#WanderingDorks

Our final day was a long one. We hung out in the morning at Senoia GA walker stalking. Watching them prepare for a shot. We didnt see anyone and had to leave. Then through the Carolinas and home. -John

Well this tour was awesome and super fun BUT I can not remember what all the shots were from. If i can figure out more I will update the folder. - John

So much TWD goodness in this place. It is Christmas all year round for Walking Dead fans. -John

Welcome to Senoia GA home to most of the Walking Dead filming. This post really just covers us walking around and grabbing lunch at Matt's Smalltown Pizza. The tour is yet to come! - John

We cut across the south to Pensacola for a nights stay. This was just what we needed before the final big stop on our trip. - John

We saw the causeway on the way into New Orleans. We did not need to go this way. In fact it was the wrong way to go but. . it was a super long bridge over the water. Of course Cara and I were like oh yes must go!! Erin was not quite as excited. -John

A morning in New Orleans at Cafe Du Monde and wandering the streets was just what the soul needed. There may have also been a search for a Bianca Del Rio prayer candle. . those crazy kids. -John

A creepy ghost tour, amazing food and the heart of the French Quarter. Our first trip to New Orleans was amazing. -John

I have made three trips to San Antonio in my lifetime and every time I find my way to Mi Tierra. It is an amazing spot and well worth the trip. Great food!! Love the feel of the River Walk every time. I will say this visit though . . . holy hell. IT WAS HOT. I basically felt like I came out of a shower. The girls even mentioned how much I was sweating in the heat. I felt like I was baking. - John

The beautiful historic Menger hotel. It was amazing!!! Our suite was awesome. The service was amazing. Far above what we were use to. And great people everywhere. No ghosts though . . we did peek around for them though. -John

The quaint town of Marathon, Texas boasts the least amount of light pollution in the US. Sadly our visit was met with a bright full moon that washed out the amazing skies we had hoped for. All this means is we have to go back someday! -John

Roaming just a small portion of Big Bend National Park gave us just a taste of the great things that await you in this corner of the country. Beautiful vistas creep up on you at every turn. Snakes slowly meander across the roads. Texas Longhorn calmly graze along the fence lines. Mule deer care not as you approach and go about their business. Coyotes and their cubs sneak across quickly. Jackrabbits and roadrunners take flight along the side of the roads. - John

The truth is out there... - John

We came in a long a road that said the entrance was right there. . and it wasnt and all we could do was see them stretching out . . they were so close and so awesome. . and then we saw a different road and somehow found our way in. An amazing little video and than a self guided tour of some super awesome stuff. Loved it. -John

The amazing solidified lava flows of El Malpais stretching out across the northern New Mexico plains was gorgeous. So many different things around this country that are just downright amazing. -John

Im more interested in what I discover than what I invent -Paul Simon  The road into the northwest corner of New Mexico to Grants NM allowed us a view of the legendary Shiprock. A year later Cara would find out she would be moving to this very area. I would also point out Blake's Lotaburger. We tried this place because we had this thing of grabbing local fast food. It was okay. Honestly I cant claim it was the legendary thing it was. But i was hungry and it hit the spot -John

The history and stories behind the ancestral Pueblo People of Mesa Verde are just amazing. The views and exploration were wonderful. - John

This was a last minute switch from an camping to a cabin . .the extreme heat made me decide I just wanted a cabin. It was nice and loved it. Moab really was a cool town. -John

The 4th was such a great day from Bryce to Arches and everything in between was just a great time. Exploring Arches was a lot of fun. There were so many amazing views of the land around us. - John

Sometimes you just find very very odd things. -John

When one takes back roads to try and see things. . one never knows what they will see. This was fun!

