We visited the Grand Canyon and the Petrified Forest/Painted Desert National Parks while in Arizona. These pics really show the diversity of the landscape in the area, particularly considering the distance is not that far.

Oh..and because I was asked, the total trip was 7,504.60 miles. The southern route to San Diego was 3,533 of those. The second leg from San Diego to home via Canada was 3,971.60. I'm a madwoman.

The Grand Canyon South Rim



Another angle



The Painted Desert National Park ... Arizona

Utah...you almost lost me for good there...all I needed was a sure footed mount, bag of hard tack and a bedroll, byebye.



Nevada's rugged beauty



The Rocky Mountains in Colorado ...the ever present snow on the peaks



The Midwest...

What a great night I had with the guys from my old work. Shared some beers, some laughs, a few sorrows, some calamari and a general good time.

After a night's rest I mucked about on the pc while I let my son sleep in until about 10am. Then we rolled on over to the classic diner across the road. They were still as good as I remembered.

We hit the road again around 11:30 but it was easy going from there and we were traveling a road I could probably navigate in my sleep. We decided to go visit my mom before finally getting to our house.

What a wonderful trip and what wonderful memories. I spent a good portion of last night going through the pictures. I had some good laughs just doing that. And of course now I need to sift through them and try to figure out which ones to put in my blog. I'm hundreds of pictures. This could take a while lol

As hard as it was to leave Juicy's home and family we knew we had to hit the road again. Needless to say we left a bit later than we normally would have but if you've been reading the blogs you know why. I actually just read juicy's blog...48 beers? So much for my diet.

The ride back to the states went smoothly and we had no problems crossing the border. They didn't even bother checking my bags. When asked if I had anything to declare I said no. The guard asked where we were and I told him and that we had visited with a friend. He wanted to know how I knew this person. I almost blurted out newbie nudes but then just said the internet. Oh he says...a boyfriend? I had to chuckle. No, it's a female...actually a whole family...husband wife and children. He seemed a little surprised but nonplussed.

We crossed over into NY and made our way to Plattsburgh and the ferry crossing to Vermont. We got on the ferry about 8:30 at night and were in Burlington by 9. I swung by my old employer to see if my friends were in but they had already gone home. A lot has changed here. The company I worked for is completely different. The building was only half the size it is now. There are a lot of new restaurants and stores but the old things are here too. I saw Nectar's was still going strong downtown (Nectar's is where the band Phish got its start). Al's French Fries is still open..we'll be getting some of that tomorrow. I'm willing to bet Chef Leu's is still open too but I didn't go that far.

Tomorrow we'll hook up with my friends from work and then I'll run down to the police station in the other town to see my buddy the chief. I used to teach a hunter's safety course with him. Back then there were only 4 cops in the town...I'm hoping he has a larger staff by now because the town has grown immensely.

I'm still not sure what we'll do after that. We may meander home and stay somewhere in between or we may stay up here an extra day. All the college folks are in town right now getting ready to start a new year so I'll move out of Burlington proper and go to one of the surrounding towns. There's a nice hotel right across the street from this awesome diner that we used to go to. This diner has the BEST breakfast food. And, it's a real diner, one of the few still in active duty. Real diners have gone the way of the drive in theaters, particularly in the northeast. They are few and far between.

I'd love to take some time to go to some of the clubs I used to frequent but then my poor son would be stuck here alone. Of course he might enjoy that...no fighting over the computer.

I had every intention of blogging last night..or was that this morning.... but then for some reason I thought I would lay on the kitchen floor for a minute...I don't know, it seemed like a good idea at the time...

I'm almost positive Roo thinks I'm insane. He has to. The first night I'm here he wakes up to find me with my head on the desk and keyboard and my clothes on the corner of the desk, my legs wrapped in a sleeping bag. So last night...juicy and I are up...laughing our asses off...at about 2:30 in the morning. For some reason (and there may have been some alcohol involved) we decided it would be funny to strew my clothes from the stairs to the pc for Roo in the morning.

I'm still laughing my ass off...well, Roo got up this morning, made the coffee...while I'm sleeping on the kitchen floor...I'm pretty sure he brought me my pillow...I finally go out to the living room and he's written LOL in socks...and the kids just walk around the whole mess like this is normal behavior for adults.

Now back to last night...I've a feeling that a bag of peanuts and 3 slices of pizza are not adequate nutrition when you're drinking beer from 3pm to 3am...

Juicy and I were laughing so damn hard after posting our pics and talking to MDguy and Ginoz, that my son actually called up to us saying "Are you two ok up there?" Which of course just made us roar even more. I don't think I've laughed that much in ages. My sides were hurting and tears were coming out of eyes.

This morning I'm drinking a gallon of water, my coffee (thank you Roo) and I had a slice of cold pizza...hmmm...sounds like college. I'll take a shower after Juicy gets up lol..yeah she's sleeping in. And then, despite how much fun we're having here, we'll head back southeast.

