them, she said we could see her without having to wait in line again. We figured Doug could afford $100.00 a month but he needed to find a job. After figuring out the money situation, I was ready to get the hell out of that awful place. We left and never looked back. It was 2:30 p.m. and I was so glad we got out of there before California rush hour. We got onto I-15 towards Las Vegas. We stopped just after Corona and got gas. We continued down the freeway for a bit and the traffic slowed down. We saw smoke and we assumed a car was on fire. We got closer and found out that they were doing a controlled burn right along the freeway. We got off on the next stop, near Lake Elsinore, California.



We stopped at a Von’s (equivalent to a Safeway) and got some food and drinks. Doug went to use the restroom, came back and asked mom for a quarter. “Why?” She asked. “It costs a quarter to use the bathroom, “he explained. “What, really?” How lame. We figured it was to conserve water. He grabbed the quarter and went to the bathroom. While he was gone, we found some easy things to eat while we drove to Las Vegas. We found some sandwiches and lunchables. We were now officially on our way to Vegas, non-stop. While driving I watched the signs melt the miles away as we drove east.



Dad called us wondering where we were now. He talked to mom for a while as towns turned into deserts. It was quite beautiful out the middle of nowhere. It was awesome seeing the sights I’ve only seen in pictures and on T.V. Closer and closer Nevada and Vegas got as we drove on.  Finally, we got to the stateline, Welcome to Nevada, the Silver State.

Las Vegas was down the horizon, I couldn’t wait to see it in person. Around 8:30 p.m., there it was, in real life, the glimmering lights of Sin City, a city I lived through vicariously on CSI. I kept repeating, “I can’t believe I’m here, I can’t believe I’m here….” as we drove past the hotels and casinos on I-15.



On the way to Vegas, we had Erika book us a room at Circus Circus on the internet. We drove to our hotel; it was amazing we made it there because I had no idea how to navigate Las Vegas. We parked in the parking garage and got out of our air conditioned car and just about died. It was nearing 9:00 p.m. and it as still 100° outside. We went into the lobby and checked in. We walked up to our room, oh my god, it was a freaking hike! Plus we left our bags in the car, so we had to go get them and then hike back. It’s ok though, I couldn’t wait to go walk the strip and find some dinner.



We got our stuff, changed our shoes for walking. I didn’t realize that Circus Circus was far away from the rest of the hotels and casinos. It was near the Stratosphere. It seemed like we walked for miles until we neared Treasure Island and the pirate show. Bad idea, we got caught up in the crowd and had to wait until it was over to move onto the next place. No one would make a decision on dinner so I was just like let’s just eat at the Mirage. We found a California Pizza Kitchen and waited to be seated. I just wanted water because I was so thirsty. It was so effing hot outside. They seated us, gave us bread and our drinks. Mom ordered a Caesar salad and Doug and I ordered a pepperoni pizza. We inhaled our food. We hadn’t eaten since the sandwiches and the lunchable, which was around 3:30 p.m. and it was now 11:30 p.m. I couldn’t wait to get back out to Las Vegas Blvd. to see more. We paid, hurried because the place smelled like cigarettes and I had gotten cold sitting in the air conditioned casino.



We went back out into the hotness and looked for the Bellagio Fountains.



At that point, I wanted one of those drinks I saw people carrying around, the really long ones with the straws, I have no idea what they were called or where they were at, but I was on the look out. We went into the Paris Las Vegas hotel to look for an ATM. We got some money because mom told us before we got to Vegas that you have to at least gamble $20 bucks to see if you win and to have the experience of gambling in Vegas and to have fun with it. I gave Doug his $20 bucks. I really wasn’t into the gambling part of Vegas. In fact, I could care less. I was there for the experience of going. Mom didn’t use hers for gambling either. I did however pose at a slot machine.



As it reached 1:00 a.m., I really didn’t want a drink anymore. We started getting tired and so we walked back down Las Vegas Blvd. It was still around 95° and I was getting thirsty. We stopped at a Walgreens. I bought a CSI shirt, water and some other things for under 99 cents. We paid and continued on our way. We stopped a couple times for some photo ops. We finally got back to our hotel around 2:00 a.m. Mom passed out as soon as she hit the pillow. She is a go to bed at 9 p.m. person. I stayed up and posed our pictures up to that point on Facebook and took a shower. Doug took his $20 bucks went and played 21 down stairs. He came back a while later disgusted. I knew he lost. He couldn’t get nothing higher than a 19 and the dealer won every time. At that point, I was so tired. We’ve been up since 6 a.m. and it was now 3:30 a.m. I fell asleep instantly.