Arriving at Death Valley

Dec. 3: Late afternoon

We're entering Death Valley from
Pahrump, Nevada. 

Once we leave this town we are back into no mans land. You have to stop and wonder if you are on the right road. Glad we made sure to fill the gas tank. No need to worry about traffic out here. We only see 2-5 cars every 10 miles. 

OMG! just when you think you are going crazy in the desert you enter the valley. No signs, no warning, you just know you are there...

Driving Day: Why North East?

Dec. 3: Weather to our west is causing a great deal of problems along the California coast. Not going to be a problem for us we are heading north. Actually we are heading north east and will be passing through Las Vegas.

We have been advised that the roads to Death Valley will be better this way. So good bye California for a few hours we'll catch up with you again tonight.
Good day to spend in the car... damp and a little drizzly, some fog but not bad.

More Desert - More Gas - and another project completed!

Russ decided if we are going to hit cold weather he may need a scarf. Ask and yo shall receive. 

Getting Closer: Today we will get to California

Dec. 2: Leaving the house of problems - to bad it could have been a nice cozy place. Today's destination is Needles, California. Yes we are almost there... BUT we are planning to take a few detours to avoid the bad weather and heavy rain that is expected along the California coast. 

Desert driving all day long. 

We're in search of Route 66!

We've been seeing evidence of it here and there as we turned off for gas. 

Arrived early afternoon - got settled in our hotel - not much to do in Needles. Russ took a nap but by 3:30 I was ready to get out and see what was around. Signs indicated that the "Historical National Highway" was nearby. So why not... we set out to find "Route 66". Maps indicated that we were just miles away. So we drove, and drove, and drove 30 miles to determine that there was NOTHING on most of Route 66 and many sections are closed. 

What we did see is trains...  we were following a key section of the Santa Fe Railroad. Trains at least 1-2 miles long with 4 engines along a very very deserted road. With it getting darker and darker we turned off the first chance we got - on to the highway 30 miles back to our hotel. 

 Not much around for dinner so Juicy wins! Everyone says its the best home cooking around... that's because it is the only place around. We figured it must be OK because while we were on our hour ride to nowhere the parking lots around here are all filled with truckers. More truckers that I have ever seen in one place. At least 30-50 trucks. 

In the morning as we checked out we shared our experience and the staff behind the desk just laughed. They then informed us that there was nothing for 3 hours in any direction from Needles except desert. And we did experience what is left of most of Route 66... nothing. However we were ON the old Route 66 (all 2 blocks of it). He encouraged us to take a picture to verify we had found it. 

Putting Needles and Route 66 behind us... we are on the road again!

Back at the house

More problems:  opening the door all we can see is a puddle of water. What now?
Well it appears that the seal on the dishwasher has let go. Water is actually still draining from it. Located a sponge mop and bucket and started to mop it up. No way! There is at least 1 1/2 to 2 in of water... Wonder if that is why there was a shop vac next to the washing machine?  Keeping our fingers crossed Russ dragged it into the kitchen and started sucking up water. After emptying the 6 gallon tank 3 times and sucking up the rest of the water in the dish washer we feel like we are gaining on it. We now have a damp clean floor but no more puddles.

Still cold... We had already heard from the owner earlier in the day that he could not get anyone in to fix the stove until Thursday. So we dragged the heaters into the kitchen to see if they could help dry things out a bit.

OK decision is made, we are packing up and out of here in the morning. To hungry and tired to move out tonight plus it is getting late. Time to make dinner.

Where's that bottle of wine I bought?

Grand Canyon Day

Dec. 1 -  Chilly this morning, frost on the car - house is in the 50s this morning. Getting ready for the canyon, packing extra layers of clothes just in case.

50 mile drive to the canyon, weather is getting better as we get closer. Sun is out and temp is climbing a bit. 

10:30 AM - High 40s no wind spectacular day here. Visibility 190 miles. Awesome day! And in front of us lies the canyon. 

Williams House

Sunday evening - we are trying to settle in to a small house in Williams, AZ. Cute place.

