In the last installment of our Autumn Road Trip adventures, we left off at a gorgeous spot in Page, Arizona. If you need to refresh your memory, use this link: Arizona. If you need to start at the beginning of our trip, you can click here.
Our plan was pretty fluid at this point, as we were trying to decide how much farther west we wanted to travel. Our only constraint was a plan to arrive at our friends’ place in Waxahachie, Texas, on a particular date. Working backwards from that date on our calendar, we figured we had time for one more day to go west before we needed to start heading southeast. We decided to check out Zion National Park in Utah. And what a great decision that was!
The drive to and through Zion National Park was breathtaking! One awesome view after another around every bend.
The curves and the heights made it feel like a roller coaster at times. And the tunnel! A 1.1 mile narrow tunnel with height and width restrictions and a long line of traffic waiting to pass, as they only allowed one-way traffic through it. At a few intervals inside the tunnel, a large opening would give a brief glimpse of the huge rock formations outside. It was tempting, but impossible (and against the rules), to pull over to take a look. And we were going too fast in the darkness to photograph them.
We pulled over several times before and after the tunnel trying to appreciate and capture the magnitude of the sandstone formations around us. But, as I’ve said before, pictures hardly do it justice.
Traveling from Page, Arizona, we had entered the park from the east, driving along the Zion-Mount Carmel Highway toward the Visitor Center, only experiencing a portion of the large park. We exited into Springdale, a very busy town with lots of traffic and not enough parking spots. We managed to find a small cafe, with a tight parking lot, for lunch. Then we re-traced our route back to Page. Just before exiting the park again, we found the East Rim Trailhead. A perfect spot to run/ hike at the end of the afternoon.
Then, it was back to Page, Arizona, for the night with the promise of more adventures to come.
Our first adventure in Arizona was at Petrified Forest National Park and Painted Desert. The wind was whipping sand around, trying to take the hats off our heads, but we managed to enjoy the beautiful petrified colors and the pinkish-orange landscape.
The following day, we headed to the Grand Canyon. We’d both been to the Canyon several years ago via helicopter from Las Vegas, but we didn’t get the full on view then. We were looking forward to getting the big picture this time. And it certainly was grand! Hugely magnificent, I must say! Pictures don’t really do it justice.
That night we drove to a KOA in Page, Arizona, situated between two deeply colorful mesas.
This spot was so beautiful and inviting that we decided to come back for a second night after a trip out to Zion National Park in Utah. And I’ll leave you with that teaser, with photos of Utah to come in the next installment of Autumn Road Trip…
The inconsistency of good cell reception and internet service has made blogging on the road a challenge. And it’s significantly slowed down the ability to post our adventures in a timely manner. Such is life.
After the excitement of the Balloon Fiesta, we took a quiet afternoon to relax. The next morning, we drove to the Rio Grande Nature Center State Park with our hosts, to walk and run near the Rio Grande River. Not a lot of water or bird activity at the Rio Grande, but plenty of ducks and turtles enjoying the pond near the Visitor Center.
Later in the day, we found ourselves at Kaktus Brewing in Bernalillo. (Interesting cloud formation as we drove along.)
The Balloon Fiesta is a two-week long event, so a couple of days after we attended, we spied a few stray balloons during our morning walk. They actually have designated “balloon chaser” vehicles that drive around the city tracking down those that blow off course. We saw one balloon coming down on a golf course and, sure enough, a balloon chaser pickup truck whizzed by.
On the day we were set to pull out of Albuqueque and head west, I finally captured a few photos of a roadrunner in a nearby arroyo on my last morning walk there.
We’ve definitely been having adventures. And we’ve had our share of non-adventure time, too, of course. The kind that doesn’t usually make the headlines: hours of driving, eating lunch in Walmart parking lots, and trying to figure out our next move. Again, such is life.
We left Albuquerque later that morning, setting our sights on the Grand Canyon and whatever adventures lay beyond.
The alarm sounded at 4 a.m. The first day of the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. And we wanted to be there in time for the mass ascension.
We dressed in layers and ventured out into the forty-degree pre-dawn to drive to the local mall where Disney-like lines were forming for the shuttle buses. We had tickets for the 5:30 a.m. shuttle which in reality meant get in line by 5:30, go through a security checkpoint, and board a school bus, eventually.
We finally boarded and joined the crowded route to Balloon Fiesta Park, arriving a bit before 6:30 a.m. It was still dark. When we disembarked, we could see several balloons up in the air already.
The six of us traveled as a pack through the crowds, out onto the field where hundreds of balloons were laid out with their gondola baskets tipped on their sides, in various stages of inflation.
