Day 40--Pittsburgh, PA to Mendham, NJ

Today, Day 40, was the final day of my trip and I headed from Pittsburgh back to New Jersey, where I'll be for around ten days or so before heading back to Florida. After having breakfast with my aunt and uncle, I left Pittsburgh around 10:00am and headed towards Fallingwater, the landmark house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Since I had a little bit of extra time before my 12:30pm tour, I first stopped in Ohiopyle State Park and the town of Ohiopyle where I walked around and got a snack to keep me fed through my tour. It's a very pretty area, especially the falls at Ohiopyle, where some very adventurous whitewater rafters (I like water activities but I'm not sure I'd ever go this far as what these people did) kayaked off a relatively high waterfall. I believe I saw four people (all properly equipped and likely doing it with an outfitter) try it--two succeeded and two flipped over. Below are a few pictures from Ohiopyle:

I probably would have liked a little more time at Ohiopyle but I had to head back up the road to Fallingwater for my tour. Fallingwater is a spectacular house in a spectacular location which is what I expected. I was surprised how small the interior of the house was compared to other Frank Lloyd Wright houses. No pictures are allowed in the interior of the house or on the tour but I was able to take a few exterior shots, including at the famous viewpoint:

After Fallingwater, it was pretty much a straight shot along the Pennsylvania Turnpike, I-81, and I-78 to NJ only stopping at a PA Turnpike rest stop for Steak 'n Shake (for some fries and a shake) and at the large (I believe the largest in the country) Cabela's off I-78 in Hamburg, PA.

The trip is done. Some concluding thoughts soon, I think...

Day 39--Louisville, KY to Pittsburgh, PA

Today, I drove from Louisville to Pittsburgh. I got a decently early start (leaving my Airbnb around 8:30am) and headed to the Kentucky Derby Museum located at Churchill Downs, the site of the Kentucky Derby. The Kentucky Derby Museum consisted of a few exhibits that were pretty interesting, including one that featured Kentucky Derby hats, as well as a good 17 minute movie featuring the spectacle that is the Kentucky Derby. However, the most noteworthy part of was the brief (25 minute) tour that took us to the grandstand inside the Churchill Downs track. There were still some horses training (the horses train between 6-10am) so it was cool to see horses running around on the track (although at a much slower pace than on the big track). This visit made me think that it would be VERY cool to go to Louisville in the days/weeks surrounding the Derby to see the big race and the surrounding spectacles.

Here are some pictures:

After that, I headed on the road towards Pittsburgh. On the way, I stopped for lunch a little bit north of Cincinnati, for gas (wanted to top off in Ohio to avoid the high prices of WV and PA) in Cambridge, OH, and at an outlet mall in Washington, PA to pick up new Crocs and a present for my aunt & uncle.

I arrived to my aunt & uncle's apartment building in Pittsburgh around 6:15pm. I'm staying in a guestroom that is shared between tenants on the first floor of the building. For dinner, we went to Legume, a local restaurant that specializes in sustainably-sourced (correct term?) ingredients, where I had beef tartare, a leg of lamb steak, and a chocolate truffle cake. Overall, a terrific dinner.

After some more socializing, I'm back in the guest room watching TV. After breakfast tomorrow, I head back to New Jersey with a stop at Fallingwater on the way.

Final Stop: Mendham, NJ

Days 37 and 38--Benton, AR to Louisville, KY, with a stop at Mammouth Caves National Park

Yesterday, I had the long drive (~460 miles) between Benton, AR and Mammouth Caves National Park in Kentucky (which is about halfway between Nashville and Louisville not far off I-65). However, since I didn't need to arrive at Mammouth Caves until my scheduled tour at 6:15pm, I decided to get an early start and make a stop on the way. My decision for a stopping place was between the Bill Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock and the National Civil Rights Museum at the Loraine Motel (the site of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination) in Memphis. Due to my departure time (around 8:20am) and the opening time of the Clinton Center (9:00am and it was a 25 minute drive from my hotel), I decided to go to the National Civil Rights Museum, which was one of the many attractions I missed on my brief stop in Memphis in March 2013 (sort of regret not making time for a longer stop in Memphis/a stop at the Clinton Center on the way in my route). What I did not anticipate was the crowds that would be at the National Civil Rights Museum. When arriving there at around 10:40am, there was about a 30 minute line for security and tickets. Due to that wait and my tight timeframe, I had to rush through the museum. However, the museum is quite effective at telling its message and is definitely worth a visit.

