Diary

Day 1 - Sat - 7/7/01 - We left Paducah, KY @ 4:00 am and arrived in Carlsbad, NM around 11:00 pm. We drove about 1,100 miles through six different states. After arriving in Carlsbad, we checked into a motel were we spent the night.

Day 2 - Sun - 7/8/01 - Today we went to Carlsbad Caverns which is just outside of Carlsbad, New Mexico. At Carlsbad Caverns, we bought a National Park Pass (which is good at any National Park - it cost $50). The caverns were in the desert up in the mountains. The entrance was beautiful with the desert background. Inside the cave, there were many beautiful formations. At the bottom of the cave (around 750 feet) there was a restaurant where we ate. There was also a elevator that took us back to the top. After Carlsbad Caverns, we went to Roswell, NM (Sight of the supposed UFO crash). There was a museum there, but there was not much else. We were a little disappointed. After Roswell, we drove through the mountains to Las Cruces, NM where we spent the night.

Day 3 - Mon - 7/9/01 - Today we left Las Cruces New Mexico and went to Saguaro National Park East of Tucson, AZ. The park was really neat. They had a scenic loop drive that was about 8 miles long with spectacular views and scenery. The Saguaro cactuses were amazing. They were much bigger than I imagined (some reached a height of over 40 feet). During the drive we took two hiking trails. One was a small paved trail and the other one was a longer dirt trail. After the park we drove through Tucson and Phoenix and then to Camp Verde where we spent the night (Microtel motel). Camp Verde was very close to Montezuma Castle and not very far from Sedona, AZ.

Day 4 - Tue - 7/10/01 - Today we went to Montezuma Castle and Montezuma Well in the morning. After that we went to Cottonwood and saw the Hotel where John Wayne stayed (Cottonwood Hotel). We saved the best for last and went to Sedona, AZ. At Sedona we took the Red Rock Loop, which is a very scenic drive with beautiful sights of the red rocks. On the loop we went to Red Rock State Park and took a hike (around 2 miles - seemed like a lot more). It has beautiful views of the different red rocks. After the big hike we checked into a motel (Super 8 motel) and the went to eat at a Mexican restaurant with probably one of the most beautiful views I have every seen. We finished the day off with shopping on the main strip.

Day 5 - Wed - 7/11/01 - Today we did some more scenic drives and a little hiking in Sedona. We went down Dry Creek Road and saw some more red rocks. Then we went to Red Rock Crossing around the creek that flows by Cathedral Rock (Breathtaking View). After that we went to the Chapel of the Holy Cross which was built high into the red rocks. On top there were many beautiful views. We then went shopping in Sedona and then left to go to the Grand Canyon through Flagstaff. Once we got to the Grand Canyon, we took in one of the first viewpoints and it took our breath away, as Alexandra said. We then went to the market at Grand Canyon and got some food and other stuff to get ready for camping. We went and camped at Ten-X Campground about 2 miles before the entrance to the park.

Day 6 - Thu - 7/12/01 - On this day we awoke from our first day of camping. It was pretty chilly during the night (around 47 degrees). After we packed up our camping gear, we headed back to the canyon. It was a perfect day (clear, sunny and not too hot). We looked at another overlook of the canyon and then took the Kaibab Trail down into the canyon. The trail is about 1.5 miles long one way. The trail winds it way down into the canyon. We took the trail to Cedar Ridge. We saw about 4 or 5 groups of people on mules while we hiked. The walk down the trail was fairly easy, but the hike back up was very difficult. We had to stop a couple of times to catch our breath. After the hike we bought some souvenirs and then looked at another overlook of the canyon. After that we took Desert View Drive to Desert View which is a beautiful drive along to rim of the canyon, with many overlooks. Once we got to Desert View, we went up into the Watch Tower which is a re-creation of the prehistoric Indian towers found in the Southwest. It has many levels with beautiful views of the canyon and Colorado River. After that we went through Cameron and took highway 89 up to Page, AZ where we spent the night at the Econo Lodge. Page is located at the Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Powell.

Day 7 - Fri - 7/13/01 - Today we left Page and went up to Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah. At Bryce we took in the main scenic views where we saw some interesting views. They have many Hoodoos (which are these narrow-tall rock formations that stand side by side. There are thousands of them). After that we went to Zion National Park, which is nearby to Bryce Canyon. When you drive into Zion, you see many breathtaking views while driving down the winding road into the canyon. There are many different rock formations and cliffs that rise way up into the sky. While there we walked on two different hikes and took a shuttle bus to the other viewpoints. The canyon has a creek running though it with cliffs towering over 2,500 feet (two empire state buildings) and a lot of wildlife. We saw a few mule deer, some turkeys, squirrels, lizards etc. After Zion we left through its west entrance and headed for Las Vegas, where we got to see all of the beautiful lights at night while driving through it. We then spent the night at a casino between Hoover Dam and Boulder City.

