Road Trip 2021: CA β MN π
2021 December 15 16:50 stuartscott 720¤ 308998931¤
This month we're driving over 2000 miles from Los Angeles, California βοΈ to spend the holidays in Minneapolis, Minnesota π¨
The trip will take us across 3 timezones - Pacific, Mountain, and Central - through 8 states - California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, South Dakota, and Minnesota - and we'll stop at a bunch of national parks and places of interest along the way - Zion National Park, Arches National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Devil's Tower National Monument, Deadwood National Historic Landmark District, Crazy Horse Memorial, and Mount Rushmore National Memorial.
See the full route on Google Maps
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2022 January 04 21:03 winksaville 100¤ π
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2021 December 16 17:33 stuartscott 261149824¤ 356847103¤
Day 1
After work on Friday we drove to Las Vegas, Nevada π°
Predictably, traffic was quite heavy until we got out of Los Angeles ππ΅ππππ»πππππππππ
Caution: this time-lapse video contains flashes of light as we were driving at night.
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2021 December 16 18:56 stuartscott 422643858¤ 291050345¤
Day 2
Part 1
On Saturday morning we drove all the way to Springdale, Utah before realizing we had forgotten to pack the snow chains, and had to buy another set in case we needed them as we went further North - I now have two sets of snow chains π€¦
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2021 December 16 19:02 stuartscott 7385236¤ 574715453¤
Part 2
The sheer walls of Zion National Park have a way of making you feel very small π
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2021 December 16 19:34 stuartscott 867673961¤ 272464615¤
Day 3
On Sunday we enjoyed the scenic drive in Zion National Park before driving to Moab, Utah.
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2021 December 16 20:13 stuartscott 248551657¤ 296377577¤
Day 4
On Monday we enjoyed the scenic drive in Arches National Park.
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2021 December 17 16:56 stuartscott 359787033¤ 213129203¤
Day 5
We left early on Tuesday morning to catch the sunrise in Canyonlands National Park, however when we got to the fuel station the fuel filler door would not open. We tried nudging it, bumping it, locking and unlocking it, thawing it, and it just would not open π©
I decided to remove the carpet inside the trunk so I could access, and hopefully override, the locking mechanism, but neither Allen keys nor Torx screwdrivers could undo the plastic fasteners. It seemed the only remaining approach was brute force and ignorance. After destroying the fasteners and ripping the carpet away, I learned the mechanism was not accessible despite numerous posts on the web claiming it was π€¦
Eventually I used the ice scraper as a crowbar to pry the door and it popped open π However, I now have less faith the locking mechanism would actually prevent someone stealing fuel π
Since this debacle had consumed most of the early morning and the sun had already risen, we decide to aim for a sunset Canyonlands visit instead, but unfortunately it was cloudy β οΈ
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2021 December 17 17:43 stuartscott 3693591¤ 416276183¤
Day 6
Part 1
Early Wednesday morning we hiked to Mesa Arch in Canyonlands National Park to enjoy the sunrise. Unfortunately we had to compete with "professional" photographers to snap a picture of the arch πΈ
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2021 December 17 18:17 stuartscott 633662915¤ 196433960¤
Part 2
On Wednesday afternoon we drove to Silverthorne, Colorado passing through some cold weather in the mountains, including a minor snow storm going over Vail Pass π¨
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2021 December 17 18:28 stuartscott 5494917¤ 387373005¤
Day 7
On Thursday we hiked through the snow in the White River National Forrest π₯ΎβοΈ
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2021 December 17 18:37 stuartscott 251495413¤ 518878601¤
Day 8
We drove to Fort Collins, Colorado early Friday morning but unfortunately the time-lapse video is incomplete because the GoPro battery died ππ
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2021 December 23 17:02 stuartscott 899832823¤ 135484807¤
Day 9
Part 1
We drove to Spearfish, South Dakota
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2021 December 23 17:06 stuartscott 6045629¤ 264923983¤
Part 2
Along the way we stopped at Devils Tower National Monument and saw some deerπ¦
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2021 December 23 17:24 stuartscott 456161158¤ 73686811¤
Day 10
Part 1
We drove to Rapid City, South Dakota
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2021 December 23 17:33 stuartscott 5072429¤ 136583212¤
Part 2
We stopped at a frozen waterfall along the way π₯Ά
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2021 December 23 17:48 stuartscott 46803816¤ 226362612¤
Part 3
We enjoyed the sights and sounds of a river...
