Recap

5,042 - number of miles driven

770 - the value of the prize YD won on TPIR

486 - number of photos taken

44 - number of states whose license plates we saw while on the road (47 if we include
the ones we saw in parking lots)

37 - number of blog posts

27 - number of days we were away

17 - number of hotels we stayed in

10 - number of states we visited

6 - number of relatives we saw

4 - number of National Parks we visited

3 - number of friends we saw
- number of reservation screw-ups I made (none serious or not easily remedied)
- number of time zones we were in

1 - number of car problems we had
- number of items (and it was unimportant) left behind in any of the 17 hotels we
stayed in
- number of tolls we paid on our 5,000+ mile journey

0 - the number of significant disagreements between OM & YD

Trip cross-country with a mother and daughter - PRICELESS!!!

The last stop

Sadly, we have come to the end of our journey, here in Denver, Colorado. It was yet another spectacular ride from Bryce to Denver. We stopped in Grand Junction, Colorado overnight and enjoyed visiting a few of the wineries and took in a movie (Extract), and arrived in Denver on Thurs. and had dinner in LoDo. Fri was busy, first a well-deserved mani/pedi for the extremely hiking-callused and sore feet, then a lovely lunch with the Denver branch of the Plotkin family (see photo), followed by a stroll down the 16th St. mall. We finished the day with a trip to Colorado Springs for dinner with a dear camp friend of YD's who we discovered was at Colorado College.

Then back to the hotel to pack up and try to figure out how to get the 5 foot walking stick we bought in the Grand Canyon into a 4 ft long duffle bag. We said goodbye to some objects that we had become close to over the past month, like the $6 styrofoam cooler we bought at the Wal-Mart in Minneapolis, which allowed us to keep food in the car and picnic, etc., and only eat one meal/day, at most, out. Then we ended our trip by celebrating the new year with an apple and some vanilla bean honey (amazingly delicious!) we bought at on the wineries in Grand Junction and a Coors Light (my apologies to Andy, but we are, after all, in the Rockies!). All and all a happy and nostalgic end to a fabulous journey!

Hoo-Doo you do?

After having sore legs from our tour of Zion, we now have sore butts from our tour of Bryce. During our 1/2 day mule tour we were able to see the entire canyon from a really unique perspective from the bottom on the canyon floor, not to mention the rides down and back up. In the able hands of our guide Dave, and our mules, Croppy and Sidestep, who behaved quite well and lived up to their reputation of sure-footedness, we had quite an amazing tour. YD only cried in fright a couple of times on the quite steep switchbacks during the climbs down and back up. The Hoo-Doo is definitely my favorite rock formation.

Tomorrow we head back toward our final destination, Denver, from where we will head back home on Sat. Neither YD nor I can believe that our adventure is quickly drawing to close. As much as we miss our husband/dad and son/brother, not to mention our friends and other family members, we are SO not ready to go home. We thought we'd be tired of sightseeing, checking in and out of hotels, not to mention each other, possibly way before our trip was over, but we are none of the above. We are already planning our next road trip to the places we were unable to fit in to this one!

The answer to the question

This is the sign that greeted us at our hotel in Zion. Ho-made pies! Like I said, who knew there were ho's in Utah!

Are there really Ho's in Utah?

The answer to the title question will have to come at a later date when I get the photo posted.

In the meantime, here's some photos from today's hiking in Zion. We did the Canyon Overlook trail, followed by the lower, middle, and upper Emerald Pond trails (with a break for lunch in between). We had planned to do the Riverwalk or the Pa'nus to finish out the day, but discovered that was overambitious, after we both fell asleep on the shuttle bus back from the Emerald Pond trails, and had pinky toes that were threatening to defect from our feet if we didn't release them from those hiking boots ASAP.

We did see deer, lizards, a snake in the middle of lunch (we couldn't tell for sure if the tail still sticking out of it's mouth was that of a lizard or a rodent), and the ever present squirrels and chipmunks.

I think it's a good thing that we have pre-scheduled our tour of Bryce on horseback rather than foot tomorrow.

What do they do in Utah on Sunday?

While planning this journey, I had promised today, Sunday, 9/13, the first professional football Sunday, to YD. It was a travel day, Grand Canyon to Zion, a 5+ hr trip. Amazingly, the hotel we were staying at in GC had a sports bar, but we weren't sure exactly what satellite feed they had and/or which games they would be able to get, and neither did anyone working Sat night. Our options were to hang out in GC until 1:15 when the Giants game would be starting in our time zone and hope for the best, and then either have to start the long drive after the game, or worse yet, discover the game wouldn't be shown, and have wasted much of the day waiting, and then she would miss the game for sure.

We decided to try to catch the game on the road. If you check the route from the GC to Zion, you notice that it is so unpopulated that there is not a single town listed on the map for the first 80% of the drive. Which meant that in order to be in someplace that might possibly have the game, we would have to leave by about 8AM. YD is not fond of getting up early, to say the least, but for football, she said absolutely, we would hit the road by 8. We spend Sat night googling sports bars in the few towns that we would pass through right outside of Zion. Our best bet seemed to be St. George, Utah, which was somewhat out of the way, but I had promised her this day, and we did not have to be in Zion at any set time. We had found a couple of other options on the way that we would check out as well.

We got on our way right on time, and the long drive went by in a flash. The scenery on the drive is spectacular. From crossing the Colorado river in Glen Canyon by Lake Powell and the Glen Canyon Dam, to the painted desert and Vermillion cliffs of Arizona, we were mesmerized. True to form, we did not see a single town with more than a handful of shacks/trailers/houses along the route until we came to Hurricane, Utah, where we had found a sports bar listed on Google. It was just about game time and YD was getting itchy. We find the bar. It is closed. A sports bar that is closed on Sundays? What is the point of that? YD is panicking. We are only about 15 min out of St. George, we follow Lucille's (the GPS) directions, but she didn't like the address we had, and she hasn't been updated in 3 yrs, and the roads were new, and we can't find it. Then, like a beacon across the highway, I see a sign for the bar we are looking for. We follow it, and blessedly, not only is it open, but there is a big sign outside saying that all NFL games can be seen there. YD is ecstatic. As we run inside we see the Giants game on the first 2 big screens, and get a booth so each of us can see our own screen. Oh joy. This is a serious sports bar, there are a million TV's, both NFL games are on, as well as the US Open, and other stuff. A total of 2 booths are taken, plus some scattered people at the bar. On opening football Sunday, this place is nearly deserted. And it's a nice place. Not just a bar, a full restaurant, too. What do the people of Utah do on Fall/Winter Sunday afternoons? Whatever, since it was so empty they did not mind in the least that we sat at a booth for 3+ watching the entire game and only ordered a salad a small pizza between the 2 of us.