Bryce Canyon National Park was not even on my list. I knew it was there and looked amazing but did not think we could squeeze it in. I was wrong. We took the turn early in the morning and there we were. Wow. . beautiful and amazing like every other Park. I want to hike all of them as much as I can one day! -John

Zion National Park after dark was fun. I almost feel we should have just stayed longer and wandered more. The Bighorn Sheep just chowing down next to our car was great.  The different rock formations .. the mile long tunnel. So much to see and we were there so late we were unable to go to the other areas. - John

In the beautiful wilderness of Zion National Park we found our wild west wagon home for the night at Zion Ponderosa Ranch. It was a wonderful place and I highly recommend it to anyone down that way. Those turkeys....  - John

I made some jokes here and there that this was just a big hole in the ground. But man the beauty of the Grand Canyon is amazing. It is truly another one of those must see moments in life. While Cara scared me to the verge of death several times I can not begrudge her that adventurous spirit of hers. That is something that I myself felt that made me want to this trip happen. -John

"I'm shakin the dust of this crummy little town off my feet and Im gonna see the world"-George Bailey ITS A WONDERFUL LIFE The trip criss-crossing the Nevada-Arizona-Utah lines was a lot of fun with some amazing vistas. From the Virgin River Gorge to one of the few spots you can see the many steps of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. -John

Nothing like a quick morning jaunt over a massive man made engineering project. Hoover Dam is really another one of those things that you kind of just have to see. We drove across and back as we had another huge place to be. -John

I had never been to Vegas and while I did not explore anything on the strip merely driving down it was pretty crazy. What a sight to behold. Though we did get some In and Out Burger when we rolled into the outskirts of Vegas. - John

After the heights of Yosemite it was on to the Highway to Hell and into Death Valley National Park. This was some crazy fun times. Taking the Buick off the beaten path was much fun and just the thought of people actually surviving in this 120 degree heat is amazing to me. -John

Coming down out of Tioga Pass and Yosemite National Park you are greeted by the massive Mono Lake. Taking up just around 9 x 13 miles worth of land and averaging 57 feet deep it is a pretty impressive sight coming out of the mountains. -John

Have to admit Yosemite was just another amazing park on this journey. Leaving by the Tioga Road gave us some amazing views at Olmstead Point and then the still icy Tioga Lake at the end. So much beauty. -John

Late start led to some long lines waiting, but once we got through some of them, oh my. Just worth every second. I felt bad that the girls were getting really hungry waiting to get to Glacier Point and it was hot. Of course as soon as we got up the there the Park Rangers had opened it back up for cars. Oh well. The views up there were stunning. But from playing with the squirrels to clowning around in the tent it was a great day. I fell like it was one of my favorite parks.  I know I say that a lot. But it was really fun.

My favorite thing is to go where I have never gone - Diane Arbus The fun and history of the Rock is a must see stop in the grand city of San Francisco. The boat ride out and the cell block tour, everything is just great. - John

Wandering the streets of the city were one of the great fun moments of the trip. Granted the girls were a bit tired and not ready for the walk to start it off. But once we found some breakfast at Joanies things moved along nicely. We then sandwiched our walks around a trip to Alcatraz. In the afternoon we managed a stop at Boudin Bakery and  trolley ride. There may have been some long wanders in there too . . silly cable cars were hard to get on it seemed. . . -John

It really is a pretty crazy thing to see something like the Golden Gate in person. I mean I have seen it destroyed a kazillion times in movies. Seen the San Fran skyline on TV and in pictures over and over. But there it really was in all it windy glory as we were sitting up on the Marin Headlands looking down at this piece of iconic America. Amazing. - John

Wandering down Highway 101 you come across Patricks Point State Park. One of it's best vantage points of the Pacific Ocean is called Wedding Rock. The views are pretty spectacular. -John

Highway 101 through the Avenue of the Giants and down along the coast is a beautiful drive. The fog this morning really added to the mystique of these great massive forests. - John

So a wonderful breakfast and dinner spot at Good Harvest Cafe bookended our stay in the area. Crescent City KOA was amazing with just such great camping areas. The Redwoods just wow. - John 4648.8 miles total traveled. 221.5 for the day