Exterior of the Lorraine Motel

A view of the balcony where MLK was shot

I made sure I got through the museum by 1:00pm at the latest so I could arrive to Mammouth Caves on time for my 6:15pm Focus on Niagara tour, which shows the most picturesque portion of the cave (a week before, that was the only timeslot during my visit that was available to reserve). Stopping only for lunch (and to pick up something for dinner since I thought my tour wouldn't allow me to make dinner at the park hotel on time--turns out I could have made dinner there on time after all since the tour was less structured and therefore shorter than I thought) in Jackson, TN, I made it to Mammouth Caves National Park shortly after 5:45pm.

The Focus on Niagara tour consisted of driving as a group (all in our own cars) to the cave entrance then being led into the cave by park rangers who gave a brief commentary and then allowed us to take pictures. While we were allowed to stay in the cave until 7:55pm, most people were done by 7:15pm. Here are some picture highlights:

After the tour, I went to my campground located in the park to set up my campsite. Then walked around a bit, had my dinner (late since I had a large, late lunch), did some reading on my iPad, and went to bed.

This morning, I had an 8:30am tour titled Gothic Avenue which entered the cave via the historic entrance. This tour did not show as picturesque a part of the cave as yesterday's tour but still had some cool sightseeing and the rangers told some of the interesting history of the cave (it originally had been used as a salt pewter mine then a for-profit tourist attraction which explained a lot of the graffiti on the ceilings). This tour lasted around 2 hours. Here are some pictures (no flash was allowed and there were fewer opportunities to take them):

Shortly after the tour (probably between 10:45-11:00), I headed towards Louisville, which is a 90 mile drive from the park and is supposed to take around 1.5 hours (although the clock would say 2.5 hours since you cross back into the Eastern Time Zone). I stopped for gas and lunch in Sonora, KY and got to Louisville around 2:00pm.

In Louisville, my first stop was the Louisville Slugger Factory & Museum, which is located in the downtown area. I don't have anything shareworthy for interior pictures since no pictures are allowed on the factory tour and didn't get anything in the museum, which shows off Louisville Slugger bats that famous players used.

 It was a pretty enjoyable (although not spectacular) way to spend around an hour. After that, I walked down the street to the Muhammad Ali Center, which tells the story of the famed boxer. It was pretty interesting and certainly worth an hour visit.

I didn't really explore downtown Louisville but it seemed like a nice city and there are some downtown attractions I skipped. I parked on the riverfront of the Ohio River (was tempted to cross over to Indiana so I could say I've been to Indiana but didn't and my route tomorrow skips that state). Tomorrow, I'll check out the Kentucky Derby Museum & Churchill Downs then go on to Pittsburgh to see my aunt & uncle there.

Next Stop: Pittsburgh, PA

Day 36--Dallas, TX to Benton, AR

Today, I drove from Dallas to Benton, AR, stopping in Hot Springs, AR (the location of Hot Springs National Park) on the way. I got on the road at just around 9:00am, stopping at the Dallas location of Sprinkles Cupcakes on the way. Since I found driving on I-30 the past two days rather unpleasant and because I wanted to add Oklahoma to my list of visited states, I took a not much longer but less taken route through north Texas and a corner of Oklahoma. I stopped in Broken Bow, OK on the way for lunch at Subway and got to Hot Springs a little after 3:00pm.

In Hot Springs, I first went up the scenic mountain road for a bit. I probably could have found some really nice views but the road was lined with tree obstructing those views. Hot Springs National Park is VERY different from other national parks. Instead of being a large secluded park, the park is very small and in an incorporated town. It also doesn't have much in the way of auto touring. However, it is still very nice. The central location of the park, which is also the central location of the town, is Bathhouse Row, where there are still two operating spas with mineral baths (there were originally 8 but the town struggled in the 1960s after a crackdown on gambling). I went to the Quapaw Bathouse and spent around an hour in the different mineral pools which was a very relaxing experience (although it cost $21.90). I then took a Duck Tour, which was honestly disappointing, I was expecting a duck tour of scenic areas, but instead, the surface portion was on a commercial street and much of the distance was through commercial sprawl out to a nice, but not spectacular lake where about 20 minutes of the ~70 minute tour was spent. I had never taken a Duck Tour before, and at $18 for adults, apparently the one in Hot Springs is the cheapest anywhere. Hot Springs also has many lower tier tourist attractions (seemingly low quality museums and an aquarium, go karts, miniature golf, etc) that I skipped. It did seem to have nicer historic areas and during season (mid January to mid April), the Oaklawn Horse Racing Track is supposed to be good so Hot Springs may well be a nice place to visit.

