I decided to quit my job and embark on a cross-country journey. After I'm done with the US, I may even venture out internationally. Check here for signs that I'm still alive...
"I got all I need on the highway, little bit of luck and rainbows, too. Sing a little song for the ones who ramble, hard to carry on like the way we do. Now I've had friends who've walked that line, spent life workin' for a nickel and a dime. They come home ragged at the end of their day, feet on the table not a word to say...Ain't no home just lucky, I guess."
10/26/15 Visited some old churches in Santa Fe: San Miguel Chapel and The Cathedral Basilica of St Francis of Assisi; there was a funeral going on the Basilica, so I didn't really get to see much of the inside other than through the windows. Also visited the "oldest house in America" before heading on to Roswell to search for aliens. While the De Vargas house is old, not taking in to account the Pueblo dwellings, there are some older residential buildings still standing in the US.
San Miguel Chapel
inside San Miguel Chapel
San Miguel Bell
De Vargas Street House
inside De Vargas Street House
Cathedral Basilica of St Francis of Assisi
Cathedral Basilica of St Francis of Assisi
band playing in the plaza
Cathedral Basilica of St Francis of Assisi
Starting Point: Santa Fe, NM
Ending Point: Roswell, NM
Miles Traveled: 210.1
10/28/15
Visited Cadillac Ranch before leaving Amarillo; not as cool as Carhenge in my opinion. Tried to hit up parts of Old Rt 66 along the way to Oklahoma City; hit pieces of it in IL, AZ, and NM in earlier parts of the trip. Along the way also stopped at Devil's Rope and Rt 66 Museum in McLean, TX and the National Rt 66 Museum in Elk City, OK.
Cadillac Ranch
so many layers of spray paint...
1928 Ford Model T
1973 Corvette and 1962 Studebaker Hawk
Apparently this is how they used to do perms...yikes!
Starting Point: Amarillo, TX
Ending Point: Oklahoma City, OK
Miles Traveled: 291
10/29/15
Visited Bricktown Brewery, the American Banjo Museum, and the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum. There are a lot of beautiful old and new banjos in the museum, and interesting history about banjos (some I didn't know). The memorial and museum is well done and interesting as it takes you through the timeline of the events from April 19, 1995. It might even be a little too well done, because it actually started to upset me a little going through there hearing and seeing all the news footage and testimonials from survivors and family members of the victims. Headed on to Jacksonville to stay with a couple I met on the windjammer cruise I took back in July at the beginning of this adventure.
"Tree of Life" banjo from the 1800s
one of many banjo bands that were popular in the early 1900s
beautiful mother of pearl inlay on this 1894 Lyon & Healy Banjo
Les Paul's Banjo given to him by Gibson in 1955 - he played more than just the guitar
1928 Bacon Banjo Company
Bass Banjo - this thing was huge
taken apart for restoration
so many banjos...
L to R: 1927 Gibson Florentine, 1932 Gibson All American, & 1927 Gibson Bella Voce
The Survivor Tree at the memorial - this tree survived the 1995 OKC bombing even though it was only yards away from the blast
Starting Point: Oklahoma City, OK
Ending Point: Jacksonville, AR
Miles Traveled: 363.9
Total Miles Traveled Thus Far: 17,133.5 via car, ~ 822.5 via another vehicle, ~143.5 via boat, 17.8 via cog (train), 5.34 via aerial tram
Starting Point: Denver, CO
Ending Point: Aspen, CO
Miles Traveled: 191.6
10/19/15
We were going to do some more hiking around Aspen, but it was cold, rainy, and foggy, so we continued on to Glenwood Springs. The weather was nicer there, so we hiked up to Hanging Lake. The knee hurt some on the way up and down; even though the trail is only ~1.7mi (one-way), it felt like longer since it was all uphill on the way to the lake. We also visited the nearby South Canyon Hot Springs. Ate lunch and dinner at some eateries in Glenwood Springs: Co. Ranch House and The Pullman.
Hanging Lake
Hanging Lake
Hanging Lake
Hanging Lake
waterfall up the hill from Hanging Lake (feeds it)
behind the waterfall
Starting Point: Aspen, CO
Ending Point: Glenwood Springs, CO
Miles Traveled: 102.5
10/20/15
Headed back to Denver to drop off my friend. We had lunch at Silvi's Kitchen before I continued on back to Monument.
Starting Point: Glenwood Springs, CO --> Denver, CO
Ending Point: Monument, CO
Miles Traveled: 232.5
10/21-24/15
Hung around the Colorado Springs area again for a few more days to attend a 7-year-old's birthday party.
Total Miles Traveled: 168.2
10/25/15
Left CO to continue the road trip. Taking the southern states back east. Drove part of the Enchanted Circle along the way.
Starting Point: Monument, CO
Ending Point: Santa Fe, NM
Miles Traveled: 312.5
Total Miles Traveled Thus Far: 16,049.3 via car, ~ 822.5 via another vehicle, ~143.5 via boat, 17.8 via cog (train), 5.34 via aerial tram
~Elizabeth/Lizzi/ET/Country
**I've been using Airbnb some during this trip to find places to stay along the way. If you haven't tried it, check it out for your next trip (even internationally). Usually cheaper than a hotel...and if you have some extra space, rent it out and make some money! (https://www.airbnb.com/)**
