Fiji, Costa Rica, and a Wal-Mart Parking Lot

After departing Canyon Lake, TX on Saturday, June 13th, we faced a weekend full of driving.  Several people warned us that the drive through Texas would be dull and flat.  It was indeed flat but I don’t think either of us found it dull.  It was all new landscape to us and we had satellite radio channels to keep us occupied (a major necessity for long drives).  While I wanted to attempt my first towing experience, the high winds made the drive challenging and I passed up the opportunity.  I promise, however, that I will attempt to drive this thing eventually.

Leaving Albuquerque, NM on Route 66.

We continued our journey on Sunday driving through Roswell, NM (home of UFOs), Capitan, NM (home of Smokey Bear), and then picked up Route 66 in Albuquerque, NM.   We had tentative plans of stopping in Grants, NM for the night but Chris was still wide awake and wanted to continue our journey.

We finally stopped for the night in Winslow, Arizona at the Homolovi Ruins State Park.  The campsite was nice and the desert night sky was excellent for stargazing.

Sunset at Homolovi Ruins State Park

We stayed at the park until Chris finished his work on Monday and then we departed in hopes of making it to Lake Havasu, AZ, where we wanted to spend the rest of our week.  On the way, we stopped in Flagstaff, AZ and Williams, AZ.  Flagstaff, AZ was a nice surprise for us – we were both really impressed.  We had fabulous pizza in Williams, AZ although it could be that we were just hungry after dining on Ramen noodles and peanut butter sandwiches the entire weekend (just like my exotic meals in Fiji and Costa Rica).  We didn’t make it to Lake Havasu but instead to the luxurious site of a Cracker Barrel parking lot.  While not the ideal location, we always appreciate free sites.

Buckskin Mountain State Park

Finally, the next morning, we made it to Lake Havasu only to learn that we couldn’t get internet with our Verizon wireless gadget.  Not a good situation.  All was resolved eventually and Chris was able to work, but it made for a frustrating morning.  We finally found our next campsite, Buckskin Mountain State Park, the best yet, which sits on the Colorado River and has beautiful mountain views all around.  After the challenges of the morning and a long weekend of driving, cooling off in the Colorado River was not a bad way to end the day!  Looking forward to the week ahead with temperatures soaring up to 114 degrees.  (But, don’t worry, it’s a dry heat.)