USA Trip, the demise of Fur-Rr-Eee and the hot, hot summer of California. We left Suisun bound for nowhere in particular and everywhere in general. The desert of Nevada greeted us first with loads of sunshine, dust and wind. We settled in Tonopah in a not-so-grand old hotel and sought out vittles for dinner. We ambled about the town noting the degree of roughness of the entire place. Cars parked every which way, the lack of shopping possibilities presented by the many shuttered storefronts. This was not an auspicious beginning we thought, but it was a beginning. Mainly we stayed on secondary roads between stops, sometimes that was not what happened, we only took highways when few other options were available or so far out of the way as to be ridiculous. We had LOTS of time to explore and go whatever way seemed most interesting but we sought direction most days in where we stayed for the night. The selection of tomorrows destination was dictated by both distance (300 miles maximum/day), available of cheap-ass lodging and as we went along...the daily weather (hourly in some cases!). Cumbersome at first as we liked to be able to plan ahead a bit, we soon became at ease with this method of scheduling our travels within only a 12 hr time. Furry, of course we took Hurr Majesty, never complained a bit, ate, drank and did her business in the provided travel litter box. She was Easy.
From Tonopah we skirted some mountains down around the Arizona line and aimed at staying with spitting distance of the red rocks of Zion National Park and Bryce beyond. Desert. desert and more desert and as we reached North Las Vegas (Spanish for "The Meadows" according to various tourist guides) to see "the meadows" covered for miles on end by houses and shopping malls. Wow. What a scene it was, turn the corner and head northeast and flew away from this dust bowl as fast as we could. Occasional stops for gas, not daily but every other at the pace we were going, the Prius was averaging 48mpg and has a 12 gallon tank, so over 500 miles between tankful's kept us rolling right along without excessive stops for petrol. The car was PACKED to it's little brim. Damned little vacant space for Hurr Majesty Fur-Rr-Ee to wander but she always found a space, sometimes the back window to gawk at the passing scenery, sometimes laid out prone on top of the ice chest. She was VERY GOOD indeed!
To be continued...right here...soon...I promise. (Don't take that too literally)
I'm baaaaack! Where were we, oh yes...the Trip...next stop was Durango, Colorado. A bit of a long day, more miles than we wished by far but then it all worked out. Here are a few pictures of that awesome drive:
From Tonopah we skirted some mountains down around the Arizona line and aimed at staying with spitting distance of the red rocks of Zion National Park and Bryce beyond. Desert. desert and more desert and as we reached North Las Vegas (Spanish for "The Meadows" according to various tourist guides) to see "the meadows" covered for miles on end by houses and shopping malls. Wow. What a scene it was, turn the corner and head northeast and flew away from this dust bowl as fast as we could. Occasional stops for gas, not daily but every other at the pace we were going, the Prius was averaging 48mpg and has a 12 gallon tank, so over 500 miles between tankful's kept us rolling right along without excessive stops for petrol. The car was PACKED to it's little brim. Damned little vacant space for Hurr Majesty Fur-Rr-Ee to wander but she always found a space, sometimes the back window to gawk at the passing scenery, sometimes laid out prone on top of the ice chest. She was VERY GOOD indeed!
To be continued...right here...soon...I promise. (Don't take that too literally)
I'm baaaaack! Where were we, oh yes...the Trip...next stop was Durango, Colorado. A bit of a long day, more miles than we wished by far but then it all worked out. Here are a few pictures of that awesome drive:
Above is downtown Tonapah
A Nevada Tower
Granite wall near Colorado border
Colorado Scenic Panorama
Sandstone worn by wind and time
Thunderbird Restaurant Home of the Ho Made Pies
Near Durango, Colorado
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