Well it's been awhile since you heard anything from Gassaway's Adventures, so with that in mind and that fact that we celebrated our 47th anniversary, we figured what better time for a road trip. We also wanted to experience some other States where the gas prices were still reasonable, unlike California. No RV this time, just the car and a couple of suitcases. The plan was to do a circle in the southwest, Flagstaff, Santa Fe, Monument Valley, Zion and lastly Las Vegas. An ulterior for me was to get some practice in with the drone and produce a little video of our trip. Oh, and to celebrate 47 years of martial bliss.
We spent the first night in Flagstaff and after pointing out to the hotel desk at Embassy Suites that I was being charged more than was stated when making the reservation, the manager gave us a very good rate. It was cold in Flagstaff, with some snow on the ground. The cold temperatures would remain with us on the entire trip. Not Winnipeg, Canada cold, but with temperatures as low as 16 degrees, it was cold enough for us. The next day we headed of to Santa Fe.
After a lunch stop in Albuquerque for really good hamburger, we turned north to Santa Fe arriving at our B&B in mid-afternoon. Actually north of the city about 15 miles, Rancho Nambe turned out to be a really good choice. We were greeted by Dick and Sarah who would be our hosts for the next 4 nights. If you like old, then Rancho Nambe is just the ticket. This is a hacienda in the true Spanish style. Built over 250 years ago, the original part of the building is still in use as the kitchen and dinning room. Over the years the home has been added on to by lengthening it, with each of the room's doors opening to the courtyard. In the 40's, the then owner was the Chairman of the Republican National Committee and a great room was added to entertain guests. Besides the B&B, Rancho Nambe is a working horse ranch where Arabians are raised. Each morning Sarah prepared us a wonderful breakfast which include her home made granola which she graciously gave me the recipe.
Next we were off to Monument Valley for an overnight. Choices for lodging in Monument Valley are limited with just two selections. The same goes for eating establishments. We stayed at Gouldings Lodge where our room had a pretty good view of the valley. Nice room, not so nice restaurant with overpriced mediocre food.
We had to keep moving so the next day we headed to Zion. We stayed at another really nice B&B, Zion Canyon B&B located just outside of the park. Being the off season, you can drive the length of Zion Canyon, something not allowed in busier times. Because of Cathie's bum leg, there would be no hiking on this trip, so we were pretty much relegated to the car. Still a very beautiful place and even more so with snow in the higher elevations.
After 2 nights in Zion, what better place to end our road time, but Vegas. We had our anniversary dinner at Cathie's favorite restaurant, Hugo's Cellar. Cathie wasn't feeling too well, so she skipped the main course, but did manage to get down the Banana's Foster at the end of the meal. All in all a pretty good trip. I even managed to recoup Cathie's losses, plus some at the the poker table.
Oh, yes, here's the video:
