Road Trip!

Yep....we did another road trip to Nashville.....

this time it was to attend boy1's college graduation....

we had a little bit of extra time so we stopped at the Grand Canyon...cuz even though we've lived in the southwest forever, we've never been....

 squirrels seem to love hubby1....

trying to take picures in this incredibly crowded tower was difficult...

we also stopped for a closer look at Cadillac Ranch...
where hubby1 found a half full spray can......

 boy1 GRADUATED!!!!

rest area ....with an odd selection of animals stuck on the rocks....

a gnome now travels with the traditional flamingo....

they sometimes get carried away...
we found them "owling" and "planking" at a kiosk on route 66....

this kiosk in the middle of nowhere has a lot of interesting information....
if you see it, you should stop....

Mt Rushmore

If you are cruising across South Dakota, you have to stop at Mt. Rushmore....even if you have been there before.   It's not possible to get tired of the monument.    A new trail has opened since the last time, we visited.   It takes you to the base of the mountain and offers incredible views.

I stayed close by so I could get there for sunrise.

 While I was waiting for the park to open, this deer wandered by......beautiful!

From the Presidential Trail.   Lots of stairs but so worth it.

A Car, GPS, and Time

Hubby1 flew back to California on Saturday leaving me to find my way home.   I've never driven across country alone before and have to admit that it was a little scary.  But more than scary, I was super excited to get up in the morning and decide what adventures I would have that day.

On Sunday, I headed north to Peru, Indiana to visit a wonderful friend.   We had a incredible evening filled with great food and a game of Mexican Train dominoes.

Monday  morning I went to see family in Kokomo and then decided to drive to St. Louis to take some pictures of the arch.  I made it just in time for sunset which was a perfect time for photography.

 Tuesday found me in my favorite state -- South Dakota.   I love the way it smells, the scenery, the funny roadside figures....everything.  I took the following picture while driving and didn't even notice all the smaller statues.    They were a fun surprise when I uploaded the pictures to the computer.

The flamingo and I made a pit stop at the Lewis and Clark Memorial Bridge.  

Rock City, Tennessee

This was our Friday day trip while boy1 was at work.    What a beautiful place to spend a few hours....the views are breathtaking and FairyLand is a surprising (and a little bit creepy) end to the adventure.

 seven states ......no Russia

Hubby1 got bored and started insisting that I take flying pics of the flamingo.

and, before you leave, you get to wander thru Fairyland Caverns....we were not prepared for this and couldnt stop laughing at the treasures we found.

 I like gnomes but these guys were creepy

The black light is so outdated....and, in a strange way, very charming.

Things are Different in the South

Lite Fare....Nashville style:

sandwiches served with french fries....lol

road trip - Nashville

Took a walking tour of downtown Nashville (found it online....gotta love the internet).   First it had us park blocks away from the starting point.   Next it referenced a random "green line" that we were supposed to follow.  We spotted remnants of what might have been the infamous green line twice.   We ended up just wandering around and trying to remember where we parked the car.


We did see some beautiful buildings.  I think this was the Customs House.

and we did get great cell service.

Elvis is on the building:

Saw Southbound in concert:

We just found out the they are opening for Trace Adkins on November 18!  super excited for them!

day 6

After visiting with our friends in Arkansas, we headed for Nashville.   Someone *cough cough* decided
we should visit Graceland.   I enjoy listening to Elvis' music and I understand that people pretty much worship him, but he's been gone a long time.   I wasn't really prepared for the lady in red.



I noticed her when we were waiting for the buses and told hubby1 that I hoped we weren't in her group.  We weren't but it didn't matter.   She wasn't capable for following the tour in the order presented, so we kept running into her.

Here she is checking out a display case.  Please notice that no one else can get near the case.   She was there almost 5 minutes....and while that may not seem like a long time, it was enough to back up the tours so they had to stop letting people in the building.

She then proceeded to sing parts of every song that Elvis earned a gold or platinum record.  

"he looks like an ANGEL!"

And, for those who follow me on twitter and facebook, guess who was sobbing at Elvis' grave?

I wasn't really impressed by the tour.  It was interesting but not worth the price, but we were entertained.

road trip - day 3

Next stop...Bentonville, Arkansas.....WalMart headquarters.....I hate WalMart...but I have friends there...

We went for a walk while we caught up on our lives.   They have wonderful hiking trails and some hidden treasures like this chapel:

cute, deceptively innocent bridge... it was very slippery....trust me....

road trip - day 2

On Day 2, we stopped at Carlsbad Caverns.....mainly because, even though we've both lived in the southwest for decades, we haven't been there.

I hate signs like this...

I know my knee is going to hurt after hiking, but I'm tired of letting it dictate my life.

We decided to hike down instead of taking the elevator. 

It was slightly intimidating but I'm very glad we did.   You miss a lot

if you choose the elevator.

I've had a flamingo on my camera bag forever and I lost him a few months ago.

I finally remembered to get a new one.

Caves are awesome!

And of course we had to stay for the bats....

I don't like birds (or flying mammals) (I'm actually quite freaked out by them), so I stayed in the parking lot

while hubby1 went down to the cave entrance to watch.