2008 Vacation: Day 6

We got up and hit the road early, stopping in Cortez, CO for breakfast at a “Classic” Denny’s. Afterwards, we moved on to Four Corners, AZ. Upon our arrival, we saw a sign requesting correct change. I kicked myself for not have the foresight to anticipate the need for cash money. We were directed to a trading post five miles down the road for an ATM machine.

Upon obtaining the cash needed, we returned to Four Corners for the photo op and some shopping. I couldn’t believe the number of people who were standing in a line in the desert for a chance to stand on this one spot to get their picture taken. I found myself thinking, “What silly people!” even though I was one of them!

We purchased a few Indian crafted necklaces, a couple of yummy snowcones, and some really good “frybread” smothered in powdered sugar. Frybread is a bit like funnel cakes or New Orleans favorite beignets but a little heavier.

We moved on to Navajo National Park for a virtual geocache and a sandwich picnic lunch. The virtual geocache had me huffing and puffing for 1/2 a mile. I seemed to be suffering from memory loss up here in the thin air. I can’t seem to remember that when one hikes downhill it takes twice as long to climb back up.

Once I got this virtual geo accomplished, we continued driving on to Cameron, AZ where we stopped for a quick potty break and I got yet another virtual at the old Valentine Bridge and learned a little from a historical marker about Cameron, AZ.

Our Maggie has directed us through downtown Flagstaff, AZ to our spot at Woody Mountain Campground on Old Route 66. We went ahead and paid for only one night’s stay not knowing if we’d stay a second night.

We set up camp. I gathered some laundry to wash and The Teen took the girls to the nearby playground. I was really looking forward to a dip in the pool. However, I couldn't find the pool that was advertised on the website. So, I asked the campground office about a pool but was told it had been shut down and filled in. Man, I was bummed!

The end of this day ended like the rest, with us all exhausted and excited about the next day’s adventures.

2008 Vacation: Day 5, Pt. 2

As we drove to the Stage Line, the pavement turned to gravel. Maggie tells us to keep going another 3 miles. Based on our earlier experience geocaching in the San Juan Nat’l Forest, DH was a little hesitant to keep going but I assured him there would be a stage line and steak dinner at the end of the road. Eventually, we discover the Stage Line. As we pulled in, we noticed many, many horses in a corral. Four of them, King, Mack, Rio, and Gerty, were being harnessed up in the barn. While we waited, we actually witnessed the truck tire deflate before our eyes! DH decided not to worry about it until we returned from our adventure to change the tire. Before long the Mud Coach, circa 1860, was ready to take on passengers.

Our stage driver, Eric Bartels, wore a black western hat pulled low to shade his eyes from the sun. He kept the four reins laced through his fingers; his foot steadied the brake. We climbed on under “shotgun’s” directions and prepared for the ride to our waiting steak dinner. Then Eric snapped the reins and the stage rolled forward.

We traveled an hour through the rugged, southwestern Colorado plains (or pastures) to reach the Weber Canyon Stage Stop. On board were 11 passengers, Stagecoach driver Eric Bartels, and sidekick “Shotgun”.

The part of land we traveled through is fertile, grassy farmland that was settled in the late 1800s. Green juniper and pinion trees dotted the hillsides; sagebrush filled the unoccupied expanse of land.

Rocks of every size protruded from gullies and foothills. Deep ruts set our course. Yesterday’s buggy tracks, created during a rain storm, were baked hard and crusty in the warm afternoon sun. Since we’ve arrived, so has a little drizzle, causing a horse’s foot to slip into these ruts, but the gentle sway of the carriage soon returned.

Eric Bartels said the Mancos Valley Stage Line uses a mud coach instead of a stagecoach for this run. “The mud coach has leather thorough-braces (springs) and is made of sturdier materials,” he said, “It’s much more comfortable than a stagecoach.”

In the last century, he said, stage lines used the mud coach when traveling longer distances and when crossing the rough, western frontier.

The mud coach is made of aspen and birch and is a replica of the 1860 Concord coach named for its place of origin: Concord, N.H. White roll down canvas curtains hung at each opening, including the luggage rack, to keep out bad weather.