Here are a few pictures:

I'm now at my hotel (a Best Western that I got with my Hotels.com free night) in Benton, AR. Tomorrow, it's on to Mammouth Caves National Park although I'll probably stop at the Bill Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock or the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis on the way.

Next Stop: Mammouth Caves National Park, KY

Day 35--Austin, TX to Dallas, TX

Today, I drove the 200 miles or so between Austin and Dallas. After leaving Austin around 8:00am, I first headed to Ft. Worth, only stopping in Waco for gas and a drink on the way. In Ft. Worth, I first checked out the Stockyards National Historic District. I arrived there around 11:00am, in time for the 11:30am daily cattle drive down Exchange Street, which is the heart of the district (I believe there's also an afternoon cattle drive). The cattle drive was brief and I thought it would be a significantly bigger spectacle, but since I love bovines (as food and as creatures to look at), it was still pretty cool.

I walked around the Stockyards district for a bit, walking into a few of the western stores, and then went to Riscky's Steakhouse to get their 10 oz. Ribeye Lunch Special. Riscky's looks the role for a steakhouse in that area. While my steak was perfectly adequate for the price of $12.99, it was not spectacular.

After lunch, I headed to the Kimball Art Museum, which is the most highly regarded of three museums (the others are the Amon Carter and Modern Art museums, which are also highly regarded) located on a stretch a couple of miles west of downtown and south of the Stockyards District. The Kimball was a nice small museum. I didn't pay for the special exhibit which meant admission was free (it is for everyone for the permanent collection). I didn't have a chance to visit the other museums in that area.

I then headed to Sundance Square in downtown Fort Worth. It was pretty quiet mid-afternoon on a hot summer weekday but seemed like a nice place. I stopped into the Sid Richardson Museum, which is a small collection (~39 paintings out of a total collection of around ~105 are on display) of Frederic Remington and Charles M. Russell paintings. It was pretty nice and also free  (the art museums in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area all seem to be manageable sizes, nice collections, not too crowded, and low/no cost, which makes them very nice).

After Sundance Square, I drove the 30 miles into downtown Dallas. I parked by the Sixth Floor Musuem and that was my first stop. The Sixth Floor Museum is located on the sixth floor of the former Texas Book Depository Building, where Lee Harvey Oswalt shot President John F. Kennedy on 11/22/1963 (although the museum does mention the various existing conspiracy theories and that even now, a majority of Americans don't believe the official story). The Sixth Floor Museum is very good. It is more expensive than other attractions in the area ($14 for a student ticket, which still isn't bad) but provides an informative audio guide that provides supporting information to the displays of text and photos. No pictures are allowed on the Sixth Floor.

After visiting the Sixth Floor Museum, I walked over to the Dallas Museum of Art (was able to do so since its open until 9:00pm on Thursdays. I was there from about 5:15-6:15. I would have spent longer but I was tired), which seems to have a wonderful collection of artwork, including some very nice impressionist and post-impressionist pieces (there is a Van Gogh there among others) (and is also free and not too crowded).

Here are some pictures of downtown Dallas, which is largely not that descript (Fort Worth has significantly more character):

I was pleasantly surprised by both Fort Worth and Dallas. My one complaint is the driving--Dallas has crazy drivers (high speeds, aggression, and lots of cars don't mix well), iPhone GPS isn't as reliable there as elsewhere, and signage is often poor, especially in downtown Dallas (Ft. Worth does much better in this regard).

I'm spending the night in a family friend's pool house (they are away but generously offered their pool house) north of downtown. Tomorrow, it's on to Arkansas (spending some time at Hot Springs National Park and staying between Hot Springs and Little Rock).

Next Stop: Benton, Arkansas (not in proximity to Bentonville, AR, home of Walmart)

Day 34--San Antonio, TX to Austin, TX

Today, I spent the morning in downtown San Antonio, exploring the Alamo and the Riverwalk. The Alamo was pretty cool although I did not spend $7 on an audio guide, which made it hard for