Epic Road Trip: Four Corners and Arches National Park (Part 6)

January 5, 2024InACents 2 Comments

Arches National Park: Sand Dune

Today’s adventure begins us digging into the meat of the adventure and one of the main goals, seeing some of the magnificent Utah national parks.

The day also meant a lot of driving with a lot of ground to cover.

Before we get in to deep, we also want to point out in the planning stages, we really wanted to see the Mesa Verde National Park. However, knowing we had an all day drive ahead of us and very limited time slots that worked with our scheduled to get in and see the park, we opted to skip it on this trip.

We started off making the 4+ hour drive up to the Four Corners Monument at the intersection of Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico.

Since the site is part of the Navajo Tribal Park system, our National Park passes did not apply and we were required to pay $8 per person.

Be prepared with everything you need to make the journey to the site. That includes plenty of gas in your vehicle, food and water, although there are porta potties on-site as well as some food trucks, subject to being open.

We were actually quite surprised how beautiful the four corners monument is, as it is not just some markers on the ground, but a nice complex with picturesque views of all four states. Surrounding the site is various tribal vendors offering handmade items. We ended up spending several hundred dollars on items that we now proudly display in our home and office.

Our prior research also told us to make sure we get the food from Grandma’s Frybread Shack. Handmade Navajo taco dough topped with various toppings made for a nice treat along with some our Pops 66 sodas.

Four Corners Monument Fry Bread

Further along our route into Utah we accidentally stumbled upon Hole in the Rock. What started out as a quick restroom stop turned out to be a very unexpected surprise. We had no idea what to expect, but offered up the $7/person ($5 for kids) and were guided into the 5,000 SF home carved into the mountainside.

While no photos were aloud to be taken inside the home, it was an interesting place frozen in time and showed how resourceful the owners had to be to survive in the desert.

Hole in the Rock Utah

After the hour stop or so, we headed into our hotel at Moab and then with plenty of daylight hours, decided to go check out Arches National Park.

Arches was the only one of the Utah parks we needed a reservation in advance. We had secured two days of reservations with the earliest entry time slots (7-8am). Time slots are good for anytime after, so the first day did not really matter since we arrived so late. The second day aloud us to get in early though.

We arrived around 5:45pm on a Wednesday and experienced no back up of traffic of crowds. In fact, the park was quite peaceful with very few people throughout our entire visit.

This would be a good point to mention we are big fans of the Guide Along app (formerly Gypsy App). We have used the app for various National Parks we have visited, and the narration is the perfect guide to the history of the area and best advice for what are must see stops and which could be skipped.

I am not going to get into every site within Arches National Park as there are plenty of resources available. I will say that we were able to visit the entire park within about 4 hours, which is quite easy since there was only one road in and the time of our arrival. We got out and hiked as many of the sites as we could and were able to see everything. This includes Park Avenue, where to my surprise, there is a rock formation of Queen Nefertiti of Egypt. While that may make no impact on most people, I have worn a pendant of her around my neck since high school. So getting to see something completely unexpected and natural had a big impact on me.

Arches National Park Queen Nefertiti

Arches National Park

We also hiked the Windows Trail, Double Arch Trail, Sand Dune Arch Trail, and Devils Garden Trail. By the time we got out to the later, people were non-existent and the sun was setting and it was a beautiful experience.

Since we arrived (and departed) so late at Arches, we never got to stop into the visitor’s center. So we circled back the next morning to see it and allow the boys to get the first of this trips National Park badges. This is also where we were vary glad with our decision to visit Arches in the late afternoon and evening, as the crowds for the day had already swelled.

Arches National Park Pine Tree

Arches National Park Dawn

Arches National Park Landscape

The only area inside Arches we briefly went into see since we skipped it the night before was Delicate Arch Trail. We opted for the much easier viewpoint trail and did not hike all the way up to the arch.

The real point of heading back into Arches though was to see our first petroglyphs.

We will end the Arches portion here as we then continued on into Canyonlands National Park.

Arches National Park Badge

Arches National Park Petroglyphs

Daily miles driven- 500 miles (not including inside Arches)
Accommodations Cost- Free (20,000 IHG points)

Continue reading about our journey below.

Just like our 2019 National Park Road Trip, we will break down the trip each day in separate posts as highlighted below.