Day 8 - Sat - 7/14/01 - To begin the day, we left our motel and drove only a few miles and saw Lake Meade and Hoover Dam. It was very hot there (with all of the concrete around the dam). The dam was an amazing structure. The heat there only prepared us for the heat we were going to receive at Death Valley, our next stop. We entered California from Nevada after the entrance into Death Valley on the east side. Death Valley is a very big area. We would have to spend days to see it all. We went to the visitor center and the temperature there was 111 degrees. It was definitely the hottest I have ever been. The elevation there was -190 feet below sea level. Further down the park it is -282 feet elev., which is the lowest spot in the United States. We were very close to this area. While in the park, we took a scenic drive around the artistic drive which winds around these beautiful and very colorful mountains and foothills. When we were leaving the park on the west side, we saw a lot of blowing sand and some beautiful sand dunes. Leaving the park is not a very easy task. You have to drive straight up in the mountains. From about an elev. of around 0 to about a 5,000 foot elev. After this you had to go down and up two more sets of mountains. After our difficult drive, we spent the night in Bishop, California about 50 miles south of Yosemite N.P.

Day 9 - Sun - 7/15/01 - Today we stopped by a bakery from Holland in Bishop that Alexandra really liked. They made hundreds of different kinds of bread and specialty deserts there. After that we left Bishop for Yosemite N.P. We entered Yosemite on the east side. We stopped at some beautiful sights on the way to the main area (Yosemite Valley). One stop was at the Tenaya Lake where we took some beautiful pictures together. On the way in we took a short hike to the Bridalveil falls. After that we parked the car and walked around in the village and shopped and took in the sights. After we finished our stay in the valley, we headed out to camp. We ended up sleeping in our car in a campground on the outskirts of the park on the west side just outside the bid oak flat entrance.

Day 10 - Mon - 7/16/01 - On this day we started it off by heading back into the Yosemite Valley. While we were in the valley, we hiked on a couple of trails. The first one was up to the lower Yosemite Falls. We walked all the way up to the pool below the falls. The waterfall and pool were beautiful. After that we took a little longer hike up to Mirror Lake, which also had some neat views. After our hikes, we headed to Glacier Point, where we saw the most beautiful view we will probably ever see. The view overlooked the Half Dome rock, two waterfalls (Vernal & Nevada) and the valley, where we were earlier in the day. After that we went to Mariposa Grove, where they have the Giant Sequoias. We saw the Grizzly Giant and the California Tunnel Tree (a tree you can walk through). After that we drove to Kings Canyon Through Fresno where we spent the night in our car again close to the Grant Grove visitor center in Kings Canyon N.P.

Day 11 - Tue - 7/17/01 - On this day we began with a hike around the Grant Tree Trail. We saw many Giant Sequoias. We saw the General Grant Tree which is "The Nation's Christmas Tree" and the third largest tree and living thing in the world. They also had a tree that you could walk through (Fallen Monarch) which was really neat. After this we went over to Sequoia N.P. and went through the Giant Forest where we saw plenty more Giant Sequoias. We saw the General Sherman Tree which is the largest living thing (or tree) in the world and then we went to auto log which is a huge log that you can drive on (Alexandra wouldn't let me). After that we drove through Tunnel Log which is a log that fell across the road and they made a cut out so the cars can drive through it. We then left Sequoia N.P. and headed for the coast where we spent the night at the Budget Inn in Santa Cruz California.

Day 12 - Wed - 7/18/01 - Today we left Santa Cruz and drove along the coast on Hwy 1 towards San Francisco. While along the way to S.F. we saw many beautiful views of the Pacific Ocean from high above on the cliffs and below by the beaches. One of the highlights of the day was seeing some Harbor Seals on the way to S.F. There were many of them on the rocks in this one area. We took a lot of pictures of them and filmed them also. This made Alexandra's day. After this we drove through S.F. and stopped at the Golden Gate Bridge where we stayed a few hours and took in all the beautiful views. We also saw Alcatraz Island there. After that we drove towards Redwood N.P. and spent the night in Garberville, California.

Day 13 - Thu - 7/19/01 - We began the day by stopping by the information office in Garberville to plan our day. We decided to go back south to check on some spots we missed during the night before we spent the night. We stopped at the Worlds Famous Tree House near Piercy CA. This was built directly under the tree and 50 feet up in it. It had windows and doors and a souvenir shop attached to the back of it. After that we went to Leggett at the Drive-Thru Tree Park where of course we drove through a tree (Chandler Tree - 315 fee tall). After that we headed back north on Hwy 101 and took the "Avenue of the Giants" where we saw a lot of huge Redwoods along the way. We stopped at another Drive-Thru Tree (Shrine Drive-Thru Tree) and then stopped at the Founder's Tree Park where we hiked along the trail and saw the Founder's Tree. Then we went a little further down the "Avenue of the Giants" and saw another tree house "Eternal Tree House". After the "Avenue of the Giants" we headed north on 101 to Redwood National Park. The entrance to the Redwood N.P. is very beautiful with the Pacific Ocean in the background. It is very foggy here and on this day the sun never made it through. They say in June, July and August are the foggiest. We camped at the Riverwoods Campground where we roasted hotdogs on the campfire.