An hour after we left the ranch, we were anxious for that steak dinner we’d been hearing about. Driver Eric Bartels motioned with a handful of reins. “There, in that clearing,” he said. We circled the sagebrush and pulled up in front of a building of split spruce logs. Weber Station, built to replicate the log cabins of yesteryear, snuggled between the mountains as if it had been there for centuries.

Our full coach of passengers climbed out (or down), stretched and tested leg muscles. A small sheepherder’s cabin, built in the 1800s and refurbished by the Bartels family, sat close to the stage stop. We wondered how pioneer families endured summer’s blazing sun and winter’s freezing temperatures in such rickety, cramped living quarters.

As we gazed out over the valley, we could see why movie producers favored these settings. John Wayne westerns were shot about an hour away in northern Arizona. Louis L’Amour’s (DH’s all time favorite author) ranch, the range he wrote about in most of his novels, is to the east, near Durango.

We gathered inside the cabin, where kerosene lamps offered comfortable, shadowy light. We were seated at wide, lumberjack tables covered in red and white checkered tablecloths. A dark-brown, overstuffed davenport and chair made for cozy corner conversation. Antiques were everywhere.

After dinner, we went outside and plunked down on the steps, the railing, the rocker. We even gathered around a campfire. We chatted and played old fashioned games under the same sky as the Colorado cliff dwellers did so many years ago.

We made good friends in the homey atmosphere. When we heard the horses were hitched and the coach ready for boarding, we were reluctant to leave though we were given the opportunity to ride shotgun. I again found myself longing for my “roughing it” days tent camping with my dad when I was younger.

When we got back to the main parking area, I was astonished to see that the flat tire had been repaired, inflated, and ready to roll. It was a mystery to me as to who among our party had been the Good Samaritan but I sure was thankful!

We’re looking forward another day of sightseeing and the long drive to Flagstaff, AZ.

2008 Vacation: Day 5, pt 1

We got up approximately 7 a.m. DH took the truck to look for some new tires since he discovered yet another flat tire this morning. I chose to cook breakfast in this morning frying up some bacon and eggs serving with toast, grits, and orange juice. When DH returned to the camper at approximately 8:30 a.m. he reported that Walmart did not have the tires he needed. He checked with Goodyear on the way back to the camper. They told him they didn’t have them in stock but would have them by Friday. Well, since we’re on vacation, Friday wouldn’t be any good for us. So DH stopped at an Albertson’s for another can of Fix A Flat. By the time he returned to the camper, we were ready to roll & headed out toward Mesa Verde.

The town of Mancos, CO, in the valley, historically served as the "gateway to Mesa Verde".

Montezuma Valley and Mesa Verde were once a part of the Ancestral Puebloan homeland. Between A.D. 600 and A.D. 1280, hundreds of villages and farming communities thrived on the mesas, plateaus, and canyons that form this landscape. Archeologists estimate that as many as 35,000 Ancestral Puebloans lived in this region during the 1200s. At the start of the 21st century, Montezuma Valley had a population of about 24,000 people.

Knife Edge Trail:

In the early 1900s, America’s obsession with the auto reached Mesa Verde Nat’l Park and quickly influenced the park’s development. In 1914, a narrow dirt road was completed into the park. 2 Fords, 2 Studebakers, 1 Hupmobile,, and 1 Reo were the first autos to make the dangerous journey from Mancos to what is now the Park Hdqtrs. The trip took 3 hours and visitors were charge $1.00 per car, compared to today’s 45 minutes and $15.00 per car.

Centuries before they built cliff dwellings, the Anasazi in this region used alcoves for sleeping and shelter. There is only a shadow-record of their lives: pieces of hunting gear, intricate baskets and crude pottery, and some stone-line pits.

The storage pits were a significant find. By around A.D. 550, hunters and seed-gatherers who entered the region about A.D. 1 and used alcoves for temporary shelter were beginning to farm the mesa top and store part of the harvest-tentative steps toward permanent settlement.

Hundreds of years later, after living primarily on the mesa tops, the Anasazi moved back to their ancestors’ alcoves, but as a larger, more technically accomplished population.

