Doing WDW on my own again, a February 2012 PTR

[PhoenixStrength]

ONE MONTH LEFT! ​

This time, exactly one month from today, I will be getting on the plane at BWI to fly to MCO Not that I'm excited or counting down or anything.

I will be back later this afternoon to post an update on my mini-TR.

 

[aprilisis]

Whoa. Awesome photos & stories! All I could think about while looking at your photos is how awesome it would be to work there. I would be happy 24/7. I'm sad your TR to Utah is almost over, but happy for you that you will be in WDW in a month!!

 

[PhoenixStrength]

Whoa. Awesome photos & stories! All I could think about while looking at your photos is how awesome it would be to work there. I would be happy 24/7. I'm sad your TR to Utah is almost over, but happy for you that you will be in WDW in a month!!

I would love to work at BFAS, but to be honest I know a lot of people that do, and they are not known for being great to their employees. They are not horrible to them or anything, they make an okay wage, get tons of benefits and are treated well, but they treat the animals better than the people in most cases. Of course, I like most animals more than some people, so maybe they have it right!

I'm sad that it is almost over too, but soon I will be able to start my WDW TR, so that will be great!

 

[PhoenixStrength]

DAY 11 THURSDAY OCTOBER 27TH​

MY FINAL GOODBYES, AND LEAVING KANAB​

I think I'm dreading writing this part of the TR as much as I dreaded leaving Kanab that day! I slept in a little that morning, waking up around 8am to shower and eat breakfast. I finished packing up everything and hauled it all out to my car. I took one more look around the cottage to make sure I hadn't forgotten everything. Oh, and the cottages have a great thing in a journal, where people who stay in them can write about their trip. You can write about any animals you visited with, places you visited, and whatever else you want for the next people to read and learn from. So, I wrote a page in there too.

After I left the cottage I went up to Angel's Overlook, which is an overflow, so to speak, from Angel's Rest. Angel's Rest filled up last year, so they created a second cemetary called Angel's Overlook.

I visited the graves of several animals that had recently passed, including the dog of one of my friends, who made an appearance earlier. Tamara, the trainer who led the puppy class, had lost one of her dogs a few days earlier and she was buried there that morning. I put down a special rock I had gotten at Zion on Mindy's grave for Tamara, as well as a few other graves, before leaving to head into town one last time.

Originally I had planned on waiting until about 3pm for a friend who was arriving that afternoon so I could spend a little time with her. I headed into Kanab and had lunch at Pizza Hut before heading to Best Friends' warehouse in town, which has a lot more items on sale than just those at the Welcome Center. I actually ran into Christina, Connie and Amanda there, and said bye to them one more time. Christina was very worried about me and was trying to convince me to leave then (about 1:30pm at that time) since she didn't want me to drive too late that night, since I'd be driving through the canyons. I called my friend, Jodie, to make sure she was still planning on arriving at 3pm and got her voicemail. While I waited for her to call back I took some pictures around Kanab.

Jodie got back to me and said they were stuck in traffic due to construction, and wouldn't be able to make it to Kanab until 5ish. I was sad I couldn't wait to see her, since I needed to get at least 4 hours of driving in and was not going to drive in the dark. We talked for a bit and then I drove out of Kanab and starting north on 89. And, of course, taking pictures along the way.

If you look closely in that last picture you can see some snow around the tops of the plateaus. I was only about 25 minutes north of Kanab when I took that picture, and realized how lucky I was that it hadn't snowed in Kanab while I was there. I felt even luckier a week after I got home when Kanab got a foot of snow. You will see snow in a lot of the pictures at the beginning of my drive.

Sevier River

The city of Panguitch

Of, course, Cows!

Piute State Park

And more of the drive along Route 89 N

You will notice that some pictures have snow, then the next don't. It was really like that. The snow was only at the high elevations, so the taller the plateau, the more likely snow was. And I was going up and down in elevation by about 2000 feet along the way too, which also effected the snow. Interestingly though, the further north I went the less snow there was, as you will soon see.

UP NEXT: MORE GORGEOUS SCENERY!

 

[mickeystoontown]

I hate to see your road trip come to an end. I have fallen in love with the sanctuary just from your story and your pictures.

It's too bad that you weren't able to stay and see your friend for a little while but I would have done just as you did and hit the road while it was still daylight. You wouldn't have wanted to be on unfamiliar roads late in the evening.

I remember when I visited Colorado in July and there was snow in the higher elevations. I was amazed since our Louisiana weather in July is in the 100s.

 

[PhoenixStrength]

I hate to see your road trip come to an end. I have fallen in love with the sanctuary just from your story and your pictures.

It's too bad that you weren't able to stay and see your friend for a little while but I would have done just as you did and hit the road while it was still daylight. You wouldn't have wanted to be on unfamiliar roads late in the evening.

I remember when I visited Colorado in July and there was snow in the higher elevations. I was amazed since our Louisiana weather in July is in the 100s.

I was bummed I couldn't visit with Jodie, but we are trying to get together later this year. It is difficult since she lives in AZ and I'm in MD.

It is crazy how much snow some places get during the summer. Another friend of mine lives in Montana and can't leave the state after August because there is too much snow to drive further than work or quick errands.

