Day 1: San Diego to Salt Lake (767 miles)
After a long day of shopping for last minute items and playing what Vanessa refers to "Impossible Tetris" with the car on Saturday, we had a quick dinner and then crashed. The plan was to leave by 6AM on Sunday, but that turned out to be a little bit over ambitious. Instead, we pulled out of the driveway at about 7:30 and sailed up I-15 and headed toward Las Vegas.
Our first stop was a quick refuel in Primm, NV just outside of the CA state line. While we were there, I thought I would give Vanessa her first casino experience (that's her waving her arms under the entrance sign!). Whiskey Pete's is impressive on the outside, but the inside is a bit dilapidated. As Vanessa so articulately describes, "It smells like a basement and cigarettes." So true, so true!
However, they did have the Bonnie & Clyde Death Car, so that was kind of cool.
Our other motive for visiting was to check out the gift shop for souvenirs, but apparently it is closed from 11:30AM - 12:30PM for lunch. Ugh!
Our next stop was Jean, NV at the Seven Magic Mountains. It is a series of 7 colorfully stacked boulders literally in the middle of nowhere that was designed by Swiss artist Ugo Rondinone. They stand 30 feet high and the florescent colors of the cairns are beautifully contrasted against the muted earth tones of the Mojave. There is a parking lot and the monoliths are a short but incredibly steamy walk down a sandy path. It is just a brief detour off of the 15 in Jean, but so incredibly worth it!
Continuing on through Las Vegas, we stopped at a gas station to see if they had souvenirs. The trinkets were limited, so Vanessa got a key chain and I bought 3 flares in the auto department. I asked the lady if they sold Rain-ex and she more or less laughed at me. "Um, it doesn't rain too much here." She got me on that one.
As we left the store with our flares and key chain, we noticed there was a man taking pictures of our car across the parking lot. As we got closer, he enthusiastically asked "Is this your car????" He was so excited. He said he and his cousin have been best friends since they were 6 months old and now they take road trips every year together. I asked where they were headed and he said, "Oh I don't know!" They just get on the road and drive. When his cousin emerged from Subway with their sandwiches, he insisted on having a picture with us and our Macan. Part of what I enjoy the most about traveling is sharing adventures with people you meet along the way.
We also had another traveler share this one with us on Facebook! It's from somewhere along the road in Nevada.
After stopping for lunch in St. George, UT, Vanessa took over the driving. The speed limit in Utah is 80, so it was a wild ride through some super funky mountain passes -- really pretty with lots of twists and turns. Around each corner there was a more beautiful vista awaiting us.
The rain clouds in the distance that we seemed to be chasing forever, we finally caught up with, and the mixture of sun and purple clouds were the perfect recipe for some pretty incredible rainbows! Utah is a beautiful state.
Today was our longest day of driving. After all was said and done, my Michelin tires clocked 767 miles onto the Macan's odometer as we watched coastal California turn into the mountains and then the desert. Watching Vanessa's reaction to the magnificence of the passing landscape was an utter joy for me. The smiles, the laughter, the memories, and the awe make all the hours of preparation and planning more than worth it. This trip to Alaska has been something I have wanted to do for a very long time and to be able to share it with her is a gift on top of the rest of it.
So, Day One was a success! Tomorrow, we are off to Great Falls, MT. See you soon!