Day 10

Day 10 began in Reno, Nevada, at the delightful Peppermill casino and hotel. We woke up and hit the gym for a while, our first real exercise in well over a week, which embarrassingly enough kicked both of our butts. We then had breakfast at one of the restaurants downstairs, a glowing, neon establishment that was wayyyyy too dazzling for such early hours.







We got back on the road around 12, heading north on the same road we had traveled the day before, still searching for a path over the mountains. We found one in the ever delightful route 299, an impossibly windy road that weaves through multiple state parks en route to the Pacific edge of the country. It was a fun drive for the first 30 miles, but around mile 50 it got a lot less interesting and a little more nauseating. Around mile 80 Caitlin was ready to jump out of the car, and by mile 92, when we finally reached Route 101, she was mildly suicidal. Thankfully salvation was found in the tiny town of Trinidad, California, which is nothing more than a few houses packed around a casino, which was curiously packed for such a tiny town. Later, seated at the bar, we discovered that it was Bingo night at the casino, which guaranteed a full house. Go figure.

Asking around, we soon realized that not only was there no where to stay for the night, but as it was 8:00, we were quickly running out of options for dinner. We were finally directed to Wildflower cafe, a small vegetarian restaurant in neighboring Eureka. Caitlin was quite proud of Joe's open-mindedness at the prospect of eating vegetarian, and even managed to put away a portion of his veggie spanakopita, even though it "fought back."









We are ending the night at a hotel in Eureka, with basically no idea where we are, but we're pretty sure it's beautiful wherever it is. Tomorrow we plant to visit the redwoods, and hopefully make it to Portland by early evening. It's hard to believe our cross- country extravaganza is almost over!

Day 8

Day 8 we again woke up on couches in Matty's living room. After a quick sweep of the place, we left to meet Jon at the Himalayan Grill for an early lunch. The place was delicious, with a great buffet we all took advantage of. Our 2 days in Flagstaff were fantastic, but needless to say we were excited for Vegas.

The drive out of Flagstaff was beautiful, with approaching rain and clouds creating impressive views as we left the mountains for flatter terrain.







The highlight of the drive was definitely visiting the Hoover Dam, which we had driven across around this time last year. It was interesting to see the progress they had made in building a new bridge over the canyon. Last year they had just barely started, and now they have an entire arch built. As always, the sheer size of the dam took our breath away, and we spent a good hour wandering around appreciating the spectacle before us.











We arrived in Las Vegas just as a large black storm cloud rolled past overhead, creating an intimidating backdrop over the mountains but bathing Sin City in light. We were excited to see a rainbow form overhead, and were quite excited to try and find the pot of gold at the end.








After checking into our room at the Flamingo, which was inconveniently located at the ass-end of two impossibly long hallways, we tried to gussy ourselves up as best as possible for a night on the town. Caitlin soon realized that she had absolutely nothing to wear, and decided the only solution would be new clothing. Thankfully it only took two stores to find an acceptable outfit, and poor Joe was such a trooper that he found stuff too. Soon afterwards, rocking fresh new threads, we left the Forum and hit Serendipity 3 for dinner. This was, of course, delicious, and after generous helpings of frozen hot chocolate each, we decided that we should find a show to see that night.



After being misdirected to the Mirage to see the Blue Man Group, we decided on O, and aquatic production by Cirque du Soleil that was unbelievable. The acrobatics alone were incredible, and the adjustable pool onstage was mind-blowingly cool.

The show got out around midnight, and after battling with the mature parts of us that knew we had an early morning and LOTS of driving to do the next day, we decided to head back out and find some place to dance the night away. We ended up at Cleopatra's Barge, a hysterical little fake boat floating on a fake lake somewhere in Caesar's Palace. We danced like dinosaurs with our hands in the air until the DJ called it a night, and then returned to our room for a couple well- earned hours of sleep. All and all, Vegas was a great success!!

Day 9

Waking up in Vegas on day 9, we got off to a later start than anticipated. We finally managed to get our act together and left around 11, hoping in the car with some coffee and muffins we snagged at a cafe in the casino. Our GPS devices had very different views on the best way to reach Yosemite, which was our intended destination for the day, and after a few minutes of bickering we finally decided on a route and headed out into the vast deserts of northern Nevada.

After miles and miles of desert, the road finally became a little bit more exciting, as we approached the mountains and our path started twisting and winding down and around the peaks. As the only car on the road for miles, the sharp twists and turns felt like something out of a video game, which was only reinforced when the road narrowed to one lane through a tiny, snowed in pass.







We were soon at the base of the Sierra Nevadas, a huge range of mountains that are breathtakingly beautiful. Even though we'd been seeing signs for "chain areas" and heavy snow warnings, we doubted that the snow would effect us, seeing as how it hadn't been much of a problem the past few weeks. As it turned out, the pass we intended to take to Yosemite was snowed in, as was the next one curling over the mountains, effectively stranding us on the east side of the range. Needless to say this was not in our plans, but we decided to take it in stride and continued on the road, hoping it would eventually offer a path across the mountains.











As darkness fell, we realized that there was no way we were crossing the mountains that night, or possibly even ever, so we started to look for a place to stay. We ended up rolling into Reno around 8, and after a quick dinner at the local Olive Garden, we decided to continue our lucky streak by staying at the local casino, the Peppermill. Our expectations for the place were wildly exceeded when we discovered that the room was not only directly off the elevator, but also boasted a full sized jacuzzi in the middle of the room. It also featured three mirrored walls and a small one on the ceiling, but that was more disturbing than exciting.

