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After a late afternoon nap ending with a 11pm alarm, we got under way on our 2004 Mardi Gras road trip. We took the pause that refreshes and visited Biosphere 2, about 15-20 miles from Tuscon, Arizona. (The Bio2 web site is still under construction, but this site has some of the details about the place.) From there, we trekked forward through Arizona, New Mexico and Texas before calling today a wrap (and begin putting the Saturday updates to the Saturday page, aka Day 2).
And yes, this is a long day to keep track of -- but it's also one that we were up for all 24 hours of the day (well, 23 hours; there was the hour we lost to the change to Mountain standard time).
| 11:59pm (Thurs.) | I'm ready to go, but apparently, I am the only one. Well, not quite. My little traveling friend, Robyn (who's a robin bird) is also ready to go. (It did take some doing in managing to cram everything into the car, though. |
| 12:28am (Friday) | We *finally* got underway, despite my itinerary calling for 12 midnight. I'm hoping this isn't an indication of things to come for the remainder of the trip. |
| 1:01am | I let Rachel drive, by the by. Which I suppose means I should be specific about who all is here. It's me (duh!), Robyn, Tubby, Robin and Rachel (my medical services chick). |
| 1:10am | I opt to maneuver to get a Diet Pepsi from the dry ice-cooled ice chest. It's not that far from me, of course, but the car is also setup to carry three humans, one duck, one bird, and allow one person to lie out flat and sleep. (And here you were wondering why a duck and single, chubby guy have a SUV versus a fuel efficient Geo Metro.) As a random note, before this trip ends, our little travel-mobile will turn over its first 100,000 miles (Even before I got underway, I already have 7,500 miles under my wing for this year alone.) |
| 1:26am | I'm bored. Maybe a nap is in order. Maybe not. 72 miles logged to date, only 2,225 to Meridian, Mississippi (where we'll finally stop on Saturday afternoon... and catch the new movie releases to spoil. ;) |
| 3:03am | Apparently I dozed, despite Interstate 5 being a captivating scenic corridor. We just turned from I-5 to Highway 58 toward Bakersfield, some 23 miles east of our current vector, Victor. |
| 3:19am | We have an attempted potty and snack break at Chevron, but despite all appearances, the attendant informs us they're closed until 5am. We proceed across the street to the Fastrip station to visit the WC and purchase snacks. |
| 3:28am | And, we're off again. Tubby availed himself to a Code Red beverage, but was denied a lottery ticket at this early hour. (And yes, I've explained to him that the lottery is really nothing more than a tax on the mathematically challenged, but his youthful optimism shines through despite all odds -- literally.) |
| 4:29am | We reach Mojave, California, and make a bold left turn. (Well, not really... just following the highway.) |
| 4:47am | Driver rotation of Rachel out of the driver position, and Tubby has the conn. |
| 5:23am | Barstow, California is our next checkpoint, and to my continued delight with the trip's itinerary from Travel & Tour Coordination, we're right on time with Justine's estimates. We feed the car $49 worth of gas, which sounds high, but keep in mind gas in California is pricey right now; it was $1.98 a gallon here. |
| 6:46am | Bio break at Wildwood Rest Area along I-10, and we swapped out Tubby driving, and Robin has the conn. |
| 7:44am | Rest room check at Cactus City, along I-10. |
| 8:01am | While traveling (mostly in our lane) at |
| 8:38am | We approach, wave to, and leave Blythe, California in our dust -- 20 minutes ahead of schedule, yea! |
| 8:46am | We cross the bridge, leaving the Golden State and entering the Grand Canyon state. We also get to reset the clock to Mountain standard time. |
| 9:50am (MST) | Rest stop check at the Ehrenberg stop, about a half mile east of mile marker 4. (They were very nice facilities, if you're wondering.) |
| 11:37am | We roll into the Phoenix area, and know we're getting closer to downtown as the speed limits drop from 75 to 65 and finally, 55. By virtue of there being five of us in the car, we get to use the HOV lane (the "carpool lane" to you Californians). |
| 11:48am | We're slowed down a bit by the Phoenix police car (K-9 unit) just ahead of us on the highway, and the cop isn't driving that fast. I'd suggested just passing the cop, but was told that idea wasn't a very good one. (They can't all be gold, though, right?) |
