Having reached the south-west corner of Colorado, we’d already noticed the landscape change dramatically, from mountains and pines to desert and scrub bush. First stop of the day was something I’d been looking forward to the whole road trip: Mesa Verde National Park. Mesa Verde is home to the incredible Anasazi cliff dwellings, constructed circa…
After shooing away the ants that had gathered on our belongings during our stay at the El Colorado motel, we headed out of Manitou Springs to visit the Garden of the Gods. Filled with towering sandstone spires and precariously balanced rock formations, the Garden of the Gods is an excellent introduction to the even more…
We spent the night in Dodge City, Kansas, and ate breakfast at a local donut place, Daylight Donut. Coming from the north-east, where Dunkin’ Donuts has obliterated the concept of mom-and-pop donut shops, I appreciated it when the kid behind the counter said his parents had owned the place since ’78. The donuts were great,…
Continuing west on US-56, we drove through Scranton (population: 724). Not much was going on… One building of note: a former Methodist church converted to a garage (you can just make out the big roll-gates on the right): Across the street was this abandoned gas station, and I was really intrigued by the sign on…
I’ll come clean: I’m really embarrassed to admit that, prior to arriving this morning, I thought Kansas City was in Kansas, when in fact it’s in Missouri. Hence, my celebrations at finally reaching Kansas turned out to be a bit premature (thanks to commenters below, I’ve now learned that Kansas City actually exists in both…
We cruised into St. Louis in the late morning. At this point, US-50 has merged with the Interstate. We only had a few hours to spend, so of course, the first matter of business was to see the Arch. We were about to Google Map it on my iPhone when we realized it actually wasn’t…
For most of the journey from Salem, Illinois, to St. Louis, this was the view out the window: Literally, endless, endless fields. Most of the towns we passed through were little more than a collection of houses, a commercial business or two, and then more fields. As we came to Carlyle, Illinois (known for its…
After swinging through Aurora, we decided to take a detour from US-50 and follow Rt-56, which winds along the Ohio River. Route-56 is a beautiful drive, with amazing views of the Ohio River (and Kentucky beyond): Below, the path we took: Often, the view of the river would be replaced by cornfields… It was on…
After the seven hour Interstate drive the previous day, I woke up Saturday dreading the thought of hitting the bland four-lane pavement for another long haul. I don’t think anything in the world is as mind-numbingly boring as Interstate travel, and even at 80+ mph (thanks, West Virginia!), to me, it feels like you’re moving…
Our 2010 roadtrip began where all the great expeditions of history have set out: White Plains, NY. You’re not going to get very far on a road trip without a car, and as neither I nor my girlfriend own one, we had no choice but to rent. I spent much of last week researching the…