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Wow awesome read! Subscribed
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Nice trip and commentary.
If you aren't using it already, get the app "waze". Social media attacks driving issues (debris in road, certain people who are looking to catch people going too fast, etc.). It is linked to google maps (since it is a google app). We love it and just used it on our trip to Park City -- saved us from a truck tire that was in the road. We were following a truck that was passing another truck (truck races!) and backed off when we got the warning of the debris in road. That gave us time to see the debris was in our lane and adjust vs. it just appearing from under the center of the truck! Without that warning, our E90M3 would have needed a new bumper, oil cooler, etc., etc. |
+1 on Waze...we have been using it on trips for a couple years.
Not handy for solo driver, esp trying to respond, but very good for copilot to check occasionally/every 10-15 mins, esp for cops that appear out of the woodwork, and a heads up on traffic delays with a ballpark est of 'how long'. It, like GOOG Maps, is a very heavy smartphone batt consumer. GL, mD |
Always looking forward to updates on your trip... Really cool it worked out for your daughter to meet up with her friend, must really make it special for her. I can almost her reminiscing this trip in 10-40 years, lol..!
Waiting for more.... :D |
What a wonderful blog. I read your post out loud to my wife and we both chuckled. It reminded us so much of our time in the US last year, when we did our road trip. We also went to Amarillo and searched for Cadillac Ranch. While not the most pristine of environments, it is what it is, and we appreciated the art-scape immensely. What vision. A very unique installment of 'sculptures' that provided us with some excellent photo memories.
We met some wonderful people on our visit to portions of 'Route 66'. We happened across a couple of car shows and visited some 'antique' stores (more memorabilia than antiques) and laughed with the locals, commenting on their great southern accents. As visitors to the US, we were made to feel most welcome and enjoyed every day of our holiday. Our only regret was not being able to stay longer in some of the places we happened across that just had 'that feel' if you know what I mean. Keep the reports coming please. It's great reading and very entertaining too. |
Day 4 was the day we became a family again. My wife arrived in Phoenix after a 4AM start and some hours on top of that. She was so happy to see us that her hunger-leading-to-hangry was mostly abated until we were misled a couple times by the navigation. She was mostly a trooper though and it was nice to be whole again.
http://www.xoutpost.com/attachments/...py-medium-.jpgAfter just shy of 30 years with my oldest little girl, I know what she wants. Knowing exactly *when* she wants it is the mystery I don't think any man will ever get through. But I knew she'd be hungry on arrival to Sky Harbor International. She's the reason we have a tiny daughter, but her hunger can make the Incredible Hulk blush and look away. Let's just call it one of those things in the 'minus' column... Results weighted, of course. What I didn't know is that she'd arrive having passed at least 4 out of order restrooms at the airport. She was happy to stop by the room and was duly impressed with my selection of both a hotel and the rooms. Things were looking up, but somewhere in there was a Hulk-cue-lar hunger. Thor's hammer has nothing on it. But alas, we found what was billed as 'The best pizza in Arizona" on some random list-o-pedia. Having eaten there, I think the requisites for best pizza go something like: Wood fired. Fresh Basil and mozzarella. And sausage that they think is something more than pig lips and eyeballs. Our $60 pizza lunch was less than impressive. Any married guy knows that the greatest success is only 1/2 as powerful as the most recent failure. Lunch would be my albatross until I could find something- anything- to make it up. And so, we walked around Heritage Square for awhile. I screwed up AGAIN and paid WAY too much to park WAY too far away. The afternoon was looking like the suck, but my daughter insisted we take a tour. The wisdom of a child, it turns out would be no match for her father's misplaced trust in Google. We toured the Rossen House. It was neat. My daughter asked questions. They had a creepy staircase leading to the attic, and I like looking at the way old stuff was put together. My daughter made more of it than it was for her, but my wife bought it. She was actually helping me navigate the caverns of the dog house I've so often visited. http://www.xoutpost.com/attachments/...edium-copy.jpgSpeaking of a misplaced trust in Google, I went ahead and doubled down on the reviews for this little destination for Mexican frozen treats. The reviews raved. I needed SOMETHING. ANYTHING. I was swinging blindly. We ended up here: http://www.xoutpost.com/attachments/...py-medium-.jpgHow 'authentic' was it? Well, our frozen treat Barista couldn't understand one lick of our english. That usually means the shizzle is for rizzle. We were left