The Coolest Road Trip Anyone Could Ever Go On

Every vacation we go on, we will usually make a 'bingo sheet' with various events that we think will happen on our trip. When going backpacking in the Beartooth Mountains, we added seeing a mountain goat to our bingo sheet but unfortunately never did. For every following vacation, it became a goal of ours to spot a mountain goat (even if it did not make sense). Three years later, we can finally mark it off our bucket list!  When we were walking along the Southern Rim trail on our way to the Bright Angel hike, we couldn't help but back in the stunning sight of the canyon! There was blue haze and red rock as far as the eye could see. We paused to take pictures of the foggy sunrise over the canyon just as a mountain goat approached us! It walked within about 5 feet of us, grazing on small plants along the pavement. As we continued to the trailhead, another one was munching on a bush on canyon wall! This experience was one that we had been looking forward to for years, and the ...

Leaving Petrified Forest was such a beautiful drive, and we even got to hop onto Route 66 for a couple of miles before our car completely shut down. The dash lit up like a disco ball with random alerts before we rolled to a stop and the engine sputtered off. Through some fatherly advice we determined the alternator was the issue, meaning we would need a tow.  We had many visitors on the side of the road, including a mechanic and a state trooper who bothered tried to get us moving again. Resolved to fix the car ourselves, we towed the car to the nearest NAPA Auto Parts who could get us a new alternator the next day, but when we arrived they told us we couldn't leave the car there overnight. With our heads in our hands and our hearts on the floor, we called the exact same tow truck guy to tow us .3 miles down the road to a Motel 6 to wait for the part.  Luckily, we were put into contact with some extended family members in area! They were extremely kind and upon hearing our situ...

 ***We just learned how to add photos and will be going back and adding some in!*** The past couple days, we have visited Petrified Forest National Park. It offers a multitude of experiences including wilderness backpacking. The forest spans from the painted canyons of the north, past the devil's playground, the blue mesas, and down to the crowded and colorful petrified logs to the south. As we explored the short hikes and scenic drives, we found each turn more breathtaking than the next!  When we drove up north to the Painted Desert Inn, we hopped out of the car and got some ice cream! Our final meal before our excursion into the wilderness was a hefty single scoop strawberry cheesecake ice cream cone. It was amazing! When discussing our plans for future trips to come, two cool ladies walked over to our table after hearing us discuss the Virgin Islands. These travelers became friends in the Virgin Islands and deeply encouraged us to go !! They told us about all the parks they...

 Moving North, the scenery has continued to amaze us! Especially with our experience at the White sands and Saguaro National Parks.  White Sands was one of the most unique experiences that we expect to get out of our trip due to how otherworldly the scenery is! We were quick to fall in love with how shockingly white the sand truly was, and how the dunes hid between the Organ mountains and the grassy plains. There, we did the Scenic Nature Dune Trail and drove most of their scenic loop. We drove until the washboard became too much for us. Overall, the park was so memorable! We are looking forward to going back one day, perhaps for a sunrise or sunset picnic. Used to the orange colors of the deep south west, the color palette of saguaro welcomed us into their (comparatively) lush scenic loop! We saw the famed saguaro cactus, and many other cacti which we didn't know about previously! It really stuck out to us that this is one of the few places in the world to see Saguaro cacti. ...

 So far our journey has been dominated by ways to beat the heat and stay out of the sun. We didn't know much about Carlsbad Caverns, mostly that there was some sort of hole in the ground that we might be able to get into if we got lucky and paid a bunch of money. That and bats. So when we arrived, we were pleasantly surprised on all three fronts.  After switch backing up a canyon wall to the visitor center, we ate some lunch in the shade. It was a glorious lunch of cream cheese, jam and bread. We ran into a guy from Boston who had just been to Petrified Forest and White Sands and was going to go to Guadalupe the next day -- the exact opposite of our plans! He warned us about the heat and joked that when we are retired we could do the same thing! We didn't have the heart to tell him we already are.  When we headed inside to secure some cavern tickets we found it was actually quite simple and free! (Thanks America the Beautiful pass!) We took the elevator down 750 feet, pas...

What stood out to us the most about our trip to Guadalupe National Park was the stark change in foliage. Compared to Big Bend this place was a forest! You can tell when you are getting close to Guadalupe because the greenery gets denser, the trees get taller, and a great mountain range to greet you.  We got to Guadalupe mid-afternoon and checked out the Visitor Center. Unbeknownst to us and the rangers, it would become our second home. After getting some information on desired hikes and taking a peak in the gift shop, we sat outside in the shade readjusting our plan for the next couple of weeks for several hours. Once it was cool enough, we headed back to our campsite and got ready for bed.  The next morning we woke up at a cool 2 AM to eat breakfast before we hit the trail by 3:15. We planned on going most of the way on the El Capitan trail that winds around the face of the mountain. El Capitan is arguably the most recognizable mountain in the Guadalupe Mountain range despite...

We entered the park at 11:30 pm traversing the winding roads to our campsite unaware of the beautiful topography that would greet us the next morning. Upon sunrise, we appreciated the messas, rolling hills and countless cacti. First thing we took down our tent since the overpowering wind was sure to blow it away.  Next, we drove to Chisos Basin to do the iconic Window Trail, a 5 mile round trip along a wash to the titular 'window' peering out of a crack in a canyon. We regretted not eating breakfast. After we finished our hike, we sat in the shade for some much needed R&R. The high was 106°F, cooking the ever living daylights out of us. The rest of the afternoon was spent checking out the gift shop and playing cards back at our home base. We chatted with a fellow camper who was shockingly going on a very similar trip as us! He just graduated from college and was taking his motorcycle from Kentucky through the South West, up California to Glacier National Park and back throu...

 We are on the road! After a chaotic packing session we headed south. Due to unique circumstances, we got very little sleep and had to pull over at 10 pm at an emergency KOA in Springfield Missouri. ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5! It was our first time at a KOA and it was very nice, wish it didn't cost so much though.  We have now driven about half way through Oklahoma and come across several pickles.  Pickle 1: Our oil light came on, and on our way to the nearest store the car began shaking violently. (Not good).  Pickle 2: In the store, we received several alerts for thunderstorms, dust storms, hail storms, and we are under tornado watch.  Pickle 3: It has become apparent that we will need to change the oil, and although we now have most of the supplies we are missing the most vital of tools -- the actual oil filter wrench. (We will also have to replace the bearings at some point but that is bigger than us)(We also hope that the shaking doesn't come back because it just stopped rando...