El Morro
Hike past petroglyphs, historic route markings, and graffiti around the iconic cliffs of this box canyon at El Morro National Monument in New Mexico.
Category Road Tripping
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Palo Duro Canyon
Palo Duro Canyon is the Grand Canyon of Texas. While, in this rare case, Texas size isn't the biggest, it certainly is still impressive. Back in the day, the steep walls of the canyon also made for effective fencing, as ranchers kept their steer in the canyon. Today, it is a park where visitors can camp, hike, and come for the occasional activity set in the park. We came for the hiking, but didn't say "no" to the opportunity of snapping a picture of a rare longhorn.
Texas Big
The Big Texan Steakhouse is not an eatery to be found. It is an eatery that proclaims its presence with ALL CAPITAL LETTERS and multiple exclamation marks and offers up every reason to make your next meal there. As soon as we crossed into Texas, we knew that there was a massive tourist trap outside of Amarillo that offered a 72 oz. steak to anyone who could eat the whole thing in the course of an hour. We knew this because every other bill board from the Oklahoma-Texas border to Amarillo said so. Given that we were on a quest to experience the delights and uniqueness of each region, it only made sense to eat a massive steak in Texas. Granted, even between the two of us, there is no way we could have eaten a 72 ounce steak. So we decided to keep it simple by just ordering the 40 oz. "Dallas" cut.
Hot Springs, Arkansas
We are coming back here.
Hot Springs is a National Park.
Hot Springs has historic spas.
Hot Springs has a historic spa that continues to be open to customers. I want to be one of those customers. Sadly, we only had time to see, not soak.
Next time.
Next time.
Hot Springs Mountain Tower
We hiked up a viewing tower to overlook Hot Springs from a mountain top. Oh, feel the burn!
Red, Red Wine
Ah, Santa Barbara! Sure, I could say we visited for the cute downtown but who would we be kidding? It was all for the pinot noir. Though our wine tasting travails were limited, they were quite fruitful. It was for this reason, and this alone, that we had packed two coolers. One is for ice and food. The other is for wine.
Yes Sur!
Next, we mozied down the 1 to Big Sur. Aside from almost getting bit by a rattlesnake, it was a laid back ride that was all about the scenery. Here, we had our first go at sleeping in the van at the Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park Campground. While Big Sur isn't quite the place to roll in without a reservation, it helps to arrive on a week week day and be friendly.
California Dream’Inn
For our first night on the road, we celebrated by not sleeping in the car. Instead, we indulged in a hotel by the sea. There were sea lions, arcade games, and mimosas. It was perfect.