| 12:02pm | In a move of utter brilliance, Tubby opted to get gas on the far side of town. But we ran out of town before we stopped, leaving us still driving with 54 miles to empty. This should prove to be interesting. |
| 12:14pm | Exit 175 of I-10 has a newly converted Shell station. Robin is relieved. We queued up on pump 1 after deciding Pump 7 wasn't an option. However, upon completing the transaction, we were in for a pleasant surprise. The lesson? Don't drop out of school until they teach you decimals -- far off from what was advertised. Upon departure, Tubby assumed the conn. |
| 12:21pm | A visit to rest stop 181 taught us that all of the rest stops seem to be built from the same blueprint. |
| 12:44pm | It's lunch time, so the simple majority of our travel party hit Dairy Queen for the chicken combo thing (chicken, fries, and toast). Rachel and Robyn ended up across the street at Burger King. Between the two, though, timely service wasn't a focus of this town. But on the way out, we bumped into a rather cute VW Beatle, which we caught up to back on the highway to snap its picture. |
| 2:19pm | We head north on highway 77 for Biosphere 2. It's no faster than 55 the whole way, though |
| 3:01pm | We find the gate of Bioshpere 2, some 33 miles north of Tuscon. Which, as we shall share, was much further along up the highway than I had expected, up near Oracle, Arizona. |
| 3:03pm | Our travel party arrives at the admissions desk, to find that admission is $20 per person. Sensing the value-for-cost was not to our liking, we headed back to the car, and highway 77. |
| 3:28pm | We stop at one of the Tuscon post offices, and Tubby gleefully runs inside and purchases a bunch of post card stamps. Yessir, kids, he's been whining about not having remembered what I told him to do. (Buy stamps... one task, and he screwed it up. But it's now fixed.) |
| 4:43pm | Exiting at 303 from Interstate 10, we find ourselves in Benson, Arizona. We look around a bit and continue south toward Tombstone, Arizona. |
| 4:56pm | We pass through St. David, Arizona on our way, took a pause that refreshes, then continued on our way. |
| 5:14pm | Tombstone, site of the gunfight at the OK Corral, founded in 1881. Invaded by a Frank Trip in 2004. Today. We began by a wander down the street. |
| 5:29pm | Rachel and Robin wandered around the area adjacent to the Corral; the actual place is walled up and is part of a 2pm daily show, apparently. Tubby wandered down the street, took pictures, and did a bit of shopping (postcards, a shot glass for some chick or something, and a badge for me -- otherwise, you just *know* I'd throw a tantrum to get something before we left). The shopkeeper was talking to two women tourists about a mine he purchased and is working. (The county up here auctions them off every year, if the owner is two years delinquent on property taxes. So, if you're looking for a mine to buy for your own, I'd suggest the greater Tombstone, AZ, area.) |
| 5:47pm | We loaded up and went Boothill Cemetery, wandered around and took a few pictures. 90% of the residents are male, mostly died of less than natural causes, and the Chinese residents were all buried in one corner (even in death, racial integration was a foreign concept in the 1880s). |
| 6:02pm | If you're curious, they close at 6pm. We were back on the road, made the almost 30 mile journey back Interstate 10, and are back on our way. |
| 7:05pm | We stopped in Willcox, Arizona and visit a Chevron. While here, we (a) topped off the car with go-juice, (b) refilled the air mattress (where a rotation of humans and ducks sleep), (c) beverages, (d) to burst open the turkey jerky snacky foods, and (e) Tubby gawked a cute-ish brunette with long hair behind the counter. (The hair length is only noteworthy in that Tubby has been walking around with a scrunchie since before dawn, but can't explain why.) |
| 7:21pm | Rachel is now at the helm, and Tubby and I have been sent to make sleepy eyes. (But we're NOT sleeping together, mind you... get your naughty minds out of the gutter. That's just wrong on so many levels.) |
| 11:17pm | Opting not to bore you with tales of sleeplessness in the back, we awoke when the vehicle stopped along a frontage road, and we rotated drivers. Rachel retired to the passenger seat, Robin occupied the sleeping quarters, and Tubby took the wheel. May God have mercy on us all. |
| 11:59pm | It's the end of this day from a calendar perspective, but there's still another 14-16 hours of driving... but that will show up as Day 2. Hope your Friday was happy and healthy, but if not, sour grapes. |