Day 10: Dallas TX to Texarkana AR

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

So I woke up this morning in Dallas, Texas. On one hand, it's rather weird to be here because up until a few days ago, this was a place I read about in books, not looked out the window to see. It was fun when I pulled in last night because they family I’m staying with here had a Western on the TV, and it looked just like west Texas that I had spent the morning driving across. From here, the trip is a lot more open. I have four days to get to Montreal, and just about any way I cut it, it will probably take most of that time to get there. I little bit of playing with Google Maps and I came up with this (potential) itinerary:

• Day 1: St Louis MO – 1068km – 10h01
• Day 2: Lansing MI – 801 km – 7h43
• Day 3: Palmyra NY – 674 km – 6h53
• Day 4: Montreal – 502km – 5h17

I rather enjoyed a lazy morning and the company at hand, and so it was into the afternoon before I got away. The one stop I wanted to make was Minchin, Texas (punch it in Mapquest...). I turned down Roselawn Lane, which is where the map shows it should be, but could find no reference at all to “Minchin” at all. I ended up heading into town and tried the Chamber of Commerce and the Library (they have a genealogy section), but found nothing there. When I get a chance, I’ll have to write the local museum and see if they can tell me anything.

Finally leaving the Dallas area, it was almost supper time, but I drove for about half an hour and found this place (actually a chain restaurant) called the “Texas Roadhouse” and figured it would be quite appropriate to eat steak in Texas. Steak was great, but by then it was dark when I finished. I decided to head east on US-82, for the main reason it would take me through Paris! I finished off the night just on the Arkansas-Texas border, got a room in Texarkana, and decided to call it a night.

"Minchin, Texas" - Roseland Drive, Denton County, Texas

Paris!

Leave Little Elm TX – 3:45pm (CDT) – 224,723km
Oil change (yes, I put that many kilometers on on this roadtrip that I have to change the oil) ($37.46)
Visit “Minchin”
Leave Denton – 5:50pm – 224,770km
(gas $25) – 6pm – 224,778km
Sherman (supper $17, Skittles $3.23) – 7:10 to 8:40pm – 224,882km
Paris TX (right next to Reno!) (gas $13.50) – 10pm – 224,982km
drove through Detroit too...
get back on I-30 – 11:35pm – 225,094km
arrive Texarkana AR (hotel $38) – 12:00am – 225,135km

Today – US$134.19 – 4h40 – 412km
Total – CAD$933.93 – 52h40 – 5610km

To Quebec and Adventure!
Travel Days: 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7 · 8 · 9 · 10 · 11 · 12 · 13
Two Weeks In

Day 9: El Paso to Dallas TX

Monday, May 4, 2009

I got into El Paso ridiculously late last night, and then with the new time zone, it was almost 2:30 in the morning when I made it to bed. The late night means that it’s only now (at 11 o’clock the next morning) that I’m finishing breakfast. The task before me is a little daunting – I have 3,900 km between me and Montreal, and 5 days to cover it if I want to meet the kids flying in. The goal for today is Dallas area, where I have lined up to stay with the friend of a friend.

If I had more time, White Sands, New Mexico is recommended, especially at sunset, and the Carsbad Caverns, also in New Mexico, which are one of the largest cave systems in North America and are supposed to be spectacular. However, visiting the two would add another day, a day which I don’t really have at this point.

They say everything is bigger in Texas, and perhaps it’s true. The expanse certainly gives new meaning to “wide, open spaces.” Texas itself is huge – if you drive I-10 from one end of the state to the other, it’s almost 900 miles (by way of comparison, Alberta is just shy of 1000 miles, north to south). Even the sky seems bigger, with the clouds more aloof.

I’m not sure where I’m headed tomorrow, beyond getting my oil changed and seeing Minchin, Texas, which is probably about half an hour from where I’m staying, and then I should head north and east. New Orleans would be great, but I think it’s a little too far from where I need to go, although Ottawa and Palymra remain options.

The place I stayed at at 311 E Franklin Street, El Paso TX.

A gorgeous sunset.

