It was a balmy 99 degrees F when we landed in Tucson, AZ in mid-August, but as they say, it was a “dry heat!” My sister Cathy and I were at my dad’s former home to meet with his widow and sort through some of his stuff to bring back home with us. Although this was their monsoon season, they hadn’t received any rain in a long time. I guess we brought some good luck with us because that evening we received a much-needed storm that brought some relief to the hot, dry Sonoran desert. I did manage to get in an early morning walk through the desert neighborhood. This was a necessary trip that we’ve putting off for a few years, but the real adventure was about to begin the next day!
A Sonoran Desert morning 
My dad’s old house in Tucson 
A rainbow forms over a Saguaro Cactus 
A Javelina on my morning walk 
A Roadrunner hops up on the wall 
A White-winged Dove sits on top of a cactus
We had decided to rent a vehicle, pack up what we could fit in the van, and proceed on a 2,150- mile road trip back across the country, stopping for a little sightseeing along the way. The fact that I’m writing this blog is proof that at least one of us made it back without being abandoned by the other, somewhere along a desolate highway in New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, or the rural countryside of Missouri!
A Gambell’s Quail rests on a sign 
A Coyote pauses to check us out
When two siblings agree to a long road trip, there’s a buildup of excitement about all things we could see and do together, catch up on what’s going with our lives, and share stories of our father. There’s also driving to share-lot of driving, and this is where a brother’s and sister’s love is truly tested! As you can imagine, we both were absolutely convinced that each of us was a much better driver than the other. I was better with directions. She paid more attention to the road. I obeyed the speed limit. She handled all the rented van’s driver-assist settings better. You name it and somewhere along our voyage, we disagreed on it! After three days, I believe we even “debated” about where exactly we should park in the rest stop! If you ever want to test your love and patience, take a long, multi-day road trip in 100-degree temps! Throw in a couple 12-hour driving days, and you should be all set! But don’t despair, it wasn’t all wicked. For most of the outing, we did enjoy each other’s company, and saw some really cool things along the way!
A short hike at a local TNC property
Cathy w/her Cadillac, at the Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, TX 
A Buffalo Bill along RT 66 
RT 66 in Tucumcari, NM
We piloted through the desert lowlands of Arizona and New Mexico, and up into the mountains of northern New Mexico, spending the night in the beautiful artisan city of Santa Fe. After stopping in Amarillo, Texas so Cathy could leave her spray-painted signature at the Cadillac Ranch, we continued through the pan handle of Texas into the plains of Oklahoma, jumping on and off historic Route 66 for 50 miles. We couldn’t pass up the chance to stop at a roadside attraction that allowed us to stand in three states (Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri) at the same time! Our day finished up in St. Louis, standing under the Gateway Arch in the fading sunlight, as the Mississippi River flowed quietly past. It was long, but fun day!
For anyone….at a truck stop in TX 
I asked Zoltar to be “Big” 
Cathy asked Alien Zoltar to not let me drive anymore
Three states at once 
Does it look like it’s falling on that VW bug?
The Gateway Arch in St. Louis, MO 
The 630′ high architectural wonder
As we powered up I-70 into Illinois, we got distracted bickering about which color Peanut M & M tastes the best, and ended up driving north toward Chicago, about 50 miles out of our way. We managed to snake our way through the farmlands of southern Illinois, back on to our planned route. Note: All Peanut M & M’s taste exactly the same, regardless of color! Next stop-the town of big records!
If you go to the website Roadside America, you’ll find some of America’s weirdest and most unique tourist traps. Many of these are world records in the Guiness Book of World Records, others claim to be, but have no way of verifying their fame. One such town that has embraced these attractions is Casey, Illinois. I stopped there several years ago on a cross-country trip with my son Tyler, to see the largest wind chimes. Well, the wind chimes are still hanging there, but the town now showcases a 15-foot barber pole, giant deer antlers, a giant chair and the world’s largest: mailbox, pencil, golf tee, pitchfork, pizza slicer, truck key, wooden shoes and teeter totter! How’s that for a little roadside pit stop, only 10 minutes off the highway!
The rest of our trip through Indiana, Ohio and back into Pennsylvania was pretty uneventful, other than the occasional snarl I gave my sister to slow down, or her sporadic complaint for me to stop drifting out of my lane on to those dumb little rumble strips they install along highways to keep people from, well, drifting out of their lanes! In the end, we didn’t bury each other’s body in a rural weed patch somewhere, and we’re still talking to each other, but I’M STILL A MUCH BETTER DRIVER! Love ya sis! Thanks for a great road trip!