From there it was a relatively short ride to (and through, since we came in the west entrance and our hotel was on the eastern side, oops!) Zion, where we arrived at our hotel in time for the night game on ABC. Tomorrow, thank goodness, we get to get off our behinds and do some hiking in the park, which looked as spectacular as expected on our drive through.

Long live the Marines!

I have to say, that given the bright lights of Vegas vs the grandeur of the National Parks, and the great outdoors, I'd have to pick the latter. Although YD wouldn't say that she agreed with me totally, she did admit that they were at the very least equal.

After perusing the trail maps, we decided to attempt a relatively short, although exceedingly steep decent into the canyon along a trail called the "Oooh Ahhh trail" (seriously, how could we pass that up?). Everything we read and every sign we saw were designed to caution, OK, panic, hikers, from attempting hikes they were unprepared for. NEVER attempt to hike all the way down to the river and back in a single day, was the biggest warning we saw. Also lots of signs about how when the temperature is 80 degrees at the rim, it quickly rises to 105+ as you descend. Carry plenty of water, food, and other supplies.

We decided not to even attempt the trail until about 4PM, when the strength of sun decreases dramatically. We packed pb&j sandwiches and water, lots of drugs (epipen, benadryl, ibuprofen, bronchodilator), bug spray, sunscreen, and hit the park. We decided to hike along the canyon rim trail in the morning, have some lunch, and then tackle the oooh ahhh. We probably hiked about 3 miles along the rim trail. Flat, and a mix of paved and gravel paths. It was easy walking, but it was HOT. Instead of lunch, we stopped for ice-cream, and then set out for the main event.

As we boarded the shuttle bus for the trailhead, we noticed the large, black clouds blowing in, but we decided to give it shot. The trail descended at even a steeper grade than I had anticipated (see photos. One is view of trail going down, see people at the bottom on the trail. Other is view of the trail going back up. The dots on the side of the cliff are people going back up). Despite her fear of heights, YD was a trooper, and just as anxious as I to have a go at it. Of course, down is easy, as expected, but the trail is loaded with the warning messages of how hard it is to get back up. Looking back up at the trail, I did have a few moments of doubt. But the ooohs and ahhs just keep you going. The views are indescribable, and we were actually hiking down into the grand canyon, which is what I came to do.

The wind picked up and some drops of rain began to fall. Then we came across 2 young men resting on their way up. Let's just say that resting is a kind word. Recovering? Preventing total collapse, might be better ways to describe it. How much further to the top they asked us? Not far we told them, we just started out. They then told us that they had started at 6AM and hiked all the way down to the river and were having trouble with the trip back up. They were young and fit, and half-dead. I am old, but fit, YD is young, but not so fit, and I began to get a bit more worried, but we continued on. Then the clouds thickened a bit more, and we had to shield our eyes against the dust blowing up from the trail, and about 30 min after we set out, we decided we'd best turn around, so we did.

The hike back up that steep zig-zagging trail was much less strenuous than expected, and we were both a bit sorry we hadn't gone further, but the warnings had put the fear of god in us. Since we had gone to the trouble of making our sandwiches, we did stop and eat them, in the drizzle on the trail. We passed our struggling friends as we reached the top, and one was barely standing. The 4 of us hopped on the shuttle bus and it was clear that the older of the 2 men was suffering from heat stroke. They told us they couldn't believe the difficulty of their hike. The one with heat stroke had hiked up Mt Fuji with no problem. They were both Marines stationed in San Diego. They insisted they hadn't seen any of the warnings not to attempt the hike all the way to the bottom and back in a single day. When we got off the shuttle we discovered they had no way back to their campground, so we squeezed them in the back of Bobby, among the cooler, shoes, travel books, maps, and other detrius we'd collected along the way, and took them back to their tent. I hope they're OK!!!

But, we had the time of our lives, hiked into the Canyon (although not as far as we would have like to, given the weather conditions), and can't wait to get to our next 2 canyons, Zion & Bryce.

Canyon carousing

After a quick stop at the Hoover Dam (it was 109 degrees when we left Vegas at 10:30AM, I don't even want to know what the temp was an hr later when we got to the dam, suffice to say it was unbearable), we just had to at least dash into the park for a glimpse of the canyon when we arrived at Grand Canyon late Fri afternoon. It was all we expected and more. The view from the first place we encountered, which is as far as we went, went beyond our expectations, and then, just to make the experience complete, wandering in the woods next to the parking lot were a couple of deer. Can't wait to head out today to see what are supposed to be the most spectacular viewing points, and hike part of the way down. The biggest challenge right now is getting YD out of bed. LOL

Vegas lives!

Despite the 2-part story I read in the LA times, Vegas is not as dead as the article made it sound. Even during this back-to-school and back-to-work week after Labor Day, there are crowds. We could use the weather to back off a bit, as the 103-104 degree temperatures have made even lounging by the pool basically impossible, never mind strolling the strip. We are longing for the 5-degree with wind chill factor + snow we had the last time we visited, about 3-4 years ago, in January. Don't feel too badly for us; however, we are managing to enjoy ourselves!

Rachel Rosen....Come on Down!!!!!

Yes, it actually happened! Our wildest dreams come true!! Although I'm not good at making a long story short, I'll do my best. After arising at 4:30AM, we got to CBS Studios (see photo, still dark out when we got on line) only to be greeted by a long line of folks who had camped out all night to ensure their spots on the show (they distribute more tickets than there are seats, which are then assigned on a first-come, first-served basis). We were #'s 164 & 165, and told that anyone higher than 150 did not have a good chance of getting in. After many hours of nail-biting, at about 11AM we finally were given our name tags and assured of being in the studio audience. We were among the last 20 folks admitted. Whew!!

Thrilled to just be there, it was beyond our comprehension when Rachel was called down as one of the first 4 contestants. She won the 2nd round of bidding, and an electric guitar and amp, and played push-off, which, despite choosing the price overwhelmingly approved by the studio audience (including myself), she did not win. As great as that would have been, the prize was a trip from Los Angeles to San Francisco. Being that we had just come from San Fran, and live in Phila, not winning that prize was not devastating.

The next heart-stopping moment was when she won a spot in the Showcase Showdown by getting .95 in 2 spins of the big wheel. In the Showdown, the first showcase was passed to her, a set of Viking kitchen appliances, that would have neither fit in my kitchen, nor matched, a set of THE ugliest dining room furniture that I have EVER seen, plus groceries for a year(the only part of the prize that was appealing). Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately?), due to some very bad advice from OM screaming from audience, winning the showcase was not to be either. But, she got on the show, and got to the Showcase. Wow!!! What a day!