(hostel $21.55, parking $1.75, towel rental $0.75, breakfast $6)
Leave El Paso – 11:19am (MDT) – 223,651km
El Paso (gas $23.25) – 11:35am – 223,659km
I-10 milepost 102 – US Immigration Station – 12:35pm – 223,784km
Pecos (gas $21.12, Skittles $2.17) – 2:05 to 2:35pm – 223,989km
Odessa (nap) – 3:17 to 4pm – 224,113km
Colordo City (stretch break) – 5:18pm – 224,273km
Tye (gas $26.25, supper $9) – 6:05 to 7:08pm – 224,371km
I-20 Rest Stop – 8pm – 224,553km
Arrive Little Elm – 10:43pm – 224,719km

Today – US$111.84 – 9:10 hours – 1068km
Total – CAD$761.89 – 48 hours – 5198km

To Quebec and Adventure!
Travel Days: 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7 · 8 · 9 · 10 · 11 · 12 · 13
Two Weeks In

Day 8: Mesa AZ to El Paso TX

Sunday, May 3, 2009

The plan was to do church in Mesa with the family I was staying with, and then drive to El Paso, about 6 hours down the road.

The first thing that threw me off is Arizona doesn’t do daylight savings time and so it’s on the same time zone as California, not as Edmonton, as I had originally thought. That’s a fun way to be confused, never knowing quite what time it is. Because of that, whenever I’ve asked someone when something is since, I’ve taken to asking them what time they have right now so I make sure to show up at the right time!

Church was good, and ironically I ended up in the “Sherwood Park Ward” – I attended the Sherwood Park 1st Ward for many years near Edmonton growing up. After church, the plan was simply to drive east, although I did want to catch the CES fireside that night by Elder Bednar. It seemed there were three places along my route that were big enough to be showing the fireside – Tucson AZ, Las Cruces NM, and El Paso TX. After my visit at the Mesa Temple on the way out of town, I realized there was no way I could make Las Cruces (about 4 hours down the road from Tucson) and so after a few phone calls, I managed to find out where the Institute building was in Tucson and when the broadcast was, and so I pulled in with about an hour to spare. The fireside was great – in part it was a warning of technology misused and some of the dangers can lurk in digital models and worlds if we’re not careful – a very timely warning in my opinion.

The Institute program in Tucson seems like it would be wonderful – they have five university wards, and a beautiful building on the U of A (Arizona, not Alberta...) campus, and the people feel welcoming and warm. In the little time I was there, I felt welcomed and I was even invited to a movie later, but I had many miles yet to make that night.

The drive from Tucson to El Paso was uneventful, but a little long. The combination of not too much topography and a night sky means there really isn’t a lot to see. In El Paso, the plan was to stay at the Youth Hostel in the Grander Hotel right downtown.

Tomorrow, the goal is Dallas, where a friend of a friend has offered me their couch for the night. To make Dallas though is going to call for a full day of driving, and from the look on the map, there really isn’t much between the two....

The Mesa Temple (Larger Version).

A detail on the panels of Mesa Temple. The various panels show the gathering of different groups to the temple.

The Arizona landscape.

Leave Mesa – 2:09pm – 222,945km
Really leave Mesa (after checking out the Temple) – 2:47pm
Tucson(CES Fireside) – 4:45pm to 7:50pm – 223,135km
Willcox (gas $22.51) – 9pm – 223,265km
Arrive El Paso TX – about 12:20am (PDT) – 223,651km

Today – US$22.51 – 5:30 hours – 706km
Total – CAD$618.51 – 38:50 – 4130km

To Quebec and Adventure!
Travel Days: 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7 · 8 · 9 · 10 · 11 · 12 · 13
Two Weeks In

Day 7: San Deigo CA to Mesa AZ

Saturday, May 2, 2009

Today’s goal was Mesa, Arizona, with a start from San Diego.

