So stoked to get on the road again. This trip was for NXL World Cup. Felt weird only having two events this year, but I was excited to at least get one more road trip in before the end of the year.
Click here for the blog post about World Cup and Click here for the general galleries from World Cup.
Another reason I was excited, I had passengers this trip! My girlfriend and her dog decided to come. Why she wanted to go on the road for 30+ days with me, I don't know. I'm glad she did tho, I had a blast showing her some of the places I've been and seeing new places, even with all the struggles of traveling during the 'rona. I will say I have no clue how we managed to pack 30+ days for 2 people and a dog in the MINI but we did it. Which is funny because this is the first event I've had people asking to take stuff back home for them. I wasn't buying gifts along the way, definitely can't fit your gear bag dude.
Our first stop was at Petrified Forest National Park. I've been a few times but never in the snow. One thing that caught my eye this trip that I don't remember in all the others was the color of some of the wood. I'm assuming its the different minerals in the wood, but the make some cool colors! After that we took a little detour off I-40 to see La Ventana Arch in El Malpais National Monument.
Our next stops were some classic route 66 road side attractions. We pulled in for some knick knacks at Clines Corners, the mid-point of Route 66, Cadillac Ranch, Palo Duro Canyon, the Conoco Tower Station and the Blue Whale of Catoosa. The Blue Whale was a new stop for me, I had never stopped there in all my trips for some reason. Another new thing for me was Cadillac Ranch in the snow. It was really cool seeing the snow drifts behind the car, but the walk out was kinda rough when you didn't plan for snow.
After the Blue Whale we continued east instead of following Route 66 north, making our way to some National Park sites, Fort Smith and Hot Springs. Both were interesting to visit during the 'rona. Most of the visitor centers were closed in the national park sites we visited. Although some of the buildings were open in Hot Springs, the only thing to "open" at Fort Smith was the gallows, which still creeps me out... But I do have to give credit to the sites that have still worked to keep things normal or at least funny. Things like the social distance signs or keeping passport stamps available are still making these visits enjoyable.
At this point, I realize we are way ahead of schedule and decide to change the route a bit. Since we had some time to kill before cup, why not head a little further south and hit some National Park sites and visit some friends in Virginia. Speaking of route, heres the route laid out on Roadtrippers.
First stop on the detour was Cumberland Gap. I wanted to go to the Cumberland Falls State Park and the Cumberland Gap National Park. The falls are supposedly known as the Niagara of the South, we'll just say it's debatable. The falls are still worth seeing tho. Cumberland Gap is the only break in the Appalachian mountain range and is where Kentucky, Virginia and Tennessee meet. You can see the three states in the Pano I took from Pinnacle Overlook.
Next major stop for me was Richmond. I was trying to visit a friend, and of course the National Park sites there. Unfortunately I couldn't see my buddy but I did manage to get some shots of the Richmond skyline. Some of the National Park sites we went to were Booker T Washington, Richmond Battlefield, Petersburg Battlefield, Hitoric Jamestowne, Yorktown Battlefield and Fort Monroe. I really enjoyed Fort Monroe because of the walk around the parapet, even if it was also their pet cemetery.
After Virginia, it was down to the Carolinas for a few more National Park sites. Up first was the Outter Banks. I had always wanted to see the spot of the first flight and was excited to go to the Wright Brothers National Memorial. The monument on Kill Devil Hill sure does stand out. The next spot was the first spot I had really got my car near the opposite coast and not just a bay, making this a true coast to coast trip, Cape Hatteras National Seashore. We stopped off at Fort Raleigh on our way west to Guilford Courthouse. Then it was time to hit South Caralina for a bit to go to Congaree National Park and Ninety Six National Historical Site. I really love the boardwalk in Congaree and showing it to my girlfriend was one of the main reasons we went. One of the interesting things about the log cabin on site is that it was found inside a house while they were renovating that house. They took away all the new additions, rehab'd and moved the cabin to the National Park site.
Next up is the Georgia Guidestones. These are SO weird. I can't understand them. It's a list of ways to build society, written in different languages. There isn't much around, so I don't see someone building it to draw attention to their building. It had to cost some money to make the stones, EVEN if you were in the cement industry... Like I said, so weird.
Still in Georgia we had a few more National Park sites to see. Next up was Ocmulgee Mounds, Andersonville, Jimmy Carter Boyhood Home and Cumberland Islands National Seashore before we made it to Kissimmee for the event. One of the park rangers was getting ready for a virtual event while we were visiting the Carter Farm so that was pretty cool to see.
Click here to see my blog post and general galleries from the event.
After the event was my favorite thing. The Everglades and Crystal River. This is my second time doing both these things, and I will probably do it again. If you're in the area, definitely check out Everglades Safari and Crystal River Kayak! So Amazing. Anyway, heres some shots of us exploring the Everglades and kayaking with the manatees.
After this we did a few things without taking much for photos. Drove along the gulf coast stopping in Biloxi and New Orleans then bumped up to Dallas to see Dealy plaza and then made our way to Lockhart, TX to try a new BBQ spot, Kreuz Market.
After BBQ we made our way to White Sands National Park and managed to catch it just at sunset. White Sands is one of the few reasons I'd ever tell anyone to go to New Mexico.
After White Sands we had a few more things to see before leaving New Mexico because we didn't want to have Thanksgiving in a hotel, as New Mexico was only doing take out. Sadly, all the folks I was thinking about eating Thanksgiving with on the road, didn't pan out. The lady wanted to stop in Roswell even if we couldn't make it to the crash site. It was exactly the kitschy tourist trap I was expecting it to be. After that we made our way to Salinas Missions Pueblo National Monument to explore the Gran Quivira ruins and on to the VLA.
After the VLA we high tailed it to Flagstaff because the plan was to go to Cracker Barrel for Thanksgiving and that was the closest one. That didn't pan out but we did end up at Denny's for a turkey dinner. On black Friday we explored Sunset Crater and Wuptaki National Monuments. We ended the trip trying to get dinner in Scottsdale with a friend but she hadn't got the results of her Covid test and didn't want to risk anything.
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