BUCKET LIST SUMMARY

Day 1 - Bill rented a plush BMW X351 for the trip and we set out from Boulder in style. Our first stop was Manitou Springs where we caught the cog railway up to the top of Pikes Peak (elevation 14,110 feet). The views were sensational! We continued on to Alamosa, stopping briefly at the Hooper UFO tower with its bizarre collection of items.

Day 2 - In the morning, we stopped at Great Sand Dunes National Park. Unfortunately the mosquitos were SO terrible that we couldn't spend more than a few minutes admiring the massive hills of sand. We hopped aboard the Cumbres & Toltec steam train which traveled from Antonito (in Colorado) to Chama (New Mexico). It was an extremely gorgeous ride (except for a brief, heavy bout of hail) though the mountains up to 10,015 feet. After getting a bus ride back to Antonito, we drove down to Santa Fe amidst a massive rain storm.

Day 3 - At Los Alamos, we toured the Bradbury Science Museum which taught us all about the city's connection with atomic energy and bombs in the 1940's. After stumbling across a classic car show, we made a brief stop at the Manhattan Project National Historical Park which had an informative video. Nearby White Cliff offered a great view overlooking the Rio Grande River. We returned to Santa Fe and visited the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi with its spectacular stained glass windows and the oldest Mary statue in the country and then the Loretto Chapel with its 'miraculous' stairway. After a delicious dinner (including prickly pear cactus lemonade) on the main square, we decided to call it a day.

Day 4 - On our way south, we stopped in Madrid, located along the Turquoise Trail and famous for its art and jewelry... and the location of Maggie's Diner from "Wild Hogs" movie fame. We continued on to Roswell where we enjoyed the UFO museum. Tomorrow was the beginning of a 3-day convention, so streets were being closed off for a giant festival.

Day 5 - The hotel breakfasts were huge every morning, with a wide range of options. I enjoyed making myself fresh waffles. I was definitely not complaining about this luxurious way of traveling! Today was a long driving day, from Roswell (NM) up to Holbrook (AZ). We saw many interesting things... Lincoln (where Billy the Kid escaped from jail), Capitan (home of Smokey the Bear), some touristy trading posts, mile-long trains, pronghorn antelope and many beautiful ranch entrance gates.

Day 6 - We toured the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest, constantly amazed at the array of fabulous colors and formations. There was also a historic inn, pueblo ruins, petroglyphs, large ravens and even a rusted out old Studebaker (representing Route 66). A visit to the massive Meteor Crater was also on our agenda. We ended up in a long (albeit extremely scenic) traffic jam down into Sedona. We stayed in a beautiful hotel and had a scrumptious dinner at the charming Barking Frog.

Day 7 - We unsuccessfully tried to visit two different vortexes but eventually gave up and headed off to see the Grand Canyon (on the perhaps busiest day of the year). It was indeed grand! We stopped at several different overlooks, including the old watchtower. We left as the worst of the crowds (and tour busses) began to arrive. We had a lovely lunch in a 1950's style diner off old Route 66, complete with a root beer float. When we arrived at our hotel in Needles (CA), we stepped out into blasting 109 degree heat... at 7 pm!

Day 8 - We had a quick stop at historic Oatman where wild burros wandered the streets. Then came a long drive to Orange (CA) where we enjoyed a lovely BBQ and watched fireworks with family.

Days 9 - 11 - We spent time socializing, eating at lovely restaurants, visiting old sites, savoring the amazing ice-cream cake my sister made, and enjoying life in the paradise that is California (if you ignore the constant freeway congestion, that is). The weather was heavenly!

Day 12 - We were back on the road again! In Barstow, we visited an old Harvey House. These were once a series of buildings in the southwest that would serve train passengers who briefly stopped at the stations. The hard-working staff could serve 120 customers every 20 minutes before the train left again. Next door was a Route 66 museum filled with countless memorabilia. We had a lovely lunch at the Idle Spurs restaurant before heading to Vegas, baby! We stayed on the 22nd floor of the Paris hotel but were unfortunately quite disappointed with the service... especially for the price! We walked around charming 'old town Paris' and had a sensational dinner at Martorano's (with its lighted menus!). Bill and Joanne then caught the show Jersey Boys while I enjoyed the Bellagio fountain show and a bit of the strip.

Day 13 - We visited Hoover Dam and the old abandoned town of Nelson (complete with an old mine, antique cars and even a plane wreck). Unfortunately we had to return to Las Vegas to swap out the rental car. It kept giving a low tire warning that wouldn't go away, even after we filled it. Our future destinations were potentially remote so we didn't feel comfortable risking it. Fortunately they had an exact same model... only silver instead of white, and Nevada instead of Colorado plates. We took the scenic drive up along Lake Mead (where we hit a record heat of 110 degrees) and continued up to St. George (in Utah) where we spent the night.

Day 14 - We stopped at the visitor center and museum at Zion National Park, then took a gorgeous scenic drive, including an incredible one-mile long tunnel and Checkerboard Mesa. We checked into a charming little cabin in Hatch then finished off the day with a brief stop at Red Canyon and finally with spectacular views of Bryce National Park.

Day 15 - We had a lovely breakfast at the Galaxy Cafe, a charming little 50's style place complete with working jukebox. Then came an incredibly scenic, twisty drive along a narrow ridge top with incredible views and through some thickly forested mountains. En route, we visited the Escalante Petrified Forest State Park and also the Dixie National Forest ranger station (where we got freshly baked oatmeal raisin cookies and watched hummingbirds). We had a full afternoon at Capitol Reef National Park... having peach pie at the historic Gifford House, driving down a beautiful canyon on bumpy dirt path to Capitol Gorge (including a short hike for me), views of sensational cliffs, peeking in the windows of the old schoolhouse, admiring some petrogylphys, and even picking some apricots right off a tree. Our hotel was in the tiny town of Bicknell.

Day 16 - On our drive out to Capitol Reef (we wanted to get another pie and some more apricots!), we saw a small herd of bison! In the park, several marmots grazed on a lawn and deer combed the orchards for fallen fruit. We had a long but scenic drive with some lovely canyons as well as views of the Colorado River near Lake Powell. Normally I override the car's GPS's choice of roads, but I for some reason decided to trust it this time... we ended up on tiny roads that led through Navajo reservation lands. It was quite remote but we did encounter some free-roaming goats and horses. We slipped quietly into Colorado without a state welcome sign. Eventually we arrived at the stunning cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde. We watched a movie and toured some of the overlooks. We spent the night in Durango.

Day 17 - We took a steam train from Durango up to Silverton. The mountain views were sensational! After having some lunch and learning about the town's sorted history from the 'Shady Lady', we hopped back on the train for the ride down.

Day 18 - We drove back up to Silverton on the incredibly scenic Million Dollar Highway. In town, Joanne and Bill decided to 'go native.' A gold mine tour was then on the agenda at the Old Hundred Mine. We continued on the spectacular road up to Ouray where we had some lunch in Maggie's Kitchen, which was covered floor to ceiling with 'intentional graffiti.' We ened our drive in Montrose where we settled down for the night.

Day 19 - For our final day of the trip, we paid a visit to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. We then made the long drive back through the Rocky Mountains to Boulder. Along the way we enjoyed lovely views, some high mountain passes, the Redstone coke ovens, Glenwood Canyon, and even some hail and sleet which turned the road white (the weather can change suddenly up here)! But we made it... after a total trip of 4,155 miles!