A Roadtrip Revival

Big Bend Natl. Park & Terlingua, Texas

January 16 – 17

This wasn’t our first stop, but heading into this part of Texas upped the adventure level significantly. Outside of Del Rio, Texas, we promptly encountered a sign that read, “Next Services: 187 Miles.” We did an immediate u-turn to the nearest gas station.

Limestone layers, Ernst Tinaja Trail, Big Bend

White Sands National Park, N.M.

January 18

White Sands has been on my to-do list for as long as I can remember. Making the stop here while we were within a few hours’ drive was non-negotiable.

Tucson, Az.

January 19 — January 22

Tucson was our last work week stop before our planned long stay in Sedona. Most of the days were spent working, but the time shift gave us the chance for some post-work hikes in Saguaro National Park.

Tombstone, Ariz.

January 23

We passed a sign for Tombstone on the way from White Sands to Tucson, and decided to backtrack to see it the following weekend. Goofy reenactments of the gunfight at O.K. Corral are the main attraction. Doc Holiday is the star of the show.

"No Tombstone is complete without an epitaph," reads the sign outside the newspaper's historic office.

Sedona, Ariz.

January 24 — March 5

All roads up til now led to Sedona where we had booked a month-long stay with the promise of fresh air and sunshine. We were greeted by a 48-hour snowstorm.

About to splash into this post-snow mud puddle.

The hike that we did from our house at least a few times a week. It never got old.

Devil's Bridge Trail. I did not enjoy seeing Oleg walk out onto this icy ledge.

Christ the Redeemer church, built into the rocks and a very short walk from the house.

A coyote friend. We saw one in our yard, but this was in a neighbor's yard.

Quick glimpse of a javelina scurrying through our backyard.

Petrified Natl. Forest, Ariz.

February 6

This was a long day trip from Sedona, and it was worth the time.

Prescott, Az.

March 6 — March 17

Prescott (say “press-cut”) was what happened when our Sedona VRBO rental was over but we weren’t ready for a long road trip elsewhere. By then, Sedona was booked to the gills and there were no affordable options left. This wasn’t one of our favorite stops, but the snow made it more fun.

Watching these deer in the snowy quiet was one of my favorite sights of the whole trip.

Grand Canyon, Ariz.

March 18 – 19

It was our 11th anniversary and we took the day off. Seven days, actually. We started our vacation at Grand Canyon National Park where we waited for 45 minutes on a Thursday afternoon to ENTER the park. We followed up the next day with a much more peaceful drive to a shallower part of the canyon in Peach Springs, Ariz., where we encountered a total of four people, a deer, a bighorn sheep, and four wild donkeys – one of which was extra cranky.

The Colorado River seen from Peach Springs, Ariz.

In winter, these look like gray thorny sticks, but down in the canyon there was new spring growth on the ocotillo cacti.

The Colorado River seen in Peach Springs, Ariz.

Stages of a cranky donkey encounter: Stage 1: Aw I'm gonna go take a photo!

Stage 2: Uhhhh, I don't like how he's looking at me, I'm gonna get back in the car.

Stage 3: ROLL UP YOUR WINDOW. I thought he wanted food. Instead he just stared us down. When we drove off, he chased after us and appeared to lick the vehicle.

The previous day, at Grand Canyon National Park on our 11th anniversary.

You can *just barely* see the river from here.

Mojave Desert &
Palm Springs, Calif.

March 20 – 21

Palm Springs was a fun stay planned for our vacation time. We stayed at a fancy but extremely intrusive Air BnB, enjoyed the warm air, hiked and even went out a few times as California restaurants were getting back into the swing of things.

Home for a few days - kind of. We stayed in the poolhouse and shared the pool with the owners. It was too chilly to get in, anyway!

Spring green spreading in Indian Canyons.

Road through the Mojave Desert that turned out not to be a road.

Driving through Joshua Tree Nat'l. Park.

Cabazon, Calif.

March 22

I am not one to miss a Pee-Wee Herman-based attraction. We managed two in one day.

Did we also go visit the Pasadena house filmed in Pee Wee's Big Adventure? Yes.

Missing a few accessories, but recognizable still.

Malibu, Calif.

March 22 — March 25

We booked the coolest place we could stomach affording for our days off. Although – working from here would have been pretty amazing too.