We chose a spot next to one blue and white balloon and watched the process from hook-up to ascension. The heat from the propane blasts felt exceptionally warm and welcomed in the crisp air.
As I tried to figure out a way to organize and share the many, many pictures we took in the chaos between seven and seven-thirty a.m.with a mass ascension of balloons all around us, light dawned. The best way to show how fun and amazing it was, and to replicate some of the chaos, is to throw all the photos at you. Let’s start with the fly-over, just before the mass ascension. Here goes . . .
Had enough yet? Wait! There’s more . . .
It’s hard to wrap your mind around just how big each of these balloons is until you look for the gondola basket hanging below. And there are people in those baskets! If you can, read this post on a full computer or tablet screen to get the best view of all the different balloons.
And in case you need proof we were really there and having fun:
Definitely put the Balloon Fiesta on you bucket list. We’ve checked it off on ours! 🙂
Albuquerque did not disappoint! (If you need to catch up on the beginning of our road trip, check out Part I and Part II.)
When we arrived at Liz’s & Dan’s in Albuquerque, we were immediately immersed in New Mexican culture with Dan’s green chile stew for dinner. A bit spicy for my palette, but perfect for Mark’s. Liz & Dan even gave us a welcome bag! A custom printed canvas bag with Greetings from New Mexico on one side. It’s filled with thoughtful gifts: commemorative Balloon Fiesta pins, guava hand cream, green & red chile olive oils, lip balm, green chile hot chocolate mix, Watermelon Mountain soap, a bumper sticker, an official Balloon Fiesta calendar, Fiesta literature & maps. Everything we never knew we needed.
We pulled the van around and through a gate into their backyard where it stayed for the remainder of our visit. Our friends from North Carolina, Cathy & Don, had arrived the day before and were set up in the one guest bedroom. So our van served as our backyard bedroom.
Our first full day in Albuquerque was a bit laid-back. We all started the day with a walk, or, in Mark’s case, a run. I saw my first roadrunner that morning! (The bird, not Mark.) Of course, I didn’t have my camera, so Liz took a few pics with her phone.
Later, the women went shopping around Albuquerque while the men stuck close to home, relaxing with a few good craft beers.
We stopped at a local market to watch the traditional green chile roasting. The smell of roasting chile is one that permeates the state this time of year. The store was chock-full of spices and chile products. What a tantalizing mix of smells!
After the market, we headed for The Center for Action and Contemplation. Both Cathy and I have read and been inspired by Fr. Richard Rohr who founded the Center. As expected, it was a peaceful, inspiring, yet unassuming place. We bought a few books, checked out the enormous cottonwood tree in the back, then walked the labyrinth at the Center’s former location down the road.
At the end of the day, Dan, originally from Louisiana, served up some gumbo for dinner. He and Liz graciously opened their home to us for laundry, showers, and use of their stove and oven to restock our prepared foods in the van. And we certainly took advantage!
The next day, the day before the Balloon Fiesta, we spent our time hiking Carlito Springs in the Sandia Mountains, visiting the small, touristy town of Madrid (emphasis on the first syllable), and walking along the Sandia Crest at an elevation of 10,678 feet to end the day. Surprisingly, the altitude has not been an issue for us on this trip. My two previous visits to Colorado (Breckenridge and Denver) resulted in massive three-day-long headaches. This time around, we didn’t fly in, so the introduction to the altitude was more gradual. I’ve also been taking — don’t laugh! — chlorophyll. Apparently it’s a thing. It’s supposed to help with oxygenation. Anyway, I’m guessing it’s the combination of these that has helped me acclimate to the mile-high-plus destinations.
Here are a few pics from our hike at Carlito Springs:
And these are some pics from our trip to the eclectic old town of Madrid. Note the hat shop in one of the photos. The owner showed us photos of hats he’d made for Tim McGraw & Faith Hill and the cast of 1883. And he’d just finished one for Beyonce. The hats were cool! But he didn’t have a single one to sell because he was so behind on all his orders.
Lastly, our drive up the mountain and our walk on the Sandia Crest:
We slept well after such an active day, but we were up early the next morning to catch a 5:30 am shuttle bus to the Balloon Fiesta. I don’t mean to disappoint anyone, but the Fiesta deserves it’s own post. So, I’ll leave you to anticipate those photos and hope that I can bring a bit of the Fiesta magic to you, wherever you may be reading . . .
In case anyone’s been wondering, we did make it to Albuquerque. If you need to catch up on the first leg of our trip, you can find it in Part I. We left off with our stay at Labaddie Brewing in Labadie, Missouri, after a visit to the Gateway Arch in St. Louis.
