Denver to Albuquerque to Barstow to Scotts Valley

As aforementioned, we ended up leaving Denver on Saturday, January 30th around noon to avoid a snowstorm. We decided that the nearly seven hour drive to Albuquerque, New Mexico, would be an adequate distance for that day. As an added bonus, Albuquerque had a climbing gym we could check out to reward ourselves after the drive. Plus, I couldn't recall ever having been to New Mexico, so I could cross that state off my list. 

We listened to an audio book and watched the terrain change as we drove further and further. I had borrowed the physical book, called The Rook, from my sister and read it during our time in Michigan. However, the audio book was Brandon's first introduction to the book, and we had last listened on our way to Denver. We just had some cliffhanger moments toward the end of the book to go, and it definitely kept our attention. We both thoroughly enjoyed the book, and I liked the audio book better than the physical copy. The author wrapped it up well, but there was definitely room for a sequel. We shall see. 

As we drove further into New Mexico we started seeing more and more mesas and other rock structures breaking up the plains. As we drew closer to Albuquerque we were treated to a glorious sunset. It was a lovely evening to road trip. 

Colorful sunset 

Getting closer to Albuquerque

Our first stop in Albuquerque was Stone Age Climbing Gym, claiming to be the largest climbing gym in New Mexico. We had made good driving time, so we had about two hours until the gym closed at 9pm. It's always fun to check out a new gym and see how they set the routes and rate the difficult. We found at least two favorite routes that flowed really well. One of them had some bulky sloping holds that held some surprisingly deep pockets that were fun to work with. 

Half of the main top rope area 

Bouldering area

Tricky slab

Brandon bouldering

When closing time came we headed to the Travelodge we had booked for the night. As it turns out, the Travelodge had merged with Super 8 and both hotels now used the same weirdly shaped building. Kind of sketchy, but the room was alright and it fit the budget. Shockingly, camping in Albuquerque was the same price as a cheap hotel room! We found a nearby grocery store and bought provisions for a makeshift dinner and settled in. 

After a complimentary continental breakfast that included waffles (fancy!) and then returning our room keys to the juggling (literally!) man behind the hotel desk we were on the road by 6:45 am the next morning. Our hope was to make it the almost six hours to the Grand Canyon South Rim for a couple hours of sightseeing and then drive as far down I-40 as we had energy for. 

We started a new audio book on the way, the much anticipated third book in a series by Orson Scott Card (author of Ender's Game), called The Gatefather. Much anticipated by Brandon anyway. As he doesn't read much he doesn't usually end up with series that aren't finished yet. He became that person waiting and watching impatiently for the next book to be completed, and fearing that the author would die first. Thankfully Orson Scott Card is still kicking.  

A typical view from the car on this stretch of I-40: rock formations and trains

We drove through part of Petrified Forest National Park, but didn't stop

The weather was sunny until we reached thick clouds over Grand Canyon National Park and were warned by the ranger of approaching snow. After some recommendations from the visitor center we did a speed tour of the South Rim in two hours. I had been to the Grand Canyon before, but Brandon hadn't, and I really wanted him to see it. I had remembered how deep the canyon was, but I had forgotten how expansive across it was. Still impressive. I think Brandon was impressed too, but I have a feeling he was mostly happy to see how excited I was for him to see it. 

We're at the Grand Canyon! 

Panorama trying to capture the immensity

There was quite a bit of snow near the rim of the canyon

Panorama with a 3000 foot drop into the canyon and the Colorado River visible

We made it to several awe-inspiring view points and had fun taking pictures, as you can see below. We also made time to walk one switch back down into the canyon on the Bright Angel Trail. I'm sure we'll return. On my bucket list is to hike down one side of the Grand Canyon and up the other. Potentially to celebrate my 30th birthday in a couple years. Brandon will be conscripted. It'll be fun. Promise. I think. 

We made it! 

Bringing back planking

On the edge

Sometimes you can get too close to the edge...