Epic Road Trip: National Park Tour (Part 1)
Epic Road Trip: Cleveland to St Louis (Part 2)
Epic Road Trip: Silver Dollar City (Part 3)
Epic Road Trip: Rt 66 to Texas (Part 4)
Epic Road Trip: Texas Surprises to Santa Fe (Part 5)
Epic Road Trip: Four Corners and Arches National Park (Part 6)
Epic Road Trip: Canyonlands National Park (Part 7)
Epic Road Trip: Capitol Reef National Park (Part 8)
Epic Road Trip: Bryce Canyon National Park (Part 9)
Epic Road Trip: Zion National Park (Part 10)
Epic Road Trip: Knott’s Berry Farm (Part 11)
Epic Road Trip: Universal Studios Hollywood (Part 12)
Epic Road Trip: Meow Wolf Las Vegas (Part 13)
Epic Road Trip: Worlds of Fun (Part 14)
Epic Road Trip: Trip Wrap Up (Part 15)

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Epic Road Trip: Texas Surprises to Santa Fe (Part 5)

December 29, 2023InACents 3 Comments

Tepee Curios New Mexico

Early the next morning we continued on route 66 and our initial stop of the day was the first Phillips 66 station in Texas in the small town of McLean. Built and leased to Phillips in 1929. Outside of the plaque on the wall, the station is a pretty much abandoned relic of the past.

Texas First Phillips Station

Next we drove past the Leaning Tower of Texas, an abandoned water tower that was moved to the field adjacent a service station to act as a roadside attraction. Now it’s pretty much abandoned.

Leaning Tower Texas

We also took the opportunity to stop early in the morning at the VW Slug Bug Ranch. Buried Volkswagen Beetle cars are along the road and available for graffiti. We brought cans of paint with us but made a small donation. Unfortunately it was rather windy that morning but the kids did get to leave their mark. The nice thing was we were also the only people there at 8:45 in the morning. Might not be as popular at the Cadillac Ranch (see below).

VW Bug Ranch Texas

The big event of the day was we were contacted to come and visit the National Roller Coaster Museum and Larson International in Plainview, Texas. During our planning we opted to skip the invite because it was about an hour detour of the way and we planned on going to Meow Wolf in Santa Fe. However, they oddly were not open on Tuesdays during the summer, so we suddenly had availability and shuffled around the day to make this happen.

Roller Coaster Museum

Boy were we glad we did! As an amusement park family, getting to see the museum up close was rather an emotional experience. Seeing rides from our childhood like Memphis Kiddie Park (Cleveland) or Cedar Point brought back great memories.

The museum is not open to the public yet, but you can read more about our experience in our newspaper article on the Sandusky Register.

Heading back to our route, at this portion of the day we swung by the Cadillac Ranch. During our 2019 trip we drove past this site, but opted not to stop as were on our way back home.

Sadly, besides saying you did it, the Cadillac Ranch was sort of a bust. The vehicles were all sitting in a lake of water, so no one could get near the cars. The site clearly is not maintained well as the couple garbage cans onsite were overflowing of disposed spray paint.

We also found it amusing that despite signs all over, the entire road and retaining wall adjacent to Cadillac Ranch, and the only area to park, had graffiti everywhere.

Cadillac Ranch Texas

My wife had requested we stop in Tucumcari, New Mexico on the route so see some more of the old town appeal. We stopped at the Tepee Curious shop which was cute and checked out the historic Blue Swallow Motel.

Blue Swallow Motel New Mexico

We ended our day up in Santa Fe, and upon the recommendation of the our tour guide at Larson, we ate at Maria’s New Mexican Kitchen. Here we were over 300 miles from the museum, and this restaurant was the real deal. What made it special though were two things. One, they had bottles of honey on the table. Upon asking what it was for, we used them with the chips and salsa, and dare I say it was life changing. The spiciness of the salsa blended perfectly with the honey, and I am not sure I could ever go back to eating them without again. The second thing was the honey was also used for our first time having sopapilla. So, so good, and so was our main dishes. I do not even know what I ordered as I told the waiter to choose for me.

That evening we stayed at the Holiday Inn Express & Suites Santa Fe again in a two queen bed suite with pullout sofa. The price point again was so affordable, it made no sense to redeem points. It was also nice that our Diamond IHG status not only got us free bottled waters, but also a bag of Knott’s Berry Farm shortbread cookies, which the boys enjoyed.

Daily miles driven- 375 miles
Accommodations Cost- $132

Continue reading about our journey below.