The next day was mostly a driving day, although we stopped at Shaw Nature Reserve in Gray Summit, Missouri, for a morning walk/run.
That night we stayed at the Joplin, Missouri, KOA (Kampgrounds of America). In the morning, Mark ran and I walked loops around the campground before we got on the road. We also had to deal with a cooler leak before we left. This one wasn’t as bad as the leak that happened on our previous trip because we learned to store everything in plastic bins this time. Still, we had some mopping up to do.
As you can see from this photo, the campground was mostly gray dusty gravel that was roused into clouds of gray dust in the morning by a small tractor-pulled rake. It took days to get the dust out of our shoes!
Another long day of driving followed. We entered Oklahoma and landed at our Harvest Hosts destination just after 4 pm: The Stafford Air & Space Museum in Weatherford. We had enough time, or so we thought, to tour the museum before the 5 pm closing time. We were wrong. The museum is named in honor of Weatherford’s hometown hero, Lt. General Thomas P. Stafford, who flew on both Gemini and Apollo missiions with NASA. The museum documents the history of flight with loads of fascinating exhibits and artifacts. We didn’t even get through half of it before closing time.
Out in the parking lot, we were one of two camping vehicles staying the night. We pulled out the Weber grill and Mark grilled some chicken for dinner. The temperature was still fairly warm, so we took a walk through the cute little neighborhood behind the parking lot after dinner. Small neat houses lined wide streets with Hallmark-movie street names like Hayride, Harvest, Cloud Nine, Pumpkin, and Falling Leaves.
The next morning we made a pit stop at the local Walmart and headed west to Arizona by way of Amarillo, Texas. We’d found a Nature Reserve in Amarillo online that looked like a nice place to walk and run. Their website warned of a road closure and gave directions on how to reach their entrance. But road work popped up in every direction we tried to turn in Amarillo. So frustrating! We drove in circles and couldn’t get near the Reserve. We gave up. Our destination for the evening was Tucumcari, New Mexico, so we set our sights on that and left Amarillo behind.
The scenery (and stopping to grab lunch) helped to soothe the frustration. Lots of open land, cows, and wind turbines along the way. Central Time zone gave way to Mountain Time, so we arrived at the Tucumcari/ Route 66 KOA campground in early afternoon.
It was early enough that we thought we’d roll out the awning to shade the sliding door side of the van. The sun was intense. But so was the wind. We took the awning down after ten minutes of strong wind gusts. Mark went out for a run, instead, doing 6.6 miles on route 66 in Tucumcari.
The temperature dropped overnight and at 5 am, with the temp inside the van at 57 degrees, we decided to put the heat on. Our first (chilly) New Mexico sunrise:
We left the campground mid-morning and headed toward Santa Fe. Our friends in Albuquerque were out on a day trip to Sevilleta and wouldn’t be home until late afternoon, so they recommended Santa Fe and the Randall Davey Audubon Center & Sanctuary for us. We enjoyed another scenic drive along the way — so different from New England landscapes. Freight trains with what looked like a hundred cars became a common sighting, as well.
The Audubon Center turned out to be a gem! Beautiful views, trails, hummingbirds, artists at work, and more. I walked around, birdwatching and taking photos, while Mark ran on one of the trails.
Our Albuquerque friends texted us when they were on their way back home, but we almost didn’t want to leave the Audubon Center—it was so beautiful. Reluctantly, we did. And we arrived in Albuquerque just in time for green chile stew for dinner!
There’s so much more to say, but it’s taken so long to get this post done due to poor cell phone and wi-fi reception that I’ll stop here and fill you in on our Albuquerque adventures in my next post. Meanwhile, we continue to meet all sorts of people and see some amazing natural and human-made wonders.
It seemed odd to be driving away from New England at the end of September when the trees were hinting of changes to come. But that’s what we did. We’re heading to Albuquerque and planning to arrive in time for the annual Balloon Fiesta.
We aimed to leave home early on that first day and drive five hours or more toward Rochester, New York. But, of course, we needed to gas up. And stop for ice. And, oh, yeah, stop at the Weather Tech dealer for a cup phone holder or two. We actually found Topgo ones we like better. Anyway, it was closer to noon when we finally hit the open road.
Our first night away from home, we stayed at Twin Brook Camillus Farm in Camillus, New York. Owned by a lovely retired couple, Craig and Elaine, the farm is home to sheep, chickens, turkeys, dogs, and a pair of Talouse geese.
It was a quiet, cool night, and we barely heard the rooster crowing through the closed windows the next morning.
We bought farm fresh (still warm) eggs and frozen chicken from their self-serve barn-stand and, on our first official morning on the road, we, of course, stopped at Walmart for a few things. Then, on to Erie Canal Park in Camillus, where we took our morning walk/run.
