Back from my California to Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona trip

Over the next few days I'll fill in the details, but here is a summary of my latest road trip:

Day 1:
5:30 AM-- Left Orange County, CA
7:00 AM-- Breakfast in Barstow
9:00 AM-- Stop at rest area
Gas stop in Las Vegas, NV
Grocery shopping and fill up at St. George, UT (the least expensive place for gas until we got to Colorado)
Stop at Zion Nat'l Park Visitor Center
Stop at Bryce Canyon Nat'l Park Visitor Center
Stayed at Tropic, UT

Day 2:
Tropic to Capitol Reef Nat'l Park
Capitol Reef to Arches National Parks
Arches to Grand Junction, CO (on UT-128 and I-70)

Day 3:
Grand Junction to Glenwood Springs for a coffee break (we never did find Doc Holliday's grave)
Frisco for lunch
Georgetown for photo stop
Estes Park for the night

Day 4:
Estes Park to Rocky Mountain National Park
Snack stop in Loveland
Denver (dinner with relatives)
Colorado Springs to stay with friends

Day 5:
Colorado Springs to La Junta for lunch
Toured Bent's Old Fort
Stayed in Lamar

Day 6:
Lamar To Coolidge, KS (just so my kids can say they've been to Kansas)
Toured museum and Amache Relocation Center in Granada, CO

Day 7:
Lamar to Amache for the Amache reunion/pilgrimage
Stop in La Junta for gas
Snack stop in Trinidad, CO
Stop for the night in Las Vegas, NM

Day 8:
Las Vegas, NM to Pecos National Monument
Stopped for coffee and souvenirs in Santa Fe
Stop for photos in Albuquerque
Rest stop in Grants
Stopped to see Inscription Rock in El Morro Nat'l Monument
Dinner in Holbrook, filled tank
Stopped for the night in Flagstaff

Day 9:
Flagstaff to Kingman for fuel stop
Snack stop in Barstow
Home

Day 1 (593 miles)
5:23 AM-- left home in Orange County

6:55 AM-- breakfast stop in Barstow (166 miles)

8:58 AM-- rest stop at Valley Wells Rest Area (98 miles)
I'm traveling with my wife and two daughters, so stops are more frequent than I'm used to.

9:53 AM Pacific Time-- gas stop in Las Vegas (59 miles)
I just needed $20 worth of gas to get me to cheap gas country (i.e. St. George). Gas was $3.739 in Las Vegas at a cheap station.

12:44 PM Mountain Time-- shopping and gas stop in St. George, UT (125 miles)
Thank heavens for Walmart. We loaded up on more snacks and a $5.98 18" submarine sandwich that fed all four of us. Gas was only $3.599 in St. George.

1:16 PM-- Zion NP Visitor (45 miles)
We've been here a number of times, but it's still worth getting out and taking a look, some photos, etc.

5:27 PM-- Bryce Canyon NP Visitor Center (85 miles)
By the time we got near Bryce the snow flurries got serious and the wind blew fairly hard. We ran into the visitor center to warm up. The rest of my family stayed in the car as I drove up to Sunset Point for a photo. It was snowing hard enough that my photo looked as if I were shooting in fog.

6:12 PM-- checked into motel in Tropic, UT
Tropic was below the snow level, so we only had a cold breeze. We stayed at America's Best Value Inn for the night, and it was by far the noisiest room we had on our trip. Have you ever heard a fighter jet fly right over you before (e.g. F-4 or F-18)? A neighboring room's toilet sounded like one when it let off a "WHOOSH!" during the night. Both times I heard it it scared me awake. The location was good and the price decent, so if I ever stay there again I'll bring ear plugs and see if I can get a room away from the stairs.

I'll post photos later.

Quote:

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5:23 AM-- left home in Orange County 6:55 AM-- breakfast stop in Barstow (166 miles)

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Wow ! I knew you travelled at a brisk pace but either you averaged 110 mph, or that should be 106 miles ;-) lol [Still good going though.]

Looking forward to the photo's.

