The post-trip threads have been merged into one. [/Mark]
Note that there are no more price tags. This means I was now into the section where the winning pieces of art resided
A fine picture of one America's greatest citizens, sitting in front of a statue of Abe Lincoln.
LOL am I gonna get an invoice for that? :P Many thanks, Sir
Wish I were sitting. I'm only 5'8" : |
We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming for this announcement
This commercial just made me laugh hard https://www.ispot.tv/ad/nxv8/devour-foods-white-cheddar-mac-and-cheese-with-bacon-when-hunger-attacks-open-seas
Dang! Tom Browning's "After the Rains" and Teresa Elliott's "Free Mare" are absolutely stunning!
Niiiice. If I were an art thief, I'd take After the Rains, Blasting a Route Through the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and Indian Stories.
When Hunger Attacks I might put on the wall of my dining room....
@DarrenWalker : ) I'm watching that mac n cheese floating on the water thinking "what's coming? The Krakken? Guy comes out with a fork.......LOVE IT!
Moving on.... After the National Cowboy Museum, it was time for lunch and the much anticipated Fried Onion Burger from Nic's Grill.
Joe and I each had the same, and both LOVED our burger. Also, the owner and his help were both very cool. Tiny little diner, Nic's. I also loved their coffee cups so I had to buy one.
On to Amarillo.....We only had one thing to see(RV museum) and that was closed. Not a huge deal, it was just a thing to add on our way to the Grand Canyon. I know Texas is huge and has much to see but the interstate was only going through the very top part, Amarillo. Also, the Coyote Bluff restaurant was also closed for the holiday weekend so instead I finally got to try a Whattaburger. It was.....a burger. Certainly not bad, I mean, if it were bad they wouldn't be in business. But it certainly wasn't all the Marine from Texas that I worked with in Lisbon made it out to be. If I had a nickel for every time I heard him say they were the best burgers.......and the guy had never been out of Texas until he went to basic then off to Portugal. Worldly, I know. I think that is something Texans are taught in elementary school. "Just tell everyone not from Texas that everything in Texas is better (and bigger) than anywhere else." Sorry texans......but the In and Out burger I had later was better. : )
We made it to Santa Fe a few hours later and settled into our third motel in as many nights.
1 Sept Breakfast was at Tia Sophia's, hailed for the best breakfast burrito around. It didn't disappoint! I couldn't decide on green chile or red sauce, so I got a Christmas breakfast burrito in September
They had some interesting decor here so I had to get a few shots
From Santa Fe, we continued on to the Four Corners Monument, thinking it would be cool to see the only place in the US where 4 states meet (NM, AZ, UT and CO). But the Navajo had other ideas. It, too, was closed. Anyway it looks like this https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Four_Corners_Plaque.jpg
And so, it was on to the Grand Canyon.....but as things were beginning to be less flat and more mountainous, I tried to get a few pics while Joe did some driving.
By the time we made it to the rim, it was closed, and we weren't going to miss the Grand Canyon, so we knew we'd just stay the night at a nearby place and see it in the morning. But as were were driving the last few miles to the rim this evening, we came across this guy.
I saw him first and I was like "Joe, look"......and he's like "wow" and doesn't even slow down! I said stop stop STOP! Jesus man! I mean, everyone else must have known the rim was already closes because there was NO ONE else around but us, and he's gonna keep driving? SMH. So I get out and start walking around the car as the Elk is on the other side of the street, then he walks across the street to my side, and I'm still walking towards him slowly, playing with my zoom, and he's aware of me but doesn't look too worried. Then he looked right at me and I stopped. Close enough I figured. I was about 70' away at that point. That's a distance I can gauge pretty accurately after a lifetime of playing softball with 65' between bases. This was of the many highlights of the trip for me.
2 Sept The Very Grand Canyon
I don't know who that person was sitting way out on the ledge. I do know who it wasn't.
@AceCuddlerMike - thanks to you and your trip, I've been checking out RV rentals. Seems there are a lot of options out there: 5th wheel/pull-behind, all in various sizes (how long) with various options (up to and including satellite, solar power, toilet/shower, queen size bed); or campers and travel vans all the way up to +26 feet of RV. The price per day is all based on inclusive/exclusive insurance, anticipated miles, and potential generator use.
I mapped out a mock trip for 1500 miles round trip from the East Bay, California and was surprised that the SMALL camper vans and RVs were more expensive than the bigger/regular sized RVs! (In no way am I insinuating that size-matters - or not.) Depending on which provider you go through, you can have the rental include kitchenware (even with retractable marshmellow stick thingees!), bedding, and towels. Granted, the more you're renting, the higher the price goes.
Maybe if the West Coast survives these fires, I may take a trek soon and try some glamping.