to our own devices, my 11 year old's 5 years of elementary Spanish, and some pre-packages frozen fruit bars. In strawberry and watermelon, these would be the 'safe choice' for my girls. Me? Oh hellz yeah! I'm going with pictures and a broad smile that has rarely failed me with the ladies who speak no english. I went with a sugary fresh fruit and chopped ice thing. Large Baby. Give it! And it freakin rocked. Fresh mango in a sugary syrup with strawberry in an equally sugary syrup. You let that chopped ice melt and you have this thing I've never had. It was awesome. My wife enjoyed hers, my daughter's and mine. I think I saw a light at the tunnel's end. We got out to the car and recorded our hottest day yet. That sh!t's hot. But it was still great for us. We love it. We still want to be here. http://www.xoutpost.com/attachments/...py-medium-.jpgSo, we were off to our first planned stop. The Sonoran Desert south of Phoenix. It fit the bill for all the things we'd hoped for. Learn this, see that. We were on the way. Along the way, my wife spies an In and Out. Now, you might be thinking that it had only been an hour since we last ate. It was longer. I mean, not MUCH longer, but these two have hummingbird metabolisms. It's part of the reason most scales leave our house broken. They have no problem. It's when the big guy saddles up that the electronic bits start to press on one another. What about analog you say? Math. Who can do the math when the scale spins past the no-mans land at the end of the numbers? Best not to try is what I say. In-and-Out down, my bride spies an Outlet mall. As a principle, I stay away from these places. I simply can't be trusted. But there was that dimming light at the dog house's end. I was desperate. I can't make an excuse: "The beauty of the Sonoran Desert National Monument, or Premium Outlets, South Phoenix?" The word's "Outlets" nearly deafened me. And off the exit we were. Now, before you get all judgmental, I will share a bit of serendipity that fit well here. You see, nearly 20 years ago when my wife and I had visited the area, we went to this cool Old West Town/ppen theater/ amusement dining experience called Rawhide. It was fun. Open 'gunfights'. actual boardwalks. Great fun for the kids we were 20 years ago and for the one we had now. They even had rattlesnake fried so deeply and chewy it was probably an eraser. But, man oh man did we talk it up. We'd even seen it on a Discovery channel or food network, or WWF (Wild World of Food) or SOMEHWERE. My daughter was gigged to see it and so were we to share it. It was the same exit, you see- as the Premium Outlets! We couldn't lose! Now, yet another aside is that I've shown my ass a number of times at an outlet mall. That and an email address provided specifically for the special offers should be enough to keep my wife from letting me close to them. But she likes to reverse the traditional roles when she can, and a number of 'stackable' coupons at the Polo Outlet store provide her just what she needs. And they did. They did. That's all I have to say about that. But we were hungry and ready after the young woman at the checkout counter remarked it was the longest receipt she'd seen. My wife beamed. I implored the rookie to to shove the receipt-come-War and Peace into the box(es) she'd ship home. Dear Lord. I think I'm going to fly next time. And so we were off! Off to Wally World! It was going to be GREAT! BANG BANG! A steak the size of your head! Ratt...tel... Snake... http://www.xoutpost.com/attachments/...py-medium-.jpgPhaaaaack! http://www.xoutpost.com/attachments/...py-medium-.jpgIt was actually kind of funny. I started hearing 'Holiday Road' from National Lampoons Vacation and my wife started looking for the place SHE would rather eat. I wasn't sure where I was in the land of dog house, but I knew she was getting hungry. Not much else matters in the greater universe. She searched. We found. We ate some digusting sh!t at a place that seemed to cater- if not exclusively- at least partially- to ladies of the night. I lost count at the number of times my daughter said, "Oh my!" We left to find our windows in tact and the stuff still inside. Even with the crappy food, this was a win given what we now know as the Google tax- That's the price you pay when Google bends you over a barrel. We felt as if we'd paid it and the toll roads to get there by now. But alas, the last place on our list for the day: We'd never been to the Estrella Star tower, but the pictures looked like it might be cool. And you know what? It was. We connected as a family atop the tower looking at the stars. We were all tired and whipped from Google, shopping, and bad food. It was time to get home, but what a great stop for us to end the night. We don't ever have to go back. But we enjoyed the moment we were there. http://www.xoutpost.com/attachments/...py-medium-.jpg http://www.xoutpost.com/attachments/...edium-copy.jpgYou might've guessed that I'm a few days behind. We're in Sedona, AZ now and headed to a good travel day including the Grand Canyon and some other things to see. The laundry at our Bed and Breakfast is almost done. I'll post again when I can catch up! |
As they say in the South...