The casino itself was completely out of control, decorated with more neon lights and signs than the entire Vegas strip combined. We didn't wander too much, and exhausted by hours of driving and an hour of soaking in the hot tub, we returned to the room for some well-deserved rest.

Day 7

Day 7 found Caitlin and Joe waking up cocooned in sleeping bags on Matty's floor in Flagstaff, Arizona. After a bright and sparkly night out in downtown Flag, we decided the best way to follow up the night would be a large and satisfying breakfast, which is exactly what we found at Martan's. Gargantuan in proportion, breakfast at this delightful Mexican joint was phenomenal, if not overwhelming. Some of us were more successful than others at cleaning our plates...

Caitlin's food.


Matty's food.


Matty: Success.


Caitlin: Fail.


After breakfast we headed over to John's for some freshly made elk burgers, which received rave reviews. After discussing plans for the rest of the day, it was agreed that while away from the city, Caitlin should experience as much of the outdoors as possible. With this as the seed, plans were made to head out to the Cinder Pits for some shooting and target practice. After purchasing some rounds at a gun shop boasting some striking taxidermy, we loaded ourselves into John's truck, cranked the volume on the country music, and hit the road.

After bouncing our way up the hills, we finally pulled to a stop in a delightfully remote and snowy area that appeared perfect for our recreation. After an in depth lesson on the basics of firearm mechanics and safety, neon targets were attached to trees and the fun began. Having never fired a gun before, Caitlin was understandably terrible, but her enthusiasm more than made up for the shoddy marksmanship. Joe and John, both well practiced in the sport, actually managed to hit the target.







Note: It's always important to have ear protection.


After expending all available rounds, we packed up and began our descent back now the treacherous, snowy dirt road we arrived on. Caitlin, having never been off-roading of any kind, was wildly enthusiastic about the possibility of another bouncy ride back down. We got a little bit more than we bargained for unfortunately when the truck became thoroughly stuck halfway up a small, steep hill. So much so that only three wheels of the vehicle were actually touching the ground.



After digging the tires out and smoking up the wheels we finally resorted to jacking the truck up, and then letting gravity work it's magic as the car blew the jack and came thundering back to ground. Impressively, this tactic proved successful and a mere 10 minutes after becoming stuck we were back in the truck and once again on our way back down the mountain, country blaring and everything.



After this wildly exciting adventure, we decided that the day had been too good to possibly leave Flagstaff, so we resolved to spend another night in this delightful town. We headed back to John's to chill for a little while, before heading back to Matty's house to get some work done and rest up a bit before meeting John and Jon for pool at a local bar. After arriving, we quickly realized that Cranium was far more alluring than the pool table, so we settled in for a few hours of the best board game ever invented. After three grueling rounds we conceded that the teams of Joe and John and Caitlin and Jon were evenly matched, and called the game a tie.

We then headed to the Monte Vista, Joe and Jon with their hearts set on convincing Caitlin to do karaoke. Unlikely. At the bar were greeted by a painfully inept version of some 90's Metallica song, which while making our ears bleed, also boosted confidence in our own karaoke-ing abilities. After sitting through a couple very respectable and well known songs, Joe and John took the stage for a room- rocking rendition of "La Bamba," which was quite well received. As the bar emptied, Caitlin was convinced to join Joe and Jon on stage for "Bennie and the Jets," which is admittedly one of Caitlin's favorite songs. As we quickly learned, Elton John sung in the car and Elton John sung without any backup are two very different things, and the three of us croaked our way through the 5 minute song with considerable pain and a lot of laughter. It might not have been pretty, but it sure as hell was fun!

So tomorrow we really are departing for Vegas, hopefully after brunch with Jon. Our room at the Flamingo is booked, and we're ready to hit the town. Bright and shiny things await, and holy crap are we excited!!

Day 6

Day 6 ended with a bout of altitude sickness that was brought on rather suddenly after arriving in Flagstaff and going out to enjoy delicious beverages with friends. For this reason we were unable update the blog last night and, believe us, we feel (read: felt) terrible!

So, yesterday we awoke in beautiful Albuquerque and found our way to a really cool downtown area located adjacent to the University of New Mexico campus. We first had to battle with a parking meter that just would not accept our money, as well a confused local man who could not, for the life of him, figure out how to operate the thing. So needless to say we eventually figured it out and we were free to explore the delights of downtown Albuquerque. After a short stroll we found our way into a local coffee shop claiming the title of "best coffee in the world" so, naturally, Caitlin had to try a cup of their herbal tea. When asked about a breakfast place, the delightfully chipper young lady was happy to direct us to a local diner several blocks up the street. After walking in the general direction we were pointed we decided on an establishment we'd passed and could be certain was open for business. The diner turned out to be just dandy but the one-waitress show made for painfully slow service.



Since the drive through New Mexico was rather uneventful, Caitlin passed the time by snapping pictures of the surrounding landscape.










Yay Arizona!




Painted Desert & Petrified Forest

How do the logs split so precisely?

Petroglyphs!

Really awesome rock tree.


Once we arrived in Flagstaff we met several of Joe's friends for dinner and headed out for a drinking tour of downtown Flagstaff.