DH and the girls hike back to the top. It wasn't so bad hiking down, but one must always remember that when hiking, what goes down must hike back up. Whew!

Little Bird gets sworn in as a Mesa Verde N. P. Junior Ranger.

She went on to earn a badge for three National Parks on this trip.

While at Mesa Verde, we toured ruins, reading and learning about the Ancestral Puebloans as they are now called. They used to be called “Cliff Dwellers” and "Anasazi". We walked a lot and carried Kangaroo a lot too. By 3 p.m. we’d had enough. We headed to a local store in order to purchase a package of pullups since I’d neglected to pack them for this adventure and we still had other activities to do before retiring for the night.

Since we weren’t required to be at the Stagecoach Depot until 4:30 p.m. we thought we’d kill come time with more geocaching. DH was actually agreeable to it this time. We attempted one about 8 miles in the San Juan National Forest but the road got too rough to continue so we had to abandon that effort. We decided to head back to Mancos, CO for our stagecoach ride and steak dinner. On this same road was another geocache in a cemetery. Finally, Success! I signed the log to record my find and we moved on to the Bartel’s Valley Stage Line.

2008 Vacation: Day 4

I awoke to the sounds of chirping birds and the smell of brewing coffee. It was nice and cool. I later learn that it’s 54 degrees Fahrenheit this morning! A cool 20 degrees less than they're waking up to at home! I looked at the clock to see that it was only 6:30 a.m.! I was way too comfy in my slumber to do much more than groan and pull the covers over my head. I’m not sure what it is about me, but it seems that my husband can sense a change in my breathing pattern just enough to alert him that I’m awake.

He came in, sat on the bed, and says, “So, what are the plans today?” I tell him that I had made ticket reservations with Outlaw Tours for us to take a van ride to Silverton, CO where we would transfer over to jeeps for a tour of “ghost towns”. About 3 hours later, they would drop us off in Silverton for lunch and souvenir shopping. Then we would board the Silverton Durango Narrow Gauge train for our return trip to Durango. DH patiently listens to my description of activities and then asks, “Do we drive ourselves on this jeep tour or is someone else driving?” I told him that he didn’t need to worry, someone else would do all the driving. See, I had planned it this way to take the stress off of him. However, I didn’t count on him not liking that plan. He proceeds to inform me that he’d like to do all the driving. I just shrugged and said okay. Before I go further, let me just say that Outlaw Tours has a policy of charging full price for no shows as well as a 50% of full price cancellation fees for reservations cancelled less than 10 days prior to the trip date. However, I forgot about that little piece of information thinking that if we didn’t show up they’d just give the spot to someone else. I was horrified later to learn that by skipping out on Outlaw Tours we just GAVE them $375. Arrrghggh!

So, we proceed to wake and dress the kiddos and by 7:30 a.m. we were sitting in the local Denny’s. The girls enjoyed “Alien Pancakes”, The Teen had a “French Toast Platter”, DH enjoyed some sort of Mexican omelet while I enjoyed a country fried steak with 2 eggs, hash browns, toast, and orange juice.

We left & got in the truck where DH turns to me and says, “Okay, where’s Silverton?” Before heading in that direction, I wanted to knock out a virtual geocache, so we took off for that coordinate and found the actual site of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kids’ Great Train Robbery. Parts of that great movie were also filmed here. As I stood there, I could almost imagine the excitement as a passenger on that train.

I took my photo & got back into the truck. DH turns to me and say, “That’s it? I drove all the way out here for you to take a picture?” I said, “Uum, yeah!?” He snarls at me and asks if I had programmed Maggie for Silverton, to which I answered in the affirmative. I plugged it in and off we went up into the mountains.

As we drove up Hwy. 550, the landscape begins to change dramatically. From brownish sandstone rocks with sage bushes and cacti to slate colored rocks with fragrant spruce trees. Climbing higher, the wildflowers I’d been hearing about were beginning to welcome us.

The following photo is a shot I took at Coal Bank Pass on the Million Dollar Highway en route to Silverton, CO.

