4 Corners of the Country

So when we got to the Grand Canyon we had the brilliant idea to detour off of our planned itinerary and go see the "4 corners" since we were kind of in the area and we probably wouldn't get the opportunity to see it again. It really didn't seem like too far out of the way when we decided to make the trip.

Fast forward to today!!! We got up early (because when your camping all the birds wake up at the crack of dawn and like to wake you up too!) - packed up our campsite and left the grand canyon for the 4 corners. We drove a little over 4 hours to get to the four corners through no man's land. Literally- there was nothing to see (See 1st pic above). Granted, we were going mostly through Indian reservations so its not like I was expecting things to be very developed but at times I questioned whether or not we were actually moving or if we were stuck in some kind of warp where time stood still. Alas, we finally made it to the four corners. Its a small monument when you get there. But it is kind of neat to stand in 4 states at once. We spent uh... maybe 20 minutes there taking pictures then peaced out for our destination of the evening: Albuquerque.

We opted not to follow the google map directions and instead followed my awesome navigational skills allowing us to take New Mexico back roads to get to Albuquerque. It actually worked out pretty well. It took us about 4 1/2 hours to get to our hotel this evening. Through most of the trip there was no one but us on the open road.

As of day 4 - Greg and I are still enjoying each other's company so that's a positive sign. He was a rock star today and did most of the driving (I only drove the last hour). He has unfortunately come down with a cold :( I think that it's due to sleeping outside the last two nights, the weather changing all the time on us (heat in the day, cold at night) and the altitude difference we experienced at the Grand Canyon. I am hoping that tonight after a decent shower and sleeping on a nice bed he'll feel better tomorrow! The other good news is our fish has made it through another day! Yippee.

Tomorrow its off to Oklahoma City. We'll be taking actual freeways tomorrow so it should be smooth sailing!

The Last Few Days....

I am finally able to post.. yippee!! I am currently bogarting free WI-Fi from one of the hotels at Grand Canyon Village :)

Well the last few days have been a whirlwind. Greg and I left Sunny San Diego in a blaze of glory.... literally... Laughlin was our first stop and it was 116 degrees when we pulled into town at 6:30 pm. Um... I didn't even know it got that hot... really (it felt like we were on the surface of the sun) ? And it didn't even cool down much. We went for a swim at 8 pm and it had cooled to a chilly 114!! We were able to dip our toes in the Colorado river as the casino we stayed in was right on the water. The water was frigid - I'm not sure if it just felt that way because we were so hot or if the water was actually cold. The water was clear though and as the sun set across the mountains... they looked red as if on fire so it was an interesting site to see. Laughlin was okay. Greg and I have said that Reno was Vegas' step-brother. So if Reno is the step-brother, Laughlin is the second cousin that no one likes to talk to. It really wasn't bad - just a different crowd and f*ing hot (did I say that already?). At least on a Monday night the tables only had $5 min. bets so we gambled a little bit - but didn't win. Sad. We slept very well... the bed was a nice change from the aero bed that we slept on the previous two nights.

On Tuesday we took our time getting out of Laughlin. Slept in until about 9 and ate at the buffet (which actually was the highlight of the hotel.... it was pretty yummy!) and then left out of town for the Grand Canyon. It was a nice 4 1/2 hour drive and much to our surprise it wasn't much dessert scenery but rolling hills with trees and shrubs on the way to the canyon. It was actually beautiful. We got \into the GC around 4:30ish... set up camp, ran to the general store to get a few things we were missing (although you wouldn't think the way our car was so stuffed we would have forgotten something), and then roasted hot dogs, made smores, played cards and went to bed early.

