Western Loop 2012
Day 1, 16 May 2012 - 508.0 trip miles (43239 miles total)
My plan is to make a great western loop, driving from my home in Texas, heading west by way of the Grand Canyon, north along the Pacific Coast Highway to Washington, east through Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado, and then back again
Day 2, 17 May 2012 - 800.5 trip miles (43531 miles total)
The trip got a bit scenic today with some hilly forest driving, and a revisit to the White Sands Missile Range missile park. I wanted to see what was updated since my last visit.
Day 3, 18 May 2012 - 932.5 trip miles (43663 miles total)
City of Rocks and Gila Cliff Dwellings
I visited to great sites today, an amazing volcanic boulder field and some 14th century cliff dwellings. Oh - and I got a flat tire in the middle of nowhere!
Day 4, 19 May 2012 - 1332 trip miles (44063 miles total)
Petrified Forest National Park and the Painted Desert
I arrived at the Petrified Forest National Park, which contains an amazing array of petrified wood in the form of logs. Huge tree trunks. And the crystals that replaced the wood structure are just amazingly colorful.
Day 5, 20 May 2012 - 1342 trip miles (44073 miles total)
Today is a light day in Flagstaff, Arizona
Day 6, 21 May 2012 - 1620 trip miles (44351 miles total)
Today I made a scenic drive south through Sedona and visited a couple of pueblo ruins, dating to the 1200s to 1300s
Day 7, 22 May 2012 - 1821 trip miles (44552 miles total)
Today I made my long-awaited visit to the Grand Canyon. I had high expectations, and while the views were spectacular, I was disappointed. Want to simulate 90% of the time visiting the Grand Canyon? Go walk around a parking lot for a few hours in the blazing sunshine.
Day 8, 23 May 2012 - 2092 trip miles (44823 miles total)
Built in the early 1930s to control the Colorado River, Hoover Dam is a very impressive feat of engineering. I took the tour and slathered up in a lot of sunblock. It is so bright.
Day 9, 24 May 2012 - 2447 trip miles (45178 miles total)
The pressure in the right rear tire (the one with the plug patch fix) was down 10 psi, so I went to the Porsche dealership in Las Vegas to put on a new set of rear tires. Then I drove to Oxnard, California.
Day 12, 27 May 2012 - 3272 trip miles (46003 miles total)
Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks
This is more like it
Day 15, 30 May 2012 - 4102 trip miles (46833 miles total)
Lake Tahoe and Drive Back to the Pacific Coast
Lake Tahoe is, well, pretty scenic. But I want to resume my Pacific Coast Highway drive, so I headed to Santa Cruz.
Day 26, 10 June 2012 - 7229 trip miles (50499 miles total)
Now, I am ready to return home. Google Maps cites a 22 hour return trip from Jackson, Wyoming to Grand Prairie, Texas. I was 23 years old the last time I drove 22 hours continuously and I am NOT going to repeat that miracle of survival. So I drove to Starksville, near Trinidad, in southeastern Colorado just over the border from Raton, New Mexico. I’ll make it home tomorrow.
Day 27, 11 June 2012 - 7853 trip miles (51123 miles total)
Not glad to be back, but glad to be home
Left the La Quinta in Starksville, CO, for home today. What a long drive. Long drive. And a largely dull drive. Although the day started by passing some old volcanos, most of it was passed driving Hwy 287 southeast across the north of Texas: a long straight road, with nothing to look out for except the speed traps in the innumerable small towns along the way.
