I've had many requests for an outline of the route we took on our trip out west.
Here it is.
This is going to be a ridiculously long post, so I'm going be brief in my explanations (yeah, right)...
We left from St. Louis, Missouri on Highway 70.
The only interesting thing in Kansas are these windmills:
(Not really.)
(Sort of.)
I recommend pulling over to listen to them.
The sound is awesome.
We made it to Colorado via Highway 70:
We took Highway 24 in Limon, Colorado down to Colorado Springs.
We headed straight for Pike's Peak.
I was hesitant to spend $40 on a trip up a mountain, but it is totally worth it.
Trust me.
They say you should spend a night in Colorado Springs before making the climb up the peak so your body can acclimate to the altitude but we threw caution to the wind and drove straight from the plains of Kansas to the tip of the peak.
We were all a little dizzy and had headaches but it went away rather quickly.
We took Highway 24 to Highway 50 and then to Gunnison, Colorado which is a super cute little town that I would consider living in.
We ate at the Ol' Miner Steakhouse and it was horrible. The fish was freezer burnt and the bartender (whom we assumed was the owner) was a complete jerk. Maybe they were having a bad day but we were totally disappointed.
We took Highway 50 out of Gunnison the next day and drove through Curecanti National Recreation Area.
It was beautiful:
We took Highway 550 to Ridgeway and then 62 Highway to Placerville and then 145 Highway to Naturita and then Highway 90 into Utah.
Close...
Closer...
Utah!
Upon entering Utah Highway 90 turns into 46 Highway.
We took that to Highway 191.
Almost at the intersection of 191 and 46 we took a dirt road that looked deserted:
and ended up at Looking Glass Rock...
It was one of my favorite parts of the whole trip.
Of course you can't tell how amazing it is in pictures, but we were entirely alone while here and the thunder rumbled off in the distance (see the rain?):
This picture might give you an idea of how steep it was to climb:
I was standing in the giant hole and Matt (can you see him?) was standing on the far side of the cavern.
It was HUGE!
We took Highway 191 down to Highway 95 (Bicentennial Highway) and drove that all the way up to Hanksville.
This is a very scenic drive that I would NOT miss. It's constant beauty and there was barely any traffic when we drove through, so it was as if it was all ours to look at without interruptions.
We crossed the tip of the Lake Powell (Colorado River):
And I LOVE this bridge:
Maybe two cars passed while we stood on it and the the hot wind was blowing and we made echos and it was awesome.
Matt went off-road and threw a few rocks over the edge of the ravine and the sound was very cool (that's him by the red arrow, so you can see how big it is):
We stopped at the Hollow Mountain gas station in Hanksville (because how can you NOT stop at a gas station that's in the side of a mountain?):
We then took Highway 24...
all the way to Highway 12 which took us through Dixie National Forest:
And the sun set:
We spent the night in Escalante, Utah at a questionable hotel that turned out to be rather clean and sufficient and then stumbled upon an amazing restaurant called The Circle D Eatery.
It was perfect.
They serve beef from a local ranch that raises range fed cows.
And they make a mean amaretto sour.
We took Highway 12 out of Escalante and made a quick stop by Mossy Cave Park:
It was nice to stretch our legs and it was a quick but interesting side-of-the-road hike but not really impressive.
Though my husband, the mountain goat, was very pleased with it:
Next stop was Bryce Canyon:
I'm also not that impressed with it (I've seen it twice), but our waiter back at The Circle D told us that we were missing the best part if we didn't take the shuttle to the bottom of the canyon.
We didn't.
Because we had other things to see, but we'll definitely add it on as something for the next trip.
We left Bryce Canyon and took Highway 12 to Highway 89 to Highway 9 to Zion National Park.
See that big hole in the side of the mountain?
That's a window.
We drove through that mountain.
I like it far better than Bryce Canyon.
We left Zion National Park on Highway 9 and hit Interstate 15 which took us all the way to:
I don't really like Vegas.
I've been through twice and I'm just not that impressed (though we saw some amazingly interesting people).
We walked Freemont Street and watched some of the light show.
I think I would have preferred to walk The Strip after having driven down it twice now.
Maybe next time we pass through.
We took Interstate 15 all the way to the in-laws house in San Diego and arrived at around 2:00 in the morning with 0 miles until empty on the gas gauge.
While we were there we went to Oceanside Beach:
We walked up and down the pier:
And ate at Ruby's diner at the end of the pier:
It was delicious.
That's a burger with bacon and avocado and garlic fries:
One night we ate at Best Pizza and Brew:
It was also very yummy and had a good vibe.
We went to La Jolla Beach where you can walk out on this little walkway:
and watch the sea lions.
We sat on the rocks and watched the sun (almost) set:
We went to Balboa Park:
For you St. Louisans, it's sort of like Forest Park with all of its architecture and museums.
We had an amazing lunch at a place called Prado's.
They put the napkin in your lap for you but we actually could afford it.
We also tried to go to the Point Loma lighthouse because I loved it the last time we went but it closes at 4:30.
We got there at 5:00.
Sad face.
We also went to Mount Soledad which has amazing 360 degree views of the ocean and San Diego, but it was getting dark so my pictures weren't doing it justice.
Just go. It's beautiful and free.
We drove up to Yosemite National Park for a quick peek.
We hiked part of the Mariposa Grove:
and enjoyed amazing trees.
That's Chad with his arms outstretched:
We drove through the park and got a glimpse of some of the amazing views.
That's an RV down there:
It's so beautiful.
But because we couldn't find a place to stay we didn't see a lot of it or take any hikes.
Next time.
We drove from Yosemite all the way to the Grand Canyon:
We were only there for about an hour but we got to see this:
A full rainbow with the start of a double!
It was beautiful.
Then we got rained on and ran back to our car.
It was quite exhilarating.
We took Highway 64 out of the Grand Canyon and then took Highway 160 out of Utah and in to Colorado.
It takes you through a wonderful place called Wolf Creek Pass.
This is a waterfall on the side of the road:
There were hikes but we were headed home.
Next time.
This is one of my favorite overlooks on the pass:
We were sure a grizzly was gonna step out of the woods and into this river while we watched:
One didn't.
We stopped in Monte Vista and ate at the Sugar Shack:
It was good food and a quaint place to eat.
We hit Highway 25 back into Colorado Springs (full circle) and then headed home:
Back through Kansas.
And the windmills.
Please feel free to ask me questions about anything I've missed.
I'm obviously not shy about giving compliments or airing complaints.
Bon Voyage!
B
PS-I wasn't sure if "highway" was supposed to be capitalized or not so I did. Don't judge me.
PPS-I didn't really proofread this and my highway numbers may have gotten mixed up but just look at an atlas and you should be able to figure it out. If not, ask.
1 comments:
Glad you had such a good time, and thanks for the pictures!
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