So we headed out of Klamath Falls KOA and hit a Starvin Marvin(AMAZEBALLS Breakfast) and then the Oregon Vortex before drifting into Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park. Filming of Return of the Jedi took place in the park and yeah maybe I felt like Luke Skywalker on speeder bike a few times roaming these woods. -John

A random billboard brought us to this place. Off the beaten bath we went. Begone science . . this was something crazy and unnatural . . stunning mysterious . .oh yeah the tour and vortex were cool too. - John

Klamath Falls was home to C&D Burger Shoppe where not only I partook of a great burger but an amazing Huckleberry Shake!!! Was introduced to the greatness of huckleberries earlier in our trip at one of the KOA pancake breakfasts. Oh what I had been missing!!  As for the girls and their sleeping bags. . when I finally gave Erin the mummy bag her life seemed much more complete. Why I dont know . .something about being a snausage...   -John

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step- Confucius This morning we woke up to a great KOA panacake breakfast again. Man I love these things. Made decent time and ended up in easily the most beautiful place I have ever seen. I have never seen something like Crater Lake National Park. Oh yeah and there was lots of snow. Just enjoy the pictures. .  it was amazing. -John

When we started this trip I honestly did not think that in under two weeks I would be sitting on a beach watching the Pacific Ocean send waves sliding across the sand. I can only try and put into words each part of this trip and how much it actually meant to us. So many things happening. So many amazing sites. Cannon Beach was awesome and getting to see Haystacks Rock was great. But finally being on the west coast finally was just amazing. - John Day 10 - 371.20 miles day 4040.90 miles total

I wish I remembered the name of our server. He was simply awesome. He was friendly and helpful. He treated us like royalty even though we looked like we had just came in after 5 hours on the road. This was our first stop on the west coast of our road trip and it was amazing. My oldest daughter and i had the HOT DUNGENESS CRAB SANDWICH and my youngest had the fish and chips. We had a Dungeness Crab appetizer as well . . it was worth every single penny!!! The look on Erin's face as she looked out at the Pacific was priceless. - John

Driving along the Columbia River is one of those things that is just hard to put into words. Hills and mountians loom to the side, massive windmill farms dotting them all over.  A few other notes to pass along form this day. Oregeon loves coffee shops. Or more accurately coffee shacks. There seemed to be one along the roads every quarter mile or so. Perhaps they are using it to lure out Sasquatches.  And finally . . Powell's City of Books in Portland. This is one of the greatest places I have ever been. Level upon level of books. Heck they even had a place where you could publish your own. It was great! -John

I have been a wanderer among distant fields. I have sailed down mighty rivers. -Percy Bysshe Shelley Mount Hood rises over 11k feet above the Oregon wilderness and is prominent miles away as the shots here can tell. Was pretty awe inspiring when it just suddenly was there. My boss and I had talked about how it just shows up prior to the trip but damn. Just do not get it till you get it. I was pretty proud of Cara on this part as she drove the entire way up the mountain. - John

A flurry of dive bombing mosquitoes and flies assaulted us as we made a stop her along the way down form the mountains and into Washington state. The story behind this little out of the way place is pretty darn cool though and well worth reading up on. Love creation mythology - John

What a beautiful drive . . oh wait hi officer . . Cara what have you done??? Ha ha. Officer Aaron Day of the Montana Highway Patrol was super nice as Cara got her first speeding ticket. It was a good time and she would end up being more careful the rest of the way. Montana, Idaho and Washington state all in one day. Busy day. A few other notes that I recall. Granieries in Washington look like castles from a distance. US 12 has lots of shattered barns. Strange random tunnels. And oh yes let us not forget, well we shall call him "The Bard", a red baseball cap and shorts wearing ,guitar playing troubador on the side of road. Yeah just shorts. - John

Going to the Sun Road was closed for four more days. We were so close. But we did get to explore the area around McDonald Creek and the Johns Lake Trail area. Was worth it lots of good shots here. -John Day 8 - Montana 284.4 miles