OY. What a day.
Let me say that again:
WHAT A FREAKING DAY!
We left Provo around 11:30 after finally getting up on time to eat breakfast at the hotel (Comfort Inn, you suck at breakfasts, by the way) with a decision made on Nevada: let's go. So we're off and I decide I want to see Big Rock Candy Mountain after hearing Roman Grant (character from Big Love) sing a song about it at that mop-headed kid's party in season one. This turned into a long trek into the heart of Utah.
We explored the rest of Highway 89 and went toward Bryce Canyon, only to not go into the canyon itself after discovering the $25 fee to take the car in. We did get a great tour of Red Canyon as we went to and from Bryce.
Then we kept on with it, getting stuck in a momentary monsoon, and ended up taking Highway 14 to get to Cedar City and continue the trek to Las Vegas (and on to the Hoover Dam! and then the Grand Canyon. WOOOO. Stop. Getting ahead of yourself, Noles.). Just about half a mile into the road we saw a brown sign, normally reserved for attractions, that noted: Restricted Travel Ahead. The scenery was gorgeous, winding through and up and up and up until we were at an elevation of 9900 feet. Do you know what it feels like to be at nearly 10,000 feet?
So remember these things:
1) Restricted Travel Ahead
2) We are at 10,000 feet
3) The only way to go is down.
And when you don't believe that your engine can really withhold momentum and keep your car in check, you tend to use your brakes...a lot. And when the brakes are used that much constantly, they like to go all smokey and burn. This then makes you pull over on the side of a 2-lane highway on the middle of a mountain and observe a square dance social while you wait for the brakes to cool off and stop smelling so foul.
Also, no cell phone reception:
We made it down okay after some consultation with the nice man who stopped and confirmed that it was indeed my brakes. My nerves were shot after all of that.
Y'all. I gave up the F bomb for this trip (respects to Moms and all that), but it spewed forth every time I got into any kind of traffic after that. We're now in Fabulous Las Vegas, where I felt nauseous the instant I saw the swath of lights from the highway. Perhaps it's the nerves. Anyway, we're gonna get my brakes looked over in the morning and head on to the Hoover Dam and then go to the Grand Canyon.
We're halfway there. We're halfway gone.
7 comments:
The F-Bomb braked down,
plume of black drag race smoke,
neon and the slots.
but I thought your brakes were 120 percent?!?!
nolie! watch them brakes! hug judy for me. i <3 utah. also, i'm not coming to mississippi. but tom is.
i though les schwab told you the brakes were fine?!
At least you still have your panties.
don't forget about the meteor crater in arizona
Meteor Crater Enterprises, Inc.
Interstate 40, Exit 233
Winslow, AZ 86047 USA
& i can't wait to hear about the skywalk at the grand canyon (of course it is like $25 or something). did y'all moon the amtrak riders somewhere out west i can't remember where! man, it sounds like y'all are having a blast. go to the big texan steakhouse in texas (if you can finish the 72 oz steak, it's FREE!):
7701 East I-40
Amarillo, Texas 79118
oh yeah and the london bridge that was taken apart & reconstructed in arizona (i don't know.....you might already be on another path by now):
314 London Bridge Road
Lake Havasu City, AZ 86403
"I was totin' my pack along the long dusty Winnemucca road,
When along came a semi with a high an' canvas-covered load.
"If you're goin' to Winnemucca, Mack, with me you can ride."
And so I climbed into the cab and then I settled down inside.
He asked me if I'd seen a road with so much dust and sand.
And I said, "Listen, I've traveled every road in this here land!"
I've been everywhere, man.
I've been everywhere, man.
Crossed the deserts bare, man.
I've breathed the mountain air, man.
Of travel I've had my share, man.
I've been everywhere.
I've been to:
Reno, Chicago, Fargo, Minnesota,
Buffalo, Toronto, Winslow, Sarasota,
Wichita, Tulsa, Ottawa, Oklahoma,
Tampa, Panama, Mattawa, La Paloma,
Bangor, Baltimore, Salvador, Amarillo,
Tocapillo, Baranquilla, and Perdilla, I'm a killer.
I've been everywhere, man.
I've been everywhere, man.
Crossed the deserts bare, man.
I've breathed the mountain air, man.
Of travel I've had my share, man.
I've been everywhere.
I've been to:
Boston, Charleston, Dayton, Louisiana,
Washington, Houston, Kingston, Texarkana,
Monterey, Faraday, Santa Fe, Tallapoosa,
Glen Rock, Black Rock, Little Rock, Oskaloosa,
Tennessee, Hennessey, Chicopee, Spirit Lake,
Grand Lake, Devils Lake, Crater Lake, for Pete's sake.
I've been everywhere, man.
I've been everywhere, man.
Crossed the deserts bare, man.
I've breathed the mountain air, man.
Of travel I've had my share, man.
I've been everywhere.
I've been to:
Louisville, Nashville, Knoxville, Ombabika,
Schefferville, Jacksonville, Waterville, Costa Rica,
Pittsfield, Springfield, Bakersfield, Shreveport,
Hackensack, Cadillac, Fond du Lac, Davenport,
Idaho, Jellico, Argentina, Diamantina,
Pasadena, Catalina, see what I mean-a.
I've been everywhere, man.
I've been everywhere, man.
Crossed the deserts bare, man.
I've breathed the mountain air, man.
Of travel I've had my share, man.
I've been everywhere.
I've been to:
Pittsburgh, Parkersburg, Gravelbourg, Colorado,
Ellisburg, Rexburg, Vicksburg, Eldorado,
Larimore, Admore, Haverstraw, Chatanika,
Chaska, Nebraska, Alaska, Opelika,
Baraboo, Waterloo, Kalamazoo, Kansas City,
Sioux City, Cedar City, Dodge City, what a pity."
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