"You can't see it all in a week"

Just returned from an insanely fast-paced road trip from Las Vegas, NV to Albuquerque, NM (5 states in 6+ days!!)

Most of the trip is a blur, but here's what I remember:

Oh, so there were three of us: myself, my high school friend Fran, and his friend Ben (from the UK) that he met while teaching English in Japan. The cool thing about Ben was that he could modify his accent at will. Most of the trip, he spoke with an American accent, but used his British accent when it seemed to come in handy.

Day 1: arrived in Vegas in the evening; after waiting at the airport for an hour for my friends to pick me up (they apparently were running 4 hours late, but managed to cut it down to 1 thanks to 90mph driving), we cruised down the Strip and then crashed at my friends' college friend's apartment. Ben had arrived from Japan earlier that day and had endured a flight over the Pacific, as well as a drive from Los Angeles, so he was quite delirious.

Day 2: spent most of the day on the Strip, checking out the hotels - made about $30 in roulette at the MGM Grand; my favorite quote was when we visited an oxygen bar, and the lady was espousing the benefits of oxygen: "it's great for hangovers, jet lag, and fatigue." oh yeah? thanks, but i'm getting it for free right now. i think i'll pass.

Day 3: had brunch in downtown Vegas, which is actually a better place to gamble than the Strip - it's cheaper, less crowded, and the people are friendlier. thought i was awesome at roulette and tried to win some more money - ended up losing $20. total winnings from Vegas: $10. after a quick stop at Zion National Park (beautiful scenery), it was off to Bryce Canyon National Park. on the way, Ben got pulled over for speeding (doing 70 in a 45). so what does he do? turns on the British accent and avoids a ticket.

Day 4: saw Bryce in the morning, and then left to hit up the Grand Canyon - almost a full day of driving; it's completely dark, and we're running out of gas; we end up driving through the entire park before finally finding a hotel and a gas station - the first hotel in the past 100 miles! another 40 miles or so and we'd be out of gas.

Day 5: woke up at the crack of dawn to see the sunrise (who knew that it'd be so cold when the sun isn't up?) well worth it though; got some great pictures, probably my first sunrise in over 10 years; next stop: Monument Valley - an iconic symbol of the American Southwest, or so they say (i'm not a fan of the name; what exactly is it a monument to?); as we leave, we decide to make an unscheduled stop at the Navajo National Monument. we miss the turn, so Ben pulls over on the side of the road, parks the car, and applies the hand brake. a stranded motorist runs a mile to our car, taps on the windshield to ask for help, and what does Ben do? immediately pulls away! he claimed that he didn't see the guy, even though both Fran and I were telling him everything. so we turn around to get to the Monument, and he pulls over again - this time right across from the motorist! we think that Ben is going to help him, but again he pulls away! nothing like English hospitality. finally get to Mesa Verde at sunset -- yeah, i think that's the first time i've see the sun rise and set in the same day.

Day 6: visited a pueblo in Taos, where a couple was talking to an Indian shopkeeper. he said his name was Tony, and after they inquired about his Indian name, they proceeded to say "I'm glad you changed your name to Tony." yeah, the whole world should just cater to you, because why should you make any effort to try and understand other cultures? unbelievable, especially since they were in this man's home. in another store within the pueblo, a lady remarked that "You can't see it [New Mexico] all in a week" - ha! we saw the entire Southwest in 6 days!

Day 7: checked out a few galleries and arts shops in Santa Fe; then it was off to Albuquerque to catch our flights.

Wow, that was a long post. Definitely nice to get out of town for a bit, even if it was at a frenzied pace. Got some great pictures, saw some awesome scenery, and was exposed to some cool new music.