Whale... Sheeit. My very advanced and very complicated laundry plans were foiled :banghead: I've had to start the second load anew in order for my wife's folding duties to be complete before our start tomorrow morning. Give a little, take a little, gentlemen. I suppose that the chance to fit in another day isn't all bad. And this was a fun one. We knew where we wanted to be on this day. We didn't *exactly* know anything about what we'd see, but that's part of why you go anywhere new, right? I forgot to get a pic atthe entrance to Tonto Nat'l Forest, but we made up for it along the way. http://www.xoutpost.com/attachment.p...1&d=1437462917Now, it should be noted here that I have a problem with a 'forest' being anything other than trees, but the cactus were freaking huge and really old, so I guess I give it a pass. http://www.xoutpost.com/attachment.p...1&d=1437462917Which brings my wife and I to the same (non) starting point. We both agree- and yet have no freakin idea why- that this stuff is awesome. I mean BEAUTIFUL! Like, we want a yard full of the stuff! But wait.. How do you freakin maintain the damn things? They're nearly lethal. WTF? Do you just let the sh!t go and fence your dogs away? http://www.xoutpost.com/attachment.p...1&d=1437462917These are all questions that we'll probably need answered before we buy a house or anything as drastic as actually talking to a real estate agent. New things are great when the end is a couple days away. But if we're gonna like, LIVE in the middle of this deathly sh!t, we're going to need to understand some of the finer points. http://www.xoutpost.com/attachment.p...1&d=1437462917Hmmmm.. prickly stuff and 100 degrees. It really is a dry heat. Take water. http://www.xoutpost.com/attachment.p...1&d=1437462917And in short order, there we were. Tortilla Flat. It's as kitchy as the name implies. Touristy. Trinkets. Cactus bloom ice cream (that is awful, by the way). http://www.xoutpost.com/attachment.p...1&d=1437462917This made me laugh... http://www.xoutpost.com/attachment.p...1&d=1437463187I have been looking for an outside opener for the grill and smoker pavillion back at home. I think this fits. My wife did not. http://www.xoutpost.com/attachments/...py-medium-.jpgAnd finally, if you're in the right mood for stupid sh!t, you'll probably think this is also funny. You may not be in that mood right here, right now, but if you arrive well-fed at the 3 shops that make this place a dot on the map, you might also agree. http://www.xoutpost.com/attachment.p...1&d=1437462917They have a place to eat on which we passed. But, if you get drunk enough to plaster a buck on the wall, they promise you'll be able to find it. If you can recall where you put it. Worth probably a little less than the dollar you give up for the experience. http://www.xoutpost.com/attachment.p...1&d=1437462917Now, about 40 feet from the ice cream store, the Google taxman comes a callin'. The pavement on what is shown as a State Highway just outright ends. It's one of those 'maintained roads' like I found in Colorado Springs last year. The sign says it'll be 22 miles. Air suspension codes- and my girls' hesitation- be dammed, I came here for a looped drive back to where we started, and by diggity, we were gonna see some different stuff! (Has anyone recently seen the movie Vacation?) OMG. It's hilarious when paired against this trip! You know what you get when you take a dirt road? "Dusty!" says my smart-ass wife. That's actually in the 'plus' column. I married a sharp one to keep my dumb ass in check. Though like today, it rarely works as well in advance as it does in reverse. No! You get the sh!t that no one sees! Sh!t like this... http://www.xoutpost.com/attachment.p...1&d=1437462978And off the wall sh!t like this to navigate: (an arrow? Really?) http://www.xoutpost.com/attachment.p...1&d=1437462978What I don't have any 'car centered' pics of is a stop along the dusty pathway with a looong sidewalk. I first took the path to see if it was worth it. My wife stayed with the car and our now sleeping little princess. How she can sleep on that road with ME at the wheel is I think a testament to how tired she was. But I got to the end and waved her up. It was unbelievably quiet. I could here their tiny feet approaching from dozens of feet away. There was NOTHING going on. No birds. No crawling things. No cars. We were all alone like the Star Tower the day before. We were looking down at a huge cavern and out at the horizon of the Superstition Mountains. We could see for miles. I yelled at the top of my voice into the cavern. No echo. Nothing came back. Superstition indeed. This place was only beautiful because I'd rode in on an AWD, air conditioned chariot filled with electrolyte enhanced water bottles. 