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2021 December 23 17:54 stuartscott 84102114¤ 368623106¤
...especially the patterns made by the water under the ice.
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2021 December 23 18:07 stuartscott 4321447¤ 732924768¤
Part 4
We visited the Crazy Horse Memorial carved into the Black Hills of South Dakota.
Honestly, we were disappointed and left feeling conflicted - perhaps we went in with the wrong mindset. We expected a Native American story told by Native Americans. Instead the entire experience felt whitewashed.
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2021 December 23 18:47 stuartscott 1205818063¤ 260031476¤
Day 11
Part 1
We drove the last leg of our journey to Minneapolis, Minnesota! π
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2021 December 23 18:53 Eihposono 2848872¤ 517214077¤
Part 2
Made a few pit stops in the Badlands - our fourth National Park of the trip. A weird combo of jagged bluffs and massive prairies.
(The only park we've actually seen the Bighorn Sheep in! PSA the original sheep went extinct... These are different bighorn sheep from the Rockies)
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2021 December 23 18:54 Eihposono 3298929¤ 1028508548¤
The sheep!
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2022 January 03 17:45 stuartscott 1145732656¤ 911284441¤
Day 19
On the 28th of December we began our 2000+ mile return voyage to Los Angeles! The first leg of which took us through Iowa and Missouri to stay the night in Manhattan, Kansas.
See the full route on Google Maps
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2022 January 03 18:38 stuartscott 1067759950¤ 754808932¤
Day 20
We drove through the Oklahoma Panhandle to stay the night in Amarillo, Texas.
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2022 January 03 18:46 stuartscott 1217031734¤ 292586132¤
Day 21
Part 1
We drove through New Mexico to stay the night in Holbrook, Arizona.
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2022 January 03 18:49 stuartscott 4260984¤ 580911279¤
Part 2
Along the way we squeezed in a visit to the Petrified Forest National Park π±π³
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2022 January 03 18:54 stuartscott 1002208020¤ 159614539¤
Day 22
We arrived back in California and stopped in Joshua Tree for a couple of nights to ring in the New Year! πΎ
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2021 December 17 17:06 stuartscott 4033322¤ 3155421¤
The geological features that give the Arches National Park its name are caused when wind π¨ and rain π§οΈ erode the rock, and when water π§ enters cracks and crevices, deepening them as it freezes π§
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2021 December 17 17:10 stuartscott 4495323¤ 1815519¤
Solid rock is eroded into fins...
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2021 December 17 00:31 Eihposono 2408883¤ 3207658¤
B'Elanna and Convey creator had fun galavanting by the stream
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2022 January 04 20:25 winksaville 417¤ 524¤
Quite a trip! Have you previously done a similar road trip in the USA? I wondering what is your impression of the USA geography and how was your interactions with the people.
I think the pandemic has created additional stresses and strains on us all. But, one thing I've noticed is that the wait staff in restaurants seem more appreciative of the clients, at least that's been my experience in and around Santa Cruz.
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2022 January 05 15:38 stuartscott 898¤ 150¤
It was quite a trip indeed! It was actually the second such trip, the first being Thanksgiving 2020, and both times we have been blown away by the geography and how much the landscape and weather varies from state to state. That was the motivation for this post - I wanted to capture the natural beauty of the parks and the scenery of the journey for everyone to enjoy.
Overall our interactions with the people were positive, almost everyone was friendly and helpful, though the political divide was clear; rural is red, urban is blue. Listening to the local radio stations was educational to say the least. The adherence to pandemic-appropriate behaviour also varied significantly. There was one stop, which I wont name, where we felt uncomfortable wearing a mask - the locals scowled as if we were the enemy. We still have a long way to go, and a lot of work to do, to form a more perfect union.
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2022 January 05 17:49 winksaville 301¤
USA is diverse, in all ways. I'm glad the people were mostly polite, but sad masks are such a big deal.
Come to think of it, your mask experience at the unnamed location allows me to more easily imagine and for you to feel how minorites, with only some physical difference like black skin, must feel.
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