J.P.'s Blog

So as many of you know, I have been trying to visit all 50 states. Now, I have 6 left. To make this possible, one of the states I had yet to visit was New Mexico. So I planned a road trip to get there.

We had Thanksgiving week off at work, so that was the perfect chance. So I spent a few days planning a route and stops along the way along with a timetable. I had figured that I would go to Albuquerque since that seemed like the largest city in New Mexico. Later on I'll find out that may have not have been the best idea. Then I made reservations at hotels along the way as well. But when I started looking at the weather over the mountain passes, it was not looking good. Nothing but ice and snow predicted for the Seattle area and the mountain passes I would have to drive across. So I decided to see what it would cost to fly to Salt Lake City (the first and last city I had hotel reservations for) and rent a car there. Turns out, it was cheaper. It was going to be 400 something to rent a car in Seattle for the drive, plus the cost of gas for that part of the trip was a lot (~150$). So it was 300$ for a plane ticket to SLC, and it was going to be only 114$ to rent a car in SLC for the WHOLE TRIP. So that plus the fact that I would not have to pay for gas on the way there and back and it was now cheaper to fly there by over 100$. SOLD.

It was a great flight to Salt Lake City. The airport was not very busy. I did not have to wait very long for my flight, and even better it was a short direct flight (less than 2 hours). When I got there though, the Budget rental car experience was not as great. There was only one person working the counter, and there was someone else being helped already, which means I had to stand a wait a long time. Then when it was finally my turn, I had to wait even longer. Turns out that even though I had a reservation and they knew when I would arrive (they had my flight number in the reservation) and what car I had reserved, they had no more midsize cars left. Sigh. So instead of a new Chrysler Sebring, I ended up with a plain old ford Taurus. Also I found out early the next day that there was a dent in the passenger door that I did not see when I picked it up (it was night time and the cars were stored in a parking garage). But in the end, it turned out to be a fine car. It made the whole 1900 driving miles without a problem, and also had pretty good gas mileage as well.

So I had a few major stops along the way. The first was Salt Lake City. It would be the city I was to fly in and out of. I had driven through before a few years ago, but I had never stopped there. I was staying at the Radisson which is just down the street from the Mormon Temple. After flying in the first night, I went out walking and took pictures of the temple. It looked great lit up at night. I have a ton of great pictures from almost all angles of it actually. I kind of wanted to spend more time in the City though. There was a cool light rail system that I would have liked to explore more as well. But I had to get to bed early that night since I was scheduled to be up, have breakfast, and be on the road before 7am. I think I managed to get out by 7:30 though.

The first stop the next day was Arches National Park. It was around 230 miles away, so I had a 4 hour drive or so. But it was then when I found out that people in Salt Lake City drive pretty crazy. I kept to the speed limit for the whole trip, and it's not that I was just the slowest car on the road, but that everyone was passing me very quickly. I was happy to turn off the interstate because finally there were not as many cars on the road. I was able to enjoy the surrounding views more then as well. I also passed the Green River Utah Launch Complex (they test launch missiles from here towards White Sands New Mexico) on the way as well. The drive on the way there reminded me a lot of a cross between central California and Montana.

So I recently saw the most famous natural arch from Arches National Park on one of the Vista Backgrounds. So I wanted to go there since I was going to be driving right by the park on the way to New Mexico. I had allocated a few hours to spend in the park. The online information said it was a "1.5 mile" trail to the arch, so I figured that it would take around 1.5 hours round trip for the walk and I also allowed for another 30 mins in the park. In hindsight this was a bad idea. The park is huge and the speed limits are pretty slow. Additionally, the "hike" was probably hundreds if not thousands of feet in elevation gain, so it was a very strenuous hike. It took at least 3 hours in the park overall, but it was well worth it. Also while in the park is when I finally noticed the dent in the car for the first time.

Then since I was going to be so close to the 4 corners on the way to Albuquerque, I figured I would stop there as well. (Though I barely made it before they closed the gates.) I can now say I have stood in four states at once, and this was also probably the fastest I have ever moved between states. :) UT, CO, NM, AZ, UT-CO-NM-AZ, NM, AZ, NM (in that order) all within an hour or so.

Then it was straight on to Albuquerque. In hindsight, I should have just stayed in Gallup that night, but I had reservations (already paid for mind you) in ABQ, so I needed to get there. That's when I "re"-discovered that I hate driving at night. Especially on roads where the speed limit is 70, and there are no lights anywhere in sight. I almost ran into a truck turning on the highway (because there are also normal intersections with no lights on this road as well…sigh). Additionally, I don't know why, but my eyes are very sensitive to any light (think oncoming headlights and headlights in my mirrors) when its dark out, and I had problems seeing at times. But, I made it…

Though the hotel I was at was not that great. I definitely don't recommend the MCM Elegante in Albuquerque, NM. For the price I paid I somewhat expected that it would be better than any of those chains I could have stayed at. However, it was worse. The room was not that great, it was almost like an old run down hotel on the inside. Sigh, only one night anyways.

