To the Grand Canyon and beyond....

It's been a fantastic couple of days.  I had no internet connection last night so I'm updating for the past few days. 

Sunday was amazing.  I left my room early in the morning, around 6 am, to head into the Grand Canyon.  It was dark and a few cars were also heading into the park.  It was certainly a wonderful treat to ride up to the gate, be given information from the ranger and told that it was FREE!!  Thank you Veterans!  I headed out to the Geology Museum for a view.  Once parked, I strapped on my GoPro camera and headed out.  It was my first time at the Grand Canyon and I was excited! I could see the sky starting to get lighter and knew the sun would be peaking over shortly.  My first view of the Canyon was....speechless....stunning....there are no words to describe the sheer beauty and awe of the vast canyon.  The sun coming over the canyon created ever changing colors that bounced off the rocks and peaks that curved in every direction as far as the eye could see.  I was in awe.  Sheer awe. 

After watching the sun rise, I moved on to the visitors center where I watched a short film that described some of the history of the park.  Following the movie, I trekked over to yet another area for more spectacular views from a different angle.  I could just barely make out people the size of ants that were down in the canyon camping.  I saw their tents, which were an obvious human intrusion within the surrounding beauty.  It was a perfect time to visit the park due to the small number of visitors that were there at that hour.  The one thing I didn't like were the sounds of buses coming in and out filled with tourists.  It created a sharp contrast, but the park is here for everyone to enjoy for generations to come.  It is a place that everyone should see during their lifetime. It's that beautiful.  I kept my eyes peeled for elk, but no luck in seeing one. 

After spending about three hours at the Grand Canyon, I moved on.  i drove until I reached New Mexico.  I visited the Continental Divide marker on my trek to Albuquerque.  Pretty cool to see.  It was a somewhat hidden marker off the road next to a boarded up gas station.  

I drove on until I reached Albuquerque, where I was invited to spend the evening with a friend of mine I served with in the Air Force.  I couldn't wait to see her and finally meet her husband.  Once I finally reached their place, we headed out to a pretty famous restaurant, El Pinto.  It has a wall of fame, with pictures of famous people visiting.  It was also a known spot for the cast of Breaking Bad to enjoy some delicious New Mexican food.  The three of us shared the ginormous nachos, also known as "The Best Nachos in America", according to the Wall Street Journal in 2006.  Holy nacho heaven it was huge!  Definitely enough for three people, with plenty leftover.  There were roasted peppers sprinkled in, and wow, one of them set your mouth on fire for a few minutes.  Woooooo!  Please pass the sour cream!  The food was delicious.  After dinner, we headed over to the Sandia Peak Tramway for a view of the city lights.  It was stunning.  I had no idea how big Albuquerque was.  After that, I was ready for bed.  Phew what a long day.  I had an exciting day ahead and needed my rest.

The next morning, my friend took me on a Breaking Bad film location tour.  It was fantastic.  We saw the homes where Walter and Skyler lived, and where Hank and Marie lived, as well as the dam where a few shots were filmed, and of course the infamous car wash.  We also drove by the school where Walter left his teaching job, as well as the used car lot where the vehicles were used for the show.  And how can I forget seeing Saul's office location?  "You better call Saul".  We then moved on to Rebel Donut, where they sold Breaking Bad donuts with blue rock candy on top.  After the tour, we had a mouthwatering breakfast at Sophia's Place, a hidden hole in the wall that was featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.  Once again, it was a heavenly taste of New Mexican flavor for breakfast.  It did not disappoint.

After filling my belly and getting my fill of eye candy with the film locations, I was on the road again.  This time, I was headed to Amarillo, Texas.  I haven't been to Texas since 1993, when I was in Air Force basic training in San Antonio.  That was the extent I knew of the state and was ready to see more.  On the way, I stopped in Santa Rosa, New Mexico, to see the Blue Hole.  It's a geological phenomenon that is now a popular destination with diving enthusiasts due to it's depth of 81 feet.  It was so deep, I was afraid to go to the edge because I didn't want to fall in.  This fell along the pre-1937 portion of Route 66. 

My next stop was on Route 66 in Tucumcari.  I saw the Motel Safari, and the ever famous Blue Swallow Motel, know for it's garages that come with a room.  It was as if I was driving back in time to the early days of Route 66.   Now on to the Texas state line.  The first thing that came into view was a giant wind farm.  As they say, everything is bigger in Texas.  Whoever "they" are, are not kidding.  It kept going for miles.  It was quite a sight to see.  Finally, I reached Amarillo.  Destination to not pass?  The Cadillac Ranch, of course!  I didn't realize that you could spray paint on to the cars themselves.  I found an almost empty can and sprayed away.  I had to leave my own little mark, only to be sprayed over by the next visitor down the road.  After a long day's drive, I ended up at the Big Texan Steak Ranch and settled in at the Big Texan Motel right next door.  When in Texas, steak is a must.  I'm not a big steak eater, but I couldn't resist.  It was like butter.  They also brew their own beer right there.  I tried a few of the brews to wash down dinner.  With my belly full, it was off to yet another night of good rest.  I wanted to make good headway the next morning.  As the evening went on, though, the winds picked up and the mercury dropped.  Snow was in the forecast for the overnight.  It was time to start bundling up for the rest of the journey.

This now brings me up to today, a unique date indeed of 11.12.13.  I woke up early, around 6:30 and hit the road around 7.  This has been the craziest of all the days so far.  And by crazy, I mean "hello Oklahoma state police".  The morning started out fine and stopped in the town of Groom, Texas to view the world's largest cross.  Would it be wrong of me to say, god DAMN, that's a HUGE CROSS!  Wow.  This sucker is ginormous.  Moving on, I then stopped in at McLean, Texas to see the Devil's Rope/Route 66 Museum.  It's free entry and I got there just as they opened.  The lady in the museum was incredibly friendly and showed me some of the unique pieces.  The building was an old brassiere factory, and shut down when they moved to Mexico for cheaper labor, which in turn, didn't work out anyway.  The town became known as "The Uplift Town" due to it's past history.  It's something I would have missed had that woman not been so friendly and helpful. She also showed me the old flags they had stored there.  There was a 45 starred flag, a 48 starred and a 49 starred flag.  All of which are original.  It was amazing to see this history just hanging on the wall.  Again, I would have missed these because they were hanging in a part of the museum that was currently closed off.  I highly recommend a stop here if in the area.  Not only does it show old pieces of history of the country, it also has Route 66 facts and memorabilia, as well as information regarding barbed wire.  Wonderful place to visit.  And not another visit was there, so I had the place to myself.  As I was leaving, she told me about the very first Phillips 66 gas station that was still there, right down the road, with the original truck, as well as a WW  II internment camp that was in the area, which held German prisoners of war.  Naturally, I had to stop by and see both of these pieces of history that were so close.  Both were unique and intriguing in their own right. 

Moving on from there, my next destination was Oklahoma City.  This is where it gets interesting.  All other states had a speed limit of 75, but here in Oklahoma the speed limit dropped to 70.  Oops. Busted by the cops.  Doing 84.  Yikes!  I was advised to sit in the state police vehicle as they ran my license.  Once they gave me my citation, they had just a few more questions for me.  Was I carrying any weapons?  Was I transporting drugs or anything illegal?  Was I asked by anyone to carry anything in my vehicle across the country?  Ut oh.  They think I'm a drug mule.  Crap.  They then asked if I would allow them to search my vehicle.  I had nothing to hide, and had done nothing wrong, other than speeding, so I said "go ahead".  Now i know some of you would say something to such as, "thats'a violation of my rights", blah blah blah.  However, I had never been profiled before and thought it would be interesting to see the process.  Lo and behold, those two officers tore the vehicle apart, along with my belongings.  They even took out the spare and checked the tire for changes in sound, as well as inside every nook and cranny inside and out.  Being a rental, at one point, I did get nervous.  Had anyone ever transported illegal drugs in this SUV and left some behind??  Oh boy.  Relief washed over me when they came back and thanked me for my cooperation, and apologized for taking my time.  I understood why they did it, and in the end, it makes a great story.  The moral here?  Set your cruise control to the exact speed limit when traveling through Oklahoma.  Cops are everywhere, and they will stop you.  If you are alone, they will probably request a search.  Just don't speed and you will be fine.

After that little fiasco, and an expensive souvenir to boot, I traveled on to Oklahoma City to visit the Oklahoma City National Museum, which honors the victims of the Oklahoma City domestic terrorist bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in April, 1995.  The memorial outside is beautiful and leaves one to reflect on the evils in this world that can happen anywhere, anytime. They have chairs for each victim, of which include children.  The smaller chair represent the children that were in the day care that morning.  The museum provides a personal feel of the events that unfolded that day.  It starts with sitting in on a hearing that was recorded that morning, which captured the explosion, along with the ensuing confusion which immediately followed.  You wind your way through the displays and it shows the time line of the events that happened following, and ends with the outcome of Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols.   Such tragedy to so many innocent victims, and for what?  It was a memorial I had to see, as I will never forget that day as long as I live.

After such a moving experience visiting the memorial, I drove on to my final destination to rest up for the night in Henryetta, Oklahoma.  Onward to Tennessee tomorrow.  Now, sleep.

Ramble on down the road...