Part 3 - An Epic Ending to Our Cannonball Run
December 12, 2023
I am going to preface this post with an apology for the long delay since my last post. Since writing the other two posts, I have experienced failures in both of my daily drivers (covered in this post), worked on new vehicles, and had some amazing automotive escapades. Enjoy!
Day 6 (Tuesday, July 19) - Salt Lake City, UT
Miles: 0 miles
Hours: 0 hours
After thousands of miles of driving and seemingly no time to rest or relax, it was finally time for a bit of a breather (from driving at least). What is the least peaceful thing that you could potentially do that would inevitably cause further pain and suffering to an area that had been sitting in a car for the past six days straight? Downhill mountain biking in Park City!
Jake and I drove from the Sheraton Hotel in downtown Salt Lake to Park City, which was a beautiful 30-minute drive to gear up for downhill mountain biking. While I had done this once in Snowmass, Colorado, my level of excitement was on a completely different level (as you can probably tell in my face below):
We were both a little nervous to get started. As I mentioned, I had only done this once and Jake had never gone formal downhill mountain biking before. It did not take long though for us to settle in, enjoy the ride, and the just stare off the stunning backdrop of the mountain.
As beautiful as the sky was, we did soon learn how quickly the weather can shift. We were making our way back up the mountain after a solid run when the rain (seemingly out of nowhere) completely let loose. At first it was just rain, then it was wind followed by hail. This was ABSOLUTELY the low-point of the day... Here's a video that illustrates our misery...
Though the cold experience was pretty cold and miserable, it didn't take away from how amazing the day was. We continued riding for hours enjoying every aspect of being there. After 6 hours of riding, we were exhausted and ready to head back to the hotel.
The worst decision that we made that day came after biking; we had decided to not bring any significant food for the duration of the day. We were starving, but were so gross that we couldn't stop on our way back to the hotel.
After showering and changing, we immediately went and grabbed what was maybe the best fried chicken sandwich I've ever had at Houston Texas Hot Chicken. Add on the milkshake that I had and I was in heaven.
After dinner, we filled the car up and headed back to the Sheraton for a much-needed night of sleep.
Day 7 (Wednesday, July 20) - Salt Lake City, UT to Page, AZ (detour through Moab, UT)
Miles: 500 miles
Hours: 8 hours
After our day of mountain biking, it was time to hit the road again. We left at about 8:00AM and headed due south towards Arches National Park. The drive to Arches was pretty as we watched the scenery change from plain-like rolling hills to straight-up desert with unreal straight roads like this:
About 3 or 4 hours in, we arrived at Arches.
We decided to go on a hike around the Fragile Arch in summer heat of about 100 degrees. We would later learn that 100 degrees was actually cool compared to some other places nearby. Here were some pictures from our hike.
We left Moab and continued south. Jake had apparently written a paper in elementary or middle school about the Four Corners monument, so we figured we'd check it out! Like before, the roads were just stupid straight and while there is a speed limit, nothing is enforced when you can see 30 miles in front of you...
A couple hours later, we came up on Four Corners. Maybe others disagree, but in my personal opinion this was not a high-point in any way of this trip. I'm glad we saw it, but if you are planning a trip out west, maybe don't plan your day around it...
As we left Four Corners and continued west, the sun started to set and the roads continued straight. Before we knew it, I was driving behind a fellow white Mustang on stunning sunset roads out west. It was like something out of a movie as we hastily made our way out to Page, AZ.
A few hours later, we arrived in Page, AZ. There wasn't much we did other than eat out for dinner and take this snapshot of the Mustang further illustrating its rough condition.
Day 8 (Thursday, July 21) - Page, AZ to Las Vegas, NV (detour through North Rim of Grand Canyon)
Miles: 500 miles
Hours: 8 hours
As we woke up on day 8, we ate a hardy breakfast at the hotel before leaving for the Grand Canyon around 10:00AM. It was a relatively short 2-hour ride, but like most of our drives on this trip it was pretty stunning...