Dave.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Southwest Dave

Wow ! I knew you travelled at a brisk pace but either you averaged 110 mph, or that should be 106 miles ;-) lol [Still good going though.]

Looking forward to the photo's.

Dave.

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Oops-- make that 102 miles.

May 12
9:35 AM MT-- Left Tropic to Capitol Reef via UT-12
Losing an hour from Pacific to Mountain time meant leaving later than I had anticipated (as the rest of my family is not comprised of early-risers). Highway 12 is one of my favorite drives, so we stopped at the overlook of the Million Dollar Highway and again on the Hog's Back. We checked the Utah highway department's web cams to see if the Boulder Pass was open, and fortunately it was (despite the still-falling snow).

12:31 PM-- Arrived Capitol Reef Visitor Center.
Since I knew this was going to be a long day of driving, I had to tell my 7-year old that she wouldn't have time to finish the Junior Ranger program. She got the book and worked on it as best she could. We saw the petroglyphs and stopped a few times for photos.

3:19 PM-- Arrived at Arches Visitor Center.
We again didn't have time for the Junior Ranger program, but we drove to Windows Arches and took lots of photos. From Arches we drove south toward Moab and took scenic UT-128 east. What a great drive right along the Colorado River! As an added bonus, instead of following Highway 128 all the way to I-70, I took a right turn at the T-intersection and drove through the almost-ghost-town of Cisco. It looked like a dangerous place to stop, but as we turned a corner we saw a herd of pronghorn on the road. My daughters thought this was a highlight of the trip.

7:10 PM-- Gas stop in Grand Junction
We thought $3.469 was a bargain until we saw it for 10 cents less further in town. We got 517 miles on one tank, so I thought we were doing pretty well.

7:35 PM-- Checked into our motel in Grand Junction.

We took that Hwy 128 from Moab up to "Cisco" the ghost town. What a hoot, you saw pronghorn! Wow!

I thought 166 miles from Orange Co to Barstow sounded a bit too far, especially to do in an hour and a half. 102 miles sounds more like it!


Donna

Day 3 (May 13)
9:25 AM-- Left Grand Junction

10:08 stopped in Glenwood Springs (68 miles)
We thought we would get a cup of coffee at a Starbucks and stop to see Doc Holliday's grave. Instead we coundn't find the grave and had coffee at a place called "Deja Brew". Not only did they have coffee, they also served boba (to the delight of our 7-year old).

11:21 AM-- stopped in Avon (53 miles)
We looked around for snow gear but were told we were a couple months too late. The further east we went the colder it got, but the stores only had swim suits and T-shirts.

1:11 PM-- stopped in Frisco (35 miles)
We stopped and ate our lunch outside the visitor center on some benches in the sunlight. There was snow all over, and the mountains on both sides of I-70 looked beautiful.

2:18 PM-- Georgetown (28 miles)
A member of ghosttowns.com recommended this as one of the best-preserved old Colorado mining towns. Apparently it escaped devastating fires common to such towns, so buildings and streets remained much as they were over 100 years ago. We only spent about half an hour here, but I could see staying much longer.

5:30 PM (approx)-- Arrived in Estes Park (92 miles)
Snow and road construction slowed traffic down to a 35 mph limit. I was driving slowly because I didn't have AWD or snow tires, and I was surprised to see a highway patrol pickup pull out right behind me with his lights flashing. With my heart in my throat I pulled over-- and then watched him speed past me. Whew! I didn't relish the thought of getting a ticket as an out-of-stater for driving 2 mph over the limit. Highway 36 was restricted in two sections after Lyons to one-way traffic led by a pilot vehicle. We should have taken Highway 7 as a detour.

We checked into the Rocky Mountain Park Inn and searched yelp for a decent restaurant. We found Nepali Cafe, and we all enjoyed the Indian cuisine they served. It was a little hard to find as it wasn't visible from the main street. The food and view of the mountains out the window were great. If it were warmer we would have eaten at a table outside.

