Monumental Achievements

Flicking through the map before we left Gallup, we noticed that we weren't a million miles away from one of America's most famous natural landmarks. We were in-fact around 220 miles away, but that didn't deter us from driving north toward the Arizona/Utah border, and visiting the rather fantastic Monument Valley, in the heart of the Navajo Reservation.

We arose early from our beds in El Rancho, and headed downtown to Aurelia's Diner, which we had found the previous day. Adam got himself off to a hearty start, with a Rib Eye Steak and two eggs for breakfast. I settled for a English Muffin with the works, and we fiddled with the cool jukebox on the table that blared out Elvis to us as we ate. We climbed into the car a little heavier than when we last got out, and dropped the roof down for the day's journey ahead of us.

The driving would be done away from the 4 & 6 lane Interstates to which we had become acustomed, and also quite unlike the poorly looked-after Route 66. In short, the journey through the Navajo reserve, which took us around three and a half hours, was quite simply one of the most stunning drives we've ever had the pleasure of taking.

As we crossed into Arizona from New Mexico, the landscape - true to form - changed yet again, with a huge forest lining the road for mile after mile. All of a sudden however, this abrubtly stopped, and the land opened up to massive views of desert plains, with strange shaped rock and mountain lining the horizon. Unlike previous days where this new view would perhaps remain constant, and therefore become repetitive, these views adapted and enhanced themselves, as the road wound through and over the massive countryside before us. All these wonderful sights, and we hadn't even reached the landmark toward which we were driving.


As we drove through the town of Kayenta in the north of Arizona, we came across Monument Valley Scenic Road, and realised that we were just 12 short miles away from both the Utah border, and Monument Valley itself. These 12 miles again presented us with some beautiful views from the comfort of our Mustang, but nothing could prepare us for the shear majesty of the rock formations awaiting us at the end, so engrained in the conscience of people around the world, thanks perhaps to John Ford's famous Westerns such as Stagecoach and The Searchers.

The famous 'Mittens' were of obvious appeal to us, having studied many photos of them before we left for the States over two weeks ago. Imagine our delight when we were able to see them 'in the flesh' and take our own images home with us. Unfortunately, the visitor centre nearby is currently going through an overhaul, and a hotel is being built in the adjoining plot of land, so some of the facilities were limited. However, if we ever return in future, to stay in a hotel in the middle of such a view would be a chance not to pass up.There's a 17 mile track that runs around and through the famous sights in Monument Valley, and we weren't about to pass up the opportunity to drive it ourselves, and so we returned to the car and jumped in, eager to get started. Unfortunately, our little red machine got stuck in the thick sand as we tried to make our way out of the car park, leaving us red-faced and in search of a park-ranger to help get us out. After being told that we couldn't be pulled out due to some perculiar regulations, we started digging under the tires, and laying rocks down where we could, in the vain hope that the wheels may get enough traction to enable us to be freed. Thankfully, the hard work paid off, and we escaped unscathed.

So - did that stop us attempting the dirt track around the valley? Did it hell. We braved the track and started off into the park. We got about half a mile in before we realised our mistake. This joyous automobile may look and sound good, but it's a rear-wheel-drive automatic that weighs a bleedin' ton, and as such, is not made for this kind of road. We turned back, and headed for the exit, fearing all the while for the car, and our teeth, which were in danger of being shaken from our mouths. As we finally exited, we took a look in the rear-view mirror and saw the park-ranger from earlier in his SUV. He had obviously followed us to make sure of two things. One - that we were ok, and two - that we were leaving!

Back on the road, and we retraced our steps from earlier back down to the Interstate, and we headed toward the small town of Holbrook, where we were hoping to find an infamous Route 66 motel, made up entirely of Wigwams. However, we got a little side-tracked when we noticed we were coming up on the Petrified Forest. We thought we may be a little late for a jaunt round, until we asked the women on the entrance gate what time it was. Little did we know that Arizona doesn't run on Daylight Savings, so despite being in Mountain Timezone as New Mexico was, we were in actual fact an hour earlier than we thought we were, so we had time to drive through the Forest Park.

It was interesting enough and there were some nice views of the Painted Desert and of some Petrified Wood, but after seeing some of the most wonderous views you will ever come across at Monument Valley, the forest (which was anything but - no trees anymore thanks to years of erosion change) was a bit of a let-down. We spent around an hour driving through, but our cameras had long since run out of battery thanks to our snap-happy ways earlier in the day.

We headed for Holbrook, and the Wigwams. But, we were to be dissapointed again, as there were no vacancies. Such a shame, as the complex is unlike nothing you've ever seen. Would love to have stayed there, but I guess that will have to wait for another day. Perhaps we should do a sequel to this blog? Let me see - Joel and Adam's Even Longer Car Journey? If we do, remind us to take an SUV to Monument Valley - if just for the carpark!


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Now playing: Metallica - Enter Sandman
via FoxyTunes

CHECK OUT THE PHOTOS FROM MONUMENT VALLEY HERE

CHECK OUT THE PHOTOS FROM THE PETRIFIED FOREST HERE

Gettin' Our Kicks.... on 66

In the week and a half we've been in the States, we've spent each and every day exploring many a tourist attraction in between the long drives between hotels. But today, the drive was the attraction, as we spent the best part of 9 hours on the "Mother Road".

