Where did we go?

Tom Lewis was driving to the San Francisco Bay area to see his daughter. He put the call out on the CLR text thread for anyone to join him. Sara J raised her hand.... They met in Oklahoma City and headed west. They decided to be prudent and take a southern route as a huge winter storm was coming from the west coast with rain and snow. Routes were set up with an eye on the weather forecasts...

Across Oklahoma, Texas, and into New Mexico. Straight, flat roads, but the speed limits were high (and often exceeded). They stayed the night in Roswell, NM, no aliens were spotted except for all the ones adorning business signs. West of Roswell the landscape started to change...for the better with higher elevation and curves. They stopped at White Sands National Park and walked the dunes, then headed to Socorro for the night. The next day they drove west on US60 and stopped and viewed the NRAO Very Large Array walking around in awe. Then into Arizona where the speed limit was tested. (They will neither confirm nor deny that speeds over 120mph were reached.) A left turn at Springerville, AZ onto AZ191 aka the Devils Highway. It's a Cool Little Road, not to be missed. Darkness fell as they headed for Superior, AZ and their luxurious motel (not). The next morning they headed west through Phoenix and then north on AZ93. A quick stop at Hoover Dam and they skirted around Las Vegas to Pahrump, NV for the night. They were finally able to wash their very dirty cars!

The next day was a drive through Death Valley. Salt was added to the sand and dust on their floor mats from previous stops. Another CLR was found going to Bakersfield after turning off CA395. Don't miss CA178 if you're out there. They left Bakersfield and headed south to just north of LA, of course the scenic route was driven, with CA249 to CA2 the highlight. The interstates led them around to Malibu Canyon Road south to the CA101 and a lunch stop in Malibu. They followed it north to San Luis Obispo then inland to Paso Robles for the night. In the morning, it was north on the 101 to Greenfield where they turned onto a small two lane (Arroyo Seco Road) and headed west to Carmel by the Sea. South on the Pacific Coast Highway to Big Sur and beyond until the road was closed due to rock slides. They turned back north and headed north on CA1 to CA84 to Redwood City.

Redwood City was their base for a couple of days, where Tom's daughter Erin lives. On Friday, Tom and Sara drove back west on CA84 then north on CA1 to San Francisco, through the Presido, across the Golden Gate the to Pt. Reyes on CA 1. Very foggy there! On Saturday, Tom and Erin went into SF for the day while Sara rested and looked at routes for the way home. Erin joined them on Sunday for a trip up Mt. Diablo (east of Oakland). The drive to the summit was AWESOME!

Monday arrived and it was time to cannonball it back east. Tom & Sara jumped on US50 near Sacramento and drove it across three states to Salina, UT where it joined with I-70. Do not pass up the chance to drive this road. Nevada uses the phrase "The Loneliest road in America" in their advertising and they're right! They arrived in Ely, NV for the night (805 miles for the day) and had their best meal of the trip, at a Sinclair gas station. (Honest! They found a highly rated Mexican restaurant close by, but when they pulled up at the address, it was a Dino Stop gas station, almost didn't go in...) Tuesday morning the travelers left Ely and made it to Limon, CO (770 miles) with snow flurries in the Colorado mountains and Denver rush hour trafic. Wednesday, they made it home, Sara (5183 miles for her) much earlier than Tom, but he made it! Tom clocked 6,260 miles on his trip odometer.

A lot of Cool Little Roads, another adventure in the books.

Sara's Photos	Tom's Photos	Where We Went
Days 1-3	Day 1	Day 1 - Oklahoma City to Roswell, NM    PDF file
		Day 2 - Roswell, NM to Socorro, NM        PDF file
		Day 3 - Socorro, NM to Superior, AZ        PDF file
Day 4	Day 4	Day 4 - Superior, AZ to Pahrump, NV        PDF file
Day 5	Day 5	Day 5 - Pahrump, NM to Bakersfield CA    PDF file
Day 6	Day 6	Day 6 - Bakersfield, CA to Paso Robles, CA    PDF file
Day 7	Day 7	Day 7 - Paso Robles, CA to Redwood City, CA    PDF file
Day 8	Day 8	Day 8 - Redwood City to Pt. Reyes, CA and back        PDF file
Day 10	Day 10	Day 10 - Redwood City to Mt. Diablo and back        PDF file
Day 11	Day 11	Day 11 - Redwood City to Ely, NV
Day 12	Day 12	Day 12 - Ely, NV to Limon, CO     PDF file
Day 13	Day 13	Day 13 - Limon, CO to Kansas & Indiana    PDF file