Late August Grand Canyon Trip

Dawn and I traveled across the country in late August, and I finally have time to write down the notes we took on the journey.

Don't expect them to make sense except to Dawn and I. Set your expectations accordingly. It was a fun and silly trip, full of laughter and a touch of sickness.

After exhaustive research on how to move Dawn's personal belongings, we settled on renting a 2006 light-blue Kia Sedona van from Hertz, using my AAA discount. It came up to about $660 for seven days, unlimited miles, and one-way rental. Alternatives included Penske truck rentals (fuel economy plus cost of fuel, didn't need the room), moving company (expensive, industry lacks adequate federal oversight and so lots of sleazy business practices) or driving my car there and back (too small). U-Haul turns out to be the worst rated self-moving companies due to the aging fleet. Apparently one-way rentals also tend to get the worst vans because the company renting it most likely won't see it again. Go figure.

Day One: Hudson, Wisconsin to North Platte, Nebraska

Play PC feature from Weird Al's CD "Running with Scissors"
Poodle Hat
Forgotten Eagles Motorcycler from Michigan
Biggest ball of Whine: Kevin
Passed by Bridges of Madison County
Dawn takes over driving in Adair, Iowa
Buckle Up for Life -- forEVAR :) These were awareness-raising signs we saw in Iowa.
Post-modern restrooms. We saw lots of signs proclaiming rest stops with "modern" restrooms along the interstate but no postmodern ones.
National American Taco Sports Network. We made this up after seeing a sign proclaiming NATSN. Apparently it's not about tacos.
Buddy Holly Crash Site
My son are Army National Guard. We can't remember why we wrote this down.
Amazing Pizza Machine -- It's people, it's people. We were really hungry and we ended up at this family entertainment restaurant, sort of a gigantic Chuck E. Cheese. We had discussed Soylent Green recently and so we imagined the pizza machine was fed people, people. We were hungry. x_x

Day Two: North Platte, Nebraska to Moab, Utah

"Creepies"
Claude and Ra's first camping trip (Ra roasting marshmallows by fire, Claude has smore in front); instant smore just add water (pill form)
Village Inn Restaurant in North Platte -- Bleh. x_x Chocolate strawberry crepes good but otherwise...hashbrown portions tiny
Yellow flowers (brown center) of Colorado, along highway 76
Casa Bonita

Day Three: Moab, Utah to Grand Canyon Village, Arizona

Drove through Arches National Park -- must come back!
Moab Diner -- A++!
Dawn, after years of therapy, finally heals from the piece of ham left behind "Please, don't leave me," says the ham.
Bob Dole just won't go away! We entertained ourselves by saying various things with the prefix, "Bob Dole...."
Mexican Hat
Navajo Rez -- people speaking Navajo -- Dawn wants desperately to look up Navajo letters
"Hay!"
Ra and Claude's most excellent adventure
Nearly hit: bunny, birds, sheep, horses, squirrel. All survived.
Bluebird Diner -- where bluebirds dine
Horses everywhere!
Horses grazing on edge of road/sidewalk in Navajo Rez town
"Chief!" (ask Kevvy) from the movie One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, when Nicholson says "Hit me, Chief, I got the moves!" during a game of basketball.
"Chief Yellow Horse *heart* You!" Chief Yellowhorse died in 1999.
P.D.Q. Bach -- New Horizons in Music Appreciation: Beethoven's Fifth Symphony Sportcast.
Sneaky Pete and the Wolf, Carnival of the Animals

Day Four: Grand Canyon Village, Arizona to Bakersfield, California

Raven gets in the chips
Smores grow on trees! Claue and Ra shall sniff them out!
Slice me offa piece of that Yavapai! (at the Yava Java cafe). This is a made-up cafe after we noticed that there is a Yavapai Lodge. Yava pie. Fun.
California condors -- we saw one circling over us. They're all tagged now.
Ra missed out on seeing the Temple of Ra -- alas, pets not allowed on the park buses. To make up for it, Claude and Ra got to wrestle a ginormous bear statue to the ground on the way to Bakersfield, CA.
Ranger Bob (adopted two-mile stretch of Highway SR64 outside of Grand Canyon National Park)
Ra -- looks at "All the Birds of North America" -- he is browsing the menu so he can order room-service.
How do they transport the space shuttle back to Cape Canaveral from Edwards Air Force Base?
Giant Evil Ninja Robot from Jupiter -- gave Kevvy a warning -- likes stinky chees and pb and sardine sandwiches
Daggett "Don't consign me to your rummage sale of love, Baby!" We thought the name sounded like a lounge singer.
Teany -- Moby's tea house and vegetarian restaurant
Claude eating citation

Day Five: Bakersfield, California to Citrus Heights, California

A big tractor next to a Stonehenge.... A surreal dream I had. Ask Dawn for details, she remembers but I don't. :)
"By this time my lungs were aching for air." -- mouthwash out nose
Charles Ives: clarinet players bonk flute players over heads. We were listening to his Variations on America
T-shirt: where my peeps at?
Bushes in median -- what are the flowers?
cwocorp.com: wine by barrel?
Recordings of Harpo talking
Gourmet jerky bar before Sequoia National Park
Astronomy Picture of the Day -- "Belt of Venus"
Sacramento Zoo

Whew x_x'''