Look for the show to air on Thanksgiving, or the day before.

The Holy Grail of our journey

Tomorrow is the day. We made our t-shirts. We bought our little gift for Drew. We discussed our strategy. Now we just have to take a deep breath and hope to make it work, for tomorrow, at 5AM we head to CBS Studios for a taping of the Price is Right. As I can't imagine anyone not knowing, contestants are chosen from the studio audience. As with all TV shows, not to mention airlines, more tickets are supplied than there are seats available, so admittance is first-come, first-served. Just having a ticket does not ensure admittance. Order-of-admission numbers begin to be distributed at 6AM, so we plan to be there shortly after 5AM. The network representative I spoke to assured me that tomorrow, being a Monday, not to mention a holiday, is sure to be a very busy day. If we don't get in, we will be devastated. Although we dream, of course, of hearing one of our names being called to "come on down," just screaming in the audience will be a treat for both of us, for whom coming to be a live part of TPIR has been a dream for much of our lives. Wish us luck!

My apologies to YD

After spending a wonderful day/night in some place other than a hotel for the first time in almost 2 weeks, and armed with half a Weinberg cake (thanks again, Janice for the hospitality!!), we hit the road for LA. Although it is within a day's drive of Santa Clara, I really wanted to drive the Pacific Coast highway, which would take much longer than I-5 or even 101, so we decided to make it an overnight trip.

The road was all I hoped it would be. As had happened for just about every part of this excursion, I had gotten conflicting advice about making this drive. I can clearly tell the personalities of my friends/relatives based on whether or not they advised me to do the Pacific Coast drive. Some advised against it, saying it's too long and/or dangerous. Others said be sure not to miss it. I have to go with the latter camp. It was a dream come true for me. Not just the breath-taking scenery, which really has to be seen to be believed, but for the sheer fun of the drive.

Everyone recommended doing the 17-mile Pebble Beach drive. I had done this with Andy several years earlier and really didn't remember much about it, except a vague recollection of being somewhat bored. But, since YD had never done it, we paid our $9.25 and did the drive. This time, I was even more bored, and so was she. The part along the coast, is beautiful, but overall, it's a long and boring drive, whereas you can just drive Rte. 1 for free, for a much, much, much more impressive experience. So my advice to people in the future will be, screw Pebble Beach, find the time and just drive the Pacific Coast highway.

Route 1 was curvier, steeper and longer than either YD or I had expected. After getting into the groove, I was literally able to figure out the pattern of the road to a certain extent. The rise and fall, the turns and curves of the road are repetitive and somewhat predictable and if you can get the feel for it, you can just flow with the twists and turns. It was amazingly fun driving.

I had 3 regrets about today's drive: #1 having to concentrate so much on the road, I didn't get to concentrate as much as I would have liked to on the views. I'd love to do it again as a passenger. #2 I wasn't in my little top-down Audi #3 YD was not enjoying the ride, at all, to say the least, as the twists and turns were more than her motion-sickness tendency could handle.

We stopped at the first place we saw that looked like it might have a vacancy (there aren't many places once you get rte 1 until San Luis Obispo, about a 150+ mile drive, I believe), which was a group of motels near the Hearst Castle. The first 2 were full, at the 3rd, the Courtesy Inn, we got the very last room, (2 couples who were in line immediately after us were turned away), from where I am writing. Yes, it has free Wi-fi, an indoor pool/spa, supposedly a tennis court, and free breakfast, but the room smells so strongly of chlorine, you would think there was a pool in here. Hopefully that means it's clean, it does look that way, although the chain lock on the door is broken, as is the lock on the window, and the mattresses have seen better days. So, I'm not sure I would stop here again without having someone in the car who was on the verge of being ready to hurl.

The California Cafe at the little motel next door to this one, where we had a bite to eat, also provided some entertainment. Looking like nothing more than a little coffee shop, it presented an ambitious menu with entrees costing >$30. We were seated by a young man with a cropped white afro and no front teeth, and waited on by a middle-aged gentleman who appeared to have even fewer, if any, teeth. When I inquired about wine, he gave me quite a bit of information about those they had, and steered me toward a glass of a local 2006 Zinfandel that was really quite impressive. Just goes to show you, you can't judge a book by it's cover!

Old home week (days?) in San Fran

Time to reconnect 3,000 miles away from home. For our first night in SF, my amazing cousin Bob, (who will always be my baby cousin Bob to me after I spent the summer of 1971 as his mother's helper at the Pine Knoll bungalow colony in Monticello, NY), whom I haven't seen in I-don't-know-how-long, and his indescribably delicious son Jonah, drove down from his home in San Rafael and treated YD & I to dinner and tour of Fisherman's Wharf. I cannot even to begin to describe Bob's accomplishments in the field of computer programming. YD couldn't wait to meet this famous relative she had heard so much about, and I couldn't wait to see him after many years and especially to meet his son. The only regret of the evening was that we missed out on meeting his wife and younger son Archer, as Archer woke up with a fever that morning.

YD and I spent the next day doing a whirlwind tour of Nob Hill, Union Sq., the financial district, & Chinatown, before heading out for our next taste of home, which was an overnight in Santa Clara with Janice, a dear friend of YD's from middle/high school days, who moved to CA to start a new, exciting job at Adobe about 6 weeks ago.

Being exactly halfway through our trip, reconnecting with family and friends is just what we needed to get refueled and re-energized for our trip to The Price is Right!!

Best of both worlds

Now I know why both YD and I love Lake Tahoe so much. As I explained in an early post, we each have somewhat of a split personality. Split between wanting to commune with nature, and with Dolce and Gabbana. A need for REI and Saks. A love of hiking boots and Jimmy Choo's. This place allows people like us to indulge in both. Last night we found YD a pair of fabulous Hudson's for which she had been searching for years. This morning, we are hiking down to Emerald Bay. Here you don't have to be a tree-lover or a JAP. You can be both. A veritable dream come true.

Alas, tomorrow we do take our leave of this paradise. Although we will be sad to say goodbye to Tahoe, we know what is coming next is worth the departure. Next challenge, finding a place in San Francisco that can give a sleek, slick blow-dry to our Jew-fro's which got all out of control due to the hiking. Told you we're weird like that.