I posted photos from days 1 and 2 (at least most of two) today in a new album titled "CA>NV>AZ>UT>CO>KS>NM>AZ>CA Loop Trip May 2014".

You can find the album here.

Love the photos. Two bring back lots of memories from just 2 years ago.


Donna

Enjoying the report and pictures, keep it coming !

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I took a right turn at the T-intersection and drove through the almost-ghost-town of Cisco.

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Ah, the thriving Metropolis that is Cisco ! We had planned to stop there for supplies on route to Arches NP, but decided to continue to Moab.

Cisco Real estate.

http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j2...h/P1040960.jpg

Cisco City limits.

http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j2...h/DSCF0367.jpg

Downtown Cisco

http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j2...h/P1040959.jpg

Dave.

That's exactly what it looked like two years ago to us, too. We had figured it to be some sort of town, too. I didn't think to take photos of it, though.


Donna

Day 4 (May 14)
9:31 AM-- left hotel in Estes Park

10:57 AM-- Bear Lake (15 miles)
After stopping at the Beaver Meadows Visitor Center, watching the video, and collecting Junior Ranger workbooks, we headed up to Bear Lake for photos. The park photos we'd seen of Bear Lake showed a reflective pool that showed the mountains to the west. What we saw was a frozen lake completely covered in snow (and it was still snowing when we got there). The Morraine Park Visitor Center was still closed, and on the way back we hung a left on US-36 and took it to West Horseshoe Park and US-34 heading east. We stopped at the Fall River Visitor Center so our Junior Rangers could show their workbooks and collect their badges.

1:04 PM-- left Fall River
We took US-34 out of the park because we didn't want to run into the road construction delays we hit on US-36 on the way in.

1:59 PM-- stopped at a Carl's Jr. in Loveland for lunch (50 miles)

2:28 PM-- left Loveland for Denver

3:30 PM-- arrived at relatives' house in Denver (58 miles)
We thought we'd just be stopping by, but they planned to make us dinner. As they are in their 90s and the last time I was at their house was 35 years ago, I reckoned this could be the last time I see them.

6: 30 PM-- left for Colorado Springs
Gas in Denver and the surrounding area was $3.399 per gallon. Still a bargain by my accounting.

7:35 PM-- arrived at our friends' house in Colorado Springs (59 miles)
It was still snowing on Pike's Peak when we got to Colorado Springs. What a view! I can see why our friends moved there.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by shirohniichan

Gas in Denver and the surrounding area was $3.399 per gallon. Still a bargain by my accounting.

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In the east it has been mostly round the 3.699, though I did pick up some in eastern PA for $3.269. Significantly higher than last year, from my records.

Enjoying the report. Have great memories of the Fall River Visitor centre and their restaurant.

Lifey

May 14
9:31-- Left hotel for Rocky Mountain National Park
We spent some time at the visitor center so we could watch the film and collect Junior Ranger workbooks.

10:57-- Arrived at Bear Lake (15 miles)
Photos we'd seen of Bear Lake showed it reflecting the mountains to the west. It was snowing when we got there, and we saw the lake frozen over and covered in snow. We couldn't even see the mountains in the background. The elevation was 9,250 feet, so we lowlanders felt the low oxygen level in the air. After a few photos near the lake shore we headed down toward US 34. We saw elk and deer by the side of the road, so the kids were happy.

12:30 PM or so-- Stopped by Fall River Visitor Center
The girls got their Junior Ranger badges after waiting patiently behind travelers with an unusually large repertoire of questions for the sole ranger on duty.

1:59-- Lunch at Carl's Jr. in Loveland (50 miles from Bear Lake)
Because US 36 was under construction we took US 34 back out of the park. We called my relatives in Denver after having our late lunch to discover they wanted us to come over for dinner.

3:45 or so-- Arrived at my relatives' place in Denver (60 miles)
It's sinking in to my thick-skulled noggin that my relatives aren't going to be around forever. My grandmother's youngest sister is already 92, and it had been about 35 years since I'd last visited her and my great uncle in Denver (we usually see them in California). Denver has changed quite a bit since 1979. We left their home around 6:30.

