Project Furbaby Retrieval
Picking Up Darcy Louise
It’s Christmas Day. We head to the airport with a destination of San Francisco, not believing the day is right around the corner where we pick up a third wheel. We had an epic sushi Christmas dinner thanks to the wrong order getting delivered (luckily the guy had really good taste). Afterwards, we hit up the island oasis of The Tonga Room for beach cocktails to wrap up the night.
The next day brought a lot of anxiety (positive) and excitement. What would she be like? Will she like us? Is she going to miss her litter mates? Everything went completely quiet for both of us the moment she came around the corner and started wagging her little tail nub (this is going to be a theme of her life, I think).
We loaded her up and hit the road for a short drive to Fresno to stay for the night. Although cold, the weather was great and the sun was shining. Little did we know that the next few days were going to be a very different story.
Getting Out of Cali
We originally planned to check out King’s Canyon and Sequoia National Park after leaving Fresno. We got started a little late due to a very new morning routine, so we decided to save the parks for another day and just make a quick stop at the John Muir wood statue outside of Sequoia. Getting back in the car, the weather detours made their first mark. A typical 6hr drive ended up a 13hr day. Every interstate headed south and east was shut down from the snow/snow melt. GPS routed us to the coastal highway (thru LA) from Fresno…to go east. We hit traffic upon traffic. I have never seen this much traffic and I’ve lived in Atlanta. The only “good” thing about the traffic was the opportunity to play with my new camera from the car. All the shots below were from the drivers seat, on the road, throughout some of the most beautiful country I’ve been through. Not too shabby, huh?
Luckily, Kelly updated GPS fairly regularly and found out that the interstates would be opening at 1pm. She was on point during the chaos and I think she saved our butts more than I give her credit for. Zigging while everyone else zagged, we thought we were in the clear. Then we got to the “open” interstate. Everyone that had been stuck in Grapevine was pretty much at the starting line and revving their engines while waiting for the flag to drop. So we waited. And creeped along. And slowly made our way through the mountains and into Arizona.
Our Airbnb hosts couldn’t have been more understanding and were easily our favorites for the trip (Mel and Mel). They’re hard working, strong minded, A-type personalities that showed nothing but understanding and interest in our journey. Check out their place if you’re ever in the area.
Meteor Crater
Driving along I-40 we saw an exit for Meteor Crater and quickly decided to make a quick detour. We originally saw this while flying to Las Vegas for our road trip earlier this year and also hearing about it from Greg when in Yosemite. Unfortunately, no dogs were allowed so Kelly took Darcy back to the car while I took my turn. We originally thought to take turns, but then I got in line and saw it was $18 per entry. PER ENTRY! I grabbed a fairly quick photo, played “Ansel Adams” for a couple and then headed back to the car to hurry up and get to Petrified before it closed.
Petrified Forest National Park
We had one hour in Petrified. I thought the cause was lost but Kelly being Kelly kept us on course and tried to inject some positive light into what had been a fairly ho hum day. I am so glad she did because we got to see most of the park before losing the light. This was easily the coldest day of the trip. It was difficult to spend more than 5min outside. Darcy wasn’t having it at all, so she stayed in the car with Kelly while I popped out at each turnout along the road throughout the park. I think we got a pretty unique experience with the snow formations on top of the colors and textures in the park. The sunset leaving the park was incredible and a nice departing gesture. Towards the exit of the park, snow started coming down and made for a more tense driving experience for the next hour. We ended the night in Gallup, NM with a fresh 6” of snow waiting for us, providing some fun playtime with Darcy.
Arriving in Texas
We had two more days ahead of us after leaving Gallup. The half way point would be Amarillo and warming temperatures and Torchy’s was a welcome sign. In Amarillo, we stayed in a converted shipping container to see what the rave was all about. It was unique but I think the particular execution was a little lacking. This could still very much be in the cards for a future tiny home. The best thing about this spot was the mini yard right outside the door to see Darcy really come alive and start running around and playing. She’s going to be a fun one.
The last day was here and we were all ready to be done with the car and settle into Dallas. The trip was a great bonding experience with the new furbaby, and I think we would all do it over again…with better weather next time. Darcy has quite the personality and one that both Kelly and I are excited to watch grow and develop.