We have come to an obstacle

After traveling 1,800+ miles basically event-free (the flat tire hardly counts) on our journey, we have come to our first real problem that could derail the rest of our plans from here on out. We don't want to leave Lake Tahoe. This place is heaven on earth. We just want to stay here. Not to mention that YD found the Hudson's (jeans) that she has been looking for for 2+ years in a store in town here. This is our new favorite place.

If it's Tuesday it must be....

....Wyoming? Utah? Nevada? Is it 7AM, 8AM or 9AM? Mountain time or Pacific time? Is it Sept? We no longer have any idea what state we're in or what time it is. We gave up on keeping track of what day of the week it is a while ago. Now it seems we have also lost track of the month. Sounds like the perfect vacation to me!

Saved by the Brad!

We awoke to a cold and very rainy morning in Yellowstone, thanking mother nature for once again scheduling the bad weather for when we had a day on the road planned. We pack up and head out for our trip to California. We left about 4 days for this trip, with no reservations until we get to YD's friend's place in Santa Clara. We were thinking Salt Lake City might be our first overnight stop; however, after about an hr, Bobby the car announces that we have a low tire. The next exit is Idaho Falls, about 5 miles away, as I pull off it's clear that it's more than a low tire, it is a dead tire. We limp into the truck stop just off the exit and view the large object protruding from the right rear, flat-as-a-pancake tire with a sigh. Not only do neither of us know how to change a tire, the more daunting prospect was not trying to do it for the first time, but was emptying the trunk of Big Bertha (my huge black duffle),YD's big bag, not to mention the tons of other stuff packed in there tight as a drum to get to the jack and the spare.

Luckily, this truck stop is also home to Holiday bus company. we go in their office on the off chance that they have a garage for their buses, and glory-be, they do. We are greeted by the owner, Brad, who proceeds to don his mechanic overalls, use his jack so we don't have to empty our trunk to jack up the car, his pneumatic drill to remove the tire, which, 2 seconds after seeing he is pretty sure is irreparable, so we won't need to get the spare, as we will need a new tire. He then takes the tire, drives into town, while YD and I lunch at the truck stop restaurant, where YD fulfills her goal of her Idaho visit, which is to have potatoes. FYI...the homemade potato chips at Michell's restaurant at the KJ truck stop in Idaho Falls, are absolutely the best in the world! It takes a while, but Brad returns with a replacement tire, which he then puts on, adjusts the torque in the new tire (that's what he told me, anyway), checks and adjusts the air in all of the tires, and labels the dead, damaged tire with my name and phone # and tells me he will save it until the end of Sept, just in case the rental company wants evidence. Then, in true Idaho-ian fashion, charges me only for the cost of the tire, nothing for his time or effort. After much convincing I get him to take half of the $ I offered, if only to buy himself lunch. Brad, you saved our lives, this one's for you!!

Since we lost a couple of hrs we didn't expect to in Idaho Falls, and the drive to Salt Lake City wasn't as long as expected, we kept going and are now safely ensconced in Elko, Nevada. Having gained an hour on the way here, we had time to see Julie and Julia, as this town is big enough to actually have a movie theater. Plan is to truck through to Lake Tahoe tomorrow. Can't wait!!

How do you tell a moose from an elk?

Getting an early start, we are in the park by 8AM. YD has been terrific in getting up and going early when we need to. Within the first 20 min we stop by a stream where several large moose/elk, with huge racks of antlers are finishing up a morning drink. We are headed to see the Yellowstone Canyon and the 2 sets of waterfalls associated with it.

Since the direct route there is closed, we have to take long way around, adding about an hr and half to the trip, each way. But, what a trip it is. After the first wildlife sighting we are side-tracked by several spectacular sights. The geothermal activity is incredible. In addition to Old Faithful, there are multiple other geysers, and we learned about fumaroles, mudpots, and hotsprings. The stench of the hydrogen sulfide is both unpleasant and amazing. We finally make it to the canyon/falls area at about noon. We immediately head out on a trail that will take us down to the bottom of the lower falls. YD teaches me about the flora growing along the trail, and the view of the canyon and falls is breathtaking; however, to way to the bottom on the trail that we have chosen, consists of a set of very steep stairs made out of open steel meshwork. After the first 3 or 4 sets YD can go no further. Her agoraphobia has gotten the best of her. A trail, or a boardwalk, or anything that was solid would have been fine, this is not going to work. We head back up and instead take the trail along the rim from the lower to the upper falls, still a spectacular hike.

By the time we get back to the car it is about 2. We have 5PM dinner reservations (the only time I could get when I booked it about 3 or 4 weeks ago!) back at the Old Faithful Inn, a National Landmark. With the road closure, it could be a 2hr+ drive. It’s clear we’re not going to make it up to the Mammoth Hot Springs, yet another 45 min in the opposite direction. We make a couple more stops, at the cascade and the Obsidian mountain, and turn around at about 3:20 to head back for dinner. Perfect timing, as we pull into the parking lot of the Inn exactly at 5PM, just as the Old Faithful geyser erupts in the background, as if to welcome us. Since we didn’t want to eat in our sweaty hiking clothes, we change into our dinner attire in the parking lot, without anyone being the wiser, and are the best dressed patrons in the place (not just my opinion, we were told that by all of the staff members we encountered. No one dresses for dinner).

On the way out of the park, a 30 mile drive, we pass several bison, have to stop for a deer and her 2 fawns crossing the road, and then come across a huge elk/moose and his women lazing in a field by a stream. Despite being dressed for dinner, we have to pull over and get out to watch, along with several other cars of people. We get out of our car at the same time as a family with 2 small children. The daughter, about 5 years old, shyly says to me “I like your dress,” as her brother, about 7 or 8 comments, in a very thick southern accent “You come to Yellowstone and wear a dress?!?!” It was very funny.
As the sun set, after having spent a full 12 hr day in the park, we reluctantly said goodbye to Yellowstone as we prepare for to hit the road on the way to California

Yellowstone, here we come!

Sorry, we were without internet access for the past 2 days.

Day 6- we head out of Cody for Yellowstone. It’s a relatively short, very scenic ride.We stop at the Buffalo Bill Dam, the Grand-daddy of the Hoover Dam, Interesting and breathtaking stop. We also learn something very important, the road we need to take through East Yellowstone to our hotel in West Yellowstone was closed on 8/17, not reopening until summer 2011. For those of you who might not be familiar with Yellowstone, it is very, very large, and traversed by a loop of roads going across, up to the north and down to the south. Since the across road was closed, we would have to take the southern route across to our hotel, which would take us right by Old Faithful and the geyser basin, not to mention other spectacular sights.