7:35-- Arrived at our friends' home in Colorado Springs (59 miles)

May 15

9:45-- Left our friends' house for Garden of the Gods (18 miles)
We spent over an hour walking around the famed gardens and taking photos. We probably should have budgeted more time. We got to a local micro-brewery about 20 minutes too early to buy souvenirs for my coworkers, but our tight schedule meant I couldn't wait around. It was off to southeast Colorado to meet up with my side of the family.

1:15 PM-- Lunch in La Junta (111 miles)
After spending time in the mountains of Utah and Colorado, it felt odd to be out on the plains. As we drove along US 50 I enjoyed looking at the older buildings in the towns we passed through. At one time they must have been bustling places, and now the smaller towns look like shells of their former selves. I wish I could have seen the main intersections of Rocky Ford and Fowler in the 1920s to 1940s so I could see what they looked like in their glory days.

2:24-- Arrived at Bent's Old Fort National Historic Park (21 miles)
The original "fort" was originally a trading post and not a military installation. The reconstructed fort used a period description to make it look like it did in the 1830s. Park personnel dress in period costumes, and rangers are available to give tours (there were bus loads of elementary school pupils there). We spent a little under two hours here but could have stayed another hour or so.

5:06-- Arrived at our motel in Lamar (48 miles)
Lamar is the biggest town around, but that isn't saying much. We mistakenly went to a nearby Mexican restaurant that was not the best one in town (as recommended by the desk clerk). The prices were reasonable, but the food was mediocre at best. I was hoping to find a diamond in the rough (I guess we got quartz). On the way to "downtown" Lamar we passed by a building that was the world's only gas station made of petrified wood (it's now the world's only used car dealer made from petrified wood).

May 16

9:44-- Left motel
We drove to the visitor center in Lamar to see if there were any places we should see that we hadn't planned on. We also took a photo in front of the Madonna of the Trail statue. There are twelve of them built along National Trails Highways stretching from Maryland to California between 1928 and 1929, and four of them were on our planned route.

11:45 (Central Time)-- Stopped in Coolidge, KS (37 miles)
We were so close to Kansas we figured we might as well cross the border and add another state to the kids' list and visit another time zone. After taking photos around the "Welcome to Kansas" sign and Santa Fe Trail markers I decided to mail a postcard, only to find out that the post office closed 10 minute early for a one-hour lunch break. There wasn't an hour's worth of activities in that small town, so we headed back to Colorado. In Granada (pronounced "gra-NAY-dah") we arrived at the post office at 11:35 AM Mountain Time and discovered that that particular post office closed for lunch from 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM . Foiled again!

We called the director of the Amache Preservation Society at Granada High School so he could open the Amache Museum for us. Amache was a Japanese American relocation center (prison camp) used from August 1942 until the end of the war. My dad spent the first months of the evacuation at the Santa Anita race track (a temporary holding camp) until being sent to Amache when it opened. A sad fact we learned at the museum is that when the camp closed, those with no place to go back to got sent to the slums of Chicago, Boston, and New York to fend for themselves. Fortunately for my dad, his family eventually made its way back to Los Angeles after spending some time in Denver. After the museum visit we went to the Amache site, and my dad pointed out his barracks location to us and told us stories of his time there.

5:09 (Mountain Time) Dinner at Shorty's (60 miles)
The locals recommended Shorty's as "the best Mexican restaurant in the area" (between Las Animas and Granada). Umm... sometimes the best isn't very good. The crispy chile relleno (or, on their menu, "chili reyeno") had a crust like panko and may have been stuffed with American cheese. I will take Mexican food from So' Cal' any day.

7:06-- Arrived back at our motel (18 miles)

May 17

9:00-- Left motel for Amache
We planned our family reunion to coincide with the annual pilgrimage to Amache (formally "Granada Relocation Center"). This year John Hopper, a Granada High School history teacher, received an award from the Japanese Consulate General for his work with the Amache Preservation Society to preserve and promote the site's history. Over the years he and his students have researched Amache and placed informative signs around the site to make it possible for visitors to understand what happened there.

