Road trip 2025

Nov 22, Tucson, AZ -> Phoenix, AZ -> Joshua Tree, CA

Our last day! Started the morning with a stroll through the airbnb’s amazing yard, such a beautiful desert landscape with so many cactuses, desert trees, and artfully placed rocks. Big fan.

Got some matcha and then made a quick stop at Saguaro National Park, which was only twenty minutes from the airbnb! Did a nice short trail and then feasted our eyes on the loop drive back to the entrance. So many saguaros in so many funny shapes! Again, big fan of the desert. So fun, so pretty.

Dropped Megan off at the airport (so sad), and then headed straight to Joshua Tree to meet my family for Thanksgiving.

All in all a really great road trip this year! It was really nice to have Megan’s company, and I’m also looking forward to doing it solo on the way back. Both great experiences, just different. :)

Now I just need to get a van so that I don’t have to book all the airbnbs in advance and I have more flexibility in where I go…

Nov 21, Alamogordo, NM -> Tucson, AZ

Got up before Megan to take Ellie out, since I knew it might take a while. Found some grass by a church, not good enough. Walked around back to where there were trees and sticks that I thought might do it, nope. Walked a little more and found some much more plush grass that was almost certainly not technically public access but walked around it anyway. She finally peed and pooped, what a queen.

The main event for today was White Sands National Park, my favorite stop from last year’s road trip. It did not disappoint! We did the dune nature trail near the entrance and then the Alkali Flats loop which I had done last year. Very interesting how different the landscapes are between the two spots. Also, I remember alkali flats taking me 3-4 hours last year but it only took us about two this year. The sand was much firmer (I think it’d rained recently) and it was much less hot - a truly very pleasant hike indeed!

We broke up our 5 hour drive to Tucson with dinner at a dog-friendly tex mex restaurant in the middle of nowhere, where everyone in the restaurant seemed to know at least some of the staff. I guess when there’s only one place to eat in a tiny town, it makes sense that folks would know each other.

Made it to our AirBnB in Tucson and beelined to the hot tub. So pleasant to sit in the warm hot tub with the cold desert breeze cooling us off, breathing crisp clear air, and staring up at the beautiful starry night sky with moonlight-lit cloud formations. Blissful.

Nov 20, Amarillo, TX -> Alamogordo, NM

Got up, took Ellie on a short walk, had breakfast and figured out our last night’s plans.

Then we went to Palo Duro Canyon for a quick hike. Asked the ranger at the entrance what he recommended, went there and turned it into a bigger loop. So fun, so beautiful - love the desert. Also love doing zero planning and just taking the recommendation given to us, not a maximizer over here!

Grabbed burritos back in Amarillo on our way to Cadillac Ranch. Got to the Cadillacs, checked them out very quickly (long enough to leave our mark!), and then started getting poured on. Ran back to the car where Ellie shook out many times splashing the whole inside. Finally, breaking my car in with my own smells.

Drove 3.5 hours to Roswell while listening to podcasts about Roswell. For some reason I remember being very compelled when we visited as a kid (maybe the reason was that my critical thinking faculties weren’t fully developed), but this time around I don’t see why it’s anything but a weather balloon (I mean I do see where the doubt comes in what with the cover up and the people swearing it was aliens). The UFO museum was dog friendly so we went in for fifteen min before it closed. I’m very glad we listened to the podcasts because it was not very informative lol.

Then back in the car for 2 hours to Alamogordo. Got some pizza and made it to our maximalist gold studded Airbnb. Ellie did not bathroom at all (and she hadn’t pooped in the morning), first time she’s given me difficulty on this trip. Annoying, but also so glad it hasn’t been every day like last year.

Nov 19, Tulsa, OK -> Amarillo, TX

Another great road trip day. Started the day with chill breakfast at Christina’s while Ellie sat in the yard staring at a squirrel in the tree (for at least 45 min, she was so happy). We tried to check out the grounds at the nearby Philbrook Museum but it wasn’t dog friendly, so we went to the Gathering Place which Christina had also recommended. It’s a super cool park with lots of native plants, winding paths, a really great riverwalk, AND amazing play structures. Like seriously - would consider having children just so I can take them to play on this playground (but probably less drastic: would consider borrowing friends’ kids so we can go play). We lucked out because it’s usually not dog friendly, except on Wednesdays and Sundays when they do allow dogs (today is Wednesday). Shew!

After stuffing our bellies full of Torchy’s Tacos (and queso!!), we were off to Amarillo. I expected today to be the most boring day of our trip since there isn’t much between Tulsa and Amarillo, TX but actually it was very fun! Turns out there is something between those two places: Route 66. With some help from Chat GPT we found a few fun places to stop on the way, including a quintessential diner. Didn’t make it to the Route 66 museum in time before closing, but that’s ok - spending time in Tulsa in the morning was the trade off we made and that’s what road trips are all about.

We ended up driving about 2.5 hours, stopping for milkshakes, then driving another 1.5 hours, stopping to grab dinner, and finally another hour. It was actually a pretty great cadence, good to note for my return trip.

Cheeky lil hot tub dip and chill night at the AirBnB was a great way to end the day.

Nov 18, Memphis, TN -> Tulsa, OK

Memphis to Tulsa today. Went to the dog park near the AirBnB in the morning – it was Ellie’s second ever dog park on our trip last year, so I was very excited to find an AirBnB super close to it again. Grabbed breakfast, to-go lunch, and matcha at a cafe before hitting the road.

Stopped at Cadron Settlement Park for a quick hike and reflection. Absolutely loved the smells of the cedars, sounds of the wind in the trees, and the feel of the warm weather - we’re getting back to southern-adjacent lands and it’s triggering lots of happy nostalgic feelings for Texas.

Timed our wandering hike really well to head back on the road and make it back to Tulsa in time for dinner with Christina and her friend. My first tex mex of the trip! So nice to see Christina IRL in her element and so nice to be able to stay with her.

Nov 17, Knoxville, TN -> Memphis, TN

Nice short walk through the suburbs in the morning, quick breakfast and then we headed out to Memphis. We stopped an hour out of Nashville so I could take a call while Megan walked Ellie, then went to lunch at a brewery in Nashville.

Quickly drove through downtown and decided not to stay any longer in Nashville (“no thank you” was called), instead decided to go straight to Memphis. Dropped our stuff, walked Ellie, made her some kongs and then headed to Beale St to catch some music and have dinner. Great success! Heard some amazing blues at two different bars, including one with an old school blues singer and harmonica player, Vince Johnson which was really a treat. Got dinner at a lounge nearby (blackened catfish and veggies, omg vegetables we missed you) and headed back home. Truly exactly what I wanted out of my Memphis evening - big big fan.

Nov 16, Edinburg, VA -> Knoxville, TN

Woke up in our picturesque AirBnB with a beautiful view of the mountains and farm. Had breakfast outside, did a little bit of painting, took Ellie to meet a donkey (she was not that interested). We had planned another ambitious hike in Virginia but it was a 4 hour drive away and had potentially limited parking so we decided it probably wasn’t worth the risk.

Decided instead to meander through Shenandoah National Park, doing a handful of short hikes as we made our way south. My first time in this park, a new one for the count! We timed things perfectly, getting to the Blackrock Summit hike right around sunset for a great view of the sun through the trees. Truly chef’s kiss, great decisions all around.

… then we had another five and a half hours to drive to Knoxville, which was not great but also not awful! This leg would have been really tough to do solo, I was very grateful for Megan’s company and help driving. Stopped for dinner at Cook Out, a local-ish fast food chain that I was pretty sure was really good from the one time I thought I’d had it, but turned out to be aggressively fine (and very salty) instead. Got to our AirBnB a little past midnight, walked Ellie, and went straight to bed.

Nov 15, NYC -> Edinburg, VA

Great Brooklyn morning with off-leash time in Prospect Park before a delicious bagel and matcha. Last time I was in New York, Ellie had kennel cough so I couldn’t let her off leash, and the time before that I wasn’t confident in her off-leash manners or her recall so I kept her leashed. My how we’ve grown!

Ellie didn’t really know what to do with herself there were so many dogs. But she finally started to play right as I was ready to head back home. First with a dog named Enzo, and then as I was just about to leave the off-leash area I recognized someone’s voice - it was some friends from undergrad that I haven’t seen in years! What a small world, running into people you know in NYC…

Original intention for today was to make it to Little Devil’s Stairs hike in Shenandoah, but I did some sunset back-calculating math and realized we’d have to leave by like 9 am to make it reasonable. So we pivoted and went to a winery ten min from the Airbnb, and then to a brewery (with just fine pizza) 10 min away from that. Who would’ve ever thought I’d have a brewery dog. Not me, I’m so happy.

Nov 14, Home -> NYC

Easy peasy, 5 hour drive to NYC. Shockingly beat the google maps estimate, found parking one block away from Megan’s apartment, and Ellie peed between the car and the apartment.

(I’m so excited to be so much less preoccupied with Ellie’s bathrooming this trip - so glad she’s a city dog now who understand that walks are when you bathroom.)