Road Trip USA

“On the road again, Just can't wait to get on the road again”

-Willie Nelson, On the Road Again

  Oh no, I’m starting with musical quotes again. This can’t be good but it's just so apt.

  Now, upon my return from my “‘Round the World” trip last spring (see Travelogs) I had a few months of free time before my next set departure date. Summer was spent in sunny southern California but what of the fall? This sent my mind wandering: What should I do? Where should I go? Randomly my truck popped into my mind. My lease ends early 2024 and I realized that I had only used up 17,000 of the 30,000 miles allowed. So the idea of adding many, many miles morphed into a road trip across the US. 

  Like this country, the planning was BIG. Initially it was going to be a 6,000 mile trek. Yes, I’m very ambitious. And so, after a new battery, a tire rotation, an oil change, 28 gas station fill ups, and 20 states later, it turned out to be even MORE. Over 8,000 mile in fact.

  Once I got started, it was hard to dial it back. The more I saw the more I wanted to see; and to places that I’d never been before. That left out the East and West coasts, having visited them over the years. Middle America it was, between the Rockies and the Appalachians, my "terra incognita" if you will. 

  My northernmost spot was Mackinac Island, right between the two Michigan peninsulas (peninsulae?) in Lake Huron. Then down south, along the Mississippi River to Eastern Tennessee, my eastern most point, and finally back west along sections of the Mother Road, Route 66. 

  Oh the sites I saw and the people I met. What a grand ole country this is: 

Cue the waving Stars & Stripes, the Screamin' Eagle and a patriotic tune!  

  Here’s the rundown of my adventures per state:

Utah

Zion National Park: How convenient, there’s a state highway that traverses the park thereby alleviating the tiresome exercise of exiting the vehicle and hiking through gorgeous canyons. I saw it all from the relaxing comfort my truck as I drove through. Pretty nifty and quite a time saver! 

  By the way, before you all curse my callousness and utter disregard for one of the most beautiful spots on Earth, please note that I have been to Zion many times before and absolutely recommend it to you. However on this visit I really did just use it as a shortcut to my next destination.

Moab & Arches National Park: Moab is nothing special; a town built into a little valley created by the Colorado River. It’s just a place to lay your head, grab a cup of coffee and a bagel in the morning and have some tacos at night. It’s functional. It services the surrounding grandeur. Arches National Park is the big “Kahuna” in these parts and it is stunning! This place is painted in primary colors of the most vibrant hue. Cobalt blue for the sky. White for the cumulus clouds (I know white isn’t primary: I’m using creative license). Bright living green for the pine and mesquite trees. And red for the rocks and the earth. Then, to make you say "wow" even louder, nature creates delicate arches of stone spanning from one mesa to another. Yep, pretty spectacular.

Colorado

Durango-Silverton narrow gauge railroad: This has been on my travel bucket list for a very long time, over 30 years, in fact. In the 90's I worked for a tour company that organized multi-day trips throughout the western US. These trips usually incorporated the Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, Las Vegas, San Francisco and L.A., you know, the uge. Some tours occasionally went into Colorado and hence my introduction to the Durango-Silverton RR. I had only heard amazing reviews of its beauty and to this day I still don’t know why it took me so long to go. 

 The 50-mile train ride takes 3 ½ hours from Durango to Silverton going uphill the entire way. This whole enterprise was quite an accomplishment back in the day: completed over 140 years ago, it was built by hand, with picks, shovels and dynamite, in less that a year. Hmm, and the (in)famous "bullet train" from L.A. to San Francisco is entering, what, year 19 of construction... makes you think, doesn't it?

  The first hour is meh, as it follows the main highway with not much to see. However, it then veers away from the road and heads straight into the canyons, snaking along the Animas River. The train chugs on a narrow track along a teeny tiny ledge that's bordered by towering mountain walls on one side and plunging cliffs on the other. 

  The result is amazing! During parts of the journey you seem suspended in mid air. The changing of the autumn leaves added an extra vibrancy of color. Plus, you get the smoke puffs from the steam engine and the steam whistles that harken you back in time. If you ever decide to go, sit on the right side of the train. Much nicer views. 

  Then you arrive in Silverton. The train sidles up to the main street and stops in a huge whoosh of steam. As you get off the train and the steam cloud clears, you are literally standing in town. It feels and looks like a movie set but this is authentic. Late 19th century mining town construction with the 2-story clapboard buildings, the dirt roads, and the covered wooden walkways complete the town. All that's missing are the sounds of neighing horses and the jingle jangle of spurs.