9:30-- Arrived at Amache (9 miles)
We got there early for the commemoration at the cemetary. A couple of busloads of others came in from Denver, and a Buddhist priest officiated the ceremony. Afterward we went to the award ceremony for John Hopper at the high school and stayed for the lunch provided.

2:05 PM-- Left Granada
We put $20 of gas in the tank to "pay" for the use of the restroom and headed west on the first leg of our journey home.

3:01-- Stopped in Las Animas (53 miles)
With gas at only $3.369 I figured it was time to fill up. It was sunny and warm as we headed toward New Mexico, but after we left US 50 to follow the Santa Fe Trail along US 350 we saw clouds ahead. The area aroudn the Commanche Grasslands reminded me of Arizona west of Flagstaff (around Seligman). By the time we got to Model (now a virtual ghost town) it was raining hard and lightning flashed in the direction we were headed to the southwest. Dust devils whirled on both side of the highway, and the rain came down carrying beige dust in it. Antelopes ran away from near the highway as we approached.

5:02-- Stopped in Trinidad (102 miles)
Trinidad has some great 19th century buildings, and I wish we'd have had more time to see the sights. We only needed a restroom and coffee break, and we discovered the Starbucks in the supermarket was not a good place to stop. We found a McDonalds nearby and opted for a McCafe. We were well passed the rain, but it was still cloudy and windy.

7:20-- Arrived at our hotel in Las Vegas, NM
We flew past Raton and Fort Union National Historic Site, although I wish we could have stopped. We just didn't have enough time to satisfy my curiosity about the Santa Fe Trail. We got rained on again in Raton. The heavy drops made quite a splash, although they were fairly few in number.
We stayed at the historic Plaza Hotel in Las Vegas. It was used as the location for the "Eagle Pass Hotel" in the movie "No Country for Old Men". This was our nicest stay of the trip. Not only did the room have nice furnishings and high ceilings, but they served a cooked-to-order breakfast in the morning. It was situated on an old plaza where General Stephen Kearny declared New Mexico's independence from Mexico in 1848. There weren't too many places to eat in the immediate neighborhood that were rated well, and we ended up having pizza. It was quite good, and we were the only ones left around 9:00 PM when we finished our meal. The area looks like it has had some improvements made to it, but it still looks like it has a ways to go. As soon as we got out of the car to check into the hotel a panhandler approached to ask for money.

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Originally Posted by shirohniichan

We stayed at the historic Plaza Hotel in Las Vegas. It was used as the location for the "Eagle Pass Hotel" in the movie "No Country for Old Men". This was our nicest stay of the trip. Not only did the room have nice furnishings and high ceilings, but they served a cooked-to-order breakfast in the morning. It was situated on an old plaza where General Stephen Kearny declared New Mexico's independence from Mexico in 1848.

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I didn't know there as Plaza Hotel in Las Vegas, NM. Thanks for the report -- I hope to check it out myself soon.

Mark

May 18

9:25-- Left Las Vegas
The Plaza Hotel serves a cooked-to-order breakfast as part of the room rate, so we had a nice breakfast before taking off. It was a welcome change from the usual motel Continental breakfasts we'd been used to.

10:08-- Stopped at Pecos National Monument (44 miles)
We didn't have nearly enough time to see the ancient pueblo site, the Civil War battlefield (Glorieta Pass) or anything else because of our time restrictions, but I picked up 5 new stamps for my mileage book at the visitor center (Northern Rio Grande National Heritage Area, Santa Fe National Historic Trail, Pecos National Historic Park, 150th Anniversary of the Civil War, and Route 66 pre-1937). As Glorieta Pass was the westernmost battlefield of the Civil War I'd have loved to have seen the area. Maybe I'll have the chance when I'm not so pressed for time.

