We left Asheville at 11:00am.

Tennessee is a long state!

First stop was Buc-ee’s in Seveirville! \240It just opened and I believe it’s the largest in the country.

The drive wasn’t bad until we hit Nashville. The traffic was terrible and we had to stop for about 20 minutes in a Walgreen parking lot to wait out a bad storm. It continued to rain the rest of the way until about 30 miles from Memphis.

We arrived at the Residence Inn in Memphis at 9:00. (We gained an hour) The guys out front doing valet parking laughed at us and couldn’t believe how much stuff we had packed in the Mini! We felt like the Beverly Hillbillies!

It took 11 hours, mostly because of Nashville traffic and the rain. It should have been about 9 hours. Hopefully we can leave a little earlier tomorrow.

View from our roof top room in Memphis

Nice morning walk along the Mississippi River

We left at 9:00 and started driving. We were in Arkansas as soon as we crossed the river.

It was a very hot day and the temperature on the car said 101 at one point. Luckily we didn’t go through any storms. It was easy driving with the speed limit 75 most of the way. Google directed us on a short detour around a 20 minute slowdown and we drove on some of Route 66.

We crossed most of Oklahoma. We arrived at The Hampton Inn \240in Elk City,which is on Route 66, at 6:30. No time change today. We are only about 40 miles from Texas.

We were beat, so we walked across the parking lot to The Rib Crib and \240had some great smoked chicken.

The entire day we were driving very close to Historic Route 66. We stayed on I-40 most of the day, but got off a few times to dive on Route 66.

First stop was Cadillac Ranch in Amarilo, Texas. I stopped here in 2019 with mom, dad and Melinda. People spray paint the cars and we did it with mom and dad, but this time there was a lot of water around the cars making it difficult to get close. (That didn’t stop someone from taking off their shoes and standing in the water) I also didn’t want to pay $7.50 for a can of spray paint!

My 2019 trip

The next stop was Tucumcari, New Mexico for lunch at a Mexican Restaurant.

Since Gallup was on Route 66, I decided to stay in an historic hotel. When we drove it in 2019 we stopped at the El Rancho Hotel just to see it and have \240lunch. I thought it was quite quaint. Many movie stars have stayed there,and \240pictures and memorabilia are all around.

Our room and bathroom are pretty small, but it’s clean.

The hotel lobby

Lunch at El Rancho 2019

We were still driving near Route 66 so we got off in Winslow, Arizona. We had to stand on the corner! \240I also stopped here on my 2019 trip.

My 2019 trip

We had stopped in the visitor center and were told we should see the historic La Posado Hotel. \240We parked near the corner and walked \240a few blocks. It was nice to walk, but was in the upper 90’s. The hotel was beautiful inside with it’s southwestern architecture.

We finally got off I-40 in Kingman, Arizona and got on highway 93 to Henderson. It was a horrible road with lots of ruts and small potholes in the road. I imagine the heat doesn’t help. The temperature continued to rise as we drove through the desert.

We stopped at an overlook and there \240were some nice views.

We continued driving through the desert and stopped at Hoover Dam.

Hoover Dam is on the border

We first went to a Lake Mead overlook

We had to pay $10 to park in the garage, which was well worth it in the 100 plus heat. We decided not to take an hour tour for $30, it was way too hot! \240Just walked and saw the dam ourselves.

The dam was only about 30 minutes from Rebekah’s house and on the way there she took me by Nevada State where SJ teaches math.

It just became a university in July

Their mascot is a scorpion

We finally arrived! \240Drove 2184 miles in 4 \240days. It was a fun trip with Rebekah. I’m glad we were able to stop at a few attractions along the way. We had no problems with Albert. I hope he enjoys his new home and doesn’t have a heat stroke in the heat. I think \240dad would be happy that Rebekah has his former car now.

Rebekah works for a show at Planet Hollywood at least 4 times a month in the evenings. She was able to park at Planet Hollywood for free, which was helpful. The show she works is Criss Angel who is a magician.

Caesar’s Palace

The Eiffel Tower at the Paris Hotel

Inside the Venetian

Inside the Forum at Caesar’s palace.

We went to a show at The Mirage. It was a magician, Shin Lim, a winner of America’s Got Talent

The show was awesome. Highly recommend if you’re in Las Vegas!

Green Valley Presbyterian Church

After church Rebekah took me around Henderson. We went to an area with lots of shops and a hotel and casino. It was very similar to Biltmore Park Asheville. ( minus the casino) To cool off we went inside the casino. Rebekah bet her usual $1 on a slot machine. She ended up winning over $17! \240I let her buy lunch!

She took me to a chocolate factory and cactus garden.

The cactus garden in \240112 degree heat.

After lunch Rebekah took me to the airport. I had a non stop Allegiant flight to Asheville. It was 90 minutes delayed,so I didn’t get home until 12:30am. \240

Overall, it was a great road trip. The drive wasn’t all that bad. The first day was the worst, with traffic and bad weather. Driving through the desert was easy because there wasn’t much traffic. I probably enjoyed driving through New Mexico and Arizona the best with the variety of beautiful desert landscapes. It was nice getting to spend so much time with Rebekah and seeing where she lives.