20 minutes after entering the park, our wildest dreams of Yellowstone are fulfilled. We find ourselves in the middle of a herd of buffalo that has wandered onto the road. Traffic has come to a halt as the huge beasts wander down the road. At one point they surround our car on all sides. Some are close to the size of our car (not kidding). If they would have chosen to charge it, I think Bobby the car would have come out on the short end of that encounter. There were adults and calves. They were 2 inches from our windows. It was breath-taking.

Next we stop at Old Faithful, which erupts every 90 minutes, more or less. Not having the schedule, we figured we’d just stop when we got there and wait. Fate was with us, and within 10 seconds of us sitting down at the edge of the crowded viewing area, thar she blows! We were both slightly underwhelmed with the display, but much more impressed with the other geysers we saw in the basin when we got back in the car and drove on a bit further.

After reaching our hotel just outside the West entrance to the park, when planning what to see the next day, it was clear that the detours required by the road closure were going to have major effects on our being able to get to see the canyon and falls in the northern part of the park. OM, reverting to her type-A self, growls “this is going to ruin our entire stay here!” “What are you talking about,” replies YD. “The detour that we have to take because of the road closure will add 3 hrs, 1.5 hrs in each direction, to our excursion to the park tomorrow!” OM grouses in despair. “So what?” Replies YD, extra time in a gorgeous setting, who cares?” And in an instant OM realizes the wisdom of YD. Again, it’s not only the destination, but the journey that’s important. On today’s journey through the park we saw multitudes of bison, and a mule deer. Who knows what we might encounter tomorrow? Lesson well learned. Thanks, YD, can’t wait until tomorrow!

Jews & Rodeo don't mix

We hit the road early this morning for the 350+ mile ride from Deadwood, SD to Cody, Wyoming. Our goal was to see the famous Cody Rodeo, which I had read about in just about every travel book/website. Plus, really, when you're in Wyoming, you kind of have to go to a rodeo.

We stopped at Devil's Tower national landmark, which, for those of you who might not recognize the name, is the incredible rock formation featured in the movie "Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind." It was a worthy stop, albeit, short, as we wanted to have time to get to Cody, find a hotel, wash the road dust off, and make the rodeo, which is held at 8PM every single night from June-Aug. It was also a very exciting stop in that it was the first chance that we got us our National Parks pass!

The ride to Cody is very scenic, winding through the mountains. Ours was even a bit more interesting than expected, as we wound up through the Blackhorn Nat'l Forest, up, and up and up a road that YD named the "intestine rd" because of how it looked on Lucille, our GPS. It was so windy that the image on Lucille resembled intestines). The views were beyond description, however, YD, who is extremely acrophobic, couldn't really enjoy the ride, or the view of the amazing landscaping revealing itself just beyond the edge of the road, with only a metal road barrier between her and who knows how many feet down.

The interesting part came as we were cresting the top of the mountain to ride across and begin our descent. At that point there was road construction. Wyoming road construction is not like East Coast construction, we discovered. When they repair a road here, they totally destroy it and start from scratch. So, we find ourselves on the top of a mountain without a paved road. We had joked about off-roading, well, now we were. There was such a lack of evident road in the construction zone that at one point we actually had to be led by a little tractor labeled "pilot car. Follow me." And follow him we did, through dirt and mud, and eventually after 10 miles or so, back to a real road.

We roll into Cody at about 5PM, just enough time to find a room, shower, change into Cowboy gear, and head on out to the rodeo. It starts out very patriotic, that's fine. Then progressed to the prayer and thanks to Jesus. Hmmmm....not many Jews out here I see. Then, the first event was calf roping. This was more than YD, an animal lover, could take. Seeing the tears in her eyes, OM offered to leave, but she said no, she would handle it. Then, the Jr. competition started. 5-year-olds came out riding bucking steer, getting thrown and almost trampled on. This was more than OD, a child lover, could take. Seeing the tears in her eyes, YD offered to leave, but she said no, she would handle it. Then the rodeo clown, who had been telling jokes all night, started with the Obama jokes. Let's just say they are not big fans in Wyoming. We looked at each other, ordered another beer, and toasted to the diversity in this great country of ours.

Tomorrow, onward to Yellowstone!

Still dead in Deadwood

Being that both YD and OM were somewhat under the weather today, for very different reasons, but dragging nonetheless, we abandoned the plans for hiking in the National Forest, and decided to keep in close to the hotel in Deadwood. We took the self-guided walking tour, visited the Adams museum, and saw just about all of the simulated gunfights performed around the town about twice an hour. But, as I kept saying, after growing up in the Bronx, where I was witness to real, not simulated, gunfights on the streets, these were a pleasant diversion. LOL

YD was hot on the casino floor, turning $1 into $2.50 on the penny slots, and then turning the $20 I spotted her for 3-card poker, into $24, on the last hand, when she was down to her last chips. We walked out (well, upstairs, it was the casino in our hotel) $5.50 richer, and happy campers! One lesson I have taught YD well, leave when you're a winner!

We managed to stay out until 9PM tonight before feeling like we were the only ones in town still awake. But, that's still OK, I want an early start in the morning, as we head out for a day on road to Cody, Wyoming with a stop to see Devil's Tower, and who knows what else.

I am anxious to get back on the road, the visions of the fields of sunflowers that we passed on our way into Deadwood replaying in my mind. These fields of bright gold shone in the sun, beckoning like the poppy fields leading the way to the Emerald City. And, I know what lies ahead is even more spectacular.

Let's hope that Louis the fly remains as well behaved as he has been. He is still our travel companion, and has learned, after much shoo-ing, that as long as he keeps in the spot that he has adopted on the rear window ledge of the car, he is welcome to accompany us on our trip.

I'm sure in the morning, after today's much needed day of rest, we will have regained our health, and the energy needed to conquer the rodeo in Cody, which is on the schedule for tomorrow night. Yeeha!!

Deadwood lives up to its name

On day 3 of our trip (Wed), we head out of Murdo and on into the Black Hills and Badlands of South Dakota. Half-way through a most sleepless Murdo night, I discovered that no matter how well prepared you think you are, some force is out there saying "ha, you think you can prepare for everything? no way," as I feel a nasty cold coming on. None of buckets-full of drugs I have with me can do anything about it, although I do have some that will ease the symptoms. Oh well, part of the goal of this trip was seeing how to handle adversity and unexpected things that come our way. This is the first, and I hope it's the worst, b/c I can deal with a cold.