Moonrise Kingdom pose

Peering into the depths of the canyon

On the snowy, muddy Bright Angel trail into the canyon

We both felt refreshed after moving our legs and scrambling around the canyon, which was promising for a long drive ahead. As we drove out of the national park it started raining a bit, but nothing dreadful, and I-40 still had clear skies. We set a goal to reach Barstow, California as the day's endpoint which was about six hours away. After a stop at a Chipotle and a gas station near the Arizona-California border the weather declined. We drove through some raging winds, one minute bouts of torrential rain, and a bit of small hail. Thankfully the system didn't last too long and we spent most of the time calmly and boringly driving through the Mojave Desert. Also, we were pleased that we didn't have to buy any gas in the desert since the prices almost doubled. Time dragged on, but we made it to Barstow. There we secured an affordable room at another Travelodge after some firm negotiation on our part. It would seem that booking online in advance is so much easier and cheaper.  

We woke up excited to be in California and close to our final destination of Santa Cruz. Well, actually Scotts Valley just outside of Santa Cruz where our friend Becky lives and works at the camp Mission Springs. We had plenty of time to drive before Becky was done with work, so we decided to take the longer route and drive up scenic Highway 1. On the way through California we had to be re-routed due to a closed mountain pass near Bakersfield. There was the annoyance of passing multiple slow vehicles on the two lane bypass and avoiding large tumbleweeds blown at us by the gusty winds, but we made it safely. 

More California desert and tumbleweed

Biggest field of wind turbines we've ever seen

Crossing the mountains where the road wasn't closed

For our efforts we were rewarded with the expected magnificence of Highway 1 and the unexpected beauty of Highway 46. Highway 46 consisted of lush, green rolling hills and a crazy amount of vineyards in the Paso Robles area. It seemed like an area some good friends of ours could easily retire to. We wanted to stop at one of the wineries, but the re-routing had put us a bit behind schedule. As we rose into higher hills and neared the intersection of Highway 46 and 1 we were treated to a stunning view of the ocean beyond the picture perfect hills. It was amazing already, and we still had Highway 1 to anticipate! 

Rolling green hills on Highway 46 with the Pacific Ocean beyond

Highway 1 was indeed splendid. It also brought back memories of our time on the Great Ocean Road in Australia, another highly recommendable drive. On our first stop, we stretched our achy legs walking out on a pier over some crashing waves. Unexpectedly there were some elephant seals to admire on the beach as well. So cool! 

Stretching the legs

The waves crashing in under the pier

It's a sun-bathing elephant seal! 

As we continued on, Brandon enjoyed driving the winding curves of the road, his favorite kind of driving. Favorite that is until we discovered we had a flat tire. Yep. Perhaps it's a Botting curse. When I was growing up and my family took two week road trips in the summer, I remember having a flat tire nearly every time. 

Winding curves of Highway 1

We pulled over and were treated to a grand view as we hauled everything out of our trunk to reach the spare tire and jack. As we did this a car stopped to see if we needed assistance. It was a young couple who had recognized us and our car from the elephant seal area. Brandon is a tire changing champ, so we didn't end up needing assistance, but they stayed til we got everything done just in case. Very nice of them, especially since no one had cell phone service; if something went wrong we would've had to hitch a ride with them all the way to Monterey, the next major city still seventy miles down the road. We chatted as Brandon changed the tire, and we discovered their names were Garret and Jenna, they were college students in Los Angeles, and they were taking a road trip to Oregon. It was fun to swap stories. Never dull. 

Removing all our belongings from the trunk

The spare is on. Removing the jack. 

Our view while changing the tire. Not too shabby. 

We had to take the winding roads much more carefully with the spare as we worked our way to Monterey. But, the views couldn't be beat, and Highway 1 isn't meant to be sped along anyway. I'm pleased to say that the spare tire held up and after our cell service returned and we made a few calls we found that Peninsula Tire of Monterey was willing to help. Sadly they weren't able to just pull out the metal object piercing our tire tread and patch the tire; there was too much shredding. A hundred dollars later we had a new tire and just an hour drive left to Scotts Valley. We had called Becky and were consoled that she was eagerly awaiting us and making us tacos for dinner! Honestly, we had nothing to complain about. We were just thankful that a flat tire was the only issue Lucille (our car) had for such a long trip. 

Highway 1 is enjoyable even on a spare tire

View of Monterey Bay just a few steps from the tire shop

Upon our arrival to Becky's place at Mission Springs Camp we were greeted with hugs and the smell of Mexican food. We couldn't ask for more. It was wonderful. We caught up on life over chips, salsa, and tacos. After we'd had our fill we checked out our home at Mission Springs for the next two weeks. More on this place later, but I'll tell you that the house is round. No kidding.