  Now here's a little anecdote for you that I learned while roaming the streets of Silverton and more specifically, its former "red light" district. Ever wondered why it's called a "red light" district? Well, back in the late 1800's, whenever trains arrived in town, the engineers, who were always on-call in case problems arose with the trains, needed to be found quickly. They were obliged to carry red lanterns with them wherever they went. So while in town, whether visiting a certain lady or a saloon, they would place their lanterns outside the door. As towns got bigger and more trains arrived, more red lanterns could be seen at a distance, hence the Red Light district. Ah, the things you learn...

Iowa

  I loved driving through Iowa. If any of you ever wonder what the French countryside looks like, then just drive the i-80 through western Iowa. I really thought I was in France. The beautiful rolling hills ladened with harvest, the little towns in the distance and the large hedges and trees demarcating the property lines; I got all nostalgic, sniff sniff. 

Michigan

  Mackinac Island: Wow, wow, wow, this place is magnificent. The town is one long road, hugging the port and the grand buildings are mainly in the American Colonial or Victorian style. It is an automobile-free island with only bicycles and horse drawn carriages allowed on its streets. The silence is quite extraordinary and is occasionally broken up the clip clop of the horses. Of course, the smell of horse manure is very, shall we say, bracing, so be ready for that. 

  The star attraction, just behind and above the main road, is the famous Grand Hotel. This is one of those places where the genteel and well-bred socialites of old would come to spend their summers. Long days of playing golf or croquet on the great lawn or idly rocking away the evening on the 600 foot long front porch overlooking the great lakes of Huron and Michigan (yes, you read that right: the front porch is over 600 feet long!) Then it'd be dinner and dancing in the restaurant and ballroom. What a hotel! 

Tennessee

  Oh yes, I went to the Smoky Mountains in eastern Tennessee to sample some Appalachian culture. I loved it, and all of the BBQ that went with it.

  Dollywood: Dolly Parton's amusement park was kind of what I expected. It’s a Knott’s Berry Farm-esque amusement park (for those of you that have been, you’ll understand the reference and for those that haven't, think of an old 19th century abandoned mining town) that’s a bit more “au naturel” as it’s built around a mountain and in a gorgeous setting at that. It’s also a bit more “religious” with all of the live music shows having a come-to-Jesus revival quality to them. Many hands waving in air and many “Amens” and “mm hmm, that’s right!” shouted out. At first I thought these shows were interactive with audience participation. I know, I'm so innocent. 

  This was also a very sad day for me. I rode three roller coasters in the span of a couple of hours and I realized that my body can’t handle them anymore. It was only a guess after the first one and the blinding headache. After number 2, I chalked up my sore back to a fluke. But after the third one, well that’s positively scientific. The rush of blood to my brain, the vibrations and clackety-clack of the track and the g forces involved doesn't do my body any good and it takes me way too long to recuperate. Like I said, what a sad day. I’m now relegated to the bench outside the exit holding onto purses, jackets, and half eaten bags of popcorn. 

  Pigeon Forge is the town outside Dollywood. It's main street is one long highway, 6-lanes wide that is packed with hotels, amusement centers (think mini-golf and go-kart racing), themed dining entertainment venues (i.e. dinner & a show), and tourist shops. I don’t know what I expected but it wasn’t this. In the late afternoon and early evening, traffic was so backed up that wheelchairs went faster than cars on their way to the nearest BBQ restaurant. 

  The randomness of the buildings and businesses was also very strange. Along one block there was a Holiday Inn, a wax museum, an aquarium, a mini race track with a mini golf on its roof, a candy store, THREE T-shirt shops, a BBQ restaurant and a Best Western to complete the book end. And across the street was almost the exact same thing, maybe with a Ferris wheel added in for good measure. So random. 

  But the one thing I really disliked was that parking lots were given such valuable real estate. They were small, 50 or so spots, and placed between the sidewalks and the building entrances. With no direct access or walkway to the entrances from the sidewalk, you were always weaving in between parked cars to get into places. So infuriating! I should've been an urban planner.

  Memphis: Got my fill of the Blues along Beale Street. On a chilly October Monday night (hee hee, that sounds like a blues song right there) it wasn't too crowded, which suited me fine. No wait to enter the joints and no crowds at the bar. Just my speed. And the music was divine, in a depressing bluesy kinda way.  

  Graceland: Oh yes, did all things Elvis Presley. Don't know why but I fought it at first. Didn't really want to go. It seemed to be a tourist trap. But I had an extra day and finally thought, what the hell, I'm here, might as well. 