First stop is Prairie Dog town. The billboards along the highway announce you can feed the Prairie Dogs here, and YD gets the same look on her face, that she has since she was born. The one that says "can we Mommy? Please Mommy, please!" We have discovered that we are suckers for having to check out all the corny tourist places advertised on the highway billboards. One of the jokes of this trip has become the goal of finding one that was worse than the Corn Palace we visited the day before). Prairie Dog town lived up to it's billing. For 50 cents you buy a bag a peanuts, walk through the fence and a few dozen prairie dogs come out of their holes, knowing what awaits them, and give us a nice show of cuteness munching on their peanuts. Corn Palace has not been defeated. Prairie Dog town was a good stop.

Next comes Wall Drug. Again, lived up to it's billing. It's a mix of Old West tourist Kitch (think South of the Border in South Carolina), you see advertised starting more than 100 miles away. We get our free water and I get my 5 cent coffee, we browse the shops a bit, then on to Rapid City, where we make a quick stop at Black Hills bagel for a bite, before heading out again, for day 3's destination, which is Mount Rushmore.

We get sidetracked once again along the way by the Thunder Gold Mine. Despite my pretty severe case of claustrophobia, I agree to take the mine tour with YD, as she has agreed to ride horseback to the bottom of Bryce Canyon with me later in this trip, despite her even more severe fear of heights. The highlight of this stop was our toothless tour guide Jim, who seemed to have taken a little bit of too much of a liking to me, enough to give me a bit of his dating history. Now I know what they mean when they say it's scary out here in the Badlands!! I survived the tour, and we had fun doing little panning for gold at the end and coming out with little vials of gold flakes we had found.

After that, we do finally make it to Mt. Rushmore. Although I had been warned by people I knew who had been there that they were not as overwhelmed as they thought they would be, we were appropriately impressed. We passed up the information center located about a mile away from the site, giving the details of the making of the sculptures, which is something I would have liked to see, but my rhinovirus had zapped enough of my energy at this point that I didn't feel like another stop. We walked the 1/2 mile scenic trail, read the markers, and got back in the car, on the way through the Black Hills National Forest to Deadwood, where we planned to spend 2 nights.

One more billboard-advertised stop was irrestible to YD, this one touting other-worldly happenings, physical impossibilites, balls rolling uphill, stuff like that. Although I was really feeling quite poorly at this time, YD had that look on her face again, so off to the "Cosmos" we go. Most of the 30 min tour had us in, basically, some kind of funhouse like cabin, built on the side of a mountain, and orientated so it was almost impossible to walk in it, and when you stood still, you stood at about a 45 degree angle to the ground you were standing on. Being that both YD and OM have a strong tendency to motion sickness, added to the fact that my ears/sinuses were totally clogged and I was a little dizzy from that to begin with, I found the whole thing extremely disorienting, and left somewhat nauseous, and YD left with headache. So much for the Cosmos, however, it still did not surpass the Corn Palace.

A lovely drive through the Black Hills Nat'l Forest (plus some Advil and a nap in the car for YD) revitalized us as we pulled into Deadwood at about 6:30PM. We were looking forward to some nightlife, which we had yet to see on our trip. Although not exactly bustling, there was a fair number of tourists on the streets, and live music coming from crowded saloons. We secure ourselves a room for 2 nights, go upstairs, shower away the road dust, change and head out for a lively evening of dinner, music, gambling. We step outside and it is basically deserted. The crowded saloon with the live music now has 2 tables with people, the other casinos/restaurants are about as crowded. It is all of 8:30 PM and Deadwood has packed it in and gone to bed. Oh well, we find a lovely italian restaurant, which has food YD can actually eat, have a nice meal, a drink after dinner at the bar downstairs where we run into a father/son the same age as us, doing a similar trip, have a nice conversation, and then off to bed, planning to start our nightlife earlier tomorrow!

The Corn Palace, really?!?

After seeing at least 50 signs (kind of like South of the Border, but not quite as bad as Wall Drug), we decided we had to stop and see the only Corn Palace in the world. Good thing there's only one, believe me, the world doesn't need any more. It's not worth anymore space.

We decided to overnight in Murdo, SD, where we ate dinner at the Rusty Spur saloon. It's not easy for a veggie like YD to find food in the heart of beef and bison country (which is one of the reasons we loaded Bobby with yogurt, peanut butter/jelly, fruit, cereal, etc), but we were delighted to see one of her favorites, grilled cheese on the saloon menu. After waiting for quite a while for the single waitress working tonight to take our order, we were anticipating having a drink while waiting for our food. I ordered a shiraz on the menu, to be told they were out of it. OK, no problem, I'll have the Merlot. Then, when ordering our food, and YD orders her grilled cheese, we are told that they are are out of bread! Being that there was no other item on the menu w/o meat, YD had to settle for an appetizer of mushroom poppers and a side salad for her dinner. Oh well, there were life size cutouts of Daisy Mae and James Dean, not to mention a stuffed bison. There aren't a lot of places to eat in Murdo/

Greetings from Murdo, South Dakota

We (well I, YD managed, somehow to sleep through it) awoke at about 4AM to an amazing mid-western thunderstorm. Undeterred by the still rainy weather at about 9AM, we hit the road for real. Went about an entire mile, stopped at Walmart and loaded up Bobby (YD's name for our car, she likes to name things. A fly that drove us crazy in the car for much of the trip today, is now a pet named Louis) with tons of food, so we wouldn't have to stop for any meals or snacks, if we didn't want to, then off we went.

Since today was going to be a driving day, we didn't mind the rain that lasted until the afternoon, but it cleared up in time for our stop in Sioux Falls, SD. Although there's not much to be seen in South Dakota until you get to the Badlands, we were still impressed by the prairie. I must admit that while I was busy before we left, planning, and reserving, and budgeting, and google-mapping, and making t-shirts, and packing drugs, she did do one very, very, very helpful thing. She made the travel music mixes. And did a great job. Driving 400+ miles today wasn't a challenge at all, with the right company and the right music.

We were particularly impressed with the windmills that rose over the lands in Minnesota. Their majesty, along with the knowledge that they are providing, clean, renewable energy, sparked a conversation about how neither of us could understand why people are protesting their installation along the Eastern shore. They are not an eyesore, they are a vision of a cleaner, better world.

Mall of America

We came, we saw, we conquered.

Challenge #1...conquered!!

