Final Day of US Road Trip

            

The meeting place of four states.

AUGUST 28, 2018

For this final drive from New Mexico to Salt Lake, it was a fascinating route up north, past the national parks, ghost towns, and mountainous desert terrain.

Four Corners Monument
Along the way, I stopped at the Four Corners Monument (technically now in Arizona due to tectonic activity), that commemorates the meeting of New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Colorado. It was a fascinating place, though not much to see. I did get a couple souvenirs, kindly crafted from the Native Americans that keep this place running in the middle of nowhere.

      

 

 

 

After heading up north from the monument, the drive up to the Salt Lake Valley went through canyons, mountains, and desert plains. This last stretch was my favorite footage to capture with my dashcam, a video that I worked on and can be seen via my Facebook page here.

If you've been reading along with my posts, thank you for reading and stayed tuned for more travel adventures! (I also swear my photography gets better, I promise).

Day 5 of US Road Trip

Some of the Cadillacs at Cadillac Ranch, TX

AUGUST 27, 2018

Amarillo Zoo, TX
After spending the night in Arlington, I drove further west, passing through Amarillo for lunch. While in Amarillo, I also toured the small zoo there, where I had a nice time with noodle bois, fluffy bois, and others.

  

 

  
  
  
  
  
  

Cadillac Ranch, TX
On the way out of Texas, I stopped by a popular monument, right off to the side of Route 66, Cadillac Ranch. It's an art monument that was eventually turned into a project for the open public. It was a fascinating place, and I would have loved to have sprayed my own signature somewhere on it, but the fresh paint fumes were quite overwhelming for my sinuses.

 

                     

Albuquerque, NM
After some time at Cadillac Ranch, continued down the western stretch of Texas, crossing the border to New Mexico. By then, the scenery had changed drastically, from a dry shrubland to arid desert. Right before Albuquerque, however, was a stretch of mountainous ranges, which was scary to drive through near sunset time. I booked a hotel room in Albuquerque, my last stay before I finally go into Utah!

Day 4 of US Road Trip

Hiking trail that led right to the shore of Lake Ouachita

AUGUST 26, 2018

Lake Ouachita, AR

After spending the night in Little Rock, I continued west on the Arkansas interstate, heading a bit north towards Lake Ouachita State Park. It was a beautiful area, and quite elevated. I took a decent hike down the Caddo Bend Trail, lasting about two or three hours, taking me down close to the shore before looping back to my car. Feeling refreshed from this hike, I felt ready to make the 5.5 hour trek towards Texas.

 

The area also had great geological areas that show the lake's history
as the remnants of an ancient marine basin.

  

Arlington, TX
After a long drive from Arkansas to near the middle of Texas, I stayed the night at my auntie Angelica's place, where I engorged myself on Chamorro red rice and chicken keleguen.

Day 3 of US Road Trip

Bench along a trail in Bunkhead National Forest

AUGUST 25, 2018

Bunkhead National Forest
Once I left Birmingham in the early morning, I headed west towards Mississippi. In western Alabama, I stopped by a small park in the Bunkhead National Forest, called Natural Bridge Park, named after a large natural carbonate formation. This formation has eroded in such a way that it formed a bridge that reportedly has been used as shelter in Native American societies.

In the forest, there are several different rock formations accompanying the bridge, along with some small fire pits, picnic tables, and bridges that follow meandering cricks and hills. It would be an area that would be perfect for wildlife photography if I had the chance to spend a whole day there. Unfortunately, I had to move on to through Mississippi rather quickly to make it into my next stop in Arkansas.

 

  

Wapanocca Wildlife Refuge

My original plan was to stay with a cousin in Harrison, AR, but because he never got back to me with his address, I had to switch my plan into a drive through Mississippi, then crossing the Mississippi River into Arkansas. I ended up getting a hotel in downtown Little Rock, but before then, I was actually granted more time to tour around Wapanocca Wildlife Refuge.

  
This refuge was really scenic, marked with different habitat zones just like Bombay Hook, along with great views of the Arkansas countryside. I didn't get to see too many birds, but dragonflies were around for days.

     

Little Rock, AR

After having a decent time at Wapanocca, I continued west to Little Rock, where I had a good sleep and excited to hit one of my favorite spots on the trip.

Day 2 of US Road Trip

The view in front of a McDonald's somewhere in the middle of South Carolina

AUGUST 24, 2018

South Carolina

After heading out of North Carolina, I followed the interstate right through South Carolina, stopping only for a brief nap, and lunch to go from a McDonald's. Without planning a specific stop that was on the way through SC, there weren't any places I found to take some good captures. The interstate itself was pretty, with greenery on both sides, by tall trees and shrubs, but really nothing else, until I crossed over to Georgia.




Georgia

My original plan was to make it near downtown Georgia so I can meet up with Cam Muskelly, who offered to show me around the Fernbank Museum. However, as I stopped for gas in Thomson, GA, I found my gas cap missing! So I had to take some time to buy a replacement cap, which ate up too much time from my original plan. That unfortunately meant I had to forego my meeting with Cam until he ends up at Salt Lake City.

Cheaha State Park

After passing the rest of Georgia, I crossed over to Alabama, which is probably one of the prettiest states I've been through. On the way to Birmingham, I drove through the Talladega Forest up to Cheaha State Park, which contained the highest point in Alabama, giving breathtaking views of the Appalachian Mountains.

Scenic view on the way to Cheaha State Park

 

Birmingham, AL
On the way out of Cheaha State Park, I had to drive through a decently-long stretch of Talladega Forest, which was terrifying because of the slopes and skinny (sometimes single-lane) roads. I especially didn't like the other cars that were following me at the same time. It was beautiful, though, and I eventually made it to downtown Birmingham. My host, Don McFall, was couch-surfing host, and my first experience using CouchSurfing.com. I made sure to check their credentials and experience, and Don helped make it a painless experience to get in contact and become acquainted. He and I shared a local meal that night, and definitely made me consider coming back to Alabama someday.