Doing WDW on my own again, a February 2012 PTR

[PhoenixStrength]

Disney Update: I called this morning and booked myself on the Wild Africa Trek for 8am on February 16th! I am so glad they have this tour, because it is perfect for me.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Girl, you were one driving fool! I loved all of the pictures but especially the one of the Mississippi River. It's neat to see that huge river as it goes through another State since the only time we see it is when we cross it going into Mississippi. Don't you just hate construction traffic?!?! There always seems to be one nut job that waits until the last minute to get over even though they've seen signs for miles. Dummies!

On the Disney front, I'm so excited for you booking the Wild Africa Trek. April has done it and when I was looking at her pictures, it made me want to book it too.

 

[PhoenixStrength]

Girl, you were one driving fool! I loved all of the pictures but especially the one of the Mississippi River. It's neat to see that huge river as it goes through another State since the only time we see it is when we cross it going into Mississippi. Don't you just hate construction traffic?!?! There always seems to be one nut job that waits until the last minute to get over even though they've seen signs for miles. Dummies!

On the Disney front, I'm so excited for you booking the Wild Africa Trek. April has done it and when I was looking at her pictures, it made me want to book it too.

Glad you could see the Mississippi from another view. The only time I've crossed the Mississippi (by car, though I have flown over it a couple of times), is in St. Louis. And I HATE constructions traffic. And I ran into it in at least one direction in every state, except Maryland. And just wait until I get to the drive back, the construction traffic was HORRIBLE in St. Louis and throughout the entire state of Illinois, to the point where I was in tears.

I am super pumped about the Wild Africa Trek It was the one indulgence I let myself have for this trip, since I am trying to save money. I saw the pictures April took, and just made me want to do it even more.

 

[aprilisis]

I am loving your road trip photos & report!! I think it is so cool that you drove instead of flying!
Oh- and you will LOOOOOVE Wild Africa Trek. If you get John or Lani for guides, tell them they got a rave review from the redheaded chicken who almost didn't cross the footbridges! I'm so excited for you.
That's too bad about the sentencing, but I'm happy it was settled & you guys don't have to sit through an entire trial.

 

[PhoenixStrength]

I am loving your road trip photos & report!! I think it is so cool that you drove instead of flying!
Oh- and you will LOOOOOVE Wild Africa Trek. If you get John or Lani for guides, tell them they got a rave review from the redheaded chicken who almost didn't cross the footbridges! I'm so excited for you.
That's too bad about the sentencing, but I'm happy it was settled & you guys don't have to sit through an entire trial.

I will be doing another update tonight. I have the next day pictures in Photobucket, but the notes I need to do the update are at my house. I loved driving it, but I will probably fly out next time I go!

I can't wait to do WAT It really is the best possible tour for me, since it is exactly what I love to do, pictures and animals. I will certainly tell John and/or Lani hi from you if I get one or both of them.

We are not thrilled that she got 11 months commuted from her sentence, but it is what it is. The DA did tell us after it was over that the judge usually tries to give people a chance to change, which is what he was doing for her. But, she also said that if Sherah messes up she is 100% confident he will throw her right in jail and make her serve those 11 months. Personally, I hope she does stay clean and sober so no one else has to pay the price for her mistakes, and so her daughter has a mother that can care for her and be there for her.

 

[PhoenixStrength]

Disney Update: Just a small one, but I'm a little bummed. I just double checked the calendars for changes since they first went up, and realized that Big Thunder Mountain Railroad will be closed from mid-January through the end of April. I love that ride, it's one of my favorite at Magic Kingdom, and I won't get to ride it this trip

And I'm really hoping they do a soft opening for the new Dumbo, since I will be in Magic Kingdom on the 17th, so I can ride it. Right now it says opening the 18th (of course! ).

 

[PhoenixStrength]

DAY 2 MONDAY OCTOBER 17TH​

COWS, FIELDS AND ROAD WORK, OH MY!​

I couldn't resist using a Wizard of Oz joke in the title of this chapter. Especially one that fits so well with this part of my drive.

So, I woke up in the Motel 8 in Bonner Springs, KS at around 6am. I took a shower and then ate some of the free breakfast the hotel offered (I believe I ate a bagel with cream cheese and a banana). I was on the road a few minutes after 7am and started with the sunrise.

