Day 9 (Monday, January 7th)
Albany was such a cute little town, and we had the pool to ourselves in the morning. I had warned Daniel from the beginning that this day of driving would be the longest we would have to endure, and it ended up totaling to about a twelve hour day! We laughed. We cried. We had breakfast. Most of Oregon was exactly what you would expect - a nice blend of pines and orchards and fields. There was a bit more color there than in Washington, even with it being the middle of winter. There was also a nice balance between mountains and flatlands. Once we started the climb into northern California, however, that changed a bit. There were a lot more mountains to traverse and lots of picture moments, but it wreaked havoc on my ears!
Daniel and I were not huge fans of California. We stopped for gas a few times as well as food, but mostly it smelled bad. We thought it was just the sea at first, but we were so far inland that I ruled that possibility out. Whatever it was permeated the air wherever we went. That day was so long and uneventful. I also happened to get sick this day, which made both of us feel worse. We were both grateful to arrive at our hotel in Fresno, California. The outside did concern us a bit, but the room ended up being beautiful. We were hopeful for the next day's drive, and Daniel even found a bright yellow California hoodie that matched my Wyoming one! We were also sad to learn that, while on the road, we were only about an hour away from the college football championship game at one point! Talk about missed opportunities...
Day 10 (Tuesday, January 8th)
Our stay at Fresno was probably one of our more swankier choices. With all of the Hilton points I had accrued thus far, I spent them on a Doubletree hotel. I feel like it was worth it just for the cookies. Daniel does not share my sentiments. Regardless, we completed our normal routine and headed on our way. Just outside the hotel, I saw my first real palm tree and also my first homeless colony. California was much like the day before until we reached Bakersfield. There is a little stop just before the pass to Mojave called Meyers Fruit Stand, and it was one of our favorite stops of the entire trip. The billboard advertised a free bag of fruit for filling up at their gas station, and we needed to stop anyways. We pulled into the parking lot and saw that they had quite an impressive store that sold fresh produce, sweet treats, country decorations, touristy stuff, and hot meals! Daniel ordered a breakfast hand pie, and I tried their salsa verde version. The pastry was simply amazing, and I hope to include a picture or two in our "album post" later.
By the time we recovered from our food coma, we had reached the tiny town of Oatman, Arizona that a friend had recommended to me. I knew that the little desert town was overrun with wild burros, but I hadn't told Daniel. Boy, was he surprised!! It was such a surreal experience, and the fact that we arrived there in time for sunset made the whole stop that much more memorable. The entire road away from Oatman wound up into the red rocks behind the town, and the blood red sky illuminated every peak. This was one of Daniel's favorite memories of the trip so far. We ended the night in Kingman, Arizona at a hotel that may or may not have had an In-N-Out Burger nearby that we partook of...
Day 11 (Wednesday, January 9th)
The Grand Canyon was our main goal for this day, and we knew our destination was not that far away, so we took our time getting started in the morning. The hotel even had a brand new hot tub! The drive to the canyon was fairly uneventful and very pretty. Even Arizona still had a light dusting of snow, which I thought made everything better! We met some very nice people in Williams, Arizona just before we arrived at the canyon and had a very nice conversation about the history of the area. I unfortunately was feeling even worse by this time, so poor Daniel was worrying about me the entire time. The entrance gate to the Grand Canyon was unmanned because of the government shutdown, so no one was there to collect entrance fees. The walking paths were still a little snowed over, but it was easy finding Mather's Point and enjoying the unique sight. Daniel absolutely loved it. He said he could have stayed there for hours just trying to comprehend the magnitude of it all. It truly does make you feel so small! We definitely hit that gift shop hard. It was one of our most tourist-ey moments. After spending way too much time and way too much money there, we made our way to our stop for the night in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Albany was such a cute little town, and we had the pool to ourselves in the morning. I had warned Daniel from the beginning that this day of driving would be the longest we would have to endure, and it ended up totaling to about a twelve hour day! We laughed. We cried. We had breakfast. Most of Oregon was exactly what you would expect - a nice blend of pines and orchards and fields. There was a bit more color there than in Washington, even with it being the middle of winter. There was also a nice balance between mountains and flatlands. Once we started the climb into northern California, however, that changed a bit. There were a lot more mountains to traverse and lots of picture moments, but it wreaked havoc on my ears!
Daniel and I were not huge fans of California. We stopped for gas a few times as well as food, but mostly it smelled bad. We thought it was just the sea at first, but we were so far inland that I ruled that possibility out. Whatever it was permeated the air wherever we went. That day was so long and uneventful. I also happened to get sick this day, which made both of us feel worse. We were both grateful to arrive at our hotel in Fresno, California. The outside did concern us a bit, but the room ended up being beautiful. We were hopeful for the next day's drive, and Daniel even found a bright yellow California hoodie that matched my Wyoming one! We were also sad to learn that, while on the road, we were only about an hour away from the college football championship game at one point! Talk about missed opportunities...
Day 10 (Tuesday, January 8th)
Our stay at Fresno was probably one of our more swankier choices. With all of the Hilton points I had accrued thus far, I spent them on a Doubletree hotel. I feel like it was worth it just for the cookies. Daniel does not share my sentiments. Regardless, we completed our normal routine and headed on our way. Just outside the hotel, I saw my first real palm tree and also my first homeless colony. California was much like the day before until we reached Bakersfield. There is a little stop just before the pass to Mojave called Meyers Fruit Stand, and it was one of our favorite stops of the entire trip. The billboard advertised a free bag of fruit for filling up at their gas station, and we needed to stop anyways. We pulled into the parking lot and saw that they had quite an impressive store that sold fresh produce, sweet treats, country decorations, touristy stuff, and hot meals! Daniel ordered a breakfast hand pie, and I tried their salsa verde version. The pastry was simply amazing, and I hope to include a picture or two in our "album post" later.
By the time we recovered from our food coma, we had reached the tiny town of Oatman, Arizona that a friend had recommended to me. I knew that the little desert town was overrun with wild burros, but I hadn't told Daniel. Boy, was he surprised!! It was such a surreal experience, and the fact that we arrived there in time for sunset made the whole stop that much more memorable. The entire road away from Oatman wound up into the red rocks behind the town, and the blood red sky illuminated every peak. This was one of Daniel's favorite memories of the trip so far. We ended the night in Kingman, Arizona at a hotel that may or may not have had an In-N-Out Burger nearby that we partook of...
Day 11 (Wednesday, January 9th)
The Grand Canyon was our main goal for this day, and we knew our destination was not that far away, so we took our time getting started in the morning. The hotel even had a brand new hot tub! The drive to the canyon was fairly uneventful and very pretty. Even Arizona still had a light dusting of snow, which I thought made everything better! We met some very nice people in Williams, Arizona just before we arrived at the canyon and had a very nice conversation about the history of the area. I unfortunately was feeling even worse by this time, so poor Daniel was worrying about me the entire time. The entrance gate to the Grand Canyon was unmanned because of the government shutdown, so no one was there to collect entrance fees. The walking paths were still a little snowed over, but it was easy finding Mather's Point and enjoying the unique sight. Daniel absolutely loved it. He said he could have stayed there for hours just trying to comprehend the magnitude of it all. It truly does make you feel so small! We definitely hit that gift shop hard. It was one of our most tourist-ey moments. After spending way too much time and way too much money there, we made our way to our stop for the night in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
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