elizabeth’s thoughts from the road

Hello Everyone! We are BACK on the road again after the wedding! We left the Del Marcos yesterday around noon. Todd and Ana were going to be flying out Tuesday but out of Orange county…so we thought we would spend one more day with them. We drove to a suburb of LA called Pimona. Jack (from the Del Marcos) scrunched up his nose when we mentioned the city…so we weren’t expecting much. We had found a park online and thought we would find a hotel for Todd and Ana nearby.
We got here and got a “view” site. Most expensive park we have gone to and we thought…this had BETTER be a good view!
IT IS GORGEOUS! We are high above a lake with the mountains in the background! Todd saw it and he and Ana decided to get a nearby tent site! Can you believe it! What troopers! Once we found the Wal-Mart to get them sleeping bags (we had a tent, air mattress and pillows) and our dinner…We set them up and had a great little weinie roast with Smores for dessert. It was great to have friends along on the jouney! Let us know if you can join us at any time! = )
I am currently making coffee in the percolator waiting for them to get up…We’ll see how their night in the woods went! We didn’t tell them we saw a skunk go into one of the restrooms as we were leaving for our site! ; )

The wedding was absolutely the best day ever! Everything was perfect and I had so much fun! I thank all our friends and family for making the trek out to Palm Springs to enjoy the weekend with us!
We love you all and wedded bliss (so far) has been wonderful!
Please send me your pictures or link to your pictures! When I get the photographers link, I will send it on too!

Grand Canyon national park was amazing! It also had great cell service INSIDE THE PARK but once you got one foot out, nothing. So…We are alive and doing great!
I will upload my pics from the last couple days tonight. We are pulling into the Palm springs area tonight, earlier than expected so that will ease some wedding errand stress. Tomorrow we have some errands to run and things to do and having the whole day will make things better. Wedding weekend!
Grand Canyon was sure breathtaking. It was just a gorgeous day and we got to hike all around the rim. I don’t know how those crazy hikers do that steep hiking for days! Maybe someday when I have practiced a lot more…

We saw tons of Route 66 today. Some was great and some was not so great. Lots of miles of nothing. It was still beautiful and I am glad we did it. Around Oatman, Route 66 heads up a steep switchback grade and back down again. That was interesting! It was SO beautiful though!

Trailer life is good! We are cooking and showing and everything in there! The kitchen sink had some issues but Micah fixed them. The dogs are adusting. We are sleeping better even now.

Ready for Palm Springs? I am!

Boy, we are getting a system down! Setting up and taking down are getting easier and faster. Micah is trying to fix all the bugs and working really hard at it!
I cooked for the first time last night. It worked pretty well. I even broiled the buns for Micah’s sloppy joes! I felt accomplished that I am conquering that darn gas stove. I like cooking with gas…it is so fast!
Today we are on the road to the Grand Canyon! We are going to spend 2 nights on the south rim. The north rim isn’t open until mid may and that is a little further than we want to go. It is still in the mid 40’s but sunny, bright and gorgeous! I can see mountains in front of me as we head to Flagstaff.
I got a frantic call from my mother last night telling me she couldn’t find Route 66 on any maps. Route 66 is mostly beneath Intersate 40 now. There are portions that branch off into towns and that is where the good pictures of mid century buildings and signs come from. Mom was also worried we were heading south from Holbrook on some steep grade roads with the trailer (apparently when we ventured out to Bisbee, Arizona as a family in 1980, this was done in our old brown travel van and mom just about had a heart attack at all of the close calls). Rest assured, we don’t want to go through steep grades either! Up OR down with Pixel Dust!

Can I just say that Albuquerque is a hard word to spell and remember?!
We stayed in an “RV park” last night. This sort of place has it’s advantages and disadvantages…
It is basically a plot of sand…disadvantage.
Pull through sites so you don’t have to back in or disconnect your vehicle…advantage.
Dogs don’t know where to pee on a big open plot of sand…disadvantage.
Everyone is quiet, nice (mostly 55+) and quiet after 9pm…advantage.

I hope everyone is enjoying checking in on us. I plan to have our pictures from the last couple days uploaded when we get to a high signal area for the air card. The pictures are large and take a while to upload on a low signal.
The girls are still adjusting but they are doing well.

Yesterday we stopped by Clines Corner, NM. I am not sure if this is a town or just this one building. It is basically a large gas station with a HUGE souvenier shop of mostly crap. They did have a restaurant and fudge area. Anyone that hears that and knows me knows that I cannot pass up fudge! Well, since I am on a diet until the wedding, I bought some fudge to keep for AFTER the wedding! Micah opted for a green chili cheeseburger and it looked REALLY good!

We traveled down Route 66 most of yesterday. Route 66 has been mostly combined with 40 but at times, It branches off. We tried to take these branches. I will start of a Route 66 set on Flickr for anyone interested in old signs and buildings. There is a great area through downtown Albuquerque where I almost lost my mind trying to take pictures of all of the stuff. It was great fun! Some pictures are through glass so I apologize.

It is still pretty darn cold. Around freezing at night. Around 55 or 60 during the heat of the day (but the wind didn’t make it feel that warm). Thank goodness for the Panel Ray heater in Pixel dust! I sure hope by the time we get to Palm Springs that it has warmed up considerably! Poolside wedding just won’t be fun at 40 degrees!

Miss everyone and I will write more when I can!

I did NOT expect it to be this cold! It is currently 45 degrees and it is noon near Vegas, Texas. After fighting the very harsh west texas winds all day yesterday, we landed late to Palo Duro Canyon state park. This is near Canyon, Texas which is south of Amarillo. Palo Duro Canyon is the “Grand Canyon of Texas!” It was beautiful! Wild turkeys all over! They haunted the campsite. The trailer has a few issues but nothing major. We are learning more every day. The first night was “cozy” with the dogs with us in the little 3/4 mattress bed! Jemma is scared to death of the trailer and all of the door slamming (to get them to close tight) but she is getting better every hour! Since we got in a little late and aren’t too quick at setting up yet, we pretty much just ate and went to sleep. We are off to Sante Fe right now! Weather is much better!

Well, we finally headed out this morning after finishing loading up, hitching up, and turning in our apartment keys! We nearly got blown away in a storm last night but as soon as the rain cleared and found out Pixel Dust and the truck were fine, we were relieved. We have had two short trips to stop by Chippenhook and Camping World and now we are on our way to Canyon, Texas! I am super excited and hyped up but nervous at the same time. The trailer seems to be towing ok after getting the sway bars installed (thanks to Hank at Chippenhook!). There is so much to learn but I know by the time we get into California next week, we will be old pro’s at this!
My main worry is…Will I fit into that wedding dress that is crammed into my little trailer closet back there! Keep your fingers crossed! = )