A smooth start! First, a wonderfully sympathetic US Air curb check-in attendant, not only did not charge us the curb check-in fee, but didn't charge me the overweight charge for the bag, which was SO heavy, that even Andy had trouble hefting it into the trunk of the car to take us to the airport. Obstacle 1, overcome. Then, between OM & YD, lugging it off the baggage carousel and onto the the luggage cart at the Minnesota airport was not a problem. My fear of being able to handle getting that bag, plus my pull bag, onto the rental car shuttle bus (while YD handled her own 2 bags), was unwarranted, as at Minneapolis airport, there are no rental shuttles, you just take a tram, onto which we could wheel our luggage cart, to the rental car area. Then, between the 2 of us, toss the bags in the car, and we're good to go.

At the Dollar Rental car counter, I am informed that we have a mini-van waiting for us. Worried about being able to take all of our baggage in a regular car (Andy had trouble fitting it in his 4-door Q-45 Infiniti), I am thinking, hmmmm...mini-van, not what I had in mind, but, it certainly would solve the space issue. Then I see the expression of extreme dismay on YD's face upon hearing the words "mini-van," and I ask the representative if there are any other options. "Call later, after more cars have been returned, and if one comes in, it's all yours." Several hours later, we call, a Chrysler Sebring (the kind of car YD had before receiving her grad gift of her Prius), is there, if we want it. Knowing the size of the trunk of that car (humongous), and seeing the look of hopeful anticipation on YD's face, it's back to the airport we go (luckily our hotel is only 4 miles away), to trade in monstrositoid mini-van (which YD has already named "Andre the Giant), for sweet Sebring.

Tomorrow, after stopping at Target for road-trip supplies, we are off. 4 nights of no reservations on our way to Yellowstone. The giant corn maze in Sioux Falls, SD, is looking mighty inviting....

Is getting there really half the fun?

That's my biggest challenge, one of the reasons I wanted to take this trip, and one of the reasons I only hesitantly made reservations in advance (many of which I have already changed. Who the heck knows when you're going to be getting places when you're on a road trip?!?).

The ultimate challenge, for a type-A, results-driven /goal-oriented personality like mine is, can I learn to just relax and enjoy the ride, without tunel-vision focus on the destination? The journey is what this trip is all about, and awaaaay we go!

Oh the places we'll go, oh the people we'll meet....

...the challenges we will face! Some I have already faced, and conquered, such as mastering the computer printer-generated iron-on t-shirt transfer, which we used to make the shirts we're going to wear on TPIR. Even I, a pretty carft-challenged person, faced that mother, head-on, and came out on top!

One I have faced and miserably failed at is packing efficiently. I know how to do it, I know I am capable of doing it, I just choose not to do it. I've read all those tips on how you can travel for a year with just 5 verstile pieces of black clothing. A beach cover-up turns into a dinner dress! Flip the skirt upside and inside out, and voila, a shawl! Yeah, right. You can certainly travel with few pieces of clothing, if you don't mind wearing the same thing often, don't like dressing up and/or accessorizing, and don't mind looking like a schlub most of the time. That is not me!!

In a month's time, I realized that I probably wear just about everything I own, so I took it all. I am prepared for the overweight charges. It's better than being unprepared for whatever fashion requirement we might come across. YD is right along with me on this one. Between the 2 of us, not only will we be able to supply that Native American reservation with pharmaceuticals, but we will most probably be able to outfit every adolescent, young adult, and adult female living there.

The challenge, I realize, is not in packing lightly, that's not going to happen, it's getting the bag into the shuttle that takes you to the car rental agency. I can use carts at the airport, and once it's in the car, I'm home free (I am also bringing a smaller bag to bring in/out of the hotels, once in the car, the big one will live there, and just refresh what's in the little bag). If I can hoist that baby onto and off that shuttle, and into the car, it will be another challenge faced, and conquered!

From Advil to Zyrtec

Now I know why cross-country road trips are mostly attempted by the young. They haven't yet developed the worry instincts of older, more experienced folks, particularly parents, particularly Jewish parents.

YD spent about an hr packing, her most agonizing moment coming when she realized we were low on anti-frizz hair gel and it was too late to order any more. After the same hr, I had yet to finish writing down the drugs I wanted to take with us. What might we encounter, microbiologically-speaking, on our trip? I need to be prepared for all possibilities! I am taking 3 kinds of oral antibiotics (2 kinds of topical), an antiviral, antihistamines, decongestants, NSAID's, antacids, bronchodilators, and an epipen. With the pharmaceutical armamentarium I have amassed, I can probably treat
most of the population on the Native American reservations we expect to visit.Maybe President Obama should add me to his health care initiative. I can truly bring health care to the people!

The Division of Labor

If the pre-trip tasks are any indication, and I am sure that they are, it is clear what is going on here. One of us is the worker bee, and one of us is the Queen. Guess which is which? While I (with the help of Big Al, of course) am spending my days making reservations, printing out confirmations, organizing the papers, rechecking the reservations, scouring the internet for ideas, calculating mileage, figuring out the budget, etc, etc, YD is watching TV. It's for the trip, she reminds, me, she is watching TPIR and studying up.

She tells me she has a good idea for our shirts, and describes it. It is good. Better than what I have come up with, which is zilch. Since crafty is not a word I would use to describe either of us, she tells me we need a special kind of paper that you can print things on from your computer printer, and then transfer them by ironing to a t-shirt. She tells me the images we need. Then she goes back down to the sofa and the TV.

I spend the next few hrs finding local stores that carry the paper, then driving out there to buy it, and the next day looking for the images. She leaves for the weekend to visit friends. I figure out how to invert the images (well, actually, I spend an hour trying unsuccessfully to do it myself, them ask my son, and he tells me how to do it in 5 seconds.), and then print them on the special paper. I am beyond proud of myself. YD returns home and tells me, good try, but she doesn't like that image. More hrs looking for images. I find one, I run it by her first before printing. She likes it. She leaves again to visit more friends. I print it out. She returns. Good try, she tells me, but it's too small. I am almost out of paper. I don't think I budgeted for this.

A planning maniac

OK, that's what I've turned into. Now that I've started making some reservations out of necessity, I started thinking, well if I'm worried about not being able to stay where I want to stay, what if I can't do what I want to do or eat where I want to eat once I get there? And went the next step, making activity, and yes, even restaurant reservations. Like I have clue where, never mind when, I'm going to want to eat dinner once I arrive in Yellowstone Park. But, on the website, and on their phone message, they warn you, we book 12 months in advance! I'm less than 2 weeks away from my vacation. I'd better get on the ball! And so I did. I fell for it. No way I'll be able to tell if all this advance planning was a good thing or not until we actually get there and see if we feel like taking the 4 hr horseback ride to the bottom of Bryce Canyon the day we arrive (vs the day we leave, my 2 choices) which I have pre-booked and prepaid, for, or whether we'll want to eat at 8:15PM at the Old Faithful Dining room on the day I reserved. Or, even more likely, will I even remember what days and times I made all of these reservations for, or what day it actually is while I'm on my adventure. I have trouble just keeping track of what day it is during the summer when my usual routine is a bit different, I can't even imagine having a clue when on the road.