Within an hour I was at the second toll portion of Route 70, the Kansas Turnpike. I got my ticket from the automated booth and was back on my way.

I got a picture of the lovely surroundings, which were just a lot of fields.

At about 8:20am I reached the first spot of road work for Kansas. It was only a couple of miles, and then it was over.

Between the roadwork and the end of the turnpike section I got a few nice scenery shots, including the first picture of cows for Kansas

My sister Lisa loves cows, so I sent her picture texts of cows from each state. Not that they look any different really, but just to be funny.

Just before Topeka the turnpike ended and I had to pay $2.50 to get off the turnpike. Not as bad as Pennsylvania at least! Then I drove through Topeka and it was around 8:45am. The sky was starting to not look so nice too, which was a sign of things to come, unfortunately.

By 9am I once again hit some road work and more traffic. Not crazy traffic by any means, but more cars then I had seen so far, probably since I was still near Topeka.

Oh course, you can't drive through Kansas without having some companies taking advantage of The Wizard of Oz to try to get tourist money. I saw several wineries named after Oz, a few stores, and then there were the signs for the Oz Museum that were all down the highway.

Between Topeka and Fort Riley it was just lots of fields and some pretty scenery that I took some pictures of.

Eventually I made it to Fort Riley and got a couple of good pictures (and some blurry ones!) as I drove through.

Since it had been over an hour since I had gotten stuck in road work traffic and seen some cows, and apparently in Kansas that is the maximum time allowed, I ran into both. Well, I didn't actually run into anything, but I drove through the road work and saw some cows.

UP NEXT: Wind Farms, Locked Up Drinks and Flying Cars!

 

[PhoenixStrength]

DAY 2: MONDAY OCTOBER 17TH, PART 2​

WIND FARMS, LOCKED UP DRINKS AND FLYING CARS​

Around 10:30am I started seeing these on the side of the highway.

Do you see the cows on the top of the hill in this picture?

As I drove there were more and more of them. These pictures were all taken over the course of 10 miles (while I was also in more road work that was being done that whole time too).

At 10:45am I stopped at a Rest Stop (which I also cannot find the city this one was in). It was rather small, with the bathrooms attached to the outside and no inside portion at all.

I was rather amused when I went to get myself a drink to find that they lock the vending machines up behind fencing and gates. You have to reach through to get your money in the machines and to get your drink/food out.

After I left the rest stop I drove for another 7-10 miles through more wind farms.

And, of course, more road work.

By this time the sky was actually looking nice and clear, with the sun shining. I was falsely lulled into thinking that the rest of the day's drive would be as nice as the Weather Channel said it would.

Around 11:45am I made it to the city of Hays, and stopped for lunch. I didn't do great on the trip out of recording my meals, but I'm pretty sure I stopped at McDonalds.

Between Hays and Colby I saw the shortest train of the entire trip.

Around 1:30pm I stopped at the last rest stop in Kansas, and it was pretty much identical to the first. The sky was starting to look pretty bad again too.

Then, right after I left the rest stop, it started to rain. Not really heavy, but steady. I was not happy since the weather had said no rain all the way through Colorado. Oh well, at least it wasn't hard and I could still drive just fine into Colorado.

And then, a flying car.

Ok, so maybe it is not really flying, but through the rain it was a little weird looking at first. It was for a small diner on the side of the highway.

UP NEXT: The rain ends, but what is up with these winds?!?

 

[PhoenixStrength]

DAY 2 MONDAY OCTOBER 17TH, PART 3​

THE RAIN ENDS, BUT WHAT IS UP WITH THESE WINDS?!?​

Shortly after the flying car the rain ended. Unfortunately the winds picked up. Do you know how scary it is the drive around tractor trailers, at 75 mph, with 25-40 mph wind gusts? Oh, and add in fields all around you and steep drop offs on the sides of the highway at many spots.

The winds went on for the first hour I was in Colorado, with warning signs along the way reminding us of a High Wind Warning. I did get a few pictures though.

By 3pm the sky was completely clear and the winds were gone. I was able to enjoy the drive and the scenery of the high plains even more when I wasn't worrying about crashing.

And, of course, Colorado Cows!

Around 4:15pm I started approaching Denver, and could see my first glimpses of the Rockies.