Our Air BnB pool. Alas, there was a cold snap and we didn't get near the water.

That feeling when you finally hit the Pacific Ocean.

No super blooms, but the coreopsis were blooming.

Death Valley Natl. Park, Calif.

March 26

Death Valley was warm and weird. In July the average high is 116, but at 80 degrees in March it was positively pleasant.

Area 51, Nev.

March 27

Area 51 is in the absolute dead center of nowhere and there is almost nothing to see once you get there. We went anyway, without regrets.

Remnants of the campaign to 'see them aliens.'

Approaching the Rachel Back Gate of Area 51.

Arches & Canyonlands Natl. Parks, Utah

March 28 & April 3

Due to some poor planning, we had to split these parks over two weekends and backtracked from Durango to see Canyonlands.

Durango & Million-Dollar
Highway, Colo.

March 29 – April 3

This was probably objectively the worst time to visit Colorado — the beginning of “mud season” — but it was a new state for both of us, so we went for it anyway. We had to work most of the time, but we got in one impressive drive down a terrifying but beautiful highway.

Spring waterfall along the Million Dollar Highway.

The town of Silverton seen from the Highway.

The cascade of water into a pile of snow and ice.

I don't even want to think about these roads when they are really icy.

Bisti Badlands & Bandlier Natl. Monument, N.M.

April 3 — April 10

Car trouble! Heading back into New Mexico was not part of the original plan, but when the G Wagen developed an issue, our destination changed to whereever the nearest dealership was — Santa Fe. We’ve been to Santa Fe before and loved it — but in April, during Covid, the city didn’t have the same warmth. We did some different things this time, including asking permission to drive across the Los Alamos National Laboratory site. The guard helpfully let us pass but asked us to please “not look to the right” when driving through. Lol.

Just one of the weird scenes we passed while trying to find Valley of Dreams.

Whoever named this Valley of Dreams has different dreams than I do.

Wild horses blended in to the landscape.

Carlsbad, N.M.

April 10 — April 16

Another totally unplanned stop turned out to be one of our favorites for the weird tension between the town’s industries — oil and tourism.

Inside the caverns | Carlsbad Caverns National Park, N.M.

Scarlet hedgehog cactus | Carlsbad Caverns National Park, N.M.

Guadalupe Mountains Natl. Park, Texas

April 11

We learned of this park’s existence about a week before we arrived, but it was a perfect match for us — beautiful, warm, and in some places completely unpeopled.

Hot Springs, Ark.

April 19 — April 23

Crossing into Arkansas was a whole different world of green plants and humidity. We were working most of the time, but broke away for a few activities.

We tried the baths. We paid around $20 to enter and 100 years ago it also cost $20 for guests to enter.

Live music was good at the Ohio Club. They are proud that Al Capone used to hang there.

Memphis & Nashville, Tenn.

April 24 — April 28

Back to where the humans are! We got to visit Sun Studios, Graceland, and the Grand Ole Opry, plus eat a whole bunch of terribly delicious food.

The room and the piano where this photo happened.

Louisville &
Lexington, Ky.

April 29 - May 7

With nowhere to be, making it to Louisville in time for Derby was as good of a goal as any. We made it.

Von Maur in Louisville, the mothership of Derby hats.

Confirmed: Mint julep's taste 100% better in these stands.

I finally got up the nerve to bet on the very last race and doubled my $10 wager.

Onward to Lexington. This was the porch of our home for the work week.

Managed one bourbon tasting! Between Derby and Covid, these tours were in high demand and booked up.

Peony's blooming at Henry Clay's Ashland estate.

Oak Ridge, Tenn.

May 8

Scanning the map between Lexington, Ky., and Asheville, N.C., we both landed on Oak Ridge, Tenn. Oleg knew it as a highly regarded research lab. I knew it as a planned city developed for the Manhattan Project. Unlike Los Alamos, they wouldn’t let us on the base (rude — we asked politely). But remnants of the city remain.

A brief spin through Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Asheville & Sugar Mountain, N.C.

May 9 — May 14

Asheville probably isn’t even cool anymore, but we finally made it there for a weekend visit. We stayed higher up in an off-season mountain resort area for the remainder of the week.