On prior trips out west, I had been to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon (closer to Flagstaff, AZ) on two occasions. While I hadn't seen the North Rim, I figured that it would be more of the same. I could not have been more wrong. The South Rim is more of an arid desert while the North Rim is more of a forest, similar to that of Yellowstone.
There are even bison (or bison hybrids) at the North Rim. It really did feel more like Yellowstone did than Arizona or Nevada.
I enjoy hiking and gave us the brilliant idea of taking the Kaibib Trail, which can be taken to the canyon floor. We walked about a mile and a half down (it really is straight down) before deciding to stop and turn back because we knew how difficult the trek back up would be. This stopping point was when Jake and I really sat there and just acknowledged how far we had come. We spent about 20 to 30 minutes just talking while admiring the canyon...
After taking a breather and drinking some water (we each brought 3 bottles with us), we started the trek back up. By stating it was strenuous would be an understatement. It was a mile and a half of switchbacks going straight up the canyon wall. We were both out of breath multiple times, but after about an hour we made it back out.
Once at the top, it was time to make the drive to Las Vegas, NV. We assumed that we would grab lunch on the way as it was now 1:30PM, but didn't account for there being no food for about 2 hours as you drive towards Las Vegas. We both suffered a bit and were delirious due to hunger, but managed to make it to In N Out Burger in Utah before entering Nevada. Oh my god was that a good burger...
After lunch we ate lunch, it was time for Las Vegas! The temperature continued to go up and up as we got closer. Turns out this was one of the hottest days in Nevada history... Yes, that is the cars intake reading a temperature of 150 degrees Fahrenheit at the air intake... For context this was at 80 degrees while we were the Grand Canyon.
We were both eagerly anticipating arrival at the Aria. The first thing we did was take a nap for about 3 hours before we went out for the evening. Here was our view from the room:
How did we celebrate making it to Vegas? Well, we went out for a steak, gambled a bit, and tried walking the strip but decided to turn back due to heat before turning in for a relatively early night (probably 1:00AM). We were so tired at this point that we just couldn't stay out any later.
Day 9 (Friday, July 22) - Las Vegas, NV to Oxnard, CA
Miles: 300 miles
Hours: 5 hours
The day of finally arriving in California had come. We got an early start leaving around 9:00AM and left for Oxnard (where Jake's family lives).
The trip was uneventful with a lot of desert...
and then ocean ocean after a short few hours!
I did not take any pictures once we arrived in Oxnard, however Jake's family was kind enough to host us and made a fantastic dinner in their home right on the beach. It could not have been a better evening to end our road trip adventure. It was the first time in 10 days that we weren't sleeping at a hotel or in a tent surrounded by bears.
Day 10 (Saturday, July 23rd) - Oxnard, CA to the Portofino Hotel
Miles: 60 miles
Hours: 1 hours
It was the final day. We were a combination of excited, exhausted, and appreciative to have made it this far safely. As we packed the car to finish the trip, I think we both were excited to know this was our last time loading the Mustang up. We said goodbye to Jake's family and took the short (relative to us) drive to southern Los Angeles for the Portofino Hotel.
The arrival at the Portofino was ceremonious! We both felt accomplished and were in smiles from ear to ear! As excited as we were, it was one of those moments where you realize that the trip wasn't about the destination, but the adventure to get there. It was one hell of a trip...
Now for the funny part of returning the car. Originally we had anticipated running the Mustang through a car wash at the end, but due to time constraints with our flight and timing we did not have that opportunity. We drove the Mustang to the LAX to turn it in fully anticipating looks of disgust but no one cared! Here were the pictures of the aftermath (pictures don't do it justice of how foul this Mustang was):
There was salt ALL up in the wheel-well and not to mention the undercarriage.
Was this trip everything we wanted it to be? Yes, and so much more. Since the trip in July, all we've been able to talk about is what's next. There may be another large road trip in the near(ish) future...
Last but not least if you're still reading and need a good laugh. This video was taken as we were leaving Park City after mountain biking for the day. Please enjoy our beautiful physiques as we took a Utah stroll back to Salt Lake City after having some "post enjoyment."
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