Mansfield, Ohio to Buffalo, New York

Almost home - we made it to Buffalo at least. We will visit our parents and then head to Chaumont and stay home for a while. We have been gone 6 weeks, driven 7500 miles, passed through 18 states, seen some amazing sights and made precious memories that we'll treasure forever. That's all for now. We'll probably resume blogging in October when we visit our 19th state this year - Hawaii.

Back in New York State!

Friday, April 4 - Odessa, Missouri to Mansfield, Ohio

On the road again, we have only one more day of driving after today to make it to Buffalo. No weather delays. The clouds were ominous but we had no rain nor snow today. We have crossed Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana into Ohio. That brings our total to 18 states on this trip not counting NY. Ron and I were trying to think of which states we've missed and we think that we still need to go to Rhode Island, Oregon, Washington, Alaska and Hawaii - and we will be able to cross Hawaii off of our list in October - not bad for two kids from Buffalo. We crossed the mighty Mississippi but I couldn't get any pictures. It really wasn't too pretty though - muddy and churned up looking. We also went by Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis - home of the Colts - but we didn't have any LUCK seeing Andrew - sorry for the bad pun. We stopped for the night in Mansfield, Ohio - about 70 miles south of Cleveland. About 270 miles left to drive to Buffalo tomorrow.

Omninous Clouds

Indianapolis

No Andrew Luck

Almost home

Thursday, April 3 - Colorado Springs to Odessa, Missouri

Woke up to about 6 inches of snow in Colorado Springs this morning. We ate breakfast and were on the road just after 8 but it was slow going at first. Ron did a great job of keeping us on the road as I don't think they believe in plowing and there were many cars off of the road. Some schools were closed and others delayed. By the time we got to the Kansas Visitor's Center they told us that it would stop snowing in another 40 miles. After that it was on and off rain but that was definitely better than the white stuff. Passed by Oz but I understand that the tornados were in St. Louis this morning and not here thankfully. Hopefully we can finish our trip without any weather calamities. Drove  600 + miles. Ended up in Odessa, Missouri.   Added some new states to our list this trip: Colorado, Kansas, and Missouri so far. I'll have to tally them all up. Snow scenes were what we saw today.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wednesday, April 2 - Cameron, Arizona to Colorado Springs, Colorado

On the road before 8:00 this morning but we are losing hours as we travel east. Also throw in that the Indian Nations don't recognize daylight savings time and I'm not sure what time it is now. Drove through miles of desolate Indian lands and even passed the four corners. Had snow in Cortez, Colorado and  huge swings in temperature as we changed altitude.  The temperature and precipitation kept changing as we went up and down the mountains. The terrain has definitely changed too. It is nice to see green trees and babbling brooks instead of dry scrub desert and rocks. Drove about 600 miles and spent the night in Colorado Springs. Saw some beautiful mountain views as we traveled - it is hard getting pictures from a moving car though - oh well here's some of today's vistas.

 

 

Went out and had some dinner at Panda Express.  Will probably make it an early night since we have a few more long days ahead of us. We may get some snow tomorrow but hopefully we will drive out of it before too long.

Tuesday, April 1 - The Grand Canyon

Got an early start and were at Grand Canyon National Park by 8:30.  The weather was cool - 38 degrees when we started, windy but sunny, and the day was beautiful.  I don't think I can do justice in describing the Grand Canyon and I'm not sure if my pictures capture its splendor but here are some glimpses of what our day was like.

The Grand Canyon

 



We spent the night at Cameron Trading Post about 30 miles outside the park.  Had a special treat of sopapilla and Catcus Jack Milkshakes (made from the prickly pear cactus - an Arizona specialty) for our snack - you know when in Arizona!

Monday, March 31 - Valle/Williams Arizona - Heading home

Straightened up the condo this morning, packed the car and started on our journey home. Drove about 500 miles to a hotel about 25 miles south of the south rim of the Grand Canyon so we can get an early start tomorrow. We took the back roads and saw a "Dirt Devil", saguaro cacti, and tumbleweed. We also drove through Yarnell where the 19 firefighters lost their lives.  As we make our way home, I can't help but marvel at the beauty of our country. There is such a variety of terrain and vegetation but each has its own captivating allure and uniqueness. From the rocky hills to the deserts to the lush redwood forests our senses are treated to the marvels of God's creation. Tomorrow hopefully we will be able to view the majesty of the Grand Canyon.

Scenes along our travels