Blue Ridge Parkway and North Carolina

We left Cookeville TN and drove through the Smokey Mountains to Ashville, NC. We got to hand out with the folks while they had lunch at Moe's BBQ.

After that dad spotted a brewery next door and of course had to sample the fares.

We spent some time driving on the Blue Ridge Parkway, but ended up in the clouds so couldn't see much. Dad took some cool shots though...

Moose flying on the Blue Ridge Parkway

Tunnel on the Blue Ridge Parkway

Tom and Moose on the Blue Ridge Parkway

Into the clouds on the Blue Ridge Parkway

Rhodies on the Blue Ridge Parkway

We only drove to Route 80 then drove back to I-40. On the way there was a very cool lake called Lake Tahoma.

Dance hall on Lake Tahoma

Moose at Lake Tahoma on Route 80 NC

At Lake Tahoma on Route 80 NC

Afterwards we headed toward the eastern seaboard as we are planning on being in Salisbury by Sunday night. We stopped in Oxford, NC for the night.

Cookeville TN

We decided not to spend time in Nashville because most activities wern't going to be inclusive for Pinch and me. We drove on and decided to stop for the night in Cookeville Tennessee. 

Turns out a Harley rally was wrapping up here so few rooms were available, but we managed to get one that the folks could stay in too. 

The folks went to dinner at a place in the old part of town called Crawdaddy's. They specialize in Cajun food, but not exclusively. The folks met a very nice dog loving wait staff named Taylor. They were smiling big smiles and making lots of yummy noises when they came out, so it must have been good.

There was a neat ice cream parlor with a cool sign in the same part of town.

It seems like a cool place.

 

We all agreed that we would come back and spend more time here.

Little Rock and Memphis

Woke up to rain this morning, and we went through some heavy showers between Little Rock and Memphis. 

We got to Memphis just in time for Cozy Corner to open at 11. Ok we picked the right location to have Memphis BBQ!!! Ribs and a pork sandwich, both with sauce to die for. Bananna pudding (with Nillas) and sweet potato pie to top it off. Oh my nom, nom, nom. 

That last paragraph was mom, we did get to try a bit of the pork and ribs, and yes those were darn good. Makes up just a little for having DRY 😖 kibble last night for dinner because the folks "forgot" to pick up a can of dog food. Since they didn't do more than snack for dinner there wasn't anything extra for us. 😥

Dad is touring Sun Studios and we are hanging with mom. 

I got to bark at the guys demolishing a building on the University of Tennessee Health Sciences campus.

 It is hot when it rains and mom puts the windows up tho.

 Dad's back so on to Nashville!!

Pinch Saves The Day

Our room in Arlington came under attack in the middle of the night. I heard the intruders moving down the hall making random stops at other rooms. 

Then it happened...the enemy sent their ammunition under the door. 

I let the attackers know I would not surrender easily. They wisely beat a hasty retreat. My family was safe. ❤

Arlington

We got into Arlington around 4pm yesterday so it was nice to have time to hang out.

We are staying next to Six Flags Over Texas and took a walk around the park. 

Across the street is Global Life Park where the Texas Rangers play.

Dad went to Siz Flags Over Texas this morning and we hung out with mom.

After dad was done they had lunch at Humperdinks across from the park and we got to hang with them on the patio.

And now on to Little Rock tonight and Memphis tomorrow.

New Mexico and North Texas

We drove from Gallup, New Mexico through Albuquerque and up to Santa Fe. The folks had lunch on the patio where we could join them. There were other dogs there, and we were trying to make sure they knew I was the boss but that leash kept getting in the way. 

After lunch we took a walk around the block near the restaurant and smelled some stuff. Mom wondered why all the houses had some sort of fence around the yards.

Front yard in Santa Fe, NM

Fence made from rebar, very striking.

Post fence

The far side of the block we walked around pretty much had a dog in every yard, so dad said that must be why everyone had fences. I told them all I ran the show around here!!

After leaving Santa Fe, NM we drove south on Hwy 41 back to I-40. We stopped at one point to take a potty break.

Cactus and big sky on Hwy 41

What is mom doing across the road!!

We drove on to Amarillo, Texas. We stopped for a walk to see the Cadillac Ranch.

Cadillac Ranch I-40, Amarillo, TX

Cadillac Ranch

Cadillac Ranch, Amarillo TX

The folks had dinner at the Coyote Bluff Cafe.

Coyote Bluff Cafe, Amarillo TX

That's a swamp cooler in the upper left, it's pumping a mist into the air not smoke. That was about the only moisture we've breathed for a couple of days.

Utah and Arizona

Red hills Hwy 14, Utah

We decided to take hwy 14 to get from I-15 to hwy 89. Hwy 14 took us through some high country recreation areas, and really striking terrain.

Utah's Grand Staircase through the trees

Utah's Grand Staircase

I wanna go down there!!

The 2 legged animals grabbed lunch at a German restaurant near Kanab, UT and we found some shade to sit in while they ate. It smelled good. There were some Aussies that stopped for a break too. I let them know I was boss there. 

Afterwards mom took us for a short walk, it was pretty warm and dry. Pinch picked a half dead cactus to poop on. He was lucky and it worked out ok for him. Not so much for mom. She didn't sound happy when picking up after him.

Red rocks near Kanab, Utah

We then drove through Navajo and Hopi country and crossed the Colorado river above the Grand Canyon. We ended up not taking an extra 2-3 hours to go to the Grand Canyon Village, but we got to see some amazing areas anyway.

Colorado River crossing Hwy 264, Arizona

I wanna play in that water!!

Doing that tourist thing!!

Hot and thirsty over the Colorado River

We stayed the night at Gallup NM where hwy 264 connected with I-40.

Nite all

Never so glad to have a hotel room. No roosters outside our room at the crack of fricken dawn tomorrow (we hope).

The last couple of hours through free range,  antelope, and jack rabbit country was a little stressful for the folks. Pinch and I slept :-) 

Mom tried but it only took a couple of jack rabbits running across the road and cattle next to the road and antelope off in the distance to inspire her to be wide awake for the rest of the trip.

Day 2 continued

24 hours in, made it to Austin Nevada. Stopped for gas, getting 34.8 mpg traveling with AC, a load, and up and down hills. Mom is happy with that. 

Overlook at Austin NV, 6500 ft elevation.

Some guy with too much money in the 1800's built this...see next 

By the end of the day we will have gone about 620 miles. Mom says good day, but I'm worn out...

We saw lots of rocks and sage brush and long long roads.

Good morning

Hey it's 6 am, it's time to get up.

Rooster intruders.

Morning walk and cool succulents.

Shoe tree between Doyle and Bordertown.

Change of plans, east, southeast to the Grand Canyon then on to Santa Fe. No dogs allowed in the Skywalk park at all so we decided to skip that and try and avoid the fire at Flagstaff.