I decided to take the I-10 instead of the I-8, which runs almost along the Mexican border, as that way I get a better entrance to Phoenix. From where I was, I went north to San Bernardino, and then turned east. Maybe half an hour past that the city dries up and you’ve hit desert. I’m glad I’m doing this trip in early May and not the height of the summer; as it is the temperature today hit 32C (over 90F). Before you get to Palm Springs, wind turbines show up on both sides of the road, almost like they’re fields growing them. I stopped at Desert Hot Springs for gas (which was right by the turbines) and the wind was just howling. If we get a wind like that back home, it’s with the rain (and probably hail) is coming in sideways! The guy at the gas station said it’s like that all the time. From Palm Springs on, it starts feeling really lonely, with signs warning you there are no services for 60 miles. I stopped to find a bathroom in a place called Desert Center – no one would care about a dot this small (population 125) except for the fact there’s nothing for 40 miles to the east and 60 miles to the west! The vegetation is different too. While San Diego is relatively green, in Mesa, many ‘lawns’ are actually rock gardens.

For tomorrow, the plan is to go to church here in Mesa, and then drive to El Paso, although I might drive further as I hope to make it to Dallas the next night, and there’s about 1000km between the two....

The California freeway, just north of San Deigo.

By Palm Springs, the "fields" of windmills.

The exit to Mecca - I should have stopped in just to boggle the mind of the Muslim friends when I tell them I'm been...

Main Street, Deseret Hot Springs, California

Leave Valley Center CA – 11:02am (PDT) – 222,298km
Desert Hot Springs (lunch $6.42, gas $23.95) – 12:40 to 1:35pm – 222,476km
Ehranberg AZ (nap) – 3:15 to 3:50pm – 222,672km
Buckeye (gas $24, snacks $2.03) – 5:30pm – 222,856km
Arrive Mesa – 6:30pm (PDT) – 222,945km

Today – US$56.40 – 6 hours – 647km
Total – CAD$589.65 – 33:20 hours – 3424km

To Quebec and Adventure!
Travel Days: 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7 · 8 · 9 · 10 · 11 · 12 · 13
Two Weeks In

Day 6: San Diego CA

Friday, May 1, 2009

Today was pretty quiet, as I just spent the day in San Diego. Most of the morning was spent in putting together stuff for my grad school application. In the afternoon, I got the chance to go to the San Diego Temple, and then to a movie ("X Men Origins: Wolverine"). Tomorrow the plan is to make it to Mesa, Arizona.

The beautiful view from the place I was staying.

The San Diego Temple.

San Diego (all day) (movie CAD$15)

Today – $15 – 0 hours – 0 km
Total - CAD $517.34 - 27:20 hours - 2777km

To Quebec and Adventure!
Travel Days: 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7 · 8 · 9 · 10 · 11 · 12 · 13
Two Weeks In

Day 5: Las Vegas NV to San Diego CA

Thursday, April 30, 2009

I woke up this morning in Vegas, and the goal is San Diego, with a stop at the Hoover Dam since I didn’t make it yesterday.

Hoover Dam is only about 30 miles out of Vegas, so it’s a short little drive. When I got there, the elevators were down and so they weren’t giving tours inside the dam, so I just walked around on top for a bit. FYI – if it’s not too busy, there’s free parking on the Arizona side that is relatively close, with more free parking as you go up the hill. They’re in the process of upgrading Highway US-89 (the 2 lane highway that goes across the dam) to 4 lanes and so they’re putting an arch bridge just downstream which should help traffic and provide some great views. From the Hoover Dam, I headed for San Diego. The freaky part was how the freeway changed as soon as I hit the California line – the traffic seemed to get heavier, and it never really seemed to turn back into the rural freeway that I’d driven much of the time up till then. California is beautiful, but lots of hills (and traffic). Tomorrow, I’m just going to stick around San Diego.

This was the room I stay in in Vegas.

They're in the process of building a bride just downstream of the dam to increase the capacity of US-89, which currently runs across the dam.

Hoover Dam from the front - the white at the bottom is the roof of the power house.

Zzyzx Road - you wonder if they did that just so it would show up last in the dictionary....

