A Visit to 4 States and the Majestic Grand Canyon! (GART - Stops 21 and 22)

After resting all morning in my Albuquerque hotel, I sadly said "ciao" to my friends and left Albuquerque around 12:30, heading for the closest place to stay to my next destination, the Four Corners Monument. As I drove northwest, I wasn't sure what to expect. What I did not expect was such spectacular scenery. It was quite breath taking. The closest hotel to Four Corners is roughly 90 minutes away in Farmington. After a night's sleep, I was up at dawn and ready to head out. I left Farmington around 7:30 am. Somewhere along the ride, I actually drove through the Navajo Nation on my way to...

Four Corners Monument: Located in an incredibly remote location, Four Corners Monument marks the quadripoint in the Southwestern United States where the states of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah meet. It is the only point in the United States shared by four states, leading to this area's being called the Four Corners region. The monument consists of a granite disk embedded with a smaller bronze disk around the point, surrounded by smaller, appropriately located state seals and flags representing both the states and tribal nations of the area. Circling the point, starting from north, the disk reads with two words in each state "Here meet in freedom under God four states". Around the monument, local Navajo and Ute artisans sell souvenirs and food. While some people might consider this cheating (myself included), I am adding Utah and Colorado to my list of states that I have visited. Yeah, okay, it was merely a few yards around the Four Corners, but I'm counting it.  This means that I have visited 32 of the 50 states. Cooooooooool.

After leaving Four Corners, I made my way to...

The Grand Canyon: The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona and is considered one of the seven natural wonders of the world. "The Grand Canyon is 277 miles long, up to 18 miles wide and attains a depth of over a mile (6,000 feet). Nearly two billion years of Earth's geological history have been exposed as the Colorado River and its tributaries cut their channels through layer after layer of rock while the Colorado Plateau was uplifted. While the specific geologic processes and timing that formed the Grand Canyon are the subject of debate by geologists, recent evidence suggests that the Colorado River established its course through the canyon at least 17 million years ago. Since that time, the Colorado River continued to erode and form the canyon to its present-day configuration" (Wikipedia). I arrived at the Park around 11:30 am and proceeded over the next couple of hours to make several stops along the route to stop and see the Canyon. It's impossible to describe the beauty and wonder of this site. It's definitely something that has to be experienced. After checking into my on-site hotel, I took a bit of a rest and then took a sunset bus tour of the Canyon. The tour guide had an encyclopedic knowledge of the Canyon and showed us some of the most beautiful vistas. We even saw a herd of elk! The sunset was amazing and worth the light blindness. 

Today, I woke early and hit the road, heading back to Philadelphia. I ended up driving for 689 miles which is approximately 10 hours. I drove through 3 different time zones (Mountain (MST), Mountain (DST), and Central) and 3 states (Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas). I love traveling west because you gain extra time every time you cross a time zone. Conversely, traveling east sucks because you lose time. What can you do?

Today's bit of annoyance: As I was heading into Amarillo and my hotel, I was stopped on the interstate by a police officer who pulled me over for speeding. Apparently I was doing 80 in a 75 -- even though my speedometer said 75, which means either his machine was off or my speedometer is. Either way, he let me off with a warning, but seriously, who pulls over someone for doing 5 miles over the speed limit????? 

Check out all my photos from Four Corners and the Grand Canyon on my GART photo site. I've decided that I'm going to make one more stop before I go home. As I will be traveling very near Springfield, IL, I will make a stop there to see Lincoln's Tomb and Home, especially as I doubt I'll get back to the Midwest anytime soon.

Travel stats:

Albuquerque odometer mileage: 98,330

Odometer mileage in Grand Canyon: 98,796

Miles driven to Grand Canyon (with a stop at 4 Corners): 466

Total miles driven to date: 5,787

States driven through: New Mexico and Arizona (and Utah and Colorado)

A Change in Plans - Sadly (GART)

Early this morning, I had to come to the difficult decision to cut short my road trip. After hours of extreme pain which no medication could seem to alleviate (leading me to a pain-induced vomit fest), I decided that I needed to head home. I'm hoping that once I'm home, the doctor can stabilize my symptoms. Then, hopefully after a couple weeks of rest, I can fly to California, in order to visit friends and see the sites of Los Angeles and San Francisco. Yes, flying is a cheat, but I can't make that cross country trip again. My intention is to drive back to Philadelphia, but if it turns out to be too much, I'll stop at the nearest airport and fly the rest of the way home. How my car will get back to Philly with that scenario I have no clue.

