Rob N Ellie

Holbrook is on the doorstep of the famous Petrified forest national park. Essentially a large expanse of desert which millions of years ago was once a floodplain/jungle littered with trees. Dead and torn up trees were washed downstream and slowely covered by sediment and volcanic ash leading to fossilisaiton. Now they are re-emerging from the desert floor and providing spectacular sights (and a horde of souvenier shops!). A little further beyond the forest park is the famous Meteor crater, the site of a long passed meteor impact. Arizonas second largest hole. We made our way into the mountain town of Flagstaff to stay for the night before tomorrows drive up to the Grand Canyon, Arizonas largest hole. Also happened to find a nice microbrewery for dinner :-)... read more

West of Amarillo the landscape changes dramatically. Up until now we've been driving through plains and corn fields. Suddenly out of the flatness, cliffs burst forth as you hit the continental divide. Mountains appear on the horizon and we ascend thousands of feet to the state capital of New Mexico, Santa Fe. En route we stopped at the famous Cadillac ranch, to practice our graffiti skills (legitimately), followed an original alignment (although our car couldn't do the whole stretch) and went to an auto museum, where Ellie found a restored Camero she wants to buy. Also of importance was our stop at the half way point! Fortunately this ismarked by a cafe serving awesome pies :-) Santa Fe itself is amazing. The architecture here is like something out of star wars, with all the buildings designed ... read more

Today we planned to head towards Oklahoma city. The closer we got the better as we needed to be in Amarillo the following day. However, this didn't go completely according to plan. After a morning swim in the munger moss pool (in the middle of the car park, surrounding by a chain link fence as all good motel pools are) we hit the road. With no particular hotel booked we hoped to get as much distance under our belts as possible Driving along old route 66 we came across a very random safari park. The walk around section was like something out of the olden days, animals in verly small cages, it was a bit odd. We then took the posh hire car through the safari. It was gnawed on by deer, donkeys and the odd ... read more

Much to our disappointment, independence day has nothing to dwithin Will Smith or aliens! Most disappointing. We had a chance to stop for a bit of sightseeing on our way up the Mississippi to st louis today. We saw 'chain of rocks' bridge, a huge original bridge across the Mississippi now only open the walkers and cyclists it'san couple of miles in length. Needless to say we didn't walk the lot. With temperatures up to 105 degrees Fahrenheit we couldn't face it! Onwards towasaint loud Louis and our sesight sight of the day..... A giant catsup bottle. This may not sound as fantastic as it actually was but trust me when I tell you, it was very cool. Final stop was Cahokia. This is the remains of a huge city, spanning many acres. It's dominated by ... read more

Slightly better sleep! Today we awoke to a slightly hazy view of lake Michigan. However, it was a good relaxed morning enjoying the luxury of the Parlour suite. We headed out to find the start of Route 66 sign.! Fortunately it's located very near a good bar we found yesterday. So loaded with wings and beer, headed up to the John Hancock Observatory for a panoramic view. We headed onto the (free) Chicago zoo, before heading off for the beginning of what is to be, the Route 66 adventure! Finally made it to Springfield at 0100. America is big.... read more