  And you know, what? I ended up really enjoying it. On one side of the street, there are a series of museums set up in a faux movie lot setting. One museum deals with Elvis' time in the Army, another contains his collection of cars, with the famous pink Cadillac, of course. Then you have the movie career, singing career, the comeback, etc. 

  Across the street is the house he bought for his mom, Gladys. Now what I really liked was the "normality" of it all. It's not ostentatious by any means especially from someone so wealthy and famous. It's on a human scale. And it's a lovely, warm, comfortable home. OK, granted there was a custom made 15 foot white couch with a 10 foot glass table but other than that, normal. I have friends with bigger homes and they can't even lip sync a song. 

Missouri

  Branson: Known for all of its entertainment complexes and live musical venues, I didn't like it at all. For music, you're better off going to Nashville where there are hundreds of juke joints, honky tonks, clubs, etc. along Broadway where you can hoof it from bar to restaurant with ease.

  Here, the venues/theaters are spread out along hilly highways that curve left, right, up and down so each place is hidden from the other. You crest a hill and Bam! here's the Show Me Theater; half a mile later, on the left, behind that copse of trees, Wham! there's the Extravaganza Show Palace. With everything so far apart there's no walking from place to place either. And if I thought the traffic was bad in Pigeon Forge (see above) then I take it all back because this place is monstrous! The highways are only two-lane! They even back up onto the interstate. Everyone trying to turn left, 4 cars at a time before the light turns red again; it's maddening. I need to escape and I know just the place...

  The Ozarks. Nature at its most glorious. Lakes and hills and trees! Now I have a bone to pick the Netflix show of the same name. It was filmed in, I'm guessing, a blue or grey filter because there wasn't much color at all to that show. It was almost in black & white. Well, I'm happy to report that the real place is anything but! It's a kaleidoscope of warm fall colors; greens, oranges, browns, reds and yellows with lakes of aqua and blue! It's astounding and I'm running out of superlatives with regards to the places I'm visiting on my road trip. 

Alabama

  Stopped in Huntsville to visit the NASA Space Museum. Outstanding! Anything you ever wanted to know about the moon landing, this is the place. The moon rover is here, the capsules, the spacelab habitat, even the Saturn V rocket. The latter one is suspended above you and it is massive! Then, in the nearby planetarium, you can see the latest photos from the new James Webb Telescope...just to make you feel small and insignificant on this spinning rock of dust and water! Just kidding. It's not a downer at all. It's simply too awe-inspiring for words.

The return home along I-40

  At this point, I've started my way back west. Actually, a bit earlier, ever since Tennessee. So, if you're following along on a map, Huntsville was between my departure from Pigeon Forge before I got to Memphis (I just didn't want to split up my states.) From Memphis, I went through parts of Mississippi then Arkansas up through the Ozarks into Missouri (see above). Now I spared all of you more descriptions of "wow", "awesome", "amazing", "incredible", "well, will you look at that!", "yowza", and the like as I drove through this part of the US of A and soaked it all in. 

  Amarillo: It’s strange how ideas get into one's head as a child and are so hard to shake. I always confused this city with armadillos so of course I thought they would be crawling all over this town. Nope, didn't see a one!  

  Just outside of town is a famous Route 66 art installation called Cadillac Ranch. It's a line of 10 Cadillacs buried at an angle, head first. Now it's a good thing I used GPS because I would have completely driven past it. They're spots on the horizon, so if you didn't know, it'd be one of those blink and you miss it moments. But I found it, got my picture and moved on. That's what it's all about, right??

 Lake Havasu City: This place, too, had been on my "to visit" list for a long, long time. Back in high school, (yes, that far back) I had friends that would talk about Lake Havasu; the houseboats, the crazy partying, but what really got my attention was London Bridge. I was always, “say what? They took apart a bridge in London brick by brick and rebuilt it there?” It was the most fantastic thing I'd ever heard.

  Now that I'm here, it's a bit less fantastical and more "oh, I get it"; it was a publicity stunt from a land developer. And yes, they did buy the bridge but no, they didn't ship over the whole thing. Instead the "British looking part" of the bricks were sliced off, shipped over, and cemented onto the concrete bridge that now stands in the Colorado River. And it worked. It placed the city on the map and people came to buy.

  Now I'm back home already reminiscing about this wonderful trip around the States. And I'm thinking, "hmm, I missed a few states." So who knows, maybe there'll be a Part II to this Travelog in the years to come. Stay tuned!