As I started driving past Denver (you don't drive directly through Denver like you do St. Louis and Kansas City, but get close) I hit rush hour traffic.

The slow traffic did help me get a couple of pictures of Denver and the surrounding area.

Once I got past the view of Denver the traffic got much better and I got closer and closer to the almighty Rockies.

Finally I actually reached the Rockies and started driving through them toward my destination for the night. I had done some research and was hoping to make it to Glenwood Springs, Colorado by 7pm to stay at for the night. I was making okay time, but the rain and high winds did get me a little behind.

I love those little houses on the sides of the mountains, such a cute, quaint looking town, doncha think? Anyway, I continued to drive upward through the Rockies, starting at around 5,200 feet above sea level. I'll let you know how high I get soon. As I drove there were several tunnels through the mountains that were quite small. You could see right through them, and they were only about 100 feel or less in length.

Idaho Springs is a very small, old fashioned looking Mine Town. I took a picture of one of the mines in town that is still operating.

Around 5:30pm I stopped at a rest stop in the town of Georgetown, elevation 8500 feet. I used the rest rooms, and got gas while I was there. I still had about 1/2 a tank, but I knew that the towns in the Rockies are few and far between, so I figured while there why not?

It was a good thing I stopped to use the restroom, because coming up next was some weather that might have made me pee my pants if I hadn't just gone!

UP NEXT: Mother Nature is just messing with me now!

 

[PhoenixStrength]

DAY 2 MONDAY OCTOBER 17TH, PART 4​

MOTHER NATURE IS JUST MESSING WITH ME NOW...​

As I was leaving Georgetown I noticed that some of the mountains around me had snow near the top. This didn't concern me too much since it was all up top, and not down by me. Had I known I was going to be traveling another 3000 feet up in only the next 10 miles I wouldn't have been so nonchalant about this observation....

As I said, I went up another 3000-ish feet over the next 10 miles to the highest elevation I would be at the entire trip, well over 11,000 feet above sea level. And at that height, it was currently snowing and sleeting.

I went through the Eisenhower Tunnel, which is about a mile long (I think), but I didn't mind since it got me out of the snow and sleet for a minute. Unfortunately on the other side of the tunnel was the descent back down to a lower elevation. This was unfortunate as it was icy and a 6% grade going down over 6 miles. So, steep driving, down hill, with tight turns, and ice all over the road. I did not get any pictures along this portion, as I wanted to live.

I made it down just fine though and it was once again 50 degrees and no snow, rain, sleet or any type of precipitation.

Remember those pictures, as this area will look very different on my drive back! That lake in the second picture is in Frisco, Colorado, and was gorgeous. I got some more pictures of the surrounding mountains, including some that have some snow on them around me, but no snow was falling anymore on my trip.

Eventually, after going down another 4 miles of a 7% grade, I got well below the snow level. That was ironic, since the first town I came across was Vail, which is known for it's skiing. No one would be skiing in Vail that day though.

As I drove the mountains got less forest-like, and more rocky and barren looking.

At this point Route 70 starts running directly beside the Colorado River, which is does pretty much for the rest of Colorado. I was able to get one good picture that day of the Colorado, which does go all the way south and created the Grand Canyon in Arizona.

I have to admit I took this picture just because it was a funny exit.

If I remember I have to look it up, since I don't know anything about that exit besides the fact that it has "No Name".

Eventually around 6:45pm I made it to my destination for the day, Glenwood Springs, Colorado. I filled up my gas tank, stopped at the local KFC, and got a room at the Holiday Inn and Suites in town. Glenwood Springs is a cute town, but very touristy. They have a hot springs and spa, lots of hotels and stores and skiing during the winter. And since it is in between mountains, lots of wildlife. But more on that in a minute. First, pictures of my room!

It was a very nice hotel, with the room being spacious, the bed comfy, and the staff very friendly. Right behind the hotel was a bridge that went over Route 70 to the other side of the town, where there were apparently a lot of bars. I only know this because when I was checking in there was a group of construction workers also checking in and they asked where to go for drinks. I did not hear any noise from people. However, around midnight I heard what at first sounded like a dog barking. It didn't stop so I looked out my window and saw nothing at first. Then, the howling started. Like, scary, sends chills up your spine when you realize thats no dog, howling. And from just below my window (I was on the third floor), a coyote comes from behind a bush and runs down the road and over the bridge. My camera was on the other side of the room, so I didn't get a picture. It was beautiful, but a little scary too. After that I fell asleep for the night. Tomorrow I would start my final day of driving!