 

[PhoenixStrength]

DAY 11 THURSDAY OCTOBER 27TH, PART 2​

MORE GORGEOUS SCENERY!​

Around this time I got off Route 89 N, and got on Route 70 East, my roadway for the next 2200 miles!

Around 5pm I stopped in Richfield, UT for dinner at Arby's

After dinner I got back to my drive. Around Salina I saw a billboard showing what I could expect next.

Nothing! I stopped in Salina for a potty break and to fill my gas tank, since I certainly didn't want to be stranded in the desert with an empty gas tank! After that I headed into the "No Service" Zone, which starts with a drive thru Fishlake National Forest. I got some great shots of the fantastic scenery.

As you can tell, the snow was down at my level by the end of the Forest. Actually, I should say that I was up at the snow's level, since I went up about 2000 feet during the drive through Fishlake. The temperature by the end of that area was 40 degrees, versus the 52 degrees it was when I drove into Fishlake, only 40 minutes earlier. However, this was the last snow I saw for that day, though definitely not for the whole drive.

After Fishlake I was driving thru the high desert, which has it's own gorgeous scenery to photograph!

Of course, it wouldn't be right if I went a whole day's drive without hitting some roadwork.

The only thing scarier than driving thru the high desert, as the sun is starting to set, with roadwork, is to add a 6% downgrade with no guard-rails to it! It was one of the scariest parts of my drive, but I got thru it with no problems.

As I mentioned, the sun was starting to set, so I started looking for somewhere to stay for the night.

Around then I passed from Utah into Colorado. It was too dark to get a picture of the sign, but I was soon in Fruita and stopped at the Super 8, hoping it would be as nice as the one in Kansas on my way to BFAS.

In short, it wasn't. In fact, it was HORRIBLE! The walls were super thin so I could hear the couple next door arguing until midnight and the sinks on either side running whenever turned on, which they did until 1:30am. The a/c unit didn't work right and would only run for about 30 seconds and then shut off. The staff was either rude or hit on me whenever I stepped out my door, which was only creepier since it seemed everyone that worked there was related. The daughter ran the desk, the son was the maintenance man and the father did housekeeping. Within 10 minutes I was hit on by the son and his father. Not to mention they started cleaning rooms at 6am and were very loud about it in the hallway, and the rooms were not very clean. Not dirty really, but not clean either. It was the worst experience I ever had staying somewhere. And they were expensive too! I tried talking to someone in the morning when I checked out, but she didn't really care what I had to say. I did fill out a survery online though, but haven't heard anything back.

NEXT TIME: FREEZING COLD TEMPS, AND SNOW!

 

[ronnmel]

Yay for one month left!!

I can't believe how blue the sky was for most of your trip (except that last day). It makes such a gorgeous contrast with the redness of the rocks!

 

[aprilisis]

Awesome photos!! That stinks about the Super 8. Nothing like creepy dudes & a non-clean room to ruin your night! How many hours a day did you drive?

 

[PhoenixStrength]

Yay for one month left!!

I can't believe how blue the sky was for most of your trip (except that last day). It makes such a gorgeous contrast with the redness of the rocks!

You are right, the contrast between the sky and red rocks is amazing! And the sky just seems so much bigger out there than it is here in Maryland.

Awesome photos!! That stinks about the Super 8. Nothing like creepy dudes & a non-clean room to ruin your night! How many hours a day did you drive?

Thanks! That was definitely the worst night of the trip, though the next night was a close second, as you will soon see. I drove about 5.5 hours that first day, from 2:30pm to 8pm. The next day I drove about 12 hours, same with Saturday, then I finished up the last 6 hours on Sunday.

 

[PhoenixStrength]

Real Life/Disney Update: Last Tuesday I got a great surprise in my email inbox. No, not a PIN code, but an email from a friend I have not heard from in almost 2 years. We worked together for 2.5 years from 2005-2007, but then he moved to Florida. We kept in touch via email for years, but I stopped hearing from him in 2010. He emailed me out of the blue to see how I was doing and wanting to keep in touch again. We are trying to arrange to see each other while I'm in Florida, but not sure if it will be possible. He works a full time job and spends his every free minute running his own company too. Not to mention that his wife is incredibly jealous and does not like him spending any time with female friends. But hopefully he will either come spend a park day hanging out with me, or I may rent a car for a day and head to Sarasota to hang out around there with him, not sure yet since he doesn't know if he get a day off. But I'm glad to at least have contact with him again, since we were great friends for years.

I was definitely suffering from some winter blues, but hearing from an old friend helps! Hope everyone has a great rest of the week, bring on the weekend!

 

[PhoenixStrength]

Oops, double post!

 

[mickeystoontown]

Another set of absolutely gorgeous landscape pictures. It's too bad that you ended up in a not-so-great Super 8. I've stayed in some that are good and some that were not so good. I bet it didn't do a bit of good to complain since all of the staff were related.

Yay for hearing from an old friends. Sounds like it's his wife who kept him from contacting you before now. I hope that it works out that you two get to see each other while you're in Florida.

 

[PhoenixStrength]

Another set of absolutely gorgeous landscape pictures. It's too bad that you ended up in a not-so-great Super 8. I've stayed in some that are good and some that were not so good. I bet it didn't do a bit of good to complain since all of the staff were related.

Yay for hearing from an old friends. Sounds like it's his wife who kept him from contacting you before now. I hope that it works out that you two get to see each other while you're in Florida.

Thanks, the scenery as you drive thru there is amazing! I was definitely disappointed in that Super 8, but, as you said, complaining didn't make a difference.

I think it was a combo of his wife and just being so busy that caused us to lose contact. He works 40-50 hours a week at a "normal" job, then spends his days off from there running his business, so he barely has time to do anything else!

Pretty soon you are going to have more tickers than space to put them!

 

[PittypatBR]

Wow, the scenery is just fantastic! Your pictures are great and make me feel almost like I am driving along with you. I have never been to that part of the country so it is very educational as well!
The last part of a trip is always the hardest to write about, isn't it? Thankfully, it won't be long until you have a Disney trip to tell us about.

 

[nesser1981]

Beautiful photos!

 

[PhoenixStrength]

Wow, the scenery is just fantastic! Your pictures are great and make me feel almost like I am driving along with you. I have never been to that part of the country so it is very educational as well!
The last part of a trip is always the hardest to write about, isn't it? Thankfully, it won't be long until you have a Disney trip to tell us about.

Thanks, the scenery around that area of the country is so amazing. It is so incredibly different from the east coast, and it's difficult to not take an amazing picture with all that beauty around you.

It is hard to write about the end of the trip, even though it's been over 2 months since I returned. But you are right, I will be at WDW in 4 weeks and doing my TR after that, so I will definitely have something to write again soon.

Beautiful photos!

Thanks!

 

[PhoenixStrength]

Disney Update: Well, I'm a little bummed. Just saw that Disney changed their website and Dumbo now won't be opening until March 12, instead of the end of my trip. Don't know if that means they will delay the opening of The Great Goofini and Fantasyland Train Station to March as well, or if they will still open during my vacation.

 

[PhoenixStrength]

DAY 13 FRIDAY OCTOBER 28TH​

FREEZING COLD TEMPS, AND SNOW!​

So, after getting very little sleep, I got up around 6am to shower. I didn't trust the food there, since the hotel was so dirty, so I planned on going to the McDonalds across the street for breakfast. I got my car loaded back up and scraped the ice off the windows. When I started my car, this is what the temperature was.

Remember that, as it is only going to go down during the morning. I drove across the street and got breakfast from the McDonalds drive-thru.

I ate as I drove, since I wanted to get as many miles in that day as possible. Shortly after I got on 70 the sun started to come up.

As you can see, I was closing in on the Rockies once again. As I drove I got a good shot of the Colorado River, the stream rolling off it, as well as the beginning of the Rockies.

As you can, the snow was starting to make an appearance. It was about 8am by then, and the temperature had dropped down to 26 degrees by then.

I continued to drive, enjoying the amazing scenery around me.

By 9am the temperature had dropped to 23 degrees, and I had gone high enough in elevation that the snow was at my level as I drove thru the ski towns, like Vail.

And I ran into road work right after Vail.

By 9:45am it was only 14 degrees out, and, of course, my gas tank was running low.

So, I stopped in the city of Frisco and filled up my gas tank. I was bundled up best I could, but did not have a heavy coat with me since I knew it would be warm in UT the whole time.

UP NEXT: THE TUNNEL, AND SOME WARMING UP

 

[PhoenixStrength]

DAY 13 FRIDAY OCTOBER 28TH, PART 2​

THE TUNNEL, AND SOME WARMING UP​

After filling up my gas tank I headed further up in the Rockies to the Eisenhower/Johnson Tunnel.

After the tunnel is a 6% downgrade, which goes on for 12 miles. As I drove the snow started getting higher and higher up again. After those 12 miles I stopped in Georgetown, at the same rest stop I had stopped at on the way to Utah. I took a potty break and got a drink while there.

It was about 10:30am by that time, and as you can see I had gone down over 2000 feet in those 12 miles. It had also warmed up quite a bit in that drop too.

There was still some snow on the ground, but the temperature was definitely rising.

Within 15 minutes the temperature had gone up another 6 degrees.

I was soon leaving the Rockies behind, and driving around Denver. This time there was little traffic, since it was the middle of the day.

After Denver the scenery changed back to the open fields I would be seeing for the rest of that day, and the next.

After about a half hour the snow also disappeared completely. I stopped around here for lunch at McDonalds. I found it interesting that the soda cups had the Broncos all over it. I've never seen that for any other team, though I guess it's possible it just doesn't happen here in Maryland.

By then I needed another potty break, and a new drink, so I stopped at the rest stop in Arriba.

After I left there I was amazed to see corn still growing in that area. It was around 50 degrees there though, so I guess it just hadn't snowed enough around that area yet.

I drove thru Burlington, CO, and then was leaving the state. It was about 12:30pm by then.

UP NEXT: KANSAS DRIVING, OR AS MUCH AS I CAN DRIVE WITH ALL THIS ROADWORK!