Epic Road Trip - Day 1 -Texas and Beyond

Summer is here and vacation is on the brain. I realized I never shared my vacation from last August. I went on a two week road trip with my dog, Connor through the American west. I drove 6,000 miles, visited 7 states, and two national parks. Almost a year later, I wish I still out driving around the country.

I have always wanted to go to Grand Teton National Park and I needed to attend a boot camp graduation in San Diego. That was the initial plan and it morphed from there. I decided to visit a friend in Salt Lake City first, but took a detour through Monument Valley. Yellowstone was added because it was an hour away from Grand Teton. Los Angeles was also added to the itinerary since I can’t visit San Diego without seeing my friends in my former town of LA.

Day one was Texas. I live in Houston, so to go anywhere west you spend most of the day trying to get out of Texas on my way to Albuquerque. First stop, Magnolia Market in Waco, three hours from Houston. I’m not the biggest fan of Fixer Upper, but I admire what Joanna and Chip Gaines have created in Waco. Connor was happy to have a break from the car. He is not a fan of car rides and after this trip he avoids the car like the plague.

The rest of Texas was a boring blur. Windmills, lots of dirt, and trains. I had a major thunderstorm outside of Albuquerque which had a dramatic temperature drop. I had to change into pants at a rest area because it had gotten so cold. I’m not used to temperatures below 80 in August.