15 minutes after finding this place on horseback, I'd have been buzzard food. It was incredible. We had a great moment even if our freshly awakened daughter would have rather been somewhere else at that moment. She got her nap eventually. I bet she remembers me yelling without an echo more than she will the nap. Good times. Now what we did not know is that we'd pass a number of recreational lakes on the way out of the forest. We also did not know we'd end up at Roosevelt Dam. Shortly after we found pavement though, we were someplace I'd always wanted to see. http://www.xoutpost.com/attachment.p...1&d=1439699271I'm pretty sure someone somewhere had a finger hovering above 'Launch the drones' when we got out for this picture. But it was cool. That's not necessarily MY fault. http://www.xoutpost.com/attachment.p...1&d=1439699271And finally, the iconic bridge just on the front of the dam. http://www.xoutpost.com/attachment.p...1&d=1439699271Have you ever made a little double entendre pun with a child? You know the kind. A little dirty. A little forbidden on the palette of language from which they might normally choose? Nothing terribly racy like 'back door' and a sly grin to your wife.. Just low brow, silly humor. Welcome to 98% of the humor we enjoy as a family. I have already told her that if she can find a boy who 'gets' the weird sense of humor we've saddled her with, he'll have 2/3 of the battle done. If the dumbass keeps her fed, he'll likely be my son-in-law. Anyway, here was our start to the next hour of an eleven year old knawing on the forbidden fruit of one 'dirty word'. As we rounded the corner, I said, "Wow! Look at that big dam door!" I got snorts from both of them. The Costanza-esque high note achieved, my day was done. We saddled up for a 98 mile, one hour and 10 ride back to Old Town Scottsdale. They were BOTH getting hungry. http://www.xoutpost.com/attachment.p...1&d=1439699271So, of course, my daughter starts in on the not so new word with the new freedom to use it as she pleases. Wife: "I don't get how they work. Like how do they build them and what are they for, and why do they build them?" From the back seat: "Ya gotta be DAM SMART! (~SNORT!~) "You've created a monster." Hey. Takes at least one to make one. Oh yeah.. and one last thing, boys. Remember that part about keeping me in check working better in reverse than forward? Welp. She was right. You *DO* get dusty on a dirt road. http://www.xoutpost.com/attachment.p...1&d=1439699271I hope you're enjoying the reads. We're having a hell of a lot of fun. See you guys somewhere near Utah! |
My parents used to have this crap in their yard in Green Valley, AZ (Titan Missile Silo tour is a must, btw). However, the pictured bad boy is particularly nasty, iirc. A jumping cholla. Not recommended for landscaping.
http://www.xoutpost.com/attachments/...edium-copy.jpg Dogs can figure cactus out pretty quickly. My old male sheltie (RIP Ranger) went to sniff a barrel cactus within his first few minutes there. "Yipe!" as he touched his nose to the pointy bits. Stay away from them after that. Not curious at all of any other cactus either. Quick learner. As for maintaining it, you hire a landscaper is my suggestion. Even heavy leather gloves are no match for some of these bastards. I laugh at your 109 deg F. reading on the X5. I've started BMW club races with the air temp at 109 deg F. (Willow Springs Raceway in California). Phoenix gets stupid hot in the summer. Tucson has a better climate. I prefer Vegas over both. :cool: |
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I've been back for nearly a week! And you know what coming back is *always* like, right?
Anyway, I had to chalk up another 1500 miles or so this past week, so I couldnt even get back to this thread then. Ahh, well.. And so we were- at our place on the creek in Sedona, AZ. A nice, quiet place that let us handle some laundry before we left for our day on a Pink Jeep. http://www.xoutpost.com/attachment.p...1&d=1439701315We were reunited with the discoloration I'd snapped a picture of 17 years ago. The shape here was once more an egg than one broken. The shift follows a crack in the rock that some think goes down for miles and miles. I was impressed once again with my child's ability to recognize the enormity of where we were. Don't get me wrong, I was impressed as a kid having seen this.. but I didn't sit still and soak it in... http://www.xoutpost.com/attachments/...small-copy.jpgI certainly didn't take time to be anything more than fearful of the high winds there. But my little twinkle toes.. something ab her makes her open up here... She was like me.. at home even if we were thousands of miles away... From that fun, we found our way back to two places my wife and I had seen so long ago. We shared our experience with our daughter, and even engaged with a park ranger for awhile. He knew we wanted to see a tree we'd seen so long ago, but was cautious of a rattlesnake sighting. He was placed at ease and driven by my daughter's questions to allow us down the trail. And there waiting for us, was our friend, deemed by my daughter as Jose-A. (this starts a trend). From Montezuma's Well, to Montezuma's Castle, we shared with her the places I never saw as a kid, It was fun. She was engaged. Interested. Fascinated. She was all the things I was not as a boy. And that was OK with me.
And so, our last drive... more dirt roads. I'd even taken time to wash the X5! http://www.xoutpost.com/attachments/...small-copy.jpgOf course, you have to have your good ole travel buddies! Along our way back- Good times to be had! http://www.xoutpost.com/attachments/...small-copy.jpg The day ended with a serene moment on a hillside restaurant. We had some apps and some quiet reflection. And we watched the colors of the sun fade against the red rock. It was amazing.
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