But before heading home, I plan on visiting two more sites. Tomorrow, my plan is to visit the Four Corners Monument and then head to the Grand Canyon for the day. These sites are just too close to not to make a visit. I think I can push through another day or so before heading back East. I've decided not to go to the pueblo as planned today, so that I can spend the morning resting my aching weary body.

These turns of events are a disappointment. I really wanted to finish this road trip, but I didn't count on my body breaking down so fast. Perhaps I've pushed it too much over the past couple of months. It's been fun so far, but for the past few days, it's also be extremely painful. I suspect it's only to get worse. Let's hope that after a couple of weeks rest, I can continue with my travels. Fingers crossed.

A Fun Day in Albuquerque (GART - Stop 20)

Today, I woke up -- feeling like death warmed over and thinking that I might have to stay in bed all day. Fortunately, my plans to meet up with friends was for late morning and I manage to rally myself after resting for a couple of hours. Man, I'm going to be pissed if I have to cancel this trip before I get to California!

Anyway, today I spent the day with a few friends. Okay, one friend (Melody), her wife (Hannah), and their friend (Allyson), but now they are all my friends. It turned out to be an amazing and relaxing day. After meeting up with my friends, we decided to visit some artists' studio as part of the Albuquerque Museum's celebration of local artists. On three consecutive Saturdays in March, participating New Mexico artists will open their studios to the public; visitors will be asked to vote for the artists they would most like to see included in an exhibition at the Albuquerque Museum.

We started with visiting a studio (and home) of a friend of theirs. The neat thing about this first stop is that the couple designed and built their beautiful adobe house and artists studio in the back. It was stunning. We then moved onto another site in which three different artists shared the space. I found one artist to be particularly interesting. Jessamyn Lovell created an art project/book, entitled Dear Erin Hart. Ms. Lovell's identity was stolen and she created an art project in response to crimes Erin Hart committed using her name and identity. I was so interested in her project that I pre-ordered the book.

We decided that we had built up a hunger, so it was time to find some excellent New Mexican food. We traveled a few minutes away to Old Town. Old Town is a historic district in Albuquerque, which dates back to the founding of the city by the Spanish in 1706. Old Town comprises about ten blocks of historic adobe buildings grouped around a central plaza. Many of the buildings in Old Town are houses that have been converted into restaurants and small art and souvenir shops, so yes, it's very touristy. Lunch was at High Noon restaurant and I had one delicious enchilada. 

Seeing as how we were in Old Town and I am a tourist, we decided to spend a little time checking out Old Town. We visited a few shops, and made a stop in the historic church of San Felipe de Neri which was built in 1793.  Ordinarily, I'm pretty good at not purchasing stuff, but I tried on a Mexican baja hoodie and I couldn't resist the purchase. It was only $13, plus it looks good on me!

Check out my very limited photos from Albuquerque (only 10 photos) on my GART photo site. Tomorrow, Melody, Allyson and I will be traveling west of Albuquerque to visit a pueblo: Acoma. Originally, I had wanted to see Taos Pueblo but it's in the middle of its winter quiet time and is closed until mid-March, so Acoma it is. 

Fun photos from the day!

Current travel stats:

Carlsbad Caverns odometer mileage: 98,034

Odometer mileage in Albuquerque: 98,330

Miles driven to Albuquerque: 276

Total miles driven to date: 5,321

States driven through: New Mexico

Mother Nature in all her Glory! (GART - Stop 19)

The best "welcome" sign yet!

