Eastbound & Down- Day 3 & 4 to Austin, TX

Woke up in Santa Fe, Mexico. First thought through my mind was how many miles is it now? How many miles am i driving away from the only place i've ever truly known. The only people i've ever had the joy of having in my life, everyday. I know all the roads of Boise, i go to the store and run into people i know, i can drive 2 minutes to go hike Tablerock for 35 minutes and i'm looking over the city i've called home for my entire life. 

I woke up this morning hoping for the best, but wondering if i'm really ready to just up and move. 

If i really made the right decision at the right time. 

But then, i remembered that people do this all the time.

They make a life altering decision to change.

Or to fulfill. 

And i guess. (yes, i guess) THAT is what i'm doing.

I'm being serious that i did have my doubts and was scared as all hell.

I did start to think about all the amazing things i have already seen on this grand road trip.

And then all the great things that i will experience once i made it there.

Once i made it to Austin.

That calmed my nerves a bit.

Soothed my soul.

This was my trip through New Mexico on to Texas….

(Off the beaten path)

The small town of Vista in New Mexico

And when i say small i mean... small. This gas station was closed down. 

Continued on another stretch of FOREVER….

Drove through Santa Rosa, New Mexico

Santa Rosa is an old Spanish Town on the Pecos River.

ROUTE 66

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Drove off the new interstate to take a look at the old Route 66.

The old alignment of Route 66 left Santa Rosa to continue on West back towards Santa Fe.

After Santa Rosa, heading east, it continues on to drop down to Albuquerque.

There was much to see of the Old Route 66 in Santa Rosa.

The Sun n' Sand

The Paradise Motel

Unfortunately, the interstate took its toll on the historic town.

As of present time and past, this town depends on its tourists.

The roads were fairly quiet at the time we drove through.

In 1946 the population was 2,310. Making it a prosperous tourist center on Route 66.

Very few Santa Rosa businesses have managed to survive. 

The occasional gas station, auto repair shop, small cafe and a Mcdonalds.

 Mid-day passed between New Mexico

On into the 

GRAND OL' STATE OF NEW MEXICO

THE LONE STAR STATE

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I'm finally in TEXAS!

I was hoping i would see some Texas Longhorns…

But all that was out there was a black cow.

And hundreds of Windmills.

Anyone close to me knows i have a phobia of these large windmills.

I think from seeing windmill after windmill i was able to conquer my fear of these things.

That's me WAAAY down there in the white circle.

Spent the night, in another motel.

A motel is a motel.

No matter what city or state you're in.

They all usually have cable.

and nowadays usually a decent internet connection.

hopefully they have a good AC.

and a nice clean bathroom.

Just don't forget to always take the top comforter off….

housekeeper RARELY washes those.

The Next Day.

Last day of driving.

AMARILLO, TEXAS

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In a field, off Old Route 66, just west of Amarillo, Texas is the world famous Cadillac Ranch.

Cadillac Ranch was invented & built by local town 'ghost', Stanley Marsh 3

(Yes, that was correct. Stanley Marsh '3'

 He would rather go by 3 instead of the roman numeral III)

Stanley Marsh 3 and a group of art-hippies from San Francisco,

 (the hippies who liked to call themselves the Ant Farm)

created this work of art.

The group wanted to create a piece of art that the town locals would be proud of and astonished.

So in 1974 they rallied up 10 Cadillacs from junkyards that were priced under $200 at the time.

The Cadillacs were driven into one of Stanley Marsh 3 fields, 

then half buried, nose down, in the dirt.

The sign below is on the road.

Permitting graffiti inside the field but is illegal anywhere outside the fence.

They encouraged people to head out and spray paint the art.

'Ever changing art" Stanley once said.

This is the "CULPRIT"

The Spray Can

I climbed on top of one of the cars.

Found a fairly blank area

and wrote :

"Nothing Ventured- Nothing Gained"

"The Austin Expedition"

10.30.10

Cadillac Ranch is unbelievably popular.

People from all over the world come to see this "Art in a Field"

Just don't forget your paint spray.

I do have to say that seeing this, made my trip.

I have wanted to come here for as long as i've known about this place. 

And i'm so glad that i had the chance to make it here.

(on such a beautiful day i might add)

This was the last of the stops as the trip to Austin finally came to an end.

As i made my way into the new city, a sigh of relief came over me.

Not only that i just spent 4 days in a cramped honda civic and that i was about to be freed from it.

But mainly because, this is something that i've wanted to do my entire life.

To go somewhere.

To maybe find something.

To search.

To fulfill.

To enjoy.

To have a place that i love.

Somewhere that i feel…. is me.

And i had a feeling maybe this was it.

Only time will tell.

Eastbound & Down- Day Two

Woke up this morning on an easier note. Yesterday was rough, waking up in Boise and not ready to actually leave. Lots of things were weighing on my mind making me second guess even going. I guess thats normal though. But, what i've realized is that nothing is set in stone. Knowing this, it sure makes making decisions so much easier. My mom has always said that life is just a series of choices. And you are able to change your path at any point. This is very reassuring. I love this about Mothers.