Hum! It is 54 outside and 52 inside. Just found out that we have no heat. The small gas stove that heats the house is not working. We found 2 small space heaters in the bedrooms not sure how good they will be. Owner says he is trying to get someone in on Monday to repair it. Guess it is going to be a cold night.

It is now up to 62. That's a little better.

6:00 PM - Oh my goodness now we are blowing fuses. Another call to the owner because we can't find the electrical box. While we're on the phone we'll also have to discuss the issue of no hot water in the bathroom. ***** Found the fuse box, it's in the back yard on the back of the house... Yup! Outside. One problem solved. Actually 2 problems solved, there is hot water the plumer reversed the lines... Hot is on the right!

Went to the grocery store for dinner items, cooking a chicken and veggies in the oven. Figured using the oven will help heat the house. 

Another day of driving

8:30 AM Sunday morning - Nov 30: the weather is clear and crisp at 50 degrees, another good travel day.

Tonight's destination is Williams, Az. Driving through New Mexico the scenery was amazing. 

On the move again

Goodbye Memphis, next stop Oklahoma.

8:00 AM Friday - Nov 28: leaving Memphis behind us we are in Arkansas! 
Saturday it was Oklahoma and Texas. We hit 70 degree weather but the wind was so strong it almost knocked you over. 

Spending the night in Weatherford... just a place to sleep. Tomorrow we'll be heading for New Mexico.

All we did was drive, drive, drive. 

Thanksgiving Dinner at the Peabody Hotel

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hope you had a great day.

We had an enjoyable dinner at the famous "Peabody Hotel". 

Make Way For Ducklings

We were just in time (5:00 PM) to catch the ducks waddling out of the fountain... on to the red carpet on their way to the elevator... 

 

to return to the "Duck Palace" on the roof - sky deck.  

The story of the "Peabody Ducks". 

How the tradition began.

Dinner Tonight at Boscos

As we often do, we choose a local pub for dinner. They had so many interesting local beers on tap that I did not know what to choose soooo I decided to try them all.

Graceland: Home of Elvis

You just can not stop in Memphis and not visit Elvis! 

Walking through Graceland was a nice break. Yes it is considered a mansion but once inside it could have been any of our homes back in the 60's. Rooms are modest in size and very reminiscent of the era. 

More pictures of Elvis's estate and memorabilia once I have a chance to organize them. 

Elvis Memorabilia

Everything Elvis!

Memphis - Our home for a few nights

Belvedere Suites

Arrived last night to our studio apartment. 

Cute 50's style French influenced efficiency complex. Just right for a few days stay. 

Projects: How to stay busy in the car

Well I have not had much time to knit lately so I thought this was a good time to catch up. I've already completed my first project. I decided that I should have a hat for when we get to the Grand Canyon so I made one.

Have already started project number 2!
Let's see how long it takes.

Toooo much stuff!

9:30 AM Tuesday - It's getting harder and harder to repack an already full car as things begin to shift. 

I think everything is in. Next stop Memphis, just under 400 miles.

So far so good... We did make it out of the east coast before the bad weather. We are now crossing the states on Rt 40. The days here are a bit crisp at 45-50 degrees, it is almost winter. Looking for warmer days once we leave Memphis on Friday.

1 Down - How Many More to Go? Who's counting!

9:00 AM Monday - 500 miles behind us... 

Only 3000 more to go! 

60 degrees beautiful day for a ride. Tennessee here we come. Next stop Knoxville area. 

NOPE! Couldn't find a pet friendly hotel soooo we took a slight detour to Sevierville.

Had to travel a bit later and further than we expected but we did catch an interesting sunset.

Not sure what this town is noted for but they like the holidays. Even highway 66 is all lit up.

Shippensburg: Just a place to sleep

Today's goal was to make it to Shippensburg, PA... 

and we made it. In 12 hours we'll be on the road again.

We're off!

8:00 AM Sunday - Nov 23: 

On the road...         San Francisco here we come! 

Car is packed, actually over packed. 

Absolutely no room for anything else. 

Bailey's been watching us pack for days, pacing nervous, now that she is in the car, guess she finally realized she was not going to be left behind.