We joined the 66 almost immediately after leaving our hotel at 10am this morning. Deciding to leave the TomTom in the trunk, and relying on our map-reading skills - and a lot of luck - our attempts to traverse the legendary road began fairly smoothly, and without much error. The road followed a fairly decently tarmac'd route out of Joplin and on toward Kansas - the State which we would be spending the least amount of time in, during our whole trip - just 14 miles infact. A glorious white bridge greeted us along this stretch of road, and due to the lack of traffic, we were able to take avantage of a photo opportunity, shown below.

The fourteen mile stretch in Kansas brought us into the State of Oklahoma, and to an almost abrubt halt - as we soon discovered just how difficult Route 66 can be to follow. A seemingly ordinary stretch of highway suddenly descended into a decaying mess of a track, laden with gravel and pot-holes, with little or no suggestion that we were still on the fabled road which we were attempting to follow. Help from a kindly farmer assured us that we were on the correct path, but it came with a warning, that the road gets "a lot worse" in places further into the State, and on into Texas. Mercifully, the rough section which we had found, opened back onto well-paved roads after only a few miles, and we continued to push on into Oklahoma State through towns such as Miami, and Chelsea.

Despite the farmer's warnings, the route was kind to us on the rest of journey down to Oklahoma City, in which we stayed faithful to the Route, with the exception of a quick detour through Tulsa on the Interstate. Oklahoma is littered with turnpikes (toll-roads), yet we managed to avoid them all by following 66. During the morning we drove the car with the top down, as you of course should do when getting your kicks on the fabled highway, but as morning turned into afternoon, it quickly became clear that the weather was turning abusively hot! Temperatures were somewhere in the low to mid 40s, and was pretty oppressive to say the least. On our days on the Interstate this heat would escape us because we were constantly on the move, but with traffic lights, and stop signs every few miles on Route 66, stopping the car briefly would cause us to feel like we were on the edge of boiling point. After stopping for a burrito for lunch, we put the roof up, and switched the air-con on - and kept it this way till we reached our hotel later that evening.

Route 66 itself was a welcome respite from the mundane Interstate roads we'd been driving along over the past 10 days. The roads were still ridiculously straight, but the hills, and occasional twists and turns made it a far more enjoyable drive. The small towns that we passed through were a bit of shock though. The USA is the richest country in the world, and to see the desolation, and deprevation that has befallen these backwater places, you suddenly become acutely aware of the economical divide between the big cities, and the small towns. Empty buildings, closed businesses and battered old cars lined every street, most notably because of the declassification of Route 66, and the change of truck routes to the larger Interstates. Those businesses that do survive, do so almost entirely on the basis of the 66 tourist trade, with many claiming to be "genuine" or "authentic" historical landmarks. It's as difficult to decipher who is telling the truth as much as it is navigating your way along the road itself.

Later in the day we arrived in Oklahoma City, and headed downtown. We were in for a shock, as the streets were almost entirely deserted. No-one seemed to want to venture out on the Sunday after 4th July. We visited the Myriad Botanical Gardens and it's Crystal Bridge Tropical Conservatory, which we found unremarkable at best. The most interesting thing was when Adam was told there was a "Tripod Charge" for the Conservatory, which was $25. Now considering the entry for a person was $6, we thought that was pretty steep, so the left the tripod outside.

Oklahoma just didn't do it for us after such a long drive, so we decided to drive another hour toward Clinton, where we were reliably informed a rather good Route 66 Museum was located. It was late so the place was shut, but we crossed over to a hotel on the other side of the road, and checked in for the night. We were relieved to find that it had a self-serve laundry, and as we did the loads of washing we so desperately needed to have cleaned, we headed for a pizza, and discussed what was in-store for us in the next couple of days - namely Texas!



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Now playing: The Rolling Stones - Route 66
via FoxyTunes

CHECK OUT THE PHOTOS FROM ROUTE 66 PART 1 HERE

Day One

I wish I could tell all you jealous people back home that we've had nothing but disaster since we got here.... but I'd be lying.

I honestly can't believe how smoothly things have gone since we left home at 9am yesterday. No delays at Gatwick, and we got upgraded to the Premium Economy service on Virgin Atlantic - which we were thoroughly impressed with. Champagne, some good movies, tasty food, and oodles of leg room - couldn't ask for anything more out of transatlantic flight really.

We arrived in Orlando about 15 mins ahead of schedule, and prepared ourselves for what we thought would be a long process at baggage claim, and then at US Customs. Imagine our joyous surprise when our bags were out first, and we got through Customs within 15 mins of getting off the plane with no probs whatsoever. Well, apart from the Customs Official thinking we were a gay couple.

Off to the car-rental desk we went, thinking our luck was going to run out, and we'd be lumbered with a Chrysler Sebring instead of a Mustang, and that they'd charge us loads of money for all the extras we didn't have included in our orginal quote. Our luck remained the same though, and we got the car we wanted, and the same reasonable rate we'd quoted over the phone 6 weeks ago. That'd be this one......


A brisk 90 min journey to Daytona Beach followed, with no probs at all. Adam found the car easy to drive, and it was a very smooth, comfortable vehicle to be a passenger in. Of course the gas-guzzling nature of the vehicle does mean that you can visibly see the fuel-gauge needle moving rapidly toward empty - but then again this is hardly the land of economising.



Anyway, we're at the Oceanside Hotel in Daytona, which is a perfectly acceptable place, with a very nice chap called Neil on reception, who arranged for a cab to take us to dinner at Hog's Heaven BarBQ - where Adam ate a rather large amount of chicken, and I had my first American Half-Pounder.


Now we're doing a bit of roaming on the beach, and will head off to a few bars later for some beers - life is just pretty damn great so far!



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Now playing: The Verve - Lucky Man
via FoxyTunes