http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/emmy804/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from emmy804 en-us Mon, 28 Dec 2009 11:32:32 +0000 Mon, 28 Dec 2009 11:32:32 +0000 Today we got an early start because we wanted to pack in A LOT of sightseeing....Sunset Crater Wupatki Ruins and Grand Canyon. We ate a quick breakfast at the Sedona McDonalds. This McDonalds is famous for having teal arches instead of golden arches. The Sedona city government wouldn't allow McDonalds to use the gold color because they insist that all buildings in Sedona have a Southwestern color http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Arizona/Grand-Canyon-National-Park/blog-207056.html Today we started out having breakfast at the famous Coffee Pot Restaurant....I say it's famous because the parking lot is always overflowing with cars AND there are tons of autographed pictures from celebrities that have eaten there. Some of the celebrities include Elvis Matt LaBlanc and Melissa Etheridge. There are 101 omelette varieties on the menu. Kim had a 3 3 cheeses and I had a 10 h http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Arizona/Sedona/blog-206259.html We began the day around 800am and had a quiet breakfast in downtown Sedona. We did a little shopping at Sinagua Plaza which had many different shops ranging from New Age Psychics to Indian Trading Posts. We bought the usual postcards and momentos and browsed A LOT.We then drove to Montezuma's Castle via Highway 179 which was a scenic drive with lots of red rock formations....AND per our usual vac http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Arizona/Sedona/blog-205961.html Today Kim and I drove from Las Vegas NV to Sedona AZ to begin our 2007 Fall vacation. As we drove over Hoover Dam we noticed that the Hoover Dam bypass has made some progress. The new route will be quite a distance above the Hoover Dam as you can see by the pictures Kim took as we drove over Hoover Dam.The drive from Las Vegas to Flagstaff was pretty uneventful. Not too much traffic and great we http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Arizona/Sedona/blog-205619.html Ivan flew in from OKC to enjoy 4 nights in Las Vegas with Kim and I. We had a blast.....and missed WAY TOO MUCH sleep. That is what a Vegas vacation is all about....staying up too late gambling a little eating too much drinking a little and just having fun. The vacation was a blur....but I'll do my best to remember LOL.OCT 2 SundayIvan arrived around 330pm and we headed to our first hotel..... http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Nevada/Las-Vegas/blog-22406.html Well we made it to Las Vegas. We left Phoenix early on the morning of September 25 and drove through Sun City Wickenburg and then through the desert to Kingman AZ. The scenery was wonderful. There were beautiful mountains saguaros cholla and joshua trees. The road was a 2 lane highway for most of the drive through Arizona and there were passing lanes only occasionally so we pretty much were st http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Nevada/Las-Vegas/blog-22337.html Wow...September 24th was a doozy of a day. We visited the Phoenix Zoo and wanted to get an early start because the temperatures were supposed to top 100 degrees. Well the weather forecast was right....it was over 100 degrees with a bright hot unrelenting sun today. Absolutely NO breeze whatsoever. We arrived at the zoo shortly after it opened at 900am and it was already in the high 80's low 90' http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Arizona/Phoenix/blog-21604.html On September 23rd Kim and I took a nice side trip to the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum. There are wonderful exhibits explaining the plants animals and geology of Arizona and the Sonora Desert. The museum is located in the mountains on the west side of Tucson. We drove through Saguaro National Park on the way....what breathtaking scenery. The back roads were very challenging to drive....curvy sw http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Arizona/Tucson/blog-21361.html TucsonTombstoneKim and I drove from Roswell NM to Tucson AZ in about 8 hours. We left at 300am so we could beat the heat and majority of the traffic. It was eerily quiet driving through the mountains outside of Roswell in a town named Ruidoso Downs. We were the only car on the road for miles and miles. We were lucky enough to see the sunrise over the mountains and enjoyed every minute of it. W http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Arizona/Tucson/blog-21354.html We had a long travel day today. We drove from OKC to Roswell