We arrived at Niagara Falls State Park on Goat Island about mid-afternoon. Thirty-nine years ago, we stopped at the Falls on the Canadian side as we drove home from our honeymoon. This time, we got the American view and waved to Canada across the way.
After Niagara, we drove another hour and a half to Westfield, New York, where we stayed at a KOA campground overnight. The end of our first full day on the road.
In the morning, we popped over to Luensman Overview Park in Portland, New York, for a walk/run, then back to the KOA for showers. Passed an interesting sign, enjoyed some fall leaves along the way, and were disappointed at the ‘overview’ where a haze veiled the supposed view of Lake Erie and Canada, beyond.
We then set our sights on Hoof Hearted (yep, say that fast, out loud) Brewery and Kitchen in Columbus, Ohio. But first, we stopped beside Lake Erie for a few pics. It’s hard to look at such a ‘great’ lake and not think it’s an ocean.
After dinner at Hoof Hearted, where Mark drank one of his favorite beers, Permanent Marker Face Disguises, we drove a short distance to a small, but neat, Alton RV Park in Galloway, Ohio, for the night.
In the morning, we found Mudsock Trail, next to a large, beautiful, and very active dog park, in Columbus, Ohio. Saw a couple of egrets, a huge bees nest, and a great blue heron just hanging out in a tree.
We got back on the road, crossed the Indiana state line, and pulled into my cousin’s driveway in Muncie just after 3 p.m. It was good to see them again, as we’d stopped at their house over a year ago when we first drove our new Sprinter back from Boulder, Colorado. The kids were taller. And they’d just just bought a new house around the corner from their current house, so lots of catching up to do.
We shared some of the apples we’d brought from our trees back home, did some laundry, and waited for my cousin’s husband to get home from work. We used that time to pull out our new electric Weber grill and cook the chicken we’d bought in New York, and also bake some home-grown potatoes in our electric air fryer/oven. Then we went out to dinner in downtown Muncie. We followed dinner with a visit to The Guardian Brewing Company to meet some of their friends who were celebrating one friend’s birthday. The company was enjoyable, the beer, not as much.
In the morning, we said our good-byes, visited the local Walmart, and then stopped at Town Run Trail Park in Indianapolis for a morning hike/run. We didn’t realize initially that this was primarily a bike trail. It was Saturday, so many cyclists were pulling in, strapping on their helmets, and hitting the trail. We found a few visitors who were planning to run the trail and we all decided that it would be okay as long as we gave the bikes the right-of-way. Especially on the narrow sections of the very windy trail. As I hiked, I made sure to keep my ears open for birds in the trees around me and bikes speeding up behind me.
Visible from the Trail Park driveway was this impressive sculpture honoring the classic Studebaker automobile of Indiana.
We left Indianapolis and headed for St. Louis and its famous Gateway Arch. Mark had been up to the top of the arch before and I was hoping to make the ascent this time. The section of St. Louis near the Arch was confusing to navigate. On top of that, we passed crowds heading to a Cardinals game at every intersection. As we finally pulled up along the street beside the National Park, we realized that the parking area was closed and that a brick area, slanting away from the road toward the Mississippi River, was being used instead. We drove to an unoccupied section, away from the tight rows of cars, to make our own parking spot.
The Arch was visible from the highway as we approached the city and was huge up close! But, unfortunately, tickets for the ascent were sold out and we had to be content with the indoor museum and outdoor picture-taking in the ninety-degree heat.
At the end of the day, we drove to Point Labaddie Brewery in Labadie, Missouri, to spend the night in their parking lot, courtesy of the Harvest Hosts network. The owner was welcoming and the beer was good. We met a fellow traveler named Christian who was also staying the night in his rig on his way to Albuquerque.
All real living is meeting, said Martin Buber in I and Thou. I love this quote. When I heard it recently, I immediately attached it as an epigraph to a poem I was writing, as if to say: This. This is what I mean! And I’ve found myself meditating on it a lot during this trip. We’ve met people from New England and they’ve felt like home. We’ve met people from the towns we pass through and they’ve sometimes felt a bit foreign. And we learned of the death of a dear friend back home a few days ago. In this life, we meet so many different people (and animals, birds, insects, flowers, trees, mountains, prairies, rivers, and lakes). Each one expands our universe a little. I’ve come to understand on this trip, that we also meet ourselves along the way.