Just like our 2019 National Park Road Trip, we will break down the trip each day in separate posts as highlighted below.

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Epic Road Trip: Rt 66 to Texas (Part 4)

December 29, 2023InACents 3 Comments

Cars on the Route

By the fourth day of our westward adventure, we were finally getting into the heart of the trip. At this point we jumped on route 66 and started to witness the history of the storied byway.

Our first stop was Cars on the Route in Galena, Kansas. This is of course where the creators of the Disney Cars movie came across a tow truck that inspired the character Mater. This is also the first point where we started to see a recurring theme.

The Disney Cars movie really sparked a resurgence into the historic route 66 and everything it entailed. Throughout the route, you see time and time again where the community rallied behind not only the characters and scenes that inspired the movie, but also how it did wonderful things to revive the interest in small town America. Sure it is all capitalism and each other riding off the success of the other, but the movie just may have been the little thing that these communities needed to help them survive and not become ghost towns.

Across the street from Cars on the Route we happened to stumble upon a former Texaco gas station called Gearhead Curios.

Gearhead Curios

The owners have a fantastic story of leaving behind the big city and owning a classic piece of Americana. This stop easily became one of our favorite memories of the entire trip, connecting with the people that shape our great country.

The owner is a fantastic designer and manufacture, creating custom fixtures throughout the facility from old car parts. The real gem everyone must visit is the restroom. Completely custom crafted and even offers a way for women to enjoy a stand-up urinal. Great stop and worthy visit. Make sure to leave a signed dollar on the wall.

Gearhead Curios Dollar Wall

Gearhead Curios Restroom

Next up on the journey was the historic Nelson’s Old Riverton Store. This quaint little shop offered freshly made deli sandwiches that received rave reviews online. While nothing really fantastic, the old town and slower pace of life really set a wonderful tone for the rest of the vacation. Really slow down and take in each moment. Enjoy the little things. The meal was fresh and captured everything what the mid-century Americans would experience on route 66.

Nelson’s Old Riverton Store

Our last stop on the short portion of route 66 in Kansas was the Rainbow Curve Bridge. Listed on the national historic registry, this is the last Marsh Arch Bridge on the route. Driving over the bridge, one could not help but feel the presence of a ’57 Belair and the countless lives that have traveled through the arches.

Rainbow Bridge, Kansas

Leaving behind Kansas, we continued following the route into Oklahoma where there were some fantastic must-see roadside attractions.

First we checked out Ed Galloway’s Totem Pole Park. The artist created beautiful hand crafted interpretations of the land using local resources.

Totem Park Oklahoma

Next was perhaps one of our favorite roadside attractions, the Blue Whale of Catoosa, Oklahoma. While nothing more than a giant fake whale in a former swimming hole, it was quite unique and one of the rare opportunities that inspired me to buy a t-shirt.

Catoosa Blue Whale

Further along the route we stopped and saw the Golden Driller statue in Tulsa. The great thing about all these little roadside attractions is they broke up a long day of driving and did not require a lot of time or cost to see them.

Golden Driller Statue

While in Tulsa, we also took the opportunity to see Buck’s on 66 Cosmic Curios, the Meadow Gold neon sign, and other small attractions.

Cosmic Curios Tulsa, OK

Before heading to our hotel, we stopped for dinner at Pops 66, a small establishment that specializes in selling hundreds of flavors of soda pop and has great little cafe. We had an absolutely fantastic meal and then loaded up on pop to bring the rest of the trip as we brought a large cooler to store food. Be sure to grab a burger at pops; you will not regret it!

Pops 66 Café Burger

We spent our evening at the Holiday Inn Express & Suites: Shamrock North (Texas), next door to the historic Conoco Tower Station & U-Drop Inn Cafe. We were lucky to arrive at night and see the place lit up in neon which was very impressive.

Conoco Tower Station Shamrock, Texas

We had a two queen bed suite with pull out couch and this was one of the rare instances this trip where it made more sense to purchase the night versus paying with points. Quick stop and then onward in the morning.

Daily miles driven- 500 miles
Accommodations Cost- $117

Continue reading about our journey below.

Just like our 2019 National Park Road Trip, we will break down the trip each day in separate posts as highlighted below.

Save Money, Travel More!

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Epic Road Trip: Four Corners and Arches National Park (Part 6)

Epic Road Trip: Texas Surprises to Santa Fe (Part 5)

Epic Road Trip: Rt 66 to Texas (Part 4)