We Took the Long Way (Part 2 of Many)

Location(s): Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona

I was planning on starting by talking about Texas.  However, this was the shortest trip through a state we had and what is there to talk about; it’s dry and dusty.  Enough said.  I did talk to my chauffeur about stopping at every state’s “Welcome to” sign….Rich took that as “shout at Annie as I am quickly approaching the state sign so she has to fumble for her phone or camera and pray she gets a half decent photo as I zip on by.” Luckily for me, Carla and her family traveled the same route we were taking just a few weeks earlier so I was able to “borrow” some of her photos. (Thanks Carla)

“Quick…Get the Camera!”

Highlights of Texas: Getting out of the state! 

I have heard of the many “highlights” of New Mexico (or low lights from Carla) and was excited to enter a state I never thought I would have visited before.  The “Land of Enchantment” didn’t really enchant me sad to say.  I would probably enjoy it more if we had time to explore the history and see more of Albuquerque however we had a late start so we had to adjust our plans.  One of the neatest parts for me was sitting in the passenger seat and taking in the scenery. I truly felt like I was transported into Disney Pixar’s Cars movie.

Scenic New Mexico (AKA: Disney Pixar’s Cars)

Rocky had a 1st on our adventure, his 1st stay in a hotel. We have traveled in the car with him at least once a year to head back home for holidays or whatever life throws at us and Rocky has come with 90% of the time.  He is a great car dog once we get moving. He just lays down in the back catching up on his beauty sleep.  He never eats or drinks until we reach our destination.  I knew he’d be able to handle the car parts of this trip but I wasn’t sure how his diet or lack of freedom from a leash would adjust.  He did NOT handle it very well….ok at least the hotel portions of the trip! Hahaha He isn’t too keen on men, anything that rolls that is larger than him, loud noises and really everything. So to get him to walk through the lobby and up an elevator was quite the feat. He did not like the feeling of the elevator moving.  He barked at every little noise….I’m sure our “neighbors” enjoyed that. It took him most of the trip to get back into his eating habits but we both have grown from this trip with his off leash abilities.  (at least Rocky and I have….Rich is still trying to get it down)

Highlights of New Mexico: A little boy constantly hugging Rocky as his poor mom was trying to get him to eat breakfast.  The boy kept giving Rocky his waffle…..darn dog was spoiled this whole trip with continental breakfasts!

One of the highlights we planned for the trip was a stop at the Grand Canyon.  I have been told I have been there before when I was very little. Obviously I don’t recall that and what better time to see it then on a trip across 1/2 the country. Sadly it was not written in the cards for us to see it this trip. We wanted to get to Rich’s mom’s house in Arizona so we could max our time there and this would easily add about 5 hrs to our day.  Plus, Rich was in the last 2 weeks of one of his masters classes and needed to have a phone conference with his group. We needed to reach civilization (and cell towers) so he didn’t miss that call.

Seeing the heartbreak in my face, Rich surprised me with a road side stop at the Petrified Forest. The highlight of this trip was that you could drive through it…and it was HOT outside.  We tried stopping at highlights on the drive with the dog for photo ops but the ground was like an inferno for his poor paws.

Hard to tell but my phone is melting in my hand from the heat….can’t wait for Alaska temps!

It was so hot my finger sweated and then slid down in front of the camera!!!!

After a few more hours on the road, we made it to Wanda’s house!!! It was so nice to be able to relax and enjoy company and it was only day 2 of our trip!!! Sadly, most of Rich’s time with his mom was spent on the computer and on the phone with his classmates.  I however got the grand tour!  Wanda showed me her beautiful backyard and her garden. I never realized that you could grow so many different plants in the desert heat! I loved the lime tree (I hope to have that and a lemon tree when we find our “forever” home) and tasted chocolate tomatoes for the 1st time! YUM Rocky loved having a little fur friend to antagonize for a few hours and quickly found use of the gravel on the side of the house.  We also met some of Wanda and Aleck’s neighbors who graciously showed me a new card game called “Hand and Foot”.  It took me a few turns but I caught on pretty quick. I think Wanda and I would have won if there wasn’t so much “table talk” going on from the cheaters.  Sadly our time was up and we needed to hit the road once again.  We are hoping to make our way back soon to visit and to check out some of the Triple D restaurants we read about on the way!

Highlights of Arizona: Spending time with family and a home cooked meal.  (Rocky says it was being able to run around in a yard)

Next stop The Happiest Place on Earth and a tearful “see you soon” at the kennel for Rocky.