Day Four - We Made It!

Starbucks in Phoenix.












In Los Angeles now...weather is warm (in the 60s) and overcast. We don't mind that at all because we are not in the car anymore! From Sarah's apartment in Coon Rapids, MN we drove nearly 1600 miles. We learned a lot of valuable lessons on this trip! Today was free of any crazy weather, or should I say just plain old sunny and cloudy. Perfect driving weather!

We hit an agriculture inspection station on the California border. We were asked if we had any fruits, plants or animals in the car and how far East we drove from. We told the border patrol we had an orange in the car and he proceeded to ask where it came from. After telling him it was from Arizona he said, "okay, you are okay to go" we both nearly screamed. We weren't sure if the orange was going to get us jail time or what. After driving 5 miles down the road we realized there was more contraband in the car - a banana from Oklahoma. Had we have known that, we probably would have been thrown in jail!

More pictures to view...just click on the picture and it will bring you to PhotoBucket.

Day Three - Moriarty to Phoenix, AZ

We made it to Phoenix with hardly a flake of snow! We woke up to an inch of snow on the car and very wet roads. After a wiper blade replacement we hit the road and had clear skies through the remainder of New Mexico. Little did we know...New Mexico is probably the windiest state in the country! We were hit the entire day with blazing high winds. There were signs posted everywhere - "Danger - wind storms" "Use EXTREME Caution" ... they were not kidding.

Here is a snippet of the winds we experienced...




We also drove past Elephant Butte Reservoir in New Mexico. It doesn't seem all that interesting, but trust us, it was nice to see some water!



The Honda tolerated the winds well and got us through! We hit a moderate rainstorm outside of Tucson, AZ and were bullied by the truckers. Alas, we made it into Phoenix at 9:30 pm with clear skies and no rain. We landed in a Holiday Inn Express outside of Phoenix and are settled in for the evening.

Tomorrow we land in Los Angeles!

Hello from the Road!

We propped the camera on the dash and prepared this video for all of you... (it is in two parts because it was too long to upload as one video)




Shocking revelations for Day Two:
1 - It does blizzard in the desert of New Mexico
2 - No booze sold on Sundays at all

Snow in the Desert!?!?!??!

Today we both learned that snow is possible in the desert. To our surprise we hit a snowstorm with snowflakes the size of babies. It was unbelievable! And this is coming from two Minnesota snowstorm driving veterans. The driving conditions were some of the worse we have ever seen. Vanessa was a super trooper and toughed through the drive, including tolerating the big bully semi drivers going a thousand miles per hour. I refrained from videoing anything because the drive was so stressful and we needed silence to concentrate.

Here is the aftermath:

Day Two - Oklahoma City to Moriarty, New Mexico

A few more lessons learned today! Amazing how traveling expands your horizons in so many ways!

This morning we stepped out of our hotel into beautiful 60-some degree weather. There was no need to brace ourselves for the cold...we both yelped in excitement when we walked out to the car. We stayed overnight at a comfy and cozy Hampton Inn in Edmond, Oklahoma (just a few miles outside Oklahoma City, OK).

Here is the video from the parking lot:


Going into Oklahoma City...the excitement ensues...


Some more Oklahoma City funness...

Little Did We Know

Tolls seem fun and all - you throw your change at the bucket and move along...usually. This wasn't the case at this toll. We also did not know this was the last of any civilization! Muah hahahahahaha! There was no warning for taking a rest stop before proceeding, filling up with gas, calling your loved ones, etc. etc. And no one said anything about the likelihood of the state smelling rank for the next 200 miles!



Then...finally....after many, many miles of nothingness.... (we did stop and gaze at the stars and stretch our legs for a few minutes)...

The END of the turnpike!!!



And then....FREEDOM! (and then Oklahoma)

Silos and Smokestacks

Who knew Iowa had a claim to fame other than John Wayne's birthplace?



PS The fog really was a pain in the butt!

An Addition to the Iowa Collection... Terrible's Casino

Day One - Minnesota to Oklahoma City

We made it to Oklahoma City, OK! Through dense fog from Minneapolis to Des Moines, the sun finally decided to jump out at us and shine on the day. The weather was perfect and warm in Oklahoma!


Here is the introduction to our journey:



Our most eventful, or should I say least eventful, part of the day's journey was the Kansas Turnpike. There was no warning whatsoever, other than "last free exit", that there would be no more exits PERIOD. We did have a pretty full tank of gas, but were not expecting to go 50 some odd miles without a gas station or a place to eat. We had agreed to stop somewhere in Topeka or somewhere north of there to take a break. Well....hours later and many miles of nothing, we were left with no other choice but to stop at a McDonald's and gas station in the middle of the turnpike. It was complete entrapment - more than likely a conspiracy between the CEO of McDonald's and the CEO of the Turnpike Transit Authority of Kansas!!!


One last view of Minneapolis....