Today was an adventure. We actually saw the canyon for the first time. It was breathtaking. I knew it was huge and of course I've seen it in movies but it is (I think) pretty amazing in person. It is so vast - it definitely makes me feel like a speck in the world compared to its grandness. Then we decided to take a 1 1/2 mile hike into the canyon that was described by our guide book as "a great day hike for beginners." Um... 3 hours after we set out we returned back to civilization from the center of the earth. It was HARD and HOT and STEEP (at points). At one point I really didn't think I was going to make it back out. I can see how you hear stories of people dying in the canyon. Thank God we had brought water and at the turn about of the hike there was a water spigot that I was able to wet my hair and shirt with. Of course, we took the hike in the middle of the day so we weren't necessarily the smartest cookies in the bunch. We did meet some other nice hikers though. I kept seeing children and elderly doing the hike so I had to tell myself - If they can do it, I can do it. And we did!! Yeah... big accomplishment. Another great thing about the GC is all the wildlife. We literally had a deer come through our campsite last night and today on the hike we saw 2 longhorn rams and a goat in the middle of the trail!

Now, after taking showers and about 4 aspirin later, we are sitting on some rockers on the front porch of one of the hotels. We are getting along pretty well. There was only one time on the hike that I thought I could push him down the canyon (it was HIS idea to the hike). And also our fish has managed to make through so far too! We did carry him around the casino ( we didn't want him to burn up in the car) and to the buffet--it was kind of funny to see people's reactions to me carrying a little beta fish around in a jar everywhere I went! Tonight, we think we are gonna cook up some more hot dogs and then probably pass the F out. Tomorrow we leave for Albuquerque and are 1st actual detour from our original itinerary. We are thinking of going to Albuquerque via the 4 corners if we can navigate our way through the Indian Reservations in order to get there! I will write again once we find Wi-Fi. For all those following- thanks for the emails and texts of encouragement- I'm glad your enjoying it :) P.S. - Hopefully my next posts won't be so long as I will be posting more frequently!

Last Night....

Ahhhh... our last night... what a bitter sweet moment. We did a few things this morning then spent pretty much our whole afternoon cleaning. What a mess our place was. Its funny when you start cleaning how you notice the little things that you didn't notice before... a scuff mark here, a scratch there , a small dent in the wall from when we first moved in. As we were cleaning we realized we forgot to include somethings in the POD... like a painting that was hanging in our bathroom. At this point, if it doesn't fit in the car tomorrow off to Goodwill it goes.

We said goodbye to our last family member tonight. It was sad to say the least. This whole moving across country thing has really brought out a lot of feelings for the both of us. I know we are both excited but it is hard to give up everything we love about San Diego -- mostly the friends and family we love so dearly. Its especially hard to do knowing that when we get to Raleigh we will know no one but each other. Its a scary thought. However, on the other side of the coin we get to start fresh and new and create a life we want and enjoy a new exciting experience.

So... for the rest of the evening we get to clean some more (oh joy!) and then make sure we are organized. Tomorrow we pack up the car, do our walk through with the landlord and head out for the wild blue yonder. I am unsure if we will have Internet over the next few days but hopefully I can find a WI-FI spot and blog some more to keep everyone updated with our travels :)

Happy Trails to you until we meet again...

The POD has come and gone....

So the POD was delivered yesterday. We packed it-- and thanks to our friend Trevor-- it surprisingly had extra space by the time we were done. They picked it up this morning so off it goes to the warehouse and then to NC. I have to admit that its a little un-nerving entrusting all your worldly possessions to another entity. Lets just hope that everything gets to NC in one piece! We did squabble a little bit yesterday but I think its due to the shear exhaustion (we only slept 4 hours on Thurs.) and the anxiety we are both experiencing about moving.

We will remain in SD over the weekend... we will be saying goodbye to family and cleaning up the apt. Currently we are taking a break... sitting on our beach chairs in the middle of the living room. Hopefully the rest of the weekend won't stress us out too much-- should be fun cooking with one tiny pan, trying to ration the 5 paper plates that are supposed to last us until 8/12 and sleeping on an aero bed! Needless to say this is definitely an experience we won't forget.

Before We Leave

Getting ready for the Big Move!!! The POD comes tomorrow and we have a TON of work to do still. I think we are both excited and nervous (and scared, happy, sad-- basically, the whole gamut of emotions) about moving. Lets just hope we can get all this done :) We will be leaving on Monday the 27th after our walk through (keep your fingers crossed that goes well).