I think I'll either go in through NY or VT. I have some old friends to see in VT but we could take the ferry over from Plattsburgh which is always fun. We used to that just for the ride when we lived in VT. Now, hopefully the border patrol will let me back in. I still have nothing to declare...we drank the beer...although I have a ton of lighters now...but I'm not getting on any planes so they can't accuse me of being a terrorist, just a strange person with a lighter fetish, an egg and a really odd mug.

So, I went to 2K's house yesterday....then ...he had to work so we got on the road by 5:30am. Whoo hoo...off we went happy as clams in high tide.

I'm not sure if I said this but 2K is the balls...lol. He was a wonderful host. We got to use his showers, do our laundry...go to dinner and have a brief tour of the area. He's a wonderful host and just a great guy in general.

So anyway, off we went ....heading due east. The goal was to go to Canada to see Ottawa without snow. The last time I was there, Scott was probably 2 and there was plenty of snow on the ground. We drove on....

We passed into Michigan, saw more corn...no shit. Yada ,yada.

We got to the border and as I was worried, the birth certificates were an issue. We were made to go through customs and immigrations.... after a VERY complete search of my car (in which time the customs guys were sharing some very wry grins and comments....yep...they had to have found the eggs or Lunna's gifts) and then a visit to immigrations, they finally approved us to get into Canada. Oh Mommy's such a genius...and proceeded to follow the signs to "EXIT TO CANADA" which lead to the US.

When asked what to declare I stated "Oh just my stupidity"

The customs officer cracked up and sent me around again! The second time through customs went must quicker..go figure. Like we hadn't spent enough time with them already.

Needless to say we managed to get to Toronto and I called Juicy becuae I was having a hard time finding a room..go figure....

Open arms were offered and here I sit...chlly in her kitchen but very much at home. She and her husband, children and neighbors are so opening and wonderful.

Ju wants us to stay another day so we can see a bit more of the sites around here and we may in fact do that. What a wonderful experience this trip has been. I think we only have a week left but omg....I wouldn't trade this wild trip for anything. How lucky I am to have met the NNer's I've been lucky enough to meet! Not to mention the landscapes and the wonderful experiences.

It's certainly not a trip you could experience every year...or even periodically but I'm thrilled that we were able to offer these memories and experiences to my son. It's something he won't forget.

Well, talk to you all soon as I'm really running on empty. Ju's already in bed so I'm hitting the couch real soon!

love y'all

ok...so, I've hit every festival known to man between California and here. I got lucky in Murdo South Dakota but after that I was sol...or shit out of luck.

I drove...and drove...and drove...through South Dakota, MInnesota, and Wisconsin into Indiana and not a room to be found. There was an Irish Festival, another thing, and a water ski festival. At that point it was moot to try to find a room so I just decided to drive past Chicago. I felt like the Blues Brothers...I have a half a pack of cigarettes, a pair of sunglasses...etc..,

I drove out to Indiana...and found a truck stop around 2:30 am. I crashed out with my hat...well, wolf's hat...over my face and woke around 5am. I waited a bit and called 2k. whoo hoo....2k to the rescue. Off we went to 2K's house...laundry, showers, beds...what more could you ask for. Life becomes so simple on the road.

We did miss the SPAM museum because it was closed on the way in. We did see the Corn Palace...oh I will post pics later. We also enjoyed miles and miles and miles of corn and cattle. We stopped in Woonsocket, South Dakota....the only other Woonsocket in the country....I grew up and was born in the original Woonoscket in Rhode Island. Of course my Woonsocket has 46,000 plus population this Woonsocket was 619...oy

I was just thinking of some funny things that happened on the road and I'll try to put those things together soon

our kitten

Ah, let's see where do I start? We left Vegas in the morning with my son asking when we could leave because it smelled. I guess he's too used to the country now. We baled out quick and headed towards Utah. The scenery is amazing in that part of the country. The desert is beautiful in its own way and I actually prefer it to the prairie lands in South Dakota and Wyoming. In all actuality if I had a sure footed mount y'all would probably never see me again....guess I'm a cowgirl at heart.

Utah's topography is amazing. We visited Zion and Arches National Parks and I can't wait to share some of the pictures. While we were in Utah we contacted Mr. Write but were unable to meet up because of distance and work schedules. I do have to thank him though for his assistance with routes and for his obvious concern that I make sure I get enough rest. He did say he was impressed with my driving abilities despite being an amateur. LOL. As it turns out I did need to take his advice.

That night we stayed in a hotel in Utah not far from Arches Park. We got the internet but they had a filter on it and I couldn't get to the site to update anything. The next morning we went to Arches and then headed into Colorado. We hit Rocky Mountain National Park just as dusk was coming in. The timing was perfect. The park was quiet and we got to see a lot of wildlife. We no sooner got into the park when we spotted a herd of elk grazing. I tried to get some pictures but the lighting and way too much coffee made it a little difficult. The herd was pretty far off for the camera's zoom and I couldn't stay still enough to take a clear picture. I did manage to get a fairly good one of the moose we saw a little further on.

The roads in the park are amazing. Don't look down. I'm actually kind of glad that on the way down it had gotten dark because I probably would've been freaked out. It was bad enough going up. The curves are pretty hairy and there are no guard rails between you and a 2 mile drop. Right as we reached the top we ran into a family of elk crossing the road. They were amazing. The babies are adorable and they make they coolest sounds. One of the babies was stuck on one side of the road and wanted Mom but was afraid to cross because of the cars.