Day 14 - Fri - 7/20/01 - Today we left our campsite and headed to the visitor center where we got a permit to hike on the Tall Trees Trail. We took bald hills road to the tall trees access road where there is a gate with a combination lock. They gave us the combination with a permit. From the gate there is about a 6 mile drive down a gravel road to the trailhead. The trail down to the Tall Trees Grove was around a 650 foot drop and about 1.5 miles. Once down at the bottom, we saw the Tall Tree, which used to be the tallest tree in the world until 1998 when a winter storm knocked off the top ten feet of it. After our hike we went to Klamath Overlook, which is a beautiful view of the Pacific Ocean. They told us that sometimes you can see Grey Whales in that area, but we didn't see any. After that we made a couple more stops and then headed out the north entrance along the Howland Hill Road, which to me was the best part of the park. The road winds through hundreds of huge redwoods that make you feel like you are in a Fairyland. After this breathtaking drive we headed to Crater Lake in Oregon. We arrived at Crater Lake around sunset and took a drive around the Rim Drive that goes around the lake (about 33 miles). We filmed a little bit and got the sun setting at a few viewpoints. After that we spent the night in our car at the Mazama Village Store.

Day 15 - Sat - 7/21/01 - After another night sleeping in the car we headed out to view Crater Lake. We first stopped at the lodge gift shop where we bought some postcards and got some snacks. I surprised Alexandra and bought her a pinecone necklace that she liked along with some pinecone earrings. After that we drove around the rim and took many pictures and filmed at each stop. It is indescribable of the beauty of this lake. It has the bluest water I have ever seen. As you go around the rim each viewpoint is as beautiful as the last. When you look down in the lake you see two islands. The biggest one is called Wizard Island and the smaller one is called Phantom Ship. After the rim drive we took a look at the Pinnacles which are these steep jagged narrow rock formations that rise from the bottom of this narrow canyon. They were formed from the volcano eruption that formed Crater Lake also. After Crater Lake we took a long drive through Oregon into Idaho where we spent the night at a Budget Motel in Burley, Idaho. When we arrived at the motel I realized I lost my Discover Credit Card. This was the second credit card that I had lost on the trip. After that all that was left was my ATM card. I gave that card to Alexandra.

Day 16 - Sun - 7/22/01 - Today we left Burley and headed for Yellowstone N.P. On the way to Yellowstone we stopped at Yellowstone Bear World in Idaho where they had a drive-thru park that you could see a lot of different wildlife. We saw some huge elk, some deer, buffalo, and many bears. We had a huge grizzly bear walk by and sniff our car. There were also brown and black bears that we drove by. They also had a petting zoo that we saw some cute bear cubs and baby wolves. After this we drove to Yellowstone where we saw more elk and a coyote on the way into the park. Our first stop in the park was the Old Faithful area where we got to see Old Faithful erupt. After this we hiked the trails where we saw many different geysers and hot springs along the boardwalk that winds its way through the area. After our long hike and a visit to the shops, we headed out to find a place to sleep and we ended up in Jackson (Jackson Hole) Wyoming at the Flat Creek Inn.

Day 17 - Mon - 7/23/01 - We started the day off by going to the downtown area in Jackson Hole around the town square. This area has antler archways at all 4 corners. I remember these from when we visited the area when I was a kid. After this we drove through the Grand Teton N.P. on our way back to Yellowstone where we saw some pretty views of the Teton Mountains. Once we made it back to Yellowstone, we went to the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone area where we saw some beautiful views of the canyon and the Upper and Lower Yellowstone Waterfalls. One of the trails we hiked on was called Uncle Toms Trail. It was a neat trail that went down the canyon with about half of it containing this metal stairway that wound its way down the canyon with breathtaking views of the lower falls. After we finished with this area we headed towards the east entrance to Yellowstone. On the way to the entrance we saw a grizzly bear (not fully grown yet) looking for food. He lifted a log up with his paw and then walked in front of our car to the other side where it disappeared into the woods. Shortly after we left the east entrance we saw a couple of Moose grazing across a creek. After this we drove through Cody and tried to find a motel in Thermopolis but they were all booked up. We then headed towards Casper and had to sleep in our car at a rest stop about 50 or 60 miles from Casper.