UP NEXT: A morning of gorgeous scenery.

 

[aprilisis]

WOW. That weather in Colorado would have had me flipping out. Plus- I know what you mean about the wind gusts. Awesome photos of everything, though! I love it. Did you listen to books on cd in your car or anything?

 

[PhoenixStrength]

WOW. That weather in Colorado would have had me flipping out. Plus- I know what you mean about the wind gusts. Awesome photos of everything, though! I love it. Did you listen to books on cd in your car or anything?

The snow and sleet were scary, but the wind was honestly worse. I think it was probably because the wind lasted over an hour, but the snow/sleet was only for less than 10 minutes, so it was easier to deal with.

I accidentally left my books on CD at home (thankfully the only thing I forgot). I had some music CDs I listened to at times, but mostly I just listened to the local radio stations along the way, changing every hour or so as the signal faded.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Gosh....you've been working...on updates that is and I'm loving it.

I haven't been to Colorado in over 20 years so I really really enjoyed your pictures of the drive. My sister used to live in Durango, Colorado (they own Superlift Suspensions which is one of the major 4 wheel drive lift kit companies so it was appropriate for them to live in Colorado at the time) and we went to visit her a couple of times. I remember our July 4th trip and there being snow on top of the mountains even then.

We experienced some of those gusting winds you are talking about. We stopped at a rest area (much like the ones you took pictures of) to have a picnic. We had our kitten with us that trip and we let her out to walk around. Poor thing got caught by the wind and tumbled all the way down the sidewalk.

Oooohhhhh a coyote! I bet that sounded eerie even from the comforts of your hotel room.

 

[PhoenixStrength]

Gosh....you've been working...on updates that is and I'm loving it.

I haven't been to Colorado in over 20 years so I really really enjoyed your pictures of the drive. My sister used to live in Durango, Colorado (they own Superlift Suspensions which is one of the major 4 wheel drive lift kit companies so it was appropriate for them to live in Colorado at the time) and we went to visit her a couple of times. I remember our July 4th trip and there being snow on top of the mountains even then.

We experienced some of those gusting winds you are talking about. We stopped at a rest area (much like the ones you took pictures of) to have a picnic. We had our kitten with us that trip and we let her out to walk around. Poor thing got caught by the wind and tumbled all the way down the sidewalk.

Oooohhhhh a coyote! I bet that sounded eerie even from the comforts of your hotel room.

I'm aiming to do a day of updates every other day, so I get it done by the end of this month. I probably won't get many up around Thanksgiving though since I will be swamped at work, but I'll try.

Colorado is gorgeous, so I got a ton of pictures. Colorado and Utah are my two favorite states for scenery. And it definitely made sense for your sister to live in Colorado for that business.

The coyote was gorgeous, but definitely eerie to hear. Especially since Glenwood Springs is not really a small town, not big but not small. It is about 3 miles across and there are just wild animals everywhere.

 

[PhoenixStrength]

DAY 3 TUESDAY OCTOBER 18TH​

A MORNING OF GORGEOUS SCENERY​

So, I woke around 6am at the Holiday Inn and Suites in Glenwood Springs, Colorado. I took a nice, hot shower and ate some breakfast before checking out. It was rather cold out (below freezing, I think around 29 degrees) and my car was covered in frost. I scraped all the frost off and then hit the road around 7:10am. Before I left the city though I took a couple of pictures.

That second one is a shot down one of the main streets in Glenwood Springs. It really is a nice, picturesque little mountain town. So, I started on my way, knowing that I should be done in Colorado in about an hour and a half, then onto Utah and my destination, the city of Kanab. As the title suggests, the morning was just a lot of gorgeous scenery and pretty uneventful.

Another shot of the Colorado River:

And then some more mountain and other scenery shots:

By this time I had been driving for an hour with just mountains around me, no real cities and very few other cars. Though there were several trains.

Then I started coming up on several small, and not so small, towns. I drove through Rifle, Parachute, Palisade and Clifton.

