Home again.

This is the final posting for my Grand Canyon trip journal.

As I mentioned in my earlier entry we decided yesterday that we were not interested in sight-seeing in Santa Fe and really just wanted to go home. We packed up and checked out of our hotel around 10:00 am and pointed Genie towards home. I told Jeremy I would drive the first 10 hours to Dallas if he did the last four to Houston. This drive is the longest I have ever made in a single day. We headed south for an hour or so on a state highway from Santa Fe to meet up with I-40. We took a left on I-40 and 3 hours later we stopped for gas and lunch in Amarillo. We then hopped on another US 287 or 280 I can't remember which took us from Amarillo, through Wichita Falls and into Fort Worth in about 3.5 hours. As we drove through the Panhandle I started to see towns that I have heard my dad talk about, I think. Matador rings a bell. I think he used to go there as a child.

We made it into Fort Worth around 8:00 PM, found a gas station and switched places. After 9.5 hours of driving I was ready to just ride. Jeremy took us through Fort Worth and into Dallas and finally hooked a right onto I-45 and we headed south. We pulled in our driveway around 12:30 AM on Saturday morning 13 and a half hours, including stopping for lunch and 3 times for gas, after leaving Santa Fe. Google maps said it would take us 14 and a half hours, I think that's a pretty bad estimate. The I was very tired and also very glad to be home. The house was stifling as I had turned the AC way up before we left. Thankfully it was cool enough outside that it didn't take any time at all to cool the house off.

We have much to do today. Laundry and unpacking.

The stats:

Total Miles Driven: 3,347 (Estimated: 3,189)
Average MPG: 47.7

Trip route: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&saddr=2507+Detering+St,+Houston,+TX+77007&daddr=I-37+S+to:400+N+Harrison+St,+Alpine,+Brewster,+Texas+79832,+United+States+to:US-67+to:111+W+University+Ave,+El+Paso,+TX+79902+(Hilton+Garden+Inn+El+Paso)+to:320+N+44th+St,+Phoenix,+AZ+85008+to:PO+Box+3245,+Grand+Canyon+Nat.+Park,+AZ+86023+(Grand+Canyon+Holiday+Inn+Express)+to:Center+Loop+Road,+PO+Box+129,+Grand+Canyon+National+Park,+AZ+86023+(Grand+Canyon+National+Park)+to:Cliff+Dwellers+Lodge,+Uninc+Coconino+County,+AZ+to:North+Rim,+AZ+to:Cliff+Dwellers+Lodge,+Uninc+Coconino+County,+AZ+to:1968+Galisteo+St,+Santa+Fe,+NM+87505+to:2507+Detering+St,+Houston,+TX+77007&hl=en&geocode=%3BFVRxwAEddmQh-g%3B%3BFYQm1gEdrlra-Q%3B%3B%3BFUQvJgIdwPBQ-SEZ8Nl7k78TqA%3BFX0vJgIdpO9Q-SGyLDS-E3Di4Q%3BFdHfLwIdOdFV-SHa-E2QHSiuzQ%3B%3BFdHfLwIdOdFV-SHa-E2QHSiuzQ%3B%3B&mra=ls&via=1,3&sll=33.101175,-103.81763&sspn=21.936013,30.058594&ie=UTF8&ll=33.83392,-108.479004&spn=10.905405,15.029297&z=6

We went over budget by about $100.00. All in all not to bad. The total trip cost including food, lodging, gas, park fees, helicopter ride and all was just over $1,200.00. All things considered this was a fun trip. I was well enough to do some canyon stuff and we were able to see as much of it as we wanted. I found out what driving for 12 hours feels like and I saw some interesting parts of the USA. If anyone is interested in packing up their car or hopping on a plane for a trip to the Grand Canyon I'll be happy to tell you what I know.