The temperatures begin dropping and I wished I’d remembered to pack a jacket or sweater. Upon reaching Silverton, we stopped at the visitor’s center for some brochures. We phone a couple of Jeep rental places before find one that would rent to us for only $100 for the afternoon.

Since we had to wait until 12:30 p.m. to get our jeep, we decided to kill a little time with a geocache or two. Apparently, that idea didn’t sit to well with Maggie OR DH. I tried to find one but Maggie had me walking around in circles! Frustrated, I gave up and returned to the truck. DH was also quite frustrated with my geo obsession.

We then chose to just drive around a little bit before returning to Silverton for lunch. We walked around a bit before landing in the “Best of the West” Bar and Grill. (part of Handlebar’s Food & Saloon, a little down the street from Handlebar’s). This was a homely little place with creaking wood floors, mismatched tables & chairs, trophy elk and buffalo on the walls, and a ladies restroom decorated with pink paint, floral walls, and male revue posters plastered on the ceiling. That being said, the “Best of the West” served up the best mesquite smoke BBQ pulled pork sandwich I’ve ever had the pleasure of sinking my teeth into! Even when my stomach was screaming “Stop Eating!” I could not resist another bite!

The menu also offered other fare such as regular beef hamburgers and brisket sandwiches, most intriguing was the Buffalo Burger made with free range, grass fed buffalo meat. I was tempted to give it a try but was warned the meat is so lean that to cook it well done would result in a very dry burger. I chickened out at that and as mentioned earlier, chose the pulled pork.

Upon finishing our meal, we trekked down the street to the San Juan Jeep Tour Rental for a 4 x 4. We were given a lovely canary yellow jeep in which to view the backroads and ghost towns of America’s Alps.

We opted to make Animas Forks our first destination. As DH drove, I snapped photos left and right of wildflowers, snow capped mountains, and flowing streams.

Upon reaching Animas Forks, I was definitely wishing for a jacket! The temperature was dropping more and more. I began snapping more pictures only to have the battery on my digital camera go dead. I had brought my cell phone along out of habit and am glad I did as I was able to put another 40 photos on it.

I attempted one more geocache in that area but gave up when my heart felt like it would explode due to my running up vertical slopes trying to find the correct coordinates. Finally returning to the jeep, panting like a dog due to the thin air, I read again the geo hints. I suddenly felt like an idiot and learned a lesson. Always read the hints one last time before looking for a geocache that isn’t even there!

DH and the girls were waiting for me in the Jeep. I climbed in and we drove even higher. I believe we got to 12,000 or 13,000 feet elevation. Quite a climb considering we started this adventure at only 15 feet above sea level. The higher we climbed the colder it got. My hands and fingers began going numb. I remembered that I had packed the girls fleece blankies and was thankful that God had guided my hand to put them in the bag.

We continued to drive on when the rains came. At between 12,000 and 13,000 feet elevation, that rain was plain COLD! Cold is the only way I can describe it. It was take your breath away COLD.

It was coming to the close of the day, our deadline. We decided to head back to Silverton. Why doest the return trip seem so much shorter? On our way back to Silverton, I spied the little hotel that my family had stayed in 25 years ago on our vacation to the area. I also spied the First Congregational Church that my mom went into and signed the guest book. I tried to do the same but the doors were locked. So I went back to the truck with even more photos on my phone.

We were so very tired and ready to get back to the travel trailer but first I’d promised the girls a treat. We found the Silverton Fudge & Candy store. We went in and discovered they also serve ice cream! We all ordered some and I ordered some of their special Mint Chocolate fudge to go. Yummy!!

Time to go back to the campground for hot showers and soft beds! Driving back downhill didn't seem to bother me as much as the drive uphill. Maybe because I this time I was on the side looking up the cliffs instead of down into the valley's!

2008 Vacation: Day 3

Man, I slept so good! A nice thunderstorm woke me up in the middle of the night. I remember wondering what time it was before drifting off back to sleep. At approximately 7 a.m., DH woke me up to ask where my camera was. He walked out around the campground and witnessed a beautiful scene of cloud enshrouded mountains. Upon his return to the camper, he began to cook a light breakfast while I dressed the girls.