11:28-- Arrived in Santa Fe (28 miles)
Parking in Santa Fe on a Sunday was difficult. We ended up in a pay lot and walked to the plaza. My quest for a decent silver and turquoise bolo tie ended in failure. None of the natives selling authentic American-made silver in the plaza nor the museum gift shops I visited had more than a few bolos, and none appealed to me. My 7-year old found a bracelet she liked and bought it.

12:36-- filled up in Santa Fe at $3.359 per gallon. Such a deal!

1:42-- Stopped in Albuquerque (59 miles)
We found the Madonna of the Trail statue behind the courthouse and stopped for a brief photo opp. There was a large Native American art and jewelry store a few blocks south that looks like it recently closed up. Too bad.

2:49-- Stopped at the Walmart in Grants (77 miles)
We snacked as we drove to put lunch off for a while, and as part of a ritual we developed on this trip we stopped at Walmart for a submarine sandwich we could split among ourselves at a modest price.

3:55-- El Morro National Monument (45 miles)
The sign marking the Continental Divide on NM-53 is on a hill rather than a mountain, so we didn't put much time into taking a photo (we'd planned on all getting out of the car near I-70 in Colorado, but the snow put an end to that idea). I wanted to see Inscription Rock at El Morro to see the names of the camel corps members carved back in the 1850s. Not only did we see them, but we also saw those of Spanish, Mexican and other explorers from the 1700s and native petroglyphs from who knows when. We almost didn't get to see any of them because the rangers close the trail at 4:00 PM. They let me in for some quick photos. We left at 4:40 (20 minutes before the monument visitor center closed).

6:07 (Arizona time)-- stopped in Holbrook (140 miles)
It became clear to me that my plan to stop for the night in Globe and taking I-10 home the next day was not practical. We went for plan B, which meant going back to I-40 after driving through Zuni Pueblo. I've read that the Zuni Pueblo has been around since the 14th century, so that would make it awfully old by American standards. Maybe it's the oldest continually inhabited village/town in the US.

We drove back up to I-40 and headed west as was practical. In Holbrook we dined at the Golden Arches dueto our time restrictions and the paucity of options at the exit we took. Gas at the Maverick Gas Station was only $3.499. We left there at 6:57.

8:20-- Arrived in Flagstaff (94 miles)
I used McDonald's wi-fi in Holbrook to look for a place to stay in Flagstaff, and the Ramada Flagstaff West came up with the lowest rate for a 3 1/2 star or better guest rating property. We were glad to finally rest.

Accidentally double-posted

May 19 (last day)

9:05-- left Flagstaff
The Ramada had a surprisingly good breakfast (especially considering the low room charge), so we left the refreshing pine-scented air of Flagstaff for home with full bellies.

11:05-- fuel stop in Kingman (143 miles)
This would be our last opportunity to fill up with relatively inexpensive gas ($3.399 per gallon), so fill up we did. It took us only 12 minutes to fill up, wash the windows and use the restrooms before we were headed west.

11:17 (PDT)-- lunch in Needles (67 miles)
Back in California! We gained an hour when crossing the border. Needles doesn't seem to offer much in the way of dining choices, so we stopped at Carl's Jr. As we wanted to get home ASAP we took only 37 minutes to order, finish our meals, and hit the road again.

2:50-- stopped in Barstow (147 miles)
One of our family trip traditions is to stop for soft-serve ice cream at the McDonalds in Barstow near the outlets. This was no exception. With the kids happy despite some trip fatigue, we headed out after less than a half hour break.

4:52-- HOME! (102 miles)

I'll post more photos to the trip photo album soon.

Actually, Arizona and California are on the same time zone -- sort of -- for 6 months of the year. When California "springs forward" to Daylight Savings Time, Arizona stays the same. So California "catches up" to AZ for that period of time. When California "falls back" to Standard Time, Arizona doesn't move, and then we're an hour apart.

It made us lose 2 hours in ONE DAY, on the first day of our trip in both 2012 and this year. We lost an hour in NM, switching to Mountain Daylight Time (from Standard Time in AZ), and then lost another hour about 100 miles into Texas, to Central Daylight Time.


Donna

It's even more confusing in AZ - the Navajo reservation observes daylight time.