There’s a lot more I could say about that, but I won’t right now. I’ll leave you to meditate on it yourself. 🙂
Stay tuned for Part II of our adventures, yet to come…
Every trip we’ve taken in our Sprinter van has involved a series of one-night stays. So, we decided to try a long weekend of camping in July, not too far from home, staying in one place for a whole four nights. It was a different experience being able to roll out our awning, set up our chairs, and relax! Here are a few pics from that trip to Lake Dennison in Winchendon, Mass.
And just for the fun of it, after Lake Dennison, we drove up to Meredith, New Hampshire, and parked overnight at Twin Barns Brewing Company.
A couple of weeks later, we drove out to Albany, New York, to Fidens Brewing Company. We took the opportunity to park at a Cracker Barrel for the night — something we’ll probably do more of in the future.
At the end of August, we took the Sprinter with us to Cape Cod, even though we’d rented a house in East Dennis. It came in handy as we had some house guests that week and the van became an extra bedroom. All of these short trips over the summer were nothing, compared to the fall trip we were planning… Stay tuned.
Two months ago, I posted about the first half of a Rhode Island van trip. We were headed to Newport for a wedding. The first attempt to blog about the second half of that trip got swallowed up by spotty wi-fi. We’ve taken a couple more short excursions since then, so let’s see if I can wrap up this trip in one tidy blog post. First, the wedding…
A scenic venue and great weather made for a perfect wedding day.
The ceremony took place outdoors at OceanCliff Hotel in Newport. We moved indoors for the reception.
Have you ever seen such tall centerpieces? No obstructed views across the table. Ingenious!
The setting sun provided a perfect backdrop at the end of the day.
I know Newport is supposed to be a tourist destination, but we weren’t feeling the whole crowds-and-traffic vibe, so we headed north the next morning. As usual, we scouted out a place for a morning hike/run. We found the King Benson Preserve near Saunderstown, RI.
After our morning exercise, we headed toward Providence. First stop, Tilted Barn Brewery in Exeter, RI, for lunch.
Then on to Roger Williams Park Zoo for the sunny and intermittently rainy afternoon.
After the zoo, the skies opened up and we had to navigate a torrential downpour to run from the van into The District in downtown Providence for supper. The food was very good, but the place was super air-conditioned, so I ate French onion soup with my raincoat on for warmth.
Our plan for the evening was to attend a Town Meeting show at Askew Bar and Lounge, just a few blocks away. No, not a town meeting. The three sons of our good friends, Beth and Dan, started a band several years ago. They called themselves Town Meeting, and we’re fans. They weren’t hitting the stage until late, so we actually napped in the van after supper, waiting for Askew to open. Good thing we got that nap in, since Town Meeting didn’t actually go on until about eleven p.m., after a couple of interesting opening acts. We played some cribbage and then some pool with one of the Town Meeting brothers while we waited.
We left Askew as the band was playing an encore. We thought the song before that one was a better closer, so we didn’t need to stay ’til the end. And it was past midnight. Way past our bedtime! At one a.m. we pulled into the driveway of other Providence friends, where we parked the van and hopped right into bed!
We spent the following day with our Providence friends, Mark and Kathy, and their children and grandchildren. All in all, an enjoyable day. And one more van trip in the books.
We received a wedding invitation for a Thursday night in June in Newport, RI. So, of course, we thought, what a great excuse for a van trip!
We spent the first two days in Tiverton, RI, parking in the driveway of my husband’s boyhood friend. Len grew up two doors down from Mark in Wilmington, MA. They ran track together at Wilmington High School in the mid-seventies. He now lives on a steep hill of a street in Tiverton with a great view of Mount Hope Bay.
Len lives about halfway down the steep street. On our first day there, we walked down the hill and through the brush to the water.
Later that afternoon we checked out Tiverton Four Corners, a quaint area with shops, historical buildings, and an outdoor sculpture garden.
On the morning of our second day, we drove to Colt State Park in Bristol, RI. Mark and Len went off in one direction for a run.
I set out to walk along a path near the woods. But I kept stopping, distracted by the birds and the flowers. I got a few photos, but the woodpecker and the hummingbird escaped before I could catch them.
I changed course and chose a straighter path along the water instead.
Mark and Len finished their run (see the re-enactment photo below :)) And we headed back to Tiverton, where Len convinced Mark to try out his electric bike on the crazy hill in front of his house. Yikes!
We finished the day with a tour of Len’s basement workshop where he repairs glass lamps. He also showed us some of his stained glass pieces from his long career as a stained glass artist. He was full of stories about some of the church work he did. And he named all the different styles, colors, and textures of the glass he used.
Then we scooted over the state line to Fall River, MA, to eat supper at The Tipsy Toboggan. All in all, a nice visit. On to Newport tomorrow.
Chapter 3 