Biospheres and Meteors and Eagles (Lyrics)

The second day began with an hour drive to the Biosphere 2, the research facility and Pauly Shore inspiration for "Biodome". For those unfamiliar with it, it was built in the late 80's and was supposed to be a human experiment where people would be completely locked in it for 2 years and they would see if they could survive.  It was supposed to simulate colonizing another world and would incorporate all different kinds of biospheres. It didn't quite work as planned (apparently ordering pizzas is not something you can do on the moon, though that seems like something Papa John might try while drunk) and despite a second attempt at the experiment, it eventually became a university research center and is currently owned by the University of Arizona.

I should note that the construction and research got a lot of press in the late 80's and early 90's and I was fascinated by it as a kid. I remember thinking this was going to prove we could colonize other planets and within a couple decades we'd be on the moon! It didn't work out obviously (or else I'd be blogging from the moon right now and not a Best Western in Winslow, AZ with the slowest internet connection imaginable). I also recall being really disappointed when the original goal fizzled out and they needed outside help. Still, it's one of those places I wanted to go and it lived up to the hype.

It's a huge facility and the fact that some oil guy funded the construction and actually got it built is amazing. Even with its flaws, the engineering is impressive and it's still yielding good research today. The tour we took walked us through the inside, including the rain forest, simulated ocean, fog desert and savannah. We also saw some of the technology underneath the facility, including a huge room that was an artificial lung that moved up and down, allowing the air pressure in the sealed structure to be dealt with in a way that didn't destroy the windows.

After the tour, we had to quickly leave so we could get to Meteor Crater before it closed. That's another place I read about as a kid and have been fascinated with so this was a pretty great day for 12 year old Ryan. We did get a bit sidetracked when we passed by the Casa Grande National Monument and since it was right on the road on the way to Meteor Crater, we stopped to get a stamp and check out the prehistoric structure built by the Sonoran Desert people 500-1000 years ago. The ruins are pretty cool especially with how much of the main house is intact and was definitely worth a quick stop.

We got to Meteor Crater only about 30 minutes before closing but that was good enough to look at a big hole in the ground. It's the best preserved meteor impact site in the world and the scope of it is pretty incredible. The museum was nice too and had a nod to Jess's hometown so she was happy.

Finally, we went to Winslow. Arizona to stand on a corner. Specifically, we went to the corner that they put a couple monuments and signs up (along with some Route 66 stuff). It was the highlight of Winslow considering there weren't many places to eat and the Denny's we went to was a huge disappointment (and that's saying something considering it's a Denny's).  Now we're at the hotel and will have to get up early for another packed day on Monday.

As they say at Meteor Crater, "Come see our hole for free!" Note: They do not say this.

A Day As Long as the Cactuses (Cacti?) Are Tall

Once again, we're on the road visiting National Park sites and a bunch of random stuff in between. This time we're heading to Arizona (and eventually New Mexico, Colorado and Utah) with our friends Matt and Jen and our day started bright and early. The 6 AM direct flight seemed like a good idea when we booked but the early wake-up call wasn't much fun when the day arrived. Thankfully everything went smoothly and we landed in Phoenix at 7:30 local time (MST). After loading up at Walmart and eating at a Cracker Barrel, we headed to our first stop: Tombstone, AZ.

Pulling up, it was pretty much like you'd picture. It was one of those places that does have the history and education but is mostly a giant tourist trap complete with cowboys on the dirt street yelling at you to try the ice cream (which incidentally is exactly how I pictured the Old West). Of course, we had to see the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral reenactment and the historama that goes with it. The historama was narrated by Vincent Price so you know it was modern. The reenactment was decent but some actors were clearly into it more than others. All in all in was a good first stop (except for the yellow jackets which were everywhere, probably on account of the ice cream the cowboys were hawking).

We then drove back toward Tucson which is where we were staying for the night. At this point we had been going for 15 hours but since we wanted to take advantage of the remaining daylight, we stopped at Saguaro National Park. It was a small park (the road was an 8-mile loop) where the main attraction was the Saguaro cactus. I guess there used to be a lot more but then a cold snap decades ago killed a bunch and the cattle grazing didn't allow new ones to grow. They started to fix that in the 70's and now there are a lot of them out there. It was pretty neat to see although once you've seen 100 cactuses (or cacti), you've seen them all. On the plus side, it was another stamp (and Jen's first) and Jess got to leave some of her artwork for someone to find. There were a bunch of good views (and given that's it close to some subdivisions, some mediocre views) and definitely worth the stop. I think we all enjoyed it, though it's possible the highlight for Jen was figuring out her selfie stick.