After breakfast, we took advantage of the Coronado State Monument. While DH and the kids learned a little about the residents of the 1600’s, I went off in search of the geocache. As usual, I misread the GPSr and ended up about 1/2 a mile from the actual cache location. All was not lost though as the views of the landscape was so beautiful it could be a cache by itself. I was disappointed that I’d made such a mistake yet again and resolved to miss this one in order to get moving on to Durango, CO.

I rejoined the family for some touristy sight seeing and the walk back to the parked vehicle when I spied the treasure. The geocache! Hidden right where I shoulda been looking in the first place! YAY! At this point, I decided to let the girls “find” it. There was a small outcropping of rocks near the cache that looked like it’d make a wonderful photo op. I suggested the girls have a seat there and Little Bird in all her curiosity could not sit still. She looked a bit like a bobble head doll toy with all the turning, twisting, and looking she was doing. Finally, she spied the cache and stopped her wiggling before declaring, “Treasure! Mommy, a Treasure!”. Jumping up, she grabbed the box and proceeded to open it for treasures only a child would deem valuable. Happy meal toys!

The kids dug through it for some geojunk and I dropped travel bug into it, telling DH, “Mission accomplished!”. Satisified, we returned to the campground to hook up and hit the road again. At 10:10 a.m, we pulled out NW on 550 toward Durango, CO. As we ride, the landscape changes dramatically. Where before the land was somewhat flat and sparsely vegetated, now the red sandy dirt juts up in front of us, ever growing along the route.

We arrived in Durango, CO at approximately 1:30 p.m. and began searching for the campground. I had keyed the location address into Maggie and she directed us straight to the local Walmart announcing, “You have arrived!”. DH and I looked at each other. He asked me, “So what just happened?”. I replied that I didn’t know yet but one thing I DID know was that the Walmart parking lot was certainly NOT the Cottonwood RV Park.

We proceeded to poke along Hwy 160 before I spied a hidden billboard announcing the campground we were looking for. We pulled in and set up. I found myself very disappointed in this particular choice of campground. The website had showed a river flowing by which gave me the impression that there would be the peaceful sound of such lulling me to sleep tonight. This campground is nothing more than a gravel parking lot with hookups, picnic tables, and a shade tree or two. There is no playground or pool for the kiddos either. On the plus side, the bathrooms and showers are exceptionally clean.

I also did not see a fire ring. I find that I miss the “roughing it” atmosphere I grew up with but hesitate to give up my comfort in the travel trailer. We haven’t built a single campfire on this trip.

After we got set up, I sent The Teen off to the shower. Upon his return, I decide to attempt a couple of more geocaches while DH finished up some work reports. Before doing so, however, I want to locate the Diamond Circle Melodrama where we have tickets for the evening show “The Spoilers”. Once that little chore was accomplished, we set out for the geocaches.

This little quest took me and the kiddos into the Greenmount Cemetery. What a beautiful place to rest! It’s old and very picturesque. As we were driving through in our attempt to find the coordinates, a doe and her fawn appeared right in front of us. They casually meandered through the cemetery as if that’s where they belong instead of in a nice quiet meadow in the valley. As soon as they disappeared, a buck in velvet showed up. Who knew that so much wildlife could be seen in a cemetery?

Once we had our fill of picture taking, we resumed our quest for the cache. The GPSr led me back to the cemetery gates, where I left The Teen & the girls in the truck while I climbed among sage bushes and cacti on the side of a fairly steep slope. I got to the coordinates and looked all around, nearly giving up before spotting it. As I reached for it, a small iguana looking lizard jumped out right on top of it! It scared me to death, but what concerned me a little more was that this lizard looked just like one of those made up bearded dragons (a.k.a. yellow spotted lizard) in the movie “Holes” only a little smaller!

I took a stick to move the critter and proceeded to claim my find. With that done, we moved on to another at a tiny local park. Got this one claimed, played around at the park, and walked along the banks of the Animas River. The sound of the water flowing over smooth round stones is the most peaceful sound in the world. It literally “washes” your worries away. I took a moment to meditate and looked at my cell phone for the time. As I predicted, it was time to head back to the camp for a quick dinner and to freshen up for our evening at the Melodrama.