Then Grand Junction, where I surprised to see little, tiny fields of corn

And then Fruita, which is known as a hot bed for dinosaur bones.

And then, road work.

So, unless you have been to Colorado/Utah before you may not understand the next picture:

In a lot of the towns in Utah and western Colorado they put a letter on the mountain closest to town. That letter is the first letter in the town name, in this case it was Loma, Colorado.

Not long after passing through Fruita and Loma I drove into the last state of my journey, at least in this direction!

UP NEXT: THOSE ARE THE BATHROOMS?

 

[PhoenixStrength]

DAY 3 TUESDAY OCTOBER 18TH, PART 2​

THOSE ARE THE BATHROOMS? ​

I was only driving in Utah for a bit before I needed to stop for a potty break. It was about 9am when I finally saw a sign for a "Harley's Dome View Area" which said it also had a restroom. This worked for me, so I pulled in. The only building I saw was this:

Around the back of the bathroom was 2 doors for rest rooms. What I found inside was a glorified port-a-potty. It was just a toilet sitting on a hole in the ground. No sink, no flushing the toilet, just a hole with a toilet. Though, it did have better ventilation since it did not smell bad in there. Thankfully I had antibacterial gel in my car to use. While there I did take a picture of Harley's Dome.

Then I headed on my way, getting some more pictures of the beautiful surroundings along the drive.

And then I ran into my first bout of road work in Utah. It wasn't too bad though, mostly because there wasn't much traffic and it was only for a couple of miles.

I must have drank a lot, because only an hour after the last stop I had to go again Unfortunately the only stops they have in Utah are the "View Areas", so this time I stopped at the San Rafael View Area. And it seems I took a picture of the "bathroom" here.

Yup, that's it. There was a family with two young girls there when I arrived, and the Mom had a huge bottle of antibacterial gel in her hand for the kids as they came out. She offered me some too, but I had my bottle. This stop had several displays around giving information about the San Rafael Reef, which is what created this area. Here is one of them, as it was the only one that would be read-able on here!

And here are a couple of pictures of "The Silent City"

And then some more scenery pictures as I went along.

That last picture shows the moment I was the most afraid the entire drive through Utah. It is a 6% grade over 6 miles, but you are looking out and down the entire time, with no guard rails at times. You go over 2000 feet down over the course, and it was a little scary. I'm not afraid of heights at all, but I am afraid of falling of the edge of a cliff! Thankfully I made it down just fine, and got some pictures once I got to the bottom.

Oh, I meant to put this earlier, but it will work here. I learned while in Utah what makes the mountains/plateaus the colors they are. The Red coloring is caused by Iron Oxide, Purple is from Magnesium, and Yellow is from Calcium Carbonate and Feldspar. The primary mineral in that area is obvious due to what color the sandstone is. Kind of interesting, at least to me. Also, Utah is not part of the Rockies. Everything you are seeing is part of the Colorado Plateau and is not an actual mountain range. It is a series of cliffs that includes the entire Four Corners area, and most of the National Parks in Utah and Arizona. The Grand Canyon, Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park and Capitol Reef National Park are all part of the Colorado Plateau. So, I might still say mountain in here, but none of these are actually mountains. Okay, enough lessons, how about a few more pictures?

All along this stretch, from right before the second "View Area" I stopped it until now was a No Services Zone. Meaning no bathrooms, no gas stations, no food, no hotels, no cities at all. It is 110 miles of no services. And no cell signal too. A little scary since if you had car trouble or an emergency you would have to rely on someone who would be nice enough to pull over to help you. But I made it through fine and didn't see anyone else stopped.


UP NEXT: Kanab at last!

 

[PhoenixStrength]

DAY 3 TUESDAY OCTOBER 18TH, PART 3​

KANAB AT LAST!​

I finally reached the first town in 110 miles, Salina, at around 11:40am.

That grass is all sod that was put down, as grass can't grow in the sandy earth in most of Southern and Eastern Utah. I stopped in the next town, Richfield, and got gas and lunch at Arby's. I love their curly fries Just after Richfield I saw the sign for Route 89, which would take me straight down to Kanab. I was very excited to finally be done on Route 70 and to be officially on the road that runs through Kanab. I took a few pictures right after taking the Route 89 South exit.

And, of course, saw some Utah cows!