A quick dinner later, we were at our hotel and heading to bed early. I think we were all asleep by about 9 PM local time which was good because the next day wasn't going to be any less busy...

As they say in Saguaro, . Note: the bicyclists do this.

The .1%

We decided to end our trip a little early so this was our last day on the road. We didn't rest at all or stay in any place two nights in a row ad while we could have, it was best to just keep going and then get back home and pick up the dogs.

Our last destination was the Biltmore Estates outside of Asheville. We've talked about going for years but it's just far enough away (and expensive enough) that we've never done it. Since it was on our way back, we finally went to see it.

The little town it's in is pretty nice - even the McDonald's looks fancy. Driving in, the grounds look pretty nice and the visitor's center/ticket area is nice too. Of course, it better be for like $70 a person. It's brilliant from the descendants of the Vanderbilts - just charge tourists a ridiculous amount to a see house they couldn't even afford to stay a night in and keep being rich!

The driveway in is very pretty - they put a lot of thought into the landscaping and after 100 years, it's still fantastic. The house itself is a Chateau-style house and is the largest privately-owned home in the United States. It's also situated on a huge piece of prime land at the base near the mountains.

We all had to admit that the self-guided tour and the length of it was pretty impressive. Everything is beautifully done and there is a lot of look at. We did rent one of the audio devices to give some more info on each room and that was well worth the price too. It does feel more home-y than you'd think and there is a lot of history with it. The planning for it was incredible and was well-executed and it's certainly worth a visit if you're in the area.

We took a very brief stroll through one part of the gardens and then we all agreed we were petering out and it was time to get home. 4 hours later a nice dinner at ZB's (that's what people in the know call Zaxby's) we were back at the house.

We got lucky (again) with the weather and everything worked out really well. We all got to see and do everything we wanted and there weren't any hiccups along the way. It definitely makes us look more forward to our trip in September, assuming the government hasn't shut down by then.

As they say at the Biltmore, "It doesn't matter how much money you have." Note: No one says this.

The Grueling Appalachian Trail

Note: Internet was spotty and/or expensive over the last couple of nights so the last couple of posts were written after we got back. To our loyal 3 readers, we apologize for the inconvenience.

While it was tough to leave the classy Gatlinburg, we had to make our way through the Great Smoky Mountains. Our first stop in the park was the visitor's center where we saw all kinds of taxidermied animals (including something called a skunk and another animal called an opossum - I hope I got the name right because they were beautifully exotic). We also learned that the park got its name in 1981 when they honored the movie Smokey and the Bandit 2. However, the spelling was changed to match the Cherokee translation.

Next up we went to Cade's Cove. Cade was maybe a settler who built a church or something. Anyway, his cove was pretty nice and there were lots of picturesque views. The highlight here though was a traffic jam, which meant there was a bear, an elk or a bicyclist fell down a hill. Luckily for us it was the first one and it turned out it wasn't just one bear: it was a mom and four small cubs. Of all our trips out west, Jess and I never saw any bears of any kind so it was cool to see 5 black bears relatively close by.

The following stop on the trip was the Newfound Gap which is where the park was dedicated and is where the North Carolina/Tennessee border is. You can stand in both states at once although it's not as good as the 5 corners site we visited a few years back where you can be in Kentucky, Ohio, Iowa, Missouri and Texas all at once.  This is also where the Appalachian Trail runs through so we decided to hike it. It was basically straight uphill and I think we probably hiked it for 100 miles (we must have went far as we saw a sign for Maine). Upon getting back to our car, we powered through a big lunch to regain the thousands of calories we likely expended on the trail.

Our last spot in the park was Clingman's Dome, which is the highest point in the park. There's an observation tower at the top that provides some good views although it is a steep half-mile hike up to the top. Being experienced hikers, it wasn't that bad and we finished without any trouble.

We ended the day the only way possible when you're int he NC mountains: at a casino. The Harrah's Cherokee Hotel and Casino was ok although having visited many, many, many, many casinos in the past, it was probably one of the worst. The slots were tight, the rooms were ok but expensive for being kind of blah and everything there was straight out of the late 90's, including the Ace of Base and Third Eye Blind playing on the speakers. I will say that the dealers they had were some of the best - the $5 Let It Ride table was made much more enjoyable because of the personable dealers which is something you don't see much anymore. Unfortunately, they did ruin it a little by charging Kevin for a beer - while we were sitting at the table spending $10-$20 a hand! I've never seen that before and hope it's not a sign of things to come.

I convinced Kevin to go back to the tables after a brief break which was great for him and he ended up hitting a nice hand and ending up for the night. I didn't do so well but that just means I'm due.

As they say in the Cherokee Casino, "Budweiser? That'll be $4." Note: They actually say this.