We got packed up to enjoy a story about corrupt politicians trying to cheat a couple of hard working miners out of their cherished yellow rocks. The play was cute but the most fun was the audience participation. We had to Boo the villains, Cheer the heroes, and Awww the sweet heroine the hero was in love with.

At the end of the show, the accompanist “sound man”, entertained the audience with “The Maple Leaf Rag”, “The Entertainer”, and “The Bumblebee Boogie”. Nathaniel Powers is quite the accomplished musician, never once looking at the sheet music in front of him; instead keeping an ever watchful eye on and interacting with the audience. Wow!

As the cast came out for their finale bows I realized how tired we were from traveling all day. I suggested to DH that it was time to call it a night. We took the opportunity to leave even though there was more entertainment on the program. Kangaroo had fallen asleep in my arms and was becoming a bit too heavy for me to continue holding her.

The weather was so nice and cool that when we got back to the camper, we opened the windows and turned off the air conditioner. We all got dressed for bed and the kiddos passed right out! Once I went to bed, that was it for me. I was out before my head hit the pillow.

2008 Vacation: Recipes

5 Can Soup -

1 can diced tomatoes
1 can mixed veggies
1 Can White Corn
1 Can Black Beans
1 Can Progresso Minestrone Soup

Dump all cans into a pot, bring to simmer for 20 min, serve. Do not drain cans before adding to pot.

2008 Vacation: Backseat Survival

About 2 weeks before our adventure, I had made up a backseat survival kit to keep my girls entertained. The Kit consists of:

• Pre-printed "travel tickets"
• Lacing cards
• Crayons
• Dry Erase markers
• Magnetic paper dolls
• Magnetic glo in the dark alphabet letters & numbers
• Doodle Pro magnetic toy
• First Handheld Crayola Game
• Travel Pack of baby wipes
• Cookie sheet covered with white contact paper
• Pipe cleaners
• A backpack to put all of the above stuff in.

The "travel tickets" were made by printing out a little map of our daily destinations on index card size paper or card stock and laminated it. I made a border of stars around the map for every hour of the trip. If our day consisted of 10 hours of driving, then I would put 10 stars around the picture of the map. Every hour I would then punch a star with a hole punch (or ticket punch) to show the girls that another has gone by. When all the stars were punch, we were there! They loved it!

You are viewing Backseat Survival. Please click one of the following links to read more:

• Day 1
• Day 2
• Day 3
• Day 4
• Day 5, pt 1
• Day 5, pt 2
• Day 6
• Day 7
• Day 8
• Day 9
• Day 10
• The Menu
• The Tunes
• Recipes

2008 Vacation: The Tunes

Downloaded and burned to a CD in this order:

Easy Rider: Born to be Wild - Steppenwolf
Freebird - Lynyrd Skynyrd
Drive My Car - Jan & Dean
Route 66 - Asleep @ the Wheel
No Particular Place to Go - Chuck Berry
Hot Rod Lincoln - Asleep @ the Wheel
Expressway to Your Heart - Eddie Money
I Drove All Night - Roy Orbison
King of the Road - Roger Miller
Amarillo By Morning - Asleep @ the Wheel
Take Me Back to Tulsa - Asleep @ the Wheel
Little Deuce Coupe - Jan & Dean
Magic Carpet Ride - Steppenwolf
Little Old Lady from Pasadena - Jan & Dean
Soul Man - Sam & Dave
Maybelline - Chuck Berry
Sweet Home Louisiana (a take on Sweet Home Alabama) - The Sensations
You’re a Hard Dog - Gail Davies
Gone - Faron Young
Wide Open Road - Johnny Cash
Let’s Roll - Ray Stevens
Big River - The Highwaymen
Driver’s Education - Ray Stevens
Highwayman - The Highwaymen
The Wreck of the Old 97 - Johnny Cash
Ahab the Arab - Ray Stevens
Lookin’ For Love - Johnny Lee
New Mexico - Johnny Cash
Turn Your Radio On - Ray Stevens
You’re the Reason God Made Oklahoma - David Frizzell & Shelly West
Carrying Your Love with Me - George Straight
Where Are You Spending Your Nights - David Frizzell
Desperados Waiting for a Train - The Highwaymen
Train of Love - Johnny Cash
Nashville - Ray Stevens
The Bird - Jerry Reed
Be Your Own Best Friend - Ray Stevens
The Streets of Laredo - Johnny Cash
Down on the Corner - Jerry Reed
Safe at Home - Ray Stevens
Miles & Miles of Texas - Asleep @ the Wheel
I’ve Been Everywhere - Johnny Cash
Ticket to Ride -
It’s a Lovely, Lovely World - Gail Davies
The Woogie Boogie - Ray Stevens
Carried Away - George Straight
Hang Up and Drive - Ray Stevens
East Bound & Down - Jerry Reed
Copenhagen - Jeff Foxworthy

