Day 4: Amarillo, TX to Denver, CO

December 30, 2013

We are in the mountains! Today we traveled from northern Texas through New Mexico and into Colorado. Tonight we are staying in Denver for the night. We’ve decided that tomorrow we will reach our destination: Salt Lake City! I’m excited to stop living a nomadic life and get to SLC, even though I’m loving the trip itself. We will go into Wyoming and down into SLC.

Welcome to New Mexico

Today was an interesting day, and the weather was beautiful! I loved just enjoying the new landscape of mountains, deserts, and something other than flat/marshy tropical areas.

Roadside Attraction for Route 66

We drove along the historic Route 66 again today until we turned north for Colorado. We ate in NM at a cute diner that was themed to be a 1950s travelers’ diner. The food was surprisingly unique. Katie ordered a chili which was a Tex-Mex flare on the typical chili. It had a hint of spice and it was delicious! I ordered a quesadilla which also had a unique flare. We were glad we chose that restaurant since there were rather slim pickings in Santa Rosa, NM. For dinner, we ate in Denver at a very nice Italian restaurant in a cute (maybe downtown?) area. The restaurant’s menu advertised prices for $15-$25 on average, but both of our meals were under $9 on the check. It included bread, salad, and the meal itself. Great deal with a date-like ambiance, but it was a nice change of pace from Tex-Mex.

Cadillac Ranch

Before leaving Texas, we went to Cadillac Ranch. It’s basically just graffitied Cadillacs buried in the ground in the middle of a desert. It made for a great photo op! The warm morning sun was also nice… but it was freezing! 19 degrees plus a wind chill! These Florida girls were a bit chilly… especially our ears and fingers!

Creepy Sign in Texas for the Bates Motel

Miles today: 568
Miles total: 2,168

License plates yesterday:

Rhode Island
Kansas
Idaho
South Dakota
North Dakota
Oregon
Nevada
Massachusetts
Ontario (Canada)
License plates today:

Washington, DC
Hawaii
Alaska
Utah (FINALLY)