The California freeways

Leave Las Vegas (breakfast buffet $12.78) – 9:38am (PDT) – 221,718km
Hoover Dam (parking $7) – 10:20am to noon – 221,768km
Baker CA (nap, lunch $11, water $2.99) – 1:45 to 3:15pm – 221,959km
Victorville (gas $28) – 4:40pm – 222,114km
Arrive Valley Center – 7pm – 222,298km

Today – US$61.77 – 6:10 hours – 580km
Total - CAD$552.34 - 27:20 hours - 2777km

To Quebec and Adventure!
Travel Days: 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7 · 8 · 9 · 10 · 11 · 12 · 13
Two Weeks In

Day 4: Provo UT to Las Vegas NV

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Woke up this morning, ate breakfast, and then hit the road, with the goal being Las Vegas, Nevada, and I figure I’ll make stops in Fort Cole, St. George, Utah and at Hoover Dam.

Civilization petered out pretty quickly after Provo, but southern Utah still doesn’t seem nears as empty as Montana. The traffic never really disappeared, which makes me wonder where they all could be going. My first stop was Old Fort Cole, located just off the junction of I-15 and I-70. President Hickley’s grandfather built it at the request of Brigham Young, and it served as a way-point for both travelers (who would be 30 miles on a good day, in contrast with my 700...) and the telegraph. It had been recommended to stop into Zion National Park a couple of times, but it’s about an hour off the road, so I decided to pass, and I’ll have to do that another day. I stopped in St. George for several hours. I was trying to find a car remote for my iPod, and I found something at the local Best Buy that would have probably worked well, but I couldn’t get it to turn on, and ended up returning it, and so I lost about an hour there. I also stopped in at the St. George Temple vistor’s center. The Temple, at 175 feet tall, is a massive structure in a town of this size! I stopped in Mesquite for supper at the Virgin River Casino (I’d been seeing their billboards all day driving out of Utah) – the price ($5) was right but the food was nothing to brag about, so next time I’ll go somewhere else! Soon after leaving Mesquite, my low fuel light came on. The next two exits looked pretty empty, and so I didn’t pull off until I got to North Las Vegas, with my fuel gauge just above the fumes line (add a little adventure to the night, right? :-) ). The thing that amazed me about Vegas is how big the city is. You come over a hill as you come in from the north, and all of a sudden the city is spread beneath you and the lights seems to cover the whole panorama. The hotels on the Strip are enormous – they all seem to be skyscrapers! You begin to wonder which has more high-rises – all of Edmonton or the Las Vegas Strip... I got a room on the Strip at the Tropicana, and felt too tired to go out and do much. I guess I’ll know for next time – if I really want to see Vegas, I need more than one night; the first will get eaten up in just getting settled in.

Historic Old Fort Cole, located at near the junction of I-15 and I-70.

The telegraph room at Old Fort Cole.

The St. George Temple

This is (one tower of) the hotel I stayed at in Vegas - the Tropicana.

Leave Provo UT – 9:31am – 221,060km
Scipio UT (gas $30.62, Skittles $2.98) – arrive 10:35am, leave 11:08am – 221,189km
Old Fort Cole – arrive 11:52am, leave ~1:10pm – 221,280km
Beaver UT (lunch$11.00) – arrive 1:30pm, leave 2:25pm – 221,322km
Arrive St George UT – 3:45pm – 221,485km
Leave St George (2x dress shirts $36.75) – 7:30pm – 221,507km
Mesquite NV (supper $5.90) – arrive 8:05pm, leave 8:56pm – 221,574km
North Las Vegas (gas $35.00) – 10:15pm – 221,696km
Las Vegas (hotel room $65.95)

Today – US$188.20 – 4:30 hours – 485km
Total – CAD$473.15 – 21:10 hours – 2197km

To Quebec and Adventure!
Travel Days: 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7 · 8 · 9 · 10 · 11 · 12 · 13
Two Weeks In

Day 3: Provo UT

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Today was pretty quiet, as I just hung around Provo. I caught up to a couple of friends, and looked into a Grad program at the university in town. The program seems a good fit, and they surprised me when they told me if I can get my application put together in the next two weeks, I can get in for the fall! I’m excited, but it’s no easy task that’s been put before me. I guess when I find someplace with a phone and the internet, I’ll have to spend some time figuring it all out. The goal for tomorrow is Vegas!