 They can reassure you about anything, anytime. Thank you, Mom. 

So, last night the drive took us through a small town by the name of Helper. Decided to head back the 6 miles from our (disappointing and unsatisfying) hotel in Price, UT, to Helper to get some diner breakfast and take some photos of the historic town. This town has such 'old' charm as you can see. 

I really enjoy capturing the old signs of these towns. 

Painted on the inside of a doorway

The HILLCREST HOTEL & APTS

These next 4 photos are of the Old Movie Theatre which is now the home of  Theatrical Plays.

"Wake Up & Smell The Coffee" debut early Oct.

It was their first play of the season

(Was informed this @ the local diner)

Some Retro Movie Posters left in the glass @ the Main Entrance

The Local Lunch Place

MARSHAS

HOME BAKIN AND

SAMMICHSHOP

(Seen in the Window)

'We Knead Your Dough'

Took this photo on the way out of Downtown Historic City of Helper

Continued driving on to Southern Utah.

The First signs of MOAB

And the further south you drove it was even more beautiful.

Can you believe this was at a REST AREA?!!

I decided to climb up to the ledge.

To see if i could get a better shot of…..THIS!!

THE HOLE IN THE ROCK!

(I wonder who painted that up there)

"This WORLD-FAMOUS 5,000 ft. home that is carved out of a huge rock here in Utahs Canyonland. This historic home was built by the Christensen family. What began as a small alcove for the young Christensen boys to sleep in at night grew into a man-made engineering marvel 20 years in the making."

www.theholeintherock.com

 A fireplace with a 65’ chimney

Photo Credit

14 rooms arranged around huge pillars

Photo Credit

Photo Credit

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" People who visit this most unusual home in the dessert are delighted. Original furnishings, Albert’s paintings, Gladys’s doll collection and many of the tools used to create this home remind you of the past.

In a 12 year period Albert excavated 50,000 cubic feet of sandstone from the rock. When Albert died in 1957, the home was not complete. Gladys’s in keeping with his wishes & lifelong dreams continued to develop the property, opening a gift shop and giving tours of her home until she passed away in 1974. Gladys is laid to rest next to Albert in a small cove within the rock near the home. "

The GIFT SHOP and entry into the home.

Should i have purchased this hat?! haha!

After the 12 minute tour that only costs $5 per person, you can venture around the grounds.

Interesting Art.

HILLBILLY LAWN MOWER

(Bicycle with mower blades on front)

There were tons of old signs everywhere.

My favorite things to photograph!

Taco Bells marketing has really come a LONG way…..

This JEEP was covered in License plates, the wheels were made out of random metal parts.

You can see (maybe) in some of the photos that there are old scissors and metal locks that help

make the wheels. 

Oh, and not sure why, but that's a very large bone and a small dog on top of the Jeep.

Strange, yes.

Took a Scenic Byway through Colorado for a short while.

Came across this Folk Art house in the middle of nowhere. Pulled into the driveway expecting

someone to come out of the house.

No one walked out, went and knocked on the door….

still no answer.

I wanted to walk around, but it felt eery to be on someones property (specially in the middle of nowhere)

(i've seen ONE TOO MANY scary movies that start this way)

So i snapped a few photos and got in the car and drove away.

Was a really neat place. It was just a lil preview of what i'll be seeing in Austin!

I counted at least 7 spelling mistakes in the 4 minutes i was at this place.

Although, with the 'Visualize Whorld Peas' i think that was on purpose.

Colorado was short and sweet.

Saw a ton of deer and even heard an elk as i had to take a small 'break' on the edge of the road. =)

As dusk approached, we reached NEW MEXICO

It got dark VERY VERY quickly, and driving became such a stress.

At one point, the pavement went from normal light gray to a dark black.

They must have recently paved the highway because the lines were barely visible.

In some spots, there were NO LINES.

Now let me tell you 3 reasons why this made me sick to my stomach.

1. We don't know these roads

2. The speed limit was 65 through this area

2a. 65 MPH in curvy roads in the mountains with multiple deer sightings

3. Oncoming traffic blurred out the road completely

Here is a photo of what we COULD see.

This is the actual photo. If you look closely you can BARELY see a lil white line at the bottom of the photo. that would be the edge white line that was hardly visible.

I can't even explain how nerve-racking those hours of driving were.

But, alas! We made it to Santa Fe at 9:45pm 

I believe earlier i mentioned how disappointed i was in our hotel stay last night. For $100 it was a crummy hotel.

Luckily, my father gave me 2 Best Western free night stay vouchers.

So this evening i booked a room at the Santa Fe Best Western and BOY HOWDY! it was such a relief to see a nice and comfy room. All equipped with 3 fluffy pillows on each bed, a squishy mattress (my favorite) and this motel even has conditioner. (Yes, this morning i had a freak out because i didn't pack my conditioner and the "quality" hotel we stayed in only had cheap shampoo. lol)

I just want to thank my father over and over again for giving me the free nights here at this hotel.

 The room is warm, cozy, and very 'SOUTHWESTERN-ISH'

What do you expect…. I am in SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO.

bedtime.

Goodnight.