The Road Trip

Two thousand Five hundred miles, that is how far we drove on the road trip.  I always considered it a rite of passage, to be an American means that you must  take a long road trip as a child,  and as a parent you must take your children on a long road trip so they can appreciated the vast open lands of America.  

Being late morning starters we spent the first night at the Atlantis hotel in Reno, about a four hours drive from home.  The best hotel on the trip was also the cheapest.  If you have ever seen  Reno Hotels advertised for $29 night you might think they are the pits.   Not!!  The rooms in the Atlantis were four star all the way and the service was great.  The second day we left at 8:30Am and arrived in Twin Falls,  Idaho at  4:30PM, only it was 5:30 because we had entered a new time zone.  From Twin Falls Idaho we we left at  8:30 AM and arrived at the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone at 4:30 PM.    We drove the same route home which is the shortest route from our house.   I regret  that we did not get to see the Grand Tetons, but I think it was a fair trade off. 

Driving back we saw a small Toyota RAV-4 demolished by an 18 Wheeler on a two lane Highway in the middle of the Nevada desert.   I have no idea if anyone survived.  On a long road trip it seems that you will more likely than not see a major accident.  It gives you time to reflect on your life and your own driving habits.

 Yellowstone itself is huge. I had hoped that the attractions in Yellowstone  would be adjacent to the places we stayed. With a 45 mile per hour speed limit in the park, and frequent stops because of traffic jams caused by people looking at the wildlife (mostly buffalo and elk), the kids became somewhat jaded on Yellowstone.  

Below is the 1991 Dodge Caravan with about  140,000 miles on it that took us on the trip.  The car still runs great and I plan to replace it with another Caravan because I can.   This was the last major trip for the Caravan and was my way of saying goodbye to a good friend.  (You didn't know cars were people did you?) Pictured below also are the overpriced Cabins at $90 per night,  but at least they had a shower.