Why is it when things are going well something happens to change all that? It appears that I might have to cut my road trip short due to an unforeseen medical issue.  I'll know better on Monday when I speak to my doctor on whether I have to go home to take care of this issue or if perhaps I can find a doctor on the road to deal with the problem. I'll know more on Monday, but in the meantime let's continue with my adventures.

Thursday, I left San Antonio at 8am to start my travels to Albuquerque, NM. As I mentioned in my last blog, there are parts of northern Texas which are quite beautiful. There are also miles and miles of cotton fields, oil fields, and cattle ranches. I've never seen so much open space. Halfway to my final destination, I stopped for the evening. Yesterday morning, I left Lamesa, TX to head toward my next adventure - Carlsbad Caverns. I decided that I wanted to make a stop or two before I arrived in Albuquerque. Thanks to an early departure and gaining an hour of time when I crossed into New Mexico, I had plenty of time to explore my first, and what turned out to be my only, stop. 

Carlsbad Caverns National Park is a United States National Park in the Guadalupe Mountains in southeastern New Mexico. The park contains over 119 caves. Three caves are open to public tours. Carlsbad Caverns is the most famous and is fully developed with electric lights, paved trails, and elevators. Slaughter Canyon Cave and Spider Cave are undeveloped, excepted for designated paths for the guided "adventure" caving tours. The primary attraction of the park is the show cave, Carlsbad Cavern. Carlsbad Cavern includes a large cave chamber, the Big Room, a natural limestone chamber that is almost 4,000 feet long, 625 feet wide, and 255 feet high at the highest point. It is the fifth largest chamber in North America and the twenty-eighth largest in the world. It's approximately the size of 14 football fields and is beautiful! 

In addition to the beauty of the caves, the Carlsbad bats are a major attraction for visitors. Seventeen species of bats live in the park, including a large number of Mexican free-tailed bats. The Mexican free-tailed bats are present from April or May to late October or early November. On summer evenings, the park has a bat flight attraction where visitors can watch the exodus of the bats from the cave on their way out to hunt for food. I hear it's an amazing scene, which sadly I couldn't see. Mostly because the bats are still in Mexico for the winter. 

When visiting the cavern, there are two ways to enter. The first is to take an elevator down to the Big Room, the second is to enter through the natural entrance and walk a mile and quarter of a switch back ramp-sidewalk that takes the visitor 750 feet below the surface. Stupidly, I went through the natural entrance. I keep forgetting that my lungs are compromised and I really shouldn't over exert them. I'm an idiot, but I took it slow and stopped for regular breaks. Despite the effect on my body, it was well worth the walk to see some of the most stunning views. My entire visit took 2.5 hours to walk the entire path that has been laid out by the park service. 

I departed the cavern around 12:30 to head north to Albuquerque. Along the way, I drove through Roswell which was going to be my second stop, but I was tired and changed my mind. The only thing that I thought I might visit while in Roswell was the UFO Museum, but I heard that all visitors had to have a full examination including an anal probe and I decided to just keep trucking. Roswell was surprising because they didn't have nearly as much UFO/alien paraphernalia as I thought it would. There was the odd green alien in front of a hotel and an Arbys with a sign saying "aliens welcome", but otherwise it was a fairly normal looking town. 

I arrived at my hotel in Albuquerque at 6pm last night. It was 8 hours of driving and 2.5 hours of exploring a cave which made for a very long, very exhausting day!!

Check out all my photos of Carlsbad Caverns on my GART photo site! Time to explore Albuquerque and visit with some friends.

Current travel stats:

San Antonio odometer mileage: 97,533

Odometer mileage in Carlsbad Caverns: 98,034

Miles driven to Carlsbad Caverns: 501

Total miles driven to date: 5,045

States driven through: Texas and New Mexico

San Antonio Does Not Disappoint (GART - Stop 18)

Remember when I said that Florida was a boring ass state to drive through. Well, East Texas is in 2nd place when it comes to boring scenery. The only reason why it's second place is because of the amount of cattle located in East Texas. I get a kick out of seeing the cows along the drive. Cows are cute - it's a shame they're also delicious! North Texas, on the other hand, has some surprisingly beautiful vistas.