I passed Piute State Park (in Piute County), which seems to consist of a lake and some fields around it. It was beautiful no matter what.

And then some more scenery, and animals.

In the city of Orderville I saw my first sign of Best Friends

Another 45 minutes of driving through small towns and beautiful scenery....

And then I was there!

I turned onto Kanab Canyon Drive and made me way to the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary Welcome Center.

Isn't it gorgeous? When the 25 founders of Best Friends first bought the land that would become Best Friends Animal Sanctuary that was a house, privately owned by an older couple and not part of the land owned by BFAS. The couple that owned it let Best Friends use some of the land, but was not really a fan of BFAS. After a few years they decided to move and sell. Once a couple that were BFAS first real volunteers, Dolores and Homer, heard about them selling they bought the house and land and rented it to BFAS for cheap. They eventually sold it to them to. There are two buildings in Dogtown, the dog area of BFAS, named Dolores and Homer, after them. They are actually the only animal buildings not named after an animal that once lived there. Anyway, the house was so beautiful that they didn't want to destroy it, so they kept it and use it as offices, the Welcome Center and the Gift Shop.

Anyway, I went to the Welcome Center to ask where to take all my donations. They said I could bring them in and they would take them over, or I could drop them off directly over to Shipping and Receiving to be sorted and distributed. I told them I would take them over, since there were so many. They called to have someone waiting and I drove the 1/4 mile to S&R. Here is what my back seat looked like, with the 15 grocery bags of donations.

They were a little shocked by everything, but certainly happy. I found out that everything was distributed to the different animal areas by the end of the day on Thursday.

After dropping off the donations I went over to Piggy Paradise and said hi to the manager there, Yvonne. I adore her and she is easily my favorite person at Best Friends. All the employees there are great, but I just adore Yvonne, and she has had it rough lately. Brandi, my friend who passed away in September, was Yvonne's best friend and the first employee she was allowed to hire. Yvonne missed 2 weeks of work after Brandi passed because she was so upset, so I wanted to check on her. She was doing better, though still upset. I spent about 20-30 minutes talking to her, then headed into town. By that time it was about 3pm, so I could check into the Studio room I was staying in for that night and the following one. I got in my room, then went right over to the grocery store for just a couple things. Once I got back and unpacked I made myself some soup for dinner and spent some time online, letting everyone know I was in Kanab. Oh, I took some pictures too!

It really is a studio apartment, and you can rent them to live in, or just as a hotel-like stay. It was very nice inside, though the window air conditioner was a little off. It didn't really bother me enough to worry about though. I was tired from the driving for 3 days, so I went to bed early.

NEXT: Taking the Sanctuary tour

 

[PhoenixStrength]

Disney Update (kinda): So, I am thinking I might try something different and fly down this time, using DME, instead of driving. I've been looking at flights and it will cost me about the same to fly as it does for gas and meals while driving, with the added convenience of it only taking a few hours versus 15 hours of driving each way. I'm not 100% on it yet, but I'm pretty sure I'm going to wind up flying.

Hope everyone has had a great weekend!

 

[mickeystoontown]

I thoroughly enjoyed the latest updates. The scenery is absolutely gorgeous and makes me wish I had a trip out West planned. As I said before, it's been over 20 years since I've been in that part of the country.

Yay for having arrived safe and sound. I'm sure the people were super excited to see all of the donated items you had in your vehicle.

The studio looks nice even if it did have a crazy acting window unit.

 

[PhoenixStrength]

I thoroughly enjoyed the latest updates. The scenery is absolutely gorgeous and makes me wish I had a trip out West planned. As I said before, it's been over 20 years since I've been in that part of the country.

Yay for having arrived safe and sound. I'm sure the people were super excited to see all of the donated items you had in your vehicle.

The studio looks nice even if it did have a crazy acting window unit.

Thanks, I'm glad you are enjoying the updates and pictures Believe me, I have a TON more pictures than what I am posting. I took over 100 pictures each day driving, but didn't want this Mini-TR to take too long to finish!

They were excited, and everyone in the animal areas I spoke to thanked me for the items I donated. And the studio was very nice, and the AC unit wasn't too bad, just didn't work perfectly. But it didn't bother me enough to lose sleep or be uncomfortable, it just required some figuring out to get the temperature right.