7-15 April Morgan Hill, CA to New Orleans, LA

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Albuquerque, Arizona, Baton Rouge, Bayou, california, Congo Eel, Grand Canyon, koa, Lousiana, Meteor Crater, Mississippi River, New Mexico, New Orleans, Roswell, Route 66, San Angelo, San Antonio, Seligman, Teche Bayou, Texas, VanDeCampSeesAmerica17, Vasalia

15 April 2017 – New Orleans, LA

While we booked the Coyote Valley RV Resort until 8 April, work was done early on the 7th and we decided to get an early start on the great Eastward march. Leaving Morgan Hill, CA we took about 4 hours to reach the Visalia/Sequoia National Park KOA in Visalia, CA.

From Visalia, CA we continued South East to Seligman, AZ (Route 66 KOA). Most of the day we spent parallel Route 66 and watching the ruins of the small towns once dotting the famous road pass us by on Interstate 40.  The panoramic vistas including multi-colored sandstone and gigantic rock monoliths were amazing, especially in the setting sun.

We got a small taste of the old Route 66 at our destination in Seligman, CA. The town still had several motels, curiosities, restaurants, and shops which made Route 66 famous. Seligman is also the supposed model for the Radiator Springs of Cars with real cars from the 30s, 40s, and 50s dotting the roadside and parking lots.

Breakfast at Lilo’s Westside Cafe on Route 66 in Seligman, AZ

The reason we chose Seligman, CA was the proximity to the Grand Canyon – only 90 minutes to the South Rim. On 9 April we woke up and had a classic American breakfast at Lilo’s Westside Cafe on Route 66 before heading to the Grand Canyon – an American adventure experienced for 80 years.

Read more about our Grand Canyon visit.

On 10 April we left Seligman, AZ and traveled to Albuquerque, NM. We stopped for lunch and sightseeing at Meteor Crater, the largest confirmed and best-preserved meteor strike in the world. On the way we passed through Roswell, NM – the infamous site of a 1947 military weather balloon crash which led to stories of an alien craft crash landing and many conspiracy theories. It’s fun to drive through the two and see the green aliens everywhere. The town really owns and plays up the story and the kids had a great time spotting all of the aliens around town.

Read more about our Meteor Crater visit.

Texas oil derrick

On 11 April we left Albuquerque, NM and drove into central Texas destined for San Angelo, TX.  Leaving Albuquerque we left behind amazing sandstone rock formations and hills and was quickly greeted by flat plains, amazingly red dirt, and countless oil and natural gas derricks constantly siphoning out that “black gold”/”Texas tea.”  The drive was the longest of the journey so far with over 450 miles and 12 hours.

12 April saw a short 4-hour drive from San Angelo in central Texas into San Antonio and Texas hill country.  We parked at San Antonio KOA, unhitched, and relaxed in the warmth of central Texas.  The kids immediately hit the pool and playground for some long-deserved play time.

13 April we spent the morning working and then went to San Antonio to visit the Alamo and the Riverwalk.

Read more about our visit to San Antonio.

Walking along Bayou Teche

After two nights in San Antonio – a brief but welcome respite from the road – we were off to Louisiana.

We stopped over in Breaux Bridge, LA on the Teche Bayou in Pioneer Acadian Village.  We woke up and took a short walk to the Bayou which was at the end of the RV park.  There was a small pier into the river and gave us our first close-up view of the Bayou.

Sherrie spotted a crawfish trap and lifted it up with a stick only to find two crawfish, a frog, and a congo eel in the trap.  She freaked out and thought it was a cottonmouth snake – but the small feet on the side of the animal identified it as not a snake.

 

Congo Eel in crawfish trap

From Breaux Bridge, LA on 15 April we traveled the final 2 hours into New Orleans giving us our first glimpse of the Mississippi River and several riverboats along the Baton Rouge port.