NM which is roughly 460 miles but a lot of the day we were on a small highway that went through a lot of small towns in Texas and New Mexico. So we didn't drive over 60 m.p.h. for a lot of the trip. The scenery totally changed today....a lot of WIDE open spaces ranches windmills cows and trains. We left OKC around 630am and arrived http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/New-Mexico/blog-20592.html It's hard to believe that our stay in OKC is over. We leave early tomorrow morning. We have had a nice visit.Since our last update we've done quite a lot. We went on a tour of the Overholser Mansion went to the Oklahoma State Fair and visited Bricktown.The Overholser Mansion is a beautiful 3 story home that was completed in 1903 for Henry and Anna Overholser. Mr. Overholser was a very wealthy man http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Oklahoma/blog-20335.html We are really enjoying our time here in Oklahoma City. We visited the Oklahoma City Zoo on Monday afternoon and were impressed. There is a tram that takes you around the perimeter of the zoo so you can see the animals with a narrated tour. There are several stops so you can jump off to take a closer look and then jump back on the next tram. We stopped at the Gorilla exhibit and had a blast. For a http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Oklahoma/blog-19776.html Here is a short summary of the past couple of days....982005 We left Memphis TN at 700am and began our drive through Arkansas to our destination of Oklahoma City. We followed I40 West across the entire state of Arkansas. Nothing eventful happened as we didn't stop for any tourist type activities. We did notice some 'different' location names....like Toad Suck State Park. Makes you wonder ho http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Oklahoma/blog-19347.html Today was another beautiful day in Memphis. We got up early 530am and had a nice breakfast.....then went to the 9th floor terrace at our hotel to look at the Mississippi River and enjoy the morning.We then drove to see Sun Studios....we didn't go on the tour although wanted to see this building anyway. The parking lot wasn't open yet as it was too early 900am.We then drove to the National Ci http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Tennessee/Memphis/blog-18988.html Today was a beautiful day in Memphis.....high 80's with clear sunny skies. Our plan today was to see Graceland in the morning and then spend the afternoon on Beale Street. With only 1 slight navigational error....we were completely successful.GRACELANDKim and I enjoyed our visit to Graceland. We arrived early in the morning and we were among the only people in the whole place. We especially liked http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Tennessee/Memphis/blog-18872.html Well Kim and I made it safe and sound to Memphis TN. We left this morning about 345am and arrived in Memphis around 200pm. We are pretty exhausted and won't begin any heavy sight seeing until tomorrow. We are planning on seeing Graceland and Beale StreetThe drive from Fort Wayne to Memphis is about 600 miles and wasn't too bad. The states we visited today were1. Indiana DOH2. Illinois3. http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Tennessee/Memphis/blog-18714.html Due to the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina....Kim and I have changed our travel plans. Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Louisiana Mississippi and Alabama. My brother evacuated New Orleans and is safe and sound...we are very thankful for that. Kim and I will be visiting1. Memphis TN2. Oklahoma City OK3. Roswell NM4. Tucson AZ5. Scottsdale AZ6. Final Destination.....Las http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Indiana/Fort-Wayne/blog-18435.html Kim and I are preparing for our road trip. We leave in 13 days and cannot wait. We thought we better try uploading pictures to this blog before we actually hit the road. So if all goes well you should see a picture of a pretty pink flower that Kim took at the Fort Wayne Conservatory. http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Indiana/Fort-Wayne/blog-17264.html Kim and I will be moving from Fort Wayne Indiana to Las Vegas Nevada. We will be leaving Fort Wayne on September 5th and arriving in Las Vegas on September 25th.This travel blog will detail our adventures as we drive cross country on the road trip of our dreams.We have our schedule finalized1. September 5th and 6th MEMPHIS TN2. September 7th VICKSBURG MS3. September 8th 11th NEW ORLEANS LA http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Indiana/Fort-Wayne/blog-13971.html