In September of 2005, I purchased my new car and travelled cross-country to break it in! I took my favorite travel partner (mom) with me and we did 6400 miles in 11 days. We had quite an adventure, starting from the MINI dealer in Mentor, OH to Sedona, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Crater Lake, the Black Hills, and back home. This is my report.
After a long first day covering lots of flat land in America’s heartland, we made it to Joplin, MO. Not much to see there, so we continued on our little trek. First point of interest happened along I-40 in Texas. The infamous “Big Texan” steakhouse! If you can eat the 72-oz steak, you get it for FREE! (That was a bit beyond me, i went with a normal 10-oz). Cows are pretty big out there, this one even dwarfed my little car!
On the way out of town, we saw the oddest little “ranch” so I stopped and snapped a picture. Only in Texas!!!
From there we crossed New Mexico. It was amazingly green but maybe it was the time of year? It even rained at our campsite just west of Albuquerque! I thought it never rained in the desert? Anyway, we stopped at the Petrified Forest NP the next day. Amazing desert scenery there, including of course, the petrified forest. I took a few pics.
From there it was on to Sedona. The drive down the canyon into Sedona is one of the prettiest drives I’ve ever done. Great for a Mini Cooper!!! I highly recommend visiting Sedona, there were lots of little shops, restaurants, and galleries in addition to the great scenery.
Up the mountain from Sedona was an old mining town called Jerome. Very quaint and sitting right on the edge of the mountain. A nice find and mom enjoyed the little shops here even better than Sedona.
Driving along route 66 is an experience all in itself. There is just so much history along that road that makes it all the more fun. It’s like the ultimate American road trip or something. Or like taking a drive down memory lane. In any case, this is from a little shop we stopped at somewhere in Arizona.
Next stop: Vegas!!! I didn’t take any pictures though as a I have a few other trips to Vegas specifically you can read up on. We stayed at the Aladdin casino which was pretty decent. Vegas definately is the place to go if you want a really nice hotel for cheap. And I even won a little money at the slots this time which is something I NEVER do!! So it was a good time. Too hot though, the thermometer was pushing 100 degrees even after midnight…
From there we entered California and crossed the Mohave desert. Yep, it was still hot. But eventually we got to Modesto and visited some family (always a nice thing to do). From there it was on to San Francisco! Ah……. it FINALLY cooled off! It was only 59 degrees by the time we got there. We stayed at the Radisson right on Fisherman’s Wharf. Although the hotel left something to be desired I couldn’t complain about the location. We were withing walking distance of everything! We tried to pack all we could into the 24 hours we were there. First stop was Ghiradelli Square for some chocolate!
We also visited the wharf, took the trolley up the hill, and walked back through Chinatown on the way out. And don’t forget the Golden Gate Bridge….
Now it was time to head up the coast of California. The scenery was simply breathtaking! The coastline there is very rugged and the roads are built for a little car like the MINI (although mom didn’t really enjoy them as much as I did). And the Pacific Ocean is COLD!
Then we went on to the redwood forests of northern California. Can’t really say enough about these big trees, they are simply amazing! I even got to drive through one!!
Before heading back east, we stopped off at Crater Lake NP. Keep in mind that these pictures are from early SEPTEMBER! And yes, there was snow… It was nuts! We were told that we wouldn’t be able to see the lake, but we actually did get a little glimse and it is one of the most beautiful lakes I’ve ever seen. The crater is huge but the lake has all kinds of little colors. And with the snow it was even more amazing!!! Check out some pictures.
We were now to the final leg of our trip and time was getting tight and the weather had definately turned a bit cooler. It was all good though because we were having a great time anyway. Other than a little sidetrack (originally thought to be a shortcut) in Idaho, we got to south dakota in time to peak at the Black Hills and even have a close encounter with a buffalo or two!
It was a great trip and I hope to get out west again sometime very soon…
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