 

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San Antonio, The Alamo, and Riverwalk

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Alamo, Riverwalk, San Antonio, Texas

13 April 2017 – San Antonio, TX

Family at The Alamo

We headed into San Antonio in the afternoon after some morning work.  We went straight to the Alamo.  Although there are better missions around San Antonio to visit – there is none as iconic and made it on our must-see list for its historical significance. The Alamo is situated in downtown San Antonio amidst large buildings and busy streets – not exactly picturesque.  We parked across the street (for $22/8 hours!) and went to visit this iconic site.

The kids enjoyed the Alamo and had a good time visiting the grounds, the barracks, and the church.  However, while a historic site, there is not much of the historic Alamo left as it has been rebuilt over the last 200 years.  We all enjoyed the living history section where docents in period costume explained weapons, warfare, and medicine in the early 1800s.

After the Alamo, we headed across the street and down the stairs to the Riverwalk – another iconic San Antonio item.  The kids were hungry, tired, and hot – not exactly conducive to a leisurely visit 🙂  However, they did enjoy sitting and watching the baby ducks play in the San Antonio River – and even an attempt hawk trying to pick one of them off but fought off by the momma duck.  We ate along the river at Casa Rio – a mediocre Mexican restaurant.  Afterwards, we walked along the various sideshow places such as Ripley’s and a knock-off wax museum before heading back for the evening where the kids played into the night on the playground.

Meteor Crater

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Arizona, Meteor, Meteor Crater

10 April 2017 – Meteor, AZ

 

Meteor Crater Panorama

On our way, East across Arizona and only 6 miles from the Interstate lies the best-preserved confirmed meteorite strikes in the world.  A 4000-foot wide crater all that is left of the meteor which struck the earth 50,000 years ago.  It’s not an inexpensive stop costing us over $50 for the family but the site is unique and a landmark.

 

Lucas and Isabella studying Meteor Crater

The visitor’s center is well done with lots of interactive exhibits and a good description and recreations of the event plus some details of the geology.  There is a large section on the process proving it was a meteor strike as for a long time it was not confirmed and many thought it was a large steam eruption.

We walked the short route up to the top of the rim and looked down and across this massive scar on the earth.  It’s amazing to see it up close and then look at the photos of Venus and other planets on which their entire surface is marred by these events.  It really does make you appreciate how hospitable this planet is to our form of life.  Also interesting is that the actual strike is a further 700M below the surface – as the crater floor has been slowly filling over the last 50,000 years.

 

Grand Canyon

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Arizona, Grand Canyon, Lilos Westside Cafe, National Park, Route 66, Williams

9 April 2017 – Grand Canyon, AZ

We woke up on Route 66 in Seligman and went to breakfast at Lilo’s Westside Cafe.  The kids shared two stacks of enormous pancakes, Sherrie enjoyed Texas-sized french toast, and I had a chili omelet filled with jalapenos.

Grand Canyon South Rim Panorama

 

Lucas, Aurelia, and Giluliana build a rock cairn in Grand Canyon

From breakfast, we drove 1.5 hours into Grand Canyon National Park and the South Rim.  We parked outside the Market and after a quick restroom break walked the short distance to the canyon rim trail which is an easy paved walk with great views.  All along the route, there were samples of rock and descriptions of the geology.  The canyon allows one to see 4.5M years into the history of the Earth.  The uplifted strata, limestone, sandstone, and granite were visible and the kids enjoyed being able to touch and see the rock up-close.

 

We walked the 1.5 miles to Bright Angel Lodge.  The views were spectacular but still, we couldn’t see to the bottom of the canyon and decided to hop on the bus taking us further into the canyon with better views of the Colorado river.

Family photo at Grand Canyon

 

 

A short wait for the bus and a 20-minute bus ride to Mojave point was worth it.  Based on the suggestion of a park employee you can see the Colorado river snaking it way through the canyon (and apparently on quiet days hear the rapids below).  We took the bus back to Bright Angel Lodge but instead of waiting for the shuttle to the Market we decided to walk back from there.  The kids were not doing well – hungry and tired of walking.  They obviously need to get their hiking endurance back!

We got back to the car and enjoyed peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.  However, after sandwiches, they were still hungry.  So, we stopped at Williams, AZ and Station 66 Italian Bistro.  Interestingly, the kids didn’t seem that hungry….