Planning sucks. Or does it?

Still planning...way more than expected

OK, for a trip that was supposed to be a spontaneous get-up-and-go, I am buried beneath paper and email reservations, confirmations, blah, blah, blah. I am overwhelmed. This was supposed to be easy, Just hop in the car and drive, stopping only where and where we felt we wanted to.

The reservation cascade started with the change of plans from driving from home, to flying to our first destination. Flying necessistates airline reservations, reservations #1. Then we would also need to rent a car, reservation #2. It also gave us a definite date that we would be somewhere (Minneapolis, starting our trip at the Mall of America), so might as well reserve a hotel there, reservation #3. Then, we of course had to get our tickets to the Price is Right in advance, reservation #4. Since that now also gave us an exact date when we needed to be LA, might as well make our reservations there, reservation #5.

Having gone that far, I started thinking, well, perhaps I should reserve as much as I can in the places that we have designated as "must see." Nothing would be worse than driving to Yellowstone only to discover that the closest hotel is an hr or more drive away. I know how crowded the National Parks are in the summer, and I'm guessing it could be hard to get a hotel room close by at the last minute. I also remember when we traveled to LA and Londono a couple of years ago, and there were a bunch of things that we couldn't do and wished we had thought to book them in advance. So, trying to learn from past mistakes, there went reservation #'s 6-6,583.

The question is, is what we're giving up in spontaneity worth what we're gaining in being assured of seeing/doing that things that we had in mind to see/do? I'm wondering if it's really possible to just do the get-up-and-go vacation, during busy season, and really get to do/see every thing you wanted to. I mean, I already discovered, much to YD's relief, that the mule rides to the bottom of the Grand Canyon book 1 year in advance (I did however book a ride on horseback to the bottom of Bryce Canyon. Stay tuned for how fear-of-heights YD fares on that excursion!).

Well, I must go sort through my reservations. Later

Planning - Part 3

Now that I've got Big Al on the case, YD and I can focus on the important part of our planning. What can we do that will get us selected as contestants on the Price is Right? Although the inspiration for this excursion was a Nationals Park Tour, what is quickly becoming the highlight and focus of our trip, ,before we even leave, is attending the Price is Right taping.

We know the personalities they are looking for, and in that respect, we are tailor-made. Hyperactive, overenthusiastic, noisy, demonstrative, etc. The question is, are we too normal? Caucasians from the East Coast. Duh. A dime a dozen. What's going to make us stand out? We definitely have to have custom t-shirts. What should they say? Should we have them professionally made, or make them ourselves? Crafts/artistic talents are not our strong points, to say the least. What can we do to secure a spot for one of us on contestants row?!?!?!

Planning - Part 2

OK, so much for the just unplanned, get-up-and-go, unscheduled, fly-by-the-seat-of-our-pants trip, it's clear that unless we want to risk sleeping in the car (which, when we were driving from Phila and planning on bringing camping equipment, would have been an option), schedules, reservations, etc, are clearly needed.

Problem: the reason I never considered a career as a travel agent is, I don't find making reservations fun.

Solution: Call the expert. Travel agent, Big Al, everybody's pal. AKA: Big Daddy. AKA: My Daddy. So, I put Dad on the case. Reservations at/near the National Parks (Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce). Reservations near the CBS studios in LA. Reservations in
Vegas. Reservations in Denver.

Sigh. And we wanted the freedom to just drive and see what we wanted to see and stop where we wanted to stop along with way, w/o being scheduled. Welcome to the real world.

Step 1- Planning

In a word, planning sucks. It started simply enough, an innocent conversation between mother and daughter where each discovers that the other harbors a yen for a cross-country road trip. YD has just graduated from college and has 5 months until her new job and entry into the real world starts. OM works as an independent contractor with a flexible schedule, and has the means for such a trip. Having never had the opportunity to do this at YD's age, OM is not passing up this opportunity, believe me.

The first thought, load up YD graduation gift, 2009 Prius, with a combination of shoes, flat-irons, make-up, and other personal grooming products, as well as hiking boots, tents, and other camping equipment (I told you we were schizophrenic in this way), and just take off and have an adventure. YD rattles off the places she wants to see, a taping of Oprah, the Mall of America, the Canadian Rockies, as many National Parks as possible, a friend in Northern Calif, a taping of the Price is Right, Vegas, spas in Utah, Texas, New Orleans, just to name a few.

No reservations, no set schedule, just hop in the car and go. Yeah, right.

The good news, this country is big and has so much to see. The bad news, this country is so friggin' big and has so much to see! After mapping out just a few of those options, it's clear that the month long time-line we have given ourselves is not nearly enough, unless we want to spend virtually all of time driving, and very little time actually seeing.

Time for Plan B. Since most of what we want to see is west of Mississippi, we will fly out west, rent a car and drive from there. Now we have a schedule. We have to book flights. We have to reserve a car. While I'm looking up reservations, ugh, so much for the fly-by-the-seat-of-our-pants, trip, I decide to just check on openings in places we have designated as absolute requirements, Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Bryce and Zion National Parks, only to discover that the prime locations, if not all of the openings anywhere near, these places book a year or more in advance, as do the fun stuff, like the mule ride to the bottom of the Grand Canyon.

Whatever happened to spontaneity? Obviously, it only applies to travel to places that no one wants to visit. Now we have to start planning.

So much for camping. Throwing equipment in the car was one thing, paying to check it for a flight is another. Oh well, not sure that was going to work anyway. As much as we want to commune with nature, we will rough it only so much. We both have a need to flush. If the accomodations, natural or otherwise, do not include the ability to flush, no thank you. I'd rather dig a hole in the woods than do the outhouse thing. That outhouse scene from Slumdog Millionaire still haunts me.

Let's see what we can do.....

Prologue

The question is, can a 22-year-old daughter, Ray, (AKA young daugher, YD), and a 52-year-old mother, Jay, (AKA, old mother, OM), survive a month together in a car exploring this great country of ours without disowning and/or killing each other?

How will they reconcile their schizophrenic tendencies to want to camp, hike, and find the best National Park experience, with their tendencies to want to shop, spa, and find the best blow dry experience?

Most importantly, will they make it to the Showcase on the Price is Right?

Stay tuned for the answers to these and other pressing questions, by following along with us on our road trip.