Road Trip – Robert & Joels’ Excellent Adventure

For those of you who don’t know some friends of ours recently moved out to Phoenix. They drove their Mini Cooper so Robert and I volunteered to bring their Mazda Miata convertible (Chia) out to them. This last weekend was the trip. Thursday night I picked Chia up from her temporary care provider Jilian, bathed her, fed her, gave her a quick check up and put her to bed. Friday morning we left. The scenery began to change once we got past Memphis but it was really in Oklahome that it started to get interesting and just got better and better. I love the look of the southwest. This trip was definitely needed and I had a great time. Since I get kind of long winded on these I have decided to do this as a list of high lights that are really in no particular order.

Approximately 2200 miles in three days. Day one (13hrs) Blacksburg to Russellville Arkansas. So Virginia, Tennessee and Arkansas. Day two (17hrs) Russellville to Flagstaff. So Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. Day three up to the Grand Canyon and then back down to Tempe.

Two airplane tickets from Phoenix to DC - $180. Gas to get Chia out west $197.

Cops on patrol – we saw about eight cops on our way out of Virginia and seventeen in Tennessee before Nashville. Then about ten the entire rest of the trip. We think it was a Bristol NASCAR race weekend.

Rain in Nashville, no surprise there. It always rains in Nashville when we approach. And sure enough right after Nashville it quit. We’ll see if it rains next spring when we run. One of only two times we put the top up. It came back down quickly after the rain.

Sunscreen - lots and lots of sunscreen. By the way it is a little difficult to apply spray on sunscreen in a convertible with the top down travelling at highway speeds.

Memphis – great stop. Hard Rock for Jilian, Ribs for Robert and beer for me. (Jilian – I forgot to tell you that it was cheaper to buy a shot and get the shotglass than to simply by the glass alone. So Robert sucked it up and did a shot for you. I don’t think he was too upset.) We’ll be going back to Memphis.

Also in Memphis, wholesale women. Darnit, why did we not have a bigger car? I thought about leaving the luggage and trying to get one in the trunk. I also thought about leaving Robert but decided he might get a little angry.

A really brief discussion about picking up a hitchhiker.

A brief discussion wondering what would happen if we got pulled over for speeding. Would they believe that we were taking a car registered in Virginia to neither of us to our friends in Tempe?

Me backing up the on ramp to the highway in Russellville after making a wrong turn thinking it was the road to the hotel and refusing to go any further.

Robert rolling up the window even though the top was down so he could talk on his cell phone.

Oklahoma winery billboard – “Like California, but less fruity.”

Buffalo

Dodging tumbleweeds as they roll across the road. In the last part of New Mexico the wind really picked up and was blowing dust and tumble weeds across the highway. Later it started raining so we put the top up. The second of the two times we put the top up.

The view after Albuquerque – you drive up a mountain on the way out of town and when you crest the top you are presented with a truly magnificent expansive view of a huge valley. It was just breath taking.

The most stars I think I have even seen in a night ski. The combination of having no light pollution and being able to see so much sky made it truly stunning.

Watching lightning storms at night all around us but not anywhere near us. This was a beautiful display of light.

Topping the speedometer out at 140mph in Texas. (just kidding, we did not really do that)

In New Mexico and Arizona reduced speed means 65mph. :)

Rex’s never ending 80’s CD. It lasted from Russellville through Oklahoma, Texas and most of New Mexico. So it was about 15hrs of 80’s music. I may have to stay away from that for a bit.

The temperature change driving from Flagstaff to Tempe. In a span of less than five minutes the temperature went from about 80 to 110+.

Driving into Tempe in a convertible on a day they break a heat record at 116. Don’t worry it will cool down later in the week to 105.

Turning the heat up to full blast to stay warm in the middle of the day in the middle of Oklahoma in August. A rainstorm has sucked all the heat out of the air. It was amazing to go from being very hot to being freezing in a matter of about two minutes.

Being able to see such long distances. Watching the road go ahead of you forever. Being able to see an entire train of about fifty cars because it is far enough away. Again, the scenery was beautiful. And being able to see storms so far away that it takes hours to get to them.

Me flashing a truck with the headlight to let them know they could safely change lanes and then realizing twenty minutes later that it did not work because the headlights had not been razed up.

Me trying to flash a truck with the headlights to let them know it was safe to change lanes but spraying the windshield with cleaner instead. (Ooops)

This sign - as near as we can tell it means that unlike normal deer who leap across the road these bad boys stand around on or near the road and are a bad element. I think I read something about them smoking and drinking.

The Grand Canyon – this will be a separate post. It was amazing.

Sitting for an hour on a plane in Houston because they can’t decide what route we’ll be taking thanks to hurricane Katrina. Then being told we are 26th in line for take off with an approximate estimate of three minutes between takeoffs.

Visiting with Kris and Rob – thanks for letting us do this for you. We had a lot of fun.

Eighty nine hours with Robert. There was sleeping of course and other moments of separation. We seem to still be friends so I guess it worked out ok. Seriously Robert, thanks, I had fun. When do we go again? :)