After leaving Oak Alley plantation, I spent the next 7 hours driving, which included miles of swamp land in Louisiana, a traffic accident causing delays in Baton Rouge, hours of boredom in Texas, and a massive traffic jam in Houston. The worst part of boring driving is that I end up spending way too much time in my head - revisiting the past 49 years of life, especially the last 5 years. <sigh> Not a good idea! Although I did see this towing company billboard as I was traversing through Texas, which gave me a laugh:

Anyway, I spent the night in Sealy, TX and yesterday morning, after 2 more hours of driving, I drove into San Antonio. San Antonio was another city that I have always wanted to visit (specifically because of the River Walk) and I am glad that I came to visit this city.

My visit started with seeing the exterior of a small house that the short story author, O. Henry lived in during the 1880s. I was slightly annoyed that the museum was not open, despite the hours posted on the door saying that it should have been open. Sadly, I did not get to see inside this small 2-room house. It was a disappointment, but what can you do. I then moved along to visit the...

Spanish Governor's Palace: Don't be too impressed. Don't let the word "palace" lead you to expect something grandiose. It's a translation of palacio, which in Mexico means any building used as the seat of government. This was the house of the garrison's captain. It's a handsome building constructed of adobe and stone that dates from 1722. There isn't really a lot of old San Antonio left, so this is worth the visit for that alone. While the 1930 "restoration" was hardly sympathetic, at least the bulk of the original building is there and preserved and it has been furnished in an appropriate style. In 1977, a conquistador statue situated outside the palace was given to the people of San Antonio by the Spanish government. At $5 to tour the site, it's reasonably priced and worth a quick visit. Two blocks away from the palace is...

San Fernando Cathedral: The San Fernando Cathedral had humble beginnings as a parish church. It was commissioned as a simple stone church in 1738. The colonial society of the day was divided into two principal classes: the Canary Islanders, who, having been born in the Old World, were above those of Spanish descent born in the New World, which included most of the garrison and their families. But the project of building a church united them, and in choosing the patron saints, they selected one from each continent -- from Europe, Our Lady of Candlemas, and from the Americas, Our Lady of Guadalupe. What is seen today mostly dates from the 1870s when the church was elevated to cathedral. Changes continue into the present century. For example, the gilt altarpiece was introduced only a few years ago. The most interesting thing about the cathedral is that a coffin in the entry purports to hold the ashes of the Alamo defenders: Davy Crockett, James Bowie, William Harris, and others.  

I left the cathedral and returned to my car to make my way to my hotel for an early check in and a bit of a rest. Then it was onto...

The River Walk: The River Walk is a network of walkways along the banks of the San Antonio River, one story beneath the streets of Downtown San Antonio. It is a public park open 365 days a year, lined with individual businesses composed of restaurants, hotels, attractions and more. It's a great way to spend a couple of hours just strolling, people watching, and enjoying the beautiful views. Any visit to San Antonio must include a visit to the River Walk. There are water taxis available to take you along the river to your destination, although I just walked. My visit to the River Walk included a stop for lunch at a Tex Mex restaurant. After eating, I headed over to...

The Alamo: Originally known as the Mission San Antonio de Valero, it is a former Roman Catholic mission and fortress compound, and the site of the Battle of the Alamo in 1836. "The Battle of the Alamo (February 23 – March 6, 1836) was a pivotal event in the Texas Revolution. Following a 13-day siege, Mexican troops under President General Antonio López de Santa Anna launched an assault on the Alamo Mission, killing all of the Texian defenders. Santa Anna's cruelty during the battle inspired many Texians—both Texas settlers and adventurers from the United States—to join the Texian Army. Buoyed by a desire for revenge, the Texians defeated the Mexican Army at the Battle of San Jacinto, on April 21, 1836, ending the revolution" (Wikipedia). The Alamo is now a shrine and a museum. Currently, the mission building has a display of weaponry which would have been used during the battle, which didn't interest me very much. I'm not much for objects which injure and kill people. The grounds have been beautifully maintained and the former barracks have a complete history of Texas, San Antonio, and the Alamo. For history buffs, this site is a must see, and the best part, it's free.