So the next morning (early again as usual), I was up and on my way towards the Grand Canyon. I drove through more reservations (there are lots of Indian reservations around the area) and discovered that unlike Utah and western Arizona, New Mexico is REALLY flat. Also as I always have found on my driving trips, there are some very strange city names that I passed through. (One of which while I was driving on route 666 in Utah…seriously.) Also the weather has been great for both of these days. I watched the today show each morning, and they mentioned that there was heavy rain and snow in Seattle (since being back, we are actually about to break the monthly record), but the weather in Utah/New Mexico/Arizona was awesome. Clear skies and a comfortable upper 60s the whole time. :)

On the way to the Grand Canyon, I stopped at the Barringer Meteorite Crater. The admission price was a bit steep (15$) compared with some of the other places I went, but it was worth it. The view was just amazing. As was true with ALL of the places that I visited, I wish that I had more time. There is much more I could have read in the museum there. But as with all other places, I had to get on the road, and I had the Grand Canyon to visit the same day as well.

I turned north at Flagstaff towards the Grand Canyon. This means that I actually entered the park from the East. Before you get to the park though, there are several "viewpoints" which are in the Navajo Reservation. They are all easy to spot by the "farmers market" type stands with various crafts and food lying out. I stopped at one, but in the end, I think that the viewpoints inside the park are actually a better view. Again, I wish I had more time. I think I only spent a few hours in the park. I got there at 3:30 or so, and was out before 5:30. But, I was coming from Albuquerque and also had to get on the road to make it to Las Vegas. One thing which did not help was how large the park is and how low the speed limits are. I never realized its 27 miles (@ 45mph) from the east side of the park to the Village. That did not help on the time table. The view was great though, and just really can't be captured in a picture very well. I walked up to the top of a tower at the eastern most point (in the park) and had a great view from up there. I also went to the Village which had a good view as well, but there were many more people at the Village which made it harder to get good pictures.

That night I managed to make it to New York, New York hotel/casino. On the way there I got to drive across Hoover dam. This is something that people may not be able to do once the bypass is complete. I also got to see firsthand that the lights from Las Vegas are visible from over 115 miles away. I also got to go past Towbin Dodge. :) This makes for my personal record of the least time spent in Las Vegas. I arrived around 10pm on Tuesday, and I left before 9am on Wednesday morning. Most of that time was spent sleeping (and re-burning all my cds on fresh discs for the road since I seemed to mess up the ones I burned before the trip).

The next morning, the destination was Hoover Dam. I left the hotel early to get there. It turns out that this was a good idea. I had no traffic getting there and breezed on through to the parking garage. Even with no traffic problems, my tour was completely full. Some people had to even wait for the next tour. Also, on the way out, the traffic was backed up for many miles going the other direction. When I got there in the morning, I was disappointed to find out that since Sept. 11^th, they no longer offer the cool tour of the Dam. The new tour is interesting, but you don't get to really see the generators or go out to see the Dam from the bottom up. In general though there were way too many people there. Its hard to get a good experience there cramped in the elevators and tunnels with so many other people. But I really did enjoy it. I like visiting engineering marvels. It really shows what we are capable of (and the dam is 60 years old as well!). One cool tidbit that I never realized but the dam was constructed to control the amount of water flowing downstream, and that's all. The electricity is simply a situational benefit. (Hard to believe from something that produces 2.88 GWatts, but the tour guide was adamant about it being about the downstream water and nothing else mattered.) This was the one stop though where I really think I did spend the right ammount of time. I got to see all that I could before leaving.

That same day I also had to drive back to Salt Lake City. I was scheduled to stop at Zion National Park on the way back as well. But this day (Wednesday) was not as good as the last two. It was dark and cloudy and visibility was not good. Also, I stayed longer at the Dam than the schedule allowed for, so I was running behind, which means if I stopped at the park, I would have driven longer at night and would have delayed my arrival in SLC by several hours (as it was I got there around 8). Some day I will have to go back, but its close enough to Las Vegas, that its not a problem. I then proceeded to have some really good chili at the bar in the Radisson (it had a steakhouse/bar attached).

I woke up early the next day (since I had more time to sleep the previous day), and went to the airport early (just in case). It turns out that was a good idea. I had no traffic problems at all. The rental car company did not care about the dent it seems. The total cost was 114$ for 4 days. The bonus of showing up early was that I was able to take a flight 3 hours earlier than my original flight was supposed to be. Also it appeared that I had just beat the rush as well since about an hour after I got through security, the whole airport was filled to the brim with people. Tons of people.

So in the end, I had a good trip. I drove 1900 miles, took well over 1600 pictures, Visited 2 National parks and 3 National Monuments, visited 5 states, and all for only 865$ or so (flight, car, hotels, gas, meals, and park fees). I have a few more pictures from the trip here: http://www.jpsblog.com/Lists/Photos/Forms/AllItems.aspx?RootFolder=%2FLists%2FPhotos%2FTrips%2FSouthwest

J.P.