You are viewing The Tunes. Please click one of the following links to read more:

• Day 1
• Day 2
• Day 3
• Day 4
• Day 5, pt 1
• Day 5, pt 2
• Day 6
• Day 7
• Day 8
• Day 9
• Day 10
• The Menu
• Recipes
• Backseat Survival

2008 Vacation: The Menu

This is what we ate on our journey. Keep in mind that this was not written in stone. I had planned as much of this as possible but there were times that we just wanted to check out the local cuisine.

Day 1

Breakfast: Intended to make breakfast sandwiches ahead of time and pack for travel, but caved in and allowed hubby to stop at a Cracker Barrel restaurant.

Lunch: Sandwiches, chips, cookies, fruit, juice

Dinner: Made ahead frozen Chicken N Dumplin’s

Snack: Trail Mix

Day 2

Breakfast: Cold Cereal & Milk

Lunch: Sandwiches, chips, cookies, fruit, juice

Dinner: Made ahead Frozen BBQ Brisket

Snack: Granola Bars

Day 3

Breakfast: Fried eggs, toast, grits, sausage
Lunch: Sandwiches
Dinner: Precooked & Frozen Spaghetti
Snack: Peanut Butter Crackers

Day 4

Breakfast: Denny's in Durango, CO
Lunch: Burgers & Pulled Pork Sandwiches at Best of the West Bar & Grill in Silverton, CO
Dinner: 5 Can Soup
Snack: Granola Bars

Day 5

Breakfast: Fried eggs, toast, grits, and sausage
Lunch: Sandwiches
Dinner: Family style steak dinner with mashed potatoes (with skins), green beans, peach cobbler, tea, and lemonade served up at Bartel's Stagecoach
Snack: Granola Bars

Day 6

Breakfast: Stopped at the Classic Denny's in Cortez, CO on our daylong drive to Flagstaff, AZ
Lunch: Sandwiches
Dinner: Hot dogs with chili and chips
Snack: Fry bread & Snowcones at the Four Corners, AZ and peanut butter crackers in the truck

Day 7
Breakfast: Cold Cereal & Milk
Lunch: Sandwiches
Dinner: Leftover BBQ Brisket
Snack: Trail Mix

Day 8
Breakfast: Stopped at a truckstop for a homestyle breakfast while on way out of Flagstaff, AZ
Lunch: Sandwiches
Dinner: Leftover Spaghetti
Snack: Granola Bars

Day 9
Breakfast: Cold Cereal & Milk
Lunch: Sandwiches
Dinner: Frozen smoked chicken & Walmart macaroni salad
Snack: Peanut Butter Crackers

Day 10
Breakfast: Cold Cereal & Milk
Lunch: Sandwiches
Dinner: Free for all @ home
Snack: Whatever could be found in the truck

You are viewing The Menu. Please click one of the following links to read more:

• Day 1
• Day 2
• Day 3
• Day 4
• Day 5, pt 1
• Day 5, pt 2
• Day 6
• Day 7
• Day 8
• Day 9
• Day 10
• The Tunes
• Backseat Survival
• Recipes