blog post

It's pretty ambitious, but since I can only take off 10 days (and that's pushing it!) here's what I mapped out:

Day 1:  Drive from Dallas to Amarillo.  It's a long drive because we're going through Oklahoma City (we'll pick up the old road at 23rd Street), but since we've been all over the Mother Road in Oklahoma, we should be able to take it pretty fast.

Day 2:  Amarillo to Albuquerque.  This is a much shorter drive, but we want to linger in both towns.  "Old Town" in Albuquerque is especially appealing and good for photographs.

Day 3:  Albuquerque to Flagstaff.  Another long drive, but with so much of the old road buried under I-40, it will probably go pretty quick.  My folks go to Phoenix regularly, so we probably won't feel the need to linger too long in the Painted Desert or the Petrified Forest.

Day 4:  The Grand Canyon!  Actually don't know where we'll end up at the end of the day!  We'll go as far as we feel like, but this will be a day to enjoy a more leisurely pace.

Day 5:  "Wherever we are" to Santa Monica -- The End of the Road!  We'll pass through San Bernadino and Hollywood.  I'm just hoping traffic won't be too awful...(I'm driving),

Day 6:  The Getty Museum, then a night at the Queen Mary Hotel!  We hope to find all the ghosts that are reputed to be hanging out there!  This is our big splurge of the trip -- can't wait!

Day 7:  Long Beach to Phoenix -- another long drive, but I don't see any way around it.  I'd love to stop and visit Joshua Tree National Park -- hope there's time!

Day 8:  Phoenix to ????  We'll take the southern route through Tucson, stopping to see Saguaro National Park, Tombstone, and Bisbee.

Day 9:  ??? to Roswell, New Mexico.  Hey, we're going to find those aliens, too!  Would love to stop at Rock Hound State Park and see if we can find some cool rocks, and White Sands because I hear it's really beautiful.

Day 10:  Loooooooong drive home!  Haven't decided on the exact route yet -- will try to search out the fastest way!

See you on Day 11...