BHRT--day 11

Monday, 9/2/13

7:40 a.m.  leaving Grand Canyon.  Kids are playing the Find It game I made before we left home.  I hid several little objects in a jar filled with beans, and they had to find each of them without opening the jar.  Saw a big bull elk on our way out of the park.

8:15 a.m.  A hitchhiker flipped us off after we didn’t pick him up.

9:20 a.m.  gas and food at Pilot in Bellemont, AZ.  $3.35/gal x 6.7 gal = $22.65.  Bought a footlong at Subway, and the worker girl asked me, “Would you like to double your meat for 2 free cookies?”  I stared at her, trying to get my road-weary brain to process that statement.  It made no sense to me at all, so I said, “What does that mean?” and she explained, “You pay $2.50 to double your meat, and you get 2 free cookies.”  I kept my meat single.  Meanwhile, Mike was having a weird conversation with a woman sitting in her car parked in front of the gas pump Mike wanted to use.  He asked her if she wanted to back up, and she said, “I have to go forward.”

10:00 a.m.  Drove through Kaibab National Forest and Coconino National Forest.  Now we’re all eating out of boredom.  I’m mowing through a whole bag of Rolos.  Just passed Devil Canyon and Two Guns, AZ.  Also Meteor Crater Rd.  Driving through AZ is almost as bad as driving through KS. 

11:35 a.m.  Mike is getting giddy.  He thinks everything is funny.  NM state line bags have a pinwheel for Sarah and keychain for Noah. NM trivia: state bird is the roadrunner, which can run 15 mph.  More people are killed by lightning in NM than in any other state.  Mike launched into an educational diatribe about Wyle E. Coyote and Roadrunner.

12:24 p.m.  gas at Jamestown, NM $3.35/gal x 9.5 gal = $32.04

2:00 p.m.  Just passed an RV with naked kids in the window.  Light rain starting, and Mike says the air smells like marijuana.. 

2:20 p.m.  Now I’m giddy.  We just passed a sign for painted ponies, and Mike quoted Seinfeld and said, “I have painted pony.”  That made me laugh for miles.  We have spent a ridiculous amount of time arguing about what time it is.  Sally’s on central time, the van clock is on Mountain Time, the computer is two hours off, for some reason, and we never, ever know for sure exactly what time it is.  Just got passed by a posse of motorcycles going well over 90 mph.

4:37 (or maybe 3:37?) gas at Santa Rosa, NM.  $3.48/gal x 9.3 gal = $32.33.  I had my own Seinfeld moment in the bathroom when I discovered I had no toilet paper.  Fortunately, the lady in the next stall could spare a square.

5:00 p.m. Kids are choosing activities from the activity envelope I made before we left.  Guess how many barns we will see in the next 5 miles (none, since we’re in the desert!).  Write down as many animals as you can think of in 5 miles (they tied at 12 each).  Make telegrams using these letters in order: BLMSTOWP.  My 2 favorites were: “Blast the lion maker so that ostriches will perish” and “Being little makes Suzie tower over wet poo.” 

Kids are going back to watching Mythbusters, and I’m giving Mike “would you rather” questions.  Would you rather lose an arm or a leg?  Would you rather have the ability of 10 athletes or the knowledge of 10 scholars ?  Would you rather sleep on the sidewalk for a week in good weather or one night in the rain? etc.

5:53 p.m.  Texas bags have bubbles in them.  Trivia: Dr. Pepper was invented in TX in 1885.  Only Alaska is bigger than TX.

7:40 p.m.  Arriving at Holiday Inn Express in Amarillo.  This hotel is great, even better than the one in Goodland, KS. 

The Texas sunset was just as good as the one over the Grand Canyon!

Everyone is dancing around, leaping from bed to bed, so happy to be out of the van. 

Eating the leftover scavenged pizza from Maswik.  Going swimming. 

Met a nice couple in the hot tub, who had been traveling for 8 hours and never left TX! 

10:30 p.m.  Getting ready for bed, and Sarah wants to sleep with Mike because he’s warm.  I said, “Daddy’s sleeping with me.  Get your own warm husband.”  She stuck a note on herself that read, “No Touching”.  She said, “I don’t want anyone touching my private parts, like my armpits.”