As we got to the top we heard some popping. One of the empty bottles we had in the car was compressing. You're up 2 miles above sea level and yes, the oxygen is much thinner. And, there was snow on the top of the moutain damn it. I cannot tell you how many times my ears popped during the drive. We finally made it down and out of the park and I started to look for a place to stay. No luck, there was some kind of sculpture conference in the town and all the rooms were booked. So, I kept driving.

I ended up in Cheyenne, Wyoming and still couldn't find a room. I couldn't figure it out for the life of me but I kept heading to the next town. In the meantime a big storm was brewing and I watched the lightning show in the distance. At a certain point after not finding any rooms I finally pulled into a truck stop and got some sleep in the car. I heeded Mr. Write's advice and just pulled over at a truck stop instead of trying for the next town. When I finally woke up I was freezing. I must say...I do not enjoy the northern climes as much as the southern. Then again my husband says I'm a reptile because my skin is always cool and dry to the touch despite the heat.

So what was going on...which I found out today...was that one of the biggest bike rally's in the country was going on. Sturgis bike rally was in South Dakota and I just happened to hit that area at the same time as the bikers. So we toured Mt Rushmore with the bikers...and we watched the prairie dogs in Wind Cave National Park with the bikers...and we had to drive way out to the middle of nowhere with the bikers to find a hotel tonight.

So tonight I'm in Murdo SD...with one store, a dairy bar and a restaurant but ...internet access..so I can't complain. That and the room is under $100. Well, tomorrow is another day and another goodness knows how many miles...lol. But it is fun.

Ok, so I know a lot of people think Vegas is a great place but I have to say I really dislike it. This is by far the tackiest place I've ever been. The people are nice enough but the town is just not for me.
In addition, the room we got at Circus Circus only has internet through the TV for an additional $10 a night. The picture is horrible, I can barely read what I'm writing, and it's by no means high speed. So, I risk going blind to update my blog but I gotta get on NN. lol

Now that I've ranted about Vegas....I left my cousins' house this morning around 11am and we all went to one of the missions in California. San Luis Rey mission to be exact. It was beautiful and fascinating. We left there, ate and then they escorted us back to the highway. I wish we could have stayed longer. We got on the road about 2pm. I ran into some traffic around the outskirts of LA (Los Angeles)but once past that the drive is amazing.
The timing was perfect for us to cross the desert. It was late afternoon and the temperature was dropping and the sun cast the most amazing shawdows and colors across the mountains. I tried to get some pictures while we were driving so I'll see how those come out later.
We hit Vegas around 8:30 so I decided to drive the strip so my son could see all the lights and garish displays. We decided to just stay the night here rather than drive on. I hadn't slept much the night before so it's just as well.
Well, you know me and my beer and of course once we were esconced in the room and the internet was up and running I had to run out and try to find some. I'm not a gambler and casinos do nothing for me so I just wanted a six pack to bring back to the room. I had to walk a couple of blocks down the road but it was fun. I met some interesting people and had a blast in the store. The security guard was really getting a kick out of me running around the store grabbing this and that for souvenirs. The cashier LOVED the gift I found for Lunna...hehe...wait til she sees this. I can't say what it is just yet because I need to send it to her and I want it to be a surprise. Suffice it to say when i saw it..I had to get it for her.
I only went in for a 6 pack but ended up buying almost $90 worth of junk, though $35 of it was for a new pair of mocs. I love my mocs...they're the most comfortable shoes. I'm also very specific about them, they have to be minnetonka mocs and a certain style...which ends up making them difficult to find just anywhere.
Well so much for Vegas...now we can say we stayed here. Tomorrow we'll hit the road again and head towards Colorado. I can't wait to show my son the Rockies. And by all means if you're along the route feel free to pm me. If it's possible we can hook up for a lunch or a drink or a dinner.
Updates to come.

Well, another treat for me today. While I was on line last night I got a pm from jphiggins saying he was in the area and would I like to meet up for lunch. Well, of course!
He had an appointment in town today and called me after that. He met me and my cousin at a winery and then we all went to lunch.
After lunch he helped me escape to the store so I could quickly buy my cousins an anniversary card and a small plant on the way back to my cousins' house. I wanted to acknowledge their anniversary but had been unable to get to the store on my own! I'll take care of the real gift when I get home....I'm thinking a true New England shore dinner shipped in.
Anyway, JP is a sweet guy, funny and talented. He got along so well with my cousin as they both have musical backgrounds. We had a short visit but enjoyable none the less. There's nothing like the company of good people mixed with the enjoyment of good food.
I feel so lucky to be able to meet with some of the people from NN. It's great to finally put a real person to the persona we meet on line.
Tomorrow morning I'm off to venture back east. We're stopping at one of the missions and I'll leave from there. We'll head east on route 15 cutting through Vegas on our way to Colorado. We plan on visiting Estes National Park while we're there and then heading north again after that.

I'll keep y'all posted.