After touring the Alamo, I returned to the River Walk and hopped aboard a river cruise boat which was worth the $8.50 to see sections of the River Walk that I didn't even know existed. By the end of the tour it was late afternoon and I was exhausted. I returned to my hotel where I rested, had a little dinner, and then called it a night. This cancer crap is really killing my night life, I just don't have the energy to go back out.

Check out all of my photos of San Antonio on my GART photo site.

Current travel stats:

Oak Alley odometer mileage: 97,019

Odometer mileage in San Antonio: 97,533

Miles driven to San Antonio: 514

Total miles driven to date: 4,544

States driven through: Louisiana and Texas

A Visit to a Southern Plantation (GART - Stop 17)

As New Orleans disappeared from my rear-view mirror and I headed toward San Antonio, I decided to make a stop about an hour outside of New Orleans to see a plantation. I’ve always had a moral dilemma about visiting a Southern plantation. It’s hard to visit a place in which people made money off the backs of slaves, but I realized that it’s a sad part of America’s history. Ignoring it is unacceptable, therefore I went to a plantation to honor those people who suffered through slavery. There’s a location between New Orleans and Baton Rouge dubbed “Plantation Alley” where quite a number of plantations are available to tour. I decided to tour one of the most popular and well-known plantations: Oak Alley Plantation. 

Oak Alley is named after its distinguishing feature – an alley created by a double row of live oak trees which were planted in the early 18th century – a hundred years before the mansion was built. Originally named Bon Séjour, Oak Alley was established to grow sugar cane. In 1836, Jacques Roman obtained ownership of the 1200 acre plantation and the 57 slaves who were part of the plantation. The following year, Roman began building the mansion utilizing the enslaved labor. After the plantation was lost by the Roman family due to over expenditure and the Civil War, the plantation went through several owners who could not afford the upkeep of the house and by the 1920s the mansion and outbuildings had fallen into disrepair. In 1925, Texas cattle rancher Andrew Stewart purchased the property for his wife, Josephine, and spent thousands of dollars refurbishing the property. Josephine was the last owner to live in the residence. When she died in 1972, she left the historic house and grounds to the Oak Alley Foundation, her foundation - which opened them to the public.

I started my tour of the plantation with the slavery exhibit. The original slave quarters were in such disrepair that they were torn down. Replica buildings were placed on the footprint of the previous buildings. The exhibit shares the daily life of the slaves, including topics such as healthcare, punishment, and life after emancipation. One of the buildings has engravings on the wall with the names of the slaves as an honorarium. 

After seeing the exhibit, I toured and photographed the exterior of the mansion and the grounds, including the 300 year old oak alley and the Stewart Family graveyard. 

Then it was time to tour the house. I joined approximately 15 other visitors. The tour began in the parlor and then went through the dining room, the 2nd floor bedrooms, the 2nd floor balcony, before returning to the ground floor to see the plantation office. Beautifully decorated with period pieces and a few original Roman artifacts, it was a fascinating look at the antebellum period. Oak Alley has been featured in many Hollywood movies, including Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte; Interview with the Vampire; and Primary Colors.

Check out all the photos from the Oak Alley Plantation on my GART photo site. Onto San Antonio.

Current travel stats:

New Orleans odometer mileage: 96,964

Odometer mileage in Oak Alley: 97,019

Miles driven to Oak Alley: 55

Total miles driven to date: 4,030

States driven through: Louisiana

New Orleans - Days 3 and 4 (GART - Stop 16)

Squirrel!!

It's official - I hate New Orleans! 

The final straw that caused me to loathe this city was trying to catch a streetcar early this afternoon. Across the street from the resort is a streetcar stop. The hotel staff swore that it was the best way to get around the city and yet, I find that it is the most inefficient public transit that I've ever come across. Today, I had decided that I was going to take a ferry across the Mississippi River to see the town of Algiers. I headed out to catch a streetcar which would take me to the ferry. I waited over 25 minutes for a streetcar to show, which was then packed to the gills and I couldn't get on it. When I complained about the wait, I got a blank look from the driver who shrugged at my complaint. I was so angry that I just walked off, returned to my room where I spent the remainder of my afternoon - reading. I refuse to give this city one more bit of my time. Yesterday, as I was about to get on the streetcar to head back to my hotel, the driver said for me to hang on a second before I got on and she grabbed her bag and left the car in order to go to the bathroom. Now I get that drivers need bathroom breaks, but seriously, she left the streetcar filled with passengers and a line of waiting customers to take a 15 minute bathroom break. This kind of crap would never fly in cities in New York, London, Paris, or any other major metropolis. I hate the laissez-faire attitude of the workers in this city.

That's just one of the many complaints I have about New Orleans. I do not get the charm of this city. I don't understand why people come here every year on vacation. I never want to set my big toe (let alone the rest of me) in this city ever again. This city is fine for people who like to go out and party, but that's not where I am today. Perhaps 20 years ago I would have appreciated this city, but there is nothing here that really interests me. I have no desire to drink or eat myself into a stupor, or shop, or to hang out in a bar listening to jazz/blues - much of which is crap. That's about all there is to do in this city.  Okay, there are a few other things, which I have done over the past couple of days, but seriously, not much.

Yesterday, I woke to gray overcast/rain threatening skies. Therefore, I decided that it was a museum kind of day. I didn't feel like traveling to the art museum, so I went to the National World War II museum. The museum "focuses on the contribution made by the United States to victory by the Allies in World War II, and the Battle of Normandy in particular" (Wikipedia). My favorite part of the museum is the award-winning 4-D film, Beyond All Boundaries, which gives the visitor an overview of the war on every front. The film was produced and narrated by Tom Hanks and took over 5 years to produce. It was a great way to begin my visit to museum. There's a lot to take in at this museum - I spent 3 hours exploring the museum. Even then, I didn't see everything. 

After visiting the museum, I headed over to Cafe du Monde, where I lucked out to find a very short line. Cafe du Monde is an iconic New Orleans cafe known for café au laits, chicory coffee and beignets since 1862. I order myself some beignets and a hot chocolate (I don't like coffee). The beignets were good and reminded me of the zeppole that I grew up eating. Basically, it's fried dough covered with powdered sugar. They weren't even all that hot. I'm glad I had them, but they are not worth waiting hours. I would have been really annoyed if I waited in a long line for them. Plus there was the slow service - it took 10 minutes before a server came to wait on me and 20 minutes to receive my order! This is at a time when they weren't all that busy. What is service like when they are?? (Add this moment to the list of things I hate about NOLA.)

My favorite house.

This morning, I decided to visit the Garden District, an area that was originally developed between 1832 and 1900 and is considered one of the best-preserved collections of historic southern mansions in the United States. I found a self guided walking tour online and saw some beautiful mansions and visited one of the oldest cemeteries in New Orleans. A few of the mansions on the tour are currently or formerly owned by famous individuals: Sandra Bullock, Nicholas Cage, rockstar Trent Raznor (Nine Inch Nails), John Goodman, Archie Manning (Eli and Peyton Manning's father), and, of course, Anne Rice. In fact, there were several former Anne Rice homes on this tour. The cemetery in the Garden District is Lafayette Cemetery No. 1 and has a few famous residents. Perhaps the most famous tombs of the cemetery are the fictional ones. Among the fictional characters who are buried here are the family of Mayfair Witches from Anne Rice’s Witching Hour book series and the vampire Lestat from Rice's novel Interview with a Vampire.  In 1994, Interview with a Vampire was made into a movie starring Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise and all the cemetery scenes were filmed at Lafayette Cemetery #1.

And so ends my time in New Orleans. Thank you! I'll be glad to see the back of this city when I head out of town tomorrow. I plan on making a stop at one of the plantations about an hour outside of New Orleans, before heading to Texas. My next stop will be San Antonio. I can't wait to see The Alamo and The Riverwalk. 

You can check out all my Garden District walking tour photos on my GART photo site.

Former Anne Rice home and the setting
for the Witching Hour series (Mayfair Manor).