Day 18 - Tue - 7/24/01 - Today we woke up from another night in the car and headed for Rocky Mountain N.P. We went through Casper and Cheyene Wyoming and ended up in Longmont Colorado where we found a motel a little before noon. Once we checked in, we relaxed a little bit and got cleaned up and then headed for Rocky Mountain N.P. On the way to the park we went to Estes Park which is a neat town with many tourists. Once we got to the park, we drove up Trail Ridge Road that winds its way up the mountains to the top at the alpine visitor center. It was pretty cloudy, but we got to see a lot of neat views of the mountains and hiked up a trail to the top of part of the mountains. While we were at the visitor center we saw a lot of elk feeding down in the bowl of the mountain. On our drive down, we saw many more elk, some were very close to the road. After this we headed back to our motel where we ate pizza and called it a night.

Day 19 - Wed - 7/25/01 - We began the day by heading back to Rocky Mountain N.P. We drove to the Bear Lake area. While driving in this area we saw many scenic views of the mountains and surroundings. After this we went to Estes Park and walked around and did some shopping. After we finished shopping, we headed to Pikes Peak through Colorado Springs. Once we got to the base entrance to the mountain the weather was starting to turn for the worse. At the toll entrance they told us that the last four miles had a bad storm. We decided to go up anyway. The drive up there was 19 miles. The road was paved only on the lower portion and the rest was a dirt road that wound its way back and forth up the mountain. It was raining part of the way up and started raining harder as we got to the top. Once we got to the top it was raining with a mixture of snow. The air up at the top made us a little dizzy from the lack of oxygen. The weather was so bad we only got one picture by the summit sign which had a elevation of 14,110 on it. After a stay at the Summit House, where we got a bite to eat, we headed back down the long and winding road. After this we drove to Pueblo where we spent the night at a Motel 6.

Day 20 - Thu - 7/26/01 - We left Pueblo Colorado and took Hwy 50 through Canon City to Royal Gorge. Royal Gorge is the highest suspension bridge in the world. It is 1,053 feet above the Arkansas River. While we were at Royal Gorge we walked across the bridge, road the aerial tram back across, and then road the incline railway down to the river at the bottom. After this we drove through a lot of rain to Santa Fe, NM where we spent the night at a Motel 6.

Day 21 - Fri - 7/27/01 - Today we left our motel in Santa Fe and drove to Los Alamos, NM where Alexandra lived for a little while. She hardly recognized it, due to all of the new buildings that were built while she was gone (about 20 years). After going to Los Alamos we drove back into Santa Fe and went to the Old Town Plaza. While there we did some shopping and visited some sites. All of the shops and buildings where really neat. They were all Spanish-Mexican style built from red clay or clay look alike material. We saw St. Francis Cathedral, The Loretto Chapel (which had a spiral staircase that was built without supports, nails or dowels). After that we went and saw the oldest house and church in the USA (about 750 years old). While we shopped there we walked around the center plaza that Alexandra recognized from when she used to go there when she lived in New Mexico. They have many Native American Indians displaying their goods for sale along a shelter sidewalk at the plaza. After our stay at Old Town Santa Fe, we headed back towards home after driving though Albuquerque N.M. We took 40 east from Albuquerque and drove through Amarillo, Texas and ended up spending the night at a Econo Lodge in Shamrock, Texas.

Day 22 - Sat - 7/28/01 - After a good nights sleep in Shamrock, Texas, we got back on I40 and headed towards Paducah. We drove through the rest of Texas, through all of Oklahoma and Arkansas and once we got to Memphis, Tennessee we took Hwy 51 north to South Fulton. Once we got to Fulton we took the Purchase Pkwy to Mayfield where we took Hwy 45 the rest of the way to Paducah. We arrived in Paducah around 11:30 pm. Once we got to our house I checked our odometer and it read 38,509 which meant we drove almost 9,000 miles for the whole trip. 38,509 ending - 29,578 beginning = 8,931 miles total.

Conclusion - What a Trip!!! We drove through a total of 17 states and visited a total of 14 national parks. We saw many different animals, from chipmunks to grizzly bears. We drove up some of the highest mountains and down the lowest valleys. We experienced a wide range of weather conditions, from a hot 111 degrees in Death Valley to in the 30s with rain and snow at Pikes Peak. We saw many different types of people. We saw Native American Indians, Mexicans, and tourists from all over the world. We saw probably the best scenery in the world, from the rock formations of Carlsbad Caverns to the breathtaking views of Grand Canyon, Yosemite, and Yellowstone to the trees of Redwood and Sequoia National Parks to the beautiful blue waters of Crater Lake and the white capped mountains of Colorado. Some people dream about doing these things and Alexandra and I were fortunate to live these dreams. What a Trip!!!

This site was last updated 04/27/06