(I exchanged some Canadian money for American, and the exchange rate I got was 78 cents, so that’s what I’m using – at least for now – for the conversion factor between the two.)

Provo (all day) (lunch ~$7)

Today – US$7 – 0 hours – 0km
Total – CAD$231.87 – 16:40 hours – 1712km

To Quebec and Adventure!
Travel Days: 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7 · 8 · 9 · 10 · 11 · 12 · 13
Two Weeks In

Day 2: Cardston AB to Provo UT

Monday, April 27, 2009

The goal today is Provo, Utah, which is a pretty good drive (probably 11-12 hours), but there really isn’t much I want to see in between, and besides I have an appointment tomorrow in Provo.

I woke up in the morning to a surprise – I thought I had driven out of the snow, but it had caught up to me during the night. I went outside to find 4 inches of heavy wet snow that promises to make the roads miserable. I was going to take the backroads south from Cardston and cut through Cut Bank, Montana to the I-15, but with the roads in the shape they were (and likely unplowed) I decided it was best to head north before going south and thus stay on the main roads, which would add an hour to my trip. Listening to the radio, I discovered that there was much more snow to come – they were forecasting 12-18 inches of snow on the plains of Montana, and 3 feet of snow in the mountains, and had a winter storm warning in effect until next Thursday! Heading south, the snow finally ran out just after Conrad, I got a little rain near Jefferson Falls, and finally a little sunny sky at Helena. One of the funny things about this trip too was as I drove south, even as it got later in the day, the temperature kept rising; when I left Cardston, it was just under zero, and by the time I got to Provo, it was 14C. After a long day’s drive, I finally made it to Provo just before midnight.

This is what I woke up to...

The road conditions near Raymond AB

The little cafe where I ate lunch in Dillon MT

There are some gorgeous views along the I-15. This one is somewhere in Idaho.

Leave Cardston AB – 9:55am – 219,867km
Milk River (water and Ginger Ale $6.46)
Coutts (American border) – 11:40am – 219,867km
Conrad MT (lunch US$6.75) – 12:30 to 1pm – 219,963km
Great Falls (gas $29.51) – 1:55pm – 220,057km
Dillon (gas $27.25, prepaid cell phone $39.98) – 4:42 to 5:37pm – 220,408km
Roberts ID (supper $9.20) – 7 to 7:45pm – 220,613km
McCammon (gas $27.41) – 9pm – 220,755km
Arrive Provo UT – 11:23pm – 221,045km

Today – CAD$6.46, US$140.10 – 11:25 hours – 1178km
Total – CAD$222.90 – 16:40 hours – 1712km

To Quebec and Adventure!
Travel Days: 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7 · 8 · 9 · 10 · 11 · 12 · 13
Two Weeks In

Day 1: Edmonton to Cardston AB

Sunday, April 26, 2008

My struggle with going on anything like this is figuring out what I need, and then packing what I need without packing a ton of extra stuff too. As I left, I made sure I had my passport, and I figure I can buy just about anything else. There are a few things that didn’t make it into the van:

• shampoo and conditioner
• a baseball hat
• combination locks – this is really dumb because I bought them Saturday for this trip

The first day was mostly uneventful; I made it to Cardston like I’d hoped to and made good time. It’s kind of ridiculous, but when I left Edmonton, it was snowing, and it snowed off and on until I was about half an hour south of Calgary. Supper was at Peter’s Drive-in, of course.

The 'beautiful' road conditions as I left Edmonton

Peter's Drive-in in Calgary

The Alberta Temple in Cardston

Leave Edmonton – 3:25pm – 219,187 km
Arrive Calgary – 6:15pm – 219,483km
Leave Calgary (after supper $7.80) – 6:45pm
Claresholm (for gas $29.02) – 8:00pm – 219,617km
Arrive Cardston – 9:15pm – 219,721km

Today – CAD$36.82 – 5:15 hours – 534km
Total – CAD$36.82 – 5:15 hours – 534km

To Quebec and Adventure!
Travel Days: 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7 · 8 · 9 · 10 · 11 · 12 · 13
Two Weeks In