It's getting hard to keep track of the weeks I've been gone! I'm loving my time on the road, and I've spent the last 2 weeks or so exploring New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska. I just recently arrived in Iowa and I can't wait to see what the southern and eastern parts of the United States have to offer! I'm most familiar with the western USA, so the states I'm visiting on this leg of the trip will mostly be new to me, and so far I've been pleasantly surprised with every place I've stopped. I'll break down my entries by state again, since I've traveled through quite a few!
New Mexico
I've traveled to New Mexico often, since Santa Fe is one of my mom's favorite places in the world. In fact, she even recently bought an adobe house there, where I spent the night after my first full day on the road. That day consisted of an 8-hour drive from Carbondale, Colorado to Santa Fe. I only spent the night there before I moved on further south toward Alamogordo. My favorite Santa Fe coffee shop is The Teahouse, but unfortunately, I didn't have time to visit it this time because I brought Milo to an emergency vet in Albuquerque the following morning. He had stomach surgery a couple months ago and he seemed to have ruptured one of his stitches. Luckily, it was nothing serious and we were able to just disinfect the wound and move on. It healed within the next couple of days and Milo was ready to get back on the road! We continued to drive toward Alamogordo where Annie, an old family friend, generously housed me for two days. The first night, she brought me up to Cloudcroft, a small mountain town just outside of Alamogordo, where we visited Instant Karma, Annie's favorite shop and yoga studio. Then, we ate dinner at the Western Bar and Cafe, which made a delicious green chili burger. Annie brought me back to her house and provided me with lots of goodies and snacks for the road. Milo loved playing frisbee in her yard and harassing her chickens. The following day, Milo and I relaxed and waited until golden hour to head to White Sands National Park, which looked absolutely beautiful during sunset (as evidenced below).
The day after White Sands, Milo and I headed away from Alamogordo and toward our next national park: Carlsbad Caverns. I was very pleasantly surprised by that park. Above the surface, the landscape is beautiful but unassuming; a true desert scene. Under the ground, however, is where the park's full magnificence can be experienced. I did a tour of the caverns, which can take anywhere from 1 to 2 1/2 hours to complete. At the mouth of the cave, swallows and bats swarm by the hundreds as visitors make their descent into complete darkness. The full path down the Natural Entrance Trail is about a mile and a half downward (and about 75 stories down to the bottom) and aside from the cave entrance, hardly any light illuminates the pathway. I made the mistake of completing this descent in my worn-down, rubber Birkenstocks, which are comfy, but not ideal for wet, slippery, dark, conditions. The views I could see, however, were worth it. The cave area was huge and the rock formations were very intricate. Stalactites and stalagmites were scattered throughout, as well as unique formations called the Whale's Mouth and Devil's Spring. Once I reached the bottom, I continued onto another 1.25 trail called the Big Room Trail. That trail was relatively flat, and showcased the cave's (and North America's) largest single cave chamber. I couldn't get many photos in the cave because it was so dark, so you guys will just have to go visit for yourselves! After I completed that trail, I grabbed some snacks and souvenirs from the cave's underground cafe and gift shop, and then I took the elevator back up (there's no way I was walking the 75 floors back up in my Birkenstocks!). I reunited with Milo at the top and we made our way to our Harvest Host for the night, Balzano Family Vineyard, where I bought wine for myself AND Milo (his was just dog-friendly bacon oil for his food). We had a good, wine-filled sleep before heading to another national park the next day.
Texas
The day after visiting the caverns, Milo and I drove to Texas and stopped at Guadalupe Mountains National Park for about an hour. Guadalupe Mountains is largely a hiking park, and dogs are only allowed on a select few of those. Milo and I opted not to hike and instead, walked along a dog-friendly nature trail near the visitor center, called the Pinery Trail. We also learned a lot in the visitor center about the local wildlife and flora. I snapped a few pictures on the trail before we left the park and continued driving.
We traveled from the top of Texas all the way to the bottom border near Mexico in one, long day of driving. After Guadalupe Mountains, we drove for a few hours before being caught in a crazy flash flood, which I had never experienced before. Right after I navigated safely through it, we passed by Prada Marfa, a pop architectural land art project that serves as a commentary on Western materialism (click the link above to learn more), and we had to stop to take pictures. I think Milo looks very dapper next to the vacant Prada store. Finally, after a solid 8 or 9 hours of driving, we made it to Big Bend National Park and camped at Chisos Basin Campground for the night.
Big Bend is a huge national park, and I could have spent weeks exploring every corner. However, Milo and I only had half a day, so we did most of our sightseeing from the car and got out to take pictures of some beautiful landscapes. I definitely want to return for a longer time to hike and explore the Rio Grande. The temperatures even got cooler at night, despite the desert heat during the day. After half a day of driving around Big Bend and sightseeing, Milo and I took off toward the middle of Texas. We spent the night at another Harvest Host in Castroville, just outside of San Antonio, called Medina River Winery. Milo and I were immediately met with Texan kindness and hospitality. Our host was so welcoming and accommodating, and the wine was delicious. The host, some guests, and I chatted for a few hours about my road trip while I tasted the wine, and Milo and I went to bed very happy.
Milo and I woke up ready for the day and grabbed some breakfast pastries at Haby's Alsatian Bakery before exploring San Antonio. We drove by the Alamo, but it was crowded, so we didn't stop to go inside. Instead, we spent our. time on the beautiful San Antonio River Walk, which in parts, looked very much like a European city. It's been a super hot summer thus far, and the heat and humidity in Texas is no joke, so Milo and I cooled off in the car before doing some shopping in the Market Square, a cultural shopping, dining, and entertainment block in the middle of the city. So many Mexican vendors set up shop, and there was an indoor, air-conditioned section where Milo and I could cool off and shop some more. We ate a late lunch at Mi Tierra, a delicious and authentic Tex-Mex restaurant. I tried a mixed platter with a bunch of Mexican staples, and the tamales were to die for. With our bellies full and our spirits high, we set off to spend the night at our next Harvest Host; Walker Honey Farm and Dancing Bee Winery. They offered me a free wine tasting because I was a Harvest Host visitor, and I got to choose from their wide selection of uniquely-flavored wine and mead. I also grabbed some honey and beeswax products from them, which have been amazing to use! They even offered to let me spend an extra night on their property, as I was spending the next day in the nearby city of Austin.
Austin is a young person's paradise! There were plenty of coffee shops, breweries, clothing stores, and hangout spots throughout the city. I spent most of my time on South Congress Street, or SoCo. Milo and I stopped at Jo's Coffee for a quick mocha before posing in front of their wall to get a picture with their iconic love mural. We did some window shopping at Gorjana, Warby Parker, Aviator Nation, and some local boutiques before driving off and exploring more of the city. I happened to drive by a store called The Great Outdogs, which drew me in because of its giant display of stuffed animal dogs on its lawn and roof. I grabbed some snacks for Milo, who was busy making friends with the shop dog. Next, Milo and I stopped at a bookstore called Book People, where I grabbed a few new reads for the road. In the same parking lot area, I noticed a record store called Waterloo, and I of course had to enter just for fun. When I saw the collection, I've never wanted a record player so badly in my life. I walked away with a Maroon 5 Songs About Jane CD (remember those?) and tried Whataburger for dinner, a chain fast-food restaurant that multiple Texans told me was a must-try. They served a good burger and fries, but my California tastebuds still prefer In-n-Out. After spending the night back at Walker Honey Farm, Milo and I got up early to begin the drive to Oklahoma City. We took a quick stop in Dallas to grab coffee from Magnolias, a trendy coffee shop in a beautiful blue building. Their coffee and pastries were to die for!
Oklahoma
We continued on to our next Harvest Host in OKC, a huge brewery called Roughtail Brewing. The beer they served me was uniquely theirs, and objectively very delicious, though I would still prefer pretty much any other type of alcohol to beer. It was a wonderful place to spend the night, though, and their parking lot was very spacious and private. It was also within Oklahoma City, which I wanted to explore the next day. I spent my time in OKC in the Paseo Arts District, which was a very quaint, colorful, adobe-style part of town. I stopped by Holey Rollers, a donut and coffee shop attached to a bookstore, before heading out to explore the art galleries. There was a beautiful pottery studio and lots of contemporary art to be seen along the road. One of my favorites was Wildfire Gallery, whose owner gave Milo some water and chatted with me about my road trip. Paseo Arts District was a great place to explore in OKC, and I enjoyed my time there before I began the drive to the next state on my itinerary.
Kansas/Missouri
I combined these two states together because I stopped in Kansas City, which is half in Kansas and half in Missouri. I plan on visiting St. Louis later on during this trip as well. I spent the night at a very unique Harvest Host in Kansas, called Rhythmic Medicine. Here, I parked outside Janalea's (the business owner) house, and Milo was able to run around in her yard with her pups, which he very much appreciated after spending half a day in the car. I chatted with Janalea for a bit before beginning my Native American flute lesson. Rhythmic Medicine specializes in music therapy using Native American flutes, so naturally, I had to try it out. By the end, I was so enamored by the Native American flute that I convinced my mom (over the phone) to buy a flute with me so we could practice together. I've been playing almost every day since! I had a wonderful night at Janalea's before I headed off to explore KC proper. Milo and I drove around the city and stopped at some delicious places for lunch and dessert. Joe's Kansas City Bar-B-Que, a local staple located inside an old gas station, was the perfect place to try the barbecue that Kansas City is known for and let me tell you, it did not disappoint. Next, I tried Ashleigh's Bake Shop, which is located inside a local home goods and kitchen store and is famed for their pies. Of course, because I'm a chocoholic by nature, I had to try the chocolate cream pie, which was to die for.
Iowa
After a full day spent in Kansas City, Milo and I drove to Glenwood, Iowa to spend the night at another unique Harvest Host. Sugar Makery, an Iowa candy shop, was a great place to spend the night just outside of Omaha, Nebraska, where I planned to travel the next day. They had designated Harvest Hosts parking with electric plug-ins, which was nice to have when I cooked dinner and didn't need to utilize any power from the car! They were also kind enough to give me a complimentary bag of their homemade zebra popcorn for being part of Harvest Hosts, which was amazing and delicious. I also tried their lavender chip ice cream, which was sooo tasty and refreshing on that hot summer night. I felt very safe in the town of Glenwood and spent a peaceful night in Sugar Makery's parking lot before heading off to explore Omaha. I'm back in Iowa now, in a town called Pella, which I'll share more about with you guys next week!
Nebraska
When I entered Omaha, the first thing I did was stop by the visitor center (incidentally because I happened to drive by and there was plenty of parking). Inside, a kind man gave Milo lots of treats and chatted with me about my trip before pointing out all the fun things to do in Omaha on a map that he gave me. These included the zoo, which competes with the likes of the San Diego Zoo and the Cincinnati Zoo for the title of Best Zoo in America, the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge, the Old Market, the Union Pacific Museum, and more. Milo and I took him up on a few of his recommendations, including the Spirit of Nebraska's Wilderness and Pioneer Courage Park. This park has an awesome display of sculptures depicting the pioneers crossing America. The pioneers appear to be scaring a herd of bison, whose sculptures stretch across a few more blocks of the city. From there, the bison scare a flock of geese, which appear to fly directly into the First National Bank Tower, which is the tallest building in Nebraska. After exploring the sculptures, Milo and I opted for a more indoor experience, as it was over 100 degrees outside and we were melting. We ventured over to Hot Shops Art Center, a brick building that houses dozens of artists of all mediums. The building was fairly devoid of tourists, so I had lots of time to chat with the artists about their work. After Milo and I spent a couple hours at the art center, it was time for us to head back to Iowa, which leaves us where we are now!
As always, thanks for continuing to read my blog and follow my adventures! I love sharing them with you!
“The traveler must be born again on the road, and earn a passport from the elements.” -Henry David Thoreau
Until next time! -Elle