My Trip Across America, Part II
All summer I teased and cajoled my husband about wanting to take a real vacation from July 20 to the end of the month, the only real time I had off. (I never really have time off in my position, but this was as close as it gets.) Finally, in mid-July, we got serious and planned the ultimate road trip: 3700 miles of American roads, 11 states, and 3 BIG national monuments (and a couple smaller ones).
Some of the photos are already posted below. I have a lot more but didn't want to clog up the blog with them. Our first day we got a late start because of getting a rental car, etc., and only made it about 270 miles to Paducah, KY. The next day we drove to Council Bluffs, Iowa/Omaha, Nebraska. I was able to say I entered my 41st state, Nebraska, although I think we only really drove through it for about a mile. That night I visited a Walmart in Council Bluffs and got just as depressed as I do at the Walmarts in North Georgia. Cracker Barrels are consistent in a wonderful way; Walmarts are consistent in a disturbing way.
The next morning we drove to Rapid City, SD, our longest day of driving to that point (but not for the whole trip!) We stopped at the Corn Palace in Mitchell (loved it!), Wall Drug in Wall (what a joke), the Badlands (cool!--drove all the way through) and finally got to the hotel. After all that time in the car it was time for a fuss about getting something to eat, but I convinced my husband to try a Perkins and it was very good. (no pie, though)
The next day was my day: Mt. Rushmore. My first feeling on a good sight of it--creepy. Then I got over it. Now I think I can say I've seen all the major things to see in the U.S. Grand Canyon, Niagara Falls, Washington, D.C., buildings, Mt. Rushmore, Badlands, Rocky Mountains, Miami, both oceans, 43 states. Haven't seen Yellowstone, though, and not that worried about it, or AL, HW, ID, NV, ND, MT, or ME. Would like to see Alaska and Eastern Canada/Maine. Those are the next two trips. I'm pretty satisfied now. It will be a while before we tackle such a long and expensive (over $2K) trip. But my husband I haven't done a road trip like this in over ten years, due to kid in college, sick mothers, graduate school, and trying to save funds.
Anyway, on Tuesday we drove to Denver, where we stayed three days in a nice hotel (it was a Hampton but someone bought it out) and visited friends Wednesday and Thursday. We also toured the Rocky Mountain National Park above Denver, and it was fabulous. Really wonderful. We were over 12,000 feet up. Glaciers, tundra, volcanic areas. And chilly. We also saw Boulder and soaked in the beauty that is Denver. I see why people flock there.
On Friday we went to Colorado Springs and visited with an old Air Force buddy of my husband's and ate pizza at Fargo's, but didn't site see. We left the next morning and drove straight back, making it to North Georgia at 6:00 in the morning. Yeah. I think we are still out of whack six days later, but I had to work all week.
Life is funny. We stopped at a convenience store in Flagler, CO, and talked with the woman who made our sandwiches. My husband asked where she was from--Georgia. Oh, where? The same town we live in! No way! She actually lived about two miles from us. She had left NOLA after Katrina and settled in our town for several years and had only come to CO in the last few weeks. Yeah, life is funny. This kind of thing happens to me a lot.
My wanderlust is "slaked," but there is one difference. The idea of getting in a car and driving several hundred miles is no longer repugnant. I might take a trip in September to Virginia. My aversion to long car trips is over!
And we saw Americans. Europeans can say what they want, but we are a friendly lot, proud of our place, eager to see this land that makes us who we are. Yes, we have lots of space (South Dakota and Wyoming will convince you of that!) and like our "territory" personal and otherwise, but we are welcoming. Our fights over immigration are not because we are unwelcoming, that we dislike immigrants or foreigners feel that they can't "fit", I believe, but from fear that too much immigration will change our basic values and laws. That might be foolish, but I don't think it's hateful on its face.
Some of the photos are already posted below. I have a lot more but didn't want to clog up the blog with them. Our first day we got a late start because of getting a rental car, etc., and only made it about 270 miles to Paducah, KY. The next day we drove to Council Bluffs, Iowa/Omaha, Nebraska. I was able to say I entered my 41st state, Nebraska, although I think we only really drove through it for about a mile. That night I visited a Walmart in Council Bluffs and got just as depressed as I do at the Walmarts in North Georgia. Cracker Barrels are consistent in a wonderful way; Walmarts are consistent in a disturbing way.
The next morning we drove to Rapid City, SD, our longest day of driving to that point (but not for the whole trip!) We stopped at the Corn Palace in Mitchell (loved it!), Wall Drug in Wall (what a joke), the Badlands (cool!--drove all the way through) and finally got to the hotel. After all that time in the car it was time for a fuss about getting something to eat, but I convinced my husband to try a Perkins and it was very good. (no pie, though)
The next day was my day: Mt. Rushmore. My first feeling on a good sight of it--creepy. Then I got over it. Now I think I can say I've seen all the major things to see in the U.S. Grand Canyon, Niagara Falls, Washington, D.C., buildings, Mt. Rushmore, Badlands, Rocky Mountains, Miami, both oceans, 43 states. Haven't seen Yellowstone, though, and not that worried about it, or AL, HW, ID, NV, ND, MT, or ME. Would like to see Alaska and Eastern Canada/Maine. Those are the next two trips. I'm pretty satisfied now. It will be a while before we tackle such a long and expensive (over $2K) trip. But my husband I haven't done a road trip like this in over ten years, due to kid in college, sick mothers, graduate school, and trying to save funds.
Anyway, on Tuesday we drove to Denver, where we stayed three days in a nice hotel (it was a Hampton but someone bought it out) and visited friends Wednesday and Thursday. We also toured the Rocky Mountain National Park above Denver, and it was fabulous. Really wonderful. We were over 12,000 feet up. Glaciers, tundra, volcanic areas. And chilly. We also saw Boulder and soaked in the beauty that is Denver. I see why people flock there.
On Friday we went to Colorado Springs and visited with an old Air Force buddy of my husband's and ate pizza at Fargo's, but didn't site see. We left the next morning and drove straight back, making it to North Georgia at 6:00 in the morning. Yeah. I think we are still out of whack six days later, but I had to work all week.
Life is funny. We stopped at a convenience store in Flagler, CO, and talked with the woman who made our sandwiches. My husband asked where she was from--Georgia. Oh, where? The same town we live in! No way! She actually lived about two miles from us. She had left NOLA after Katrina and settled in our town for several years and had only come to CO in the last few weeks. Yeah, life is funny. This kind of thing happens to me a lot.
My wanderlust is "slaked," but there is one difference. The idea of getting in a car and driving several hundred miles is no longer repugnant. I might take a trip in September to Virginia. My aversion to long car trips is over!
And we saw Americans. Europeans can say what they want, but we are a friendly lot, proud of our place, eager to see this land that makes us who we are. Yes, we have lots of space (South Dakota and Wyoming will convince you of that!) and like our "territory" personal and otherwise, but we are welcoming. Our fights over immigration are not because we are unwelcoming, that we dislike immigrants or foreigners feel that they can't "fit", I believe, but from fear that too much immigration will change our basic values and laws. That might be foolish, but I don't think it's hateful on its face.
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