Hurlie's Summer Trip

[Hurlshort]

Day 1 - I'm in the Mojave desert, and the internet connection is horrid, so no picture today. We move on to Arizona tomorrow. Lots of cactus and sand.

[Aristes]

Get along lil' dogie!

[Guard Dog]

RV stands for Ruins Vacations!

 

Have fun!

[Hurlshort]

Day 2 - Ok, I have the picture ready to go. This is from our day in the Mojave Desert, we really were in the middle of nowhere. We were fairly close to Edwards Air Force Base, which I believe is a major one. I also passed a recliner sitting on a sand dune quite a ways out, and then a mile later I passed a love seat. I'm sure there is a story there.

 

 

 

 

We arrived in Williams, AZ today. I think most people assume all of Arizona is super hot, but it's in the 80's here and very nice. It was actually the hottest right at the border of AZ and CA, it was 110 degrees. For some reason gas was also $3.70 a gallon there, but when I got to Williams it was about $2.90. That was a hefty jump, I spent $125 in gas today.

 

So far Williams is really nice, and the RV resort is pretty fantastic. We saw a shootout earlier and ate at a restaurant with a car from the 50's on the roof. We also had a great raspberry wheat beer from the local brewery, The Grand Canyon Brewery.

[Calax]

So far Williams is really nice, and the RV resort is pretty fantastic. We saw a shootout earlier and ate at a restaurant with a car from the 50's on the roof. We also had a great raspberry wheat beer from the local brewery, The Grand Canyon Brewery.

a shootout?

 

Also, California has the highest national average for gas prices due to the air cleaning stuff in the gas that is mandated by state law. We usually stand about 30-40 cents above any other state. Of course this means that when I talk to my family while we're driving around, they look at me funny when I say "cheap gas!"

[Aristes]

That's a nice ride and a nice trip. About a year ago, I did a cross country trip from Las Vegas to Virginia. I've been through some 20+ states in the past two years. Driving, that is, not counting airports.

 

We do have high gas prices, Calax. California is such a screwed up state.

[Guard Dog]

Which way are you heading Hurlshot? East or west? If you are heading west (into California) you should stop at Joshua Tree National Park, it's beautiful there plus it's where Jim Morrison used to get stoned and write all his songs (so it's inspirational too!)

[Hurlshort]

We are making a big loop, starting in the Bay Area of CA, going south and east through Arizona, up to Colorado, then north through Utah, and back west through Nevada.

 

I'm used to high gas prices, the Bay Area is usually higher than anywhere else in the country. I was just surprised at the huge jump for the holiday weekend.

[Aristes]

I don't doubt you'll get gouged.

 

Hey, your experience with the chair and the loveseat made me think of FO3 visual vignettes!

[Walsingham]

most of what i know about America south of Detroit comes from the Preacher graphic novels. So you will need guns. Lots of guns.

[Hurlshort]

Day 3 - No driving today, just hanging out in Williams. We spent the morning walking through the shops, my wife really wants a $1300 necklace. She actually has saved about $700 for the type of necklace, a squash blossom with turquoise, but she really wants the big one. I talked her down a bit by telling her we are still going through a few more towns. Here's a picture of another shootout:

 

[Walsingham]

You get a lot of semi-precious stones down south, don't you? Plus they do great silverwork. Try to hedge her that way. Far better than just a pretty piece of glass-looking nonsense.

 

Keep the reports coming!

[Calax]

We are making a big loop, starting in the Bay Area of CA, going south and east through Arizona, up to Colorado, then north through Utah, and back west through Nevada.

 

I'm used to high gas prices, the Bay Area is usually higher than anywhere else in the country. I was just surprised at the huge jump for the holiday weekend.

When you come back west, are you going to go over the Sierra's via South Lake Tahoe or North Lake Tahoe?

[Hurlshort]

When you come back west, are you going to go over the Sierra's via South Lake Tahoe or North Lake Tahoe?

 

We are taking I-80 through Reno, so we are avoiding Tahoe. We are actually stopping over in Virginia City overnight and visiting a relative in the Reno foothills. I love Tahoe, but we've been there quite a bit and it's not an easy drive on our rig.

 

Wals basically nailed the description of the necklace, it has large pieces of turquoise with handcrafted silverwork. Here's an example, it does look pretty good on her.

 

[Walsingham]

I think she has good taste.

[Calax]

When you come back west, are you going to go over the Sierra's via South Lake Tahoe or North Lake Tahoe?

 

We are taking I-80 through Reno, so we are avoiding Tahoe. We are actually stopping over in Virginia City overnight and visiting a relative in the Reno foothills. I love Tahoe, but we've been there quite a bit and it's not an easy drive on our rig.

 

Wals basically nailed the description of the necklace, it has large pieces of turquoise with handcrafted silverwork. Here's an example, it does look pretty good on her.

 

ah, *lives down 50*

[Hurlshort]

Day 4 - We travelled from Williams AZ to to Cortez CO, and it was the best stretch of driving so far. Beautiful red rocks and green prairies, as well as a ton of interesting Navajo trading posts and other sights.

 

Here we are at the Four Corners of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah. It is the only place in the US where four state lines meet.

 

 

Here was something that reminded me a bit of Fallout 3.

 

[Aristes]

Awesome photo of your family at four corners! Funny. I've spent time in all four states, the briefest being New Mexico where I've only been for a few days altogether. Still, I've never been to Four Corners. *shakes head*

[Llyranor]

If you loved her, you'd buy her that necklace.

[Gfted1]

Looks like a good time so far.

 

Ive always wanted to do that thing where you stand in all four states at once.

 

[Hurlshort]

Day 5 - We got a rental car, because we will be in the same place for the next 4 days, and I want to be able to drive around easily. Today we went to Mesa Verde and explored the cliff dwellings. I had to carry Skylar most of the time, but it was pretty easy hiking so no problem there. We took the Longhouse tour, which is one of three different tours you can take that get you into the actual cliff dwellings.

 

 

It was pretty impressive, just the fact that the sandstone bricks are still in remarkably good shape after hundreds of years. Oh, I bought a new hat yesterday, and it is super comfortable. Don't make any jokes!

 

 

We also ate at a family restaurant with a microbrewery, J. Fargo's. I messed up and ordered a raspberry honey wheat bear, which turned out to be rather fruity and girly. I haven't been able to find any of the porters that taks recommended yet.

[Hurlshort]

Day 6 - We relaxed in town and went shopping for my wife's necklace today, and we found a great place. She got a very good deal on this beauty.

 

[Aristes]

It looks good on her.

[Hurlshort]

It looks good on her.

 

Thanks, I let her know!

 

Day 7 - Our camera battery had died and we forgot to bring the charger, but luckily I found this odd device at Radio Shack that can charge pretty much any camera battery. It is very bizarre looking, has about 50 different ways to plug a battery into it.

 

We went to Hovenweep Castle today. I enjoyed Mesa Verde, but I think Hovenweep was even better. It was a bit off the beaten path, and the hikes were self guided. We took a two mile hike around a canyon where there were about 6 different towers and large structures built in the 13th century. They were amazing, and it was nice to go at our own pace.

 

 

My daughter covered a good amount of ground, and she got really excited when we saw this guy sunbathing on a rock.

 

 

After our hike we went to the Anasazi Museum, which was nice break from the sun and Skylar got to grind up some cornmeal.

 

 

Then we headed back to the RV, cleaned up, and went to eat dinner at a steakhouse. I had a filet mignon with bacon wrapped around it and a couple good Durango wheat beers. I'm feeling pretty good probably the best day of vacation so far :D

[Aristes]

We're making a trip to Mesquite soon. We want to hit the Shakespeare festival in Utah and my Birthday is coming up so my family wants to do some sort of dreadful 40 over the hill thing, I'm sure. ...But I don't think we're going to have as much fun on our week and half trip as you're clearly having in your home on wheels. The kid looks real cute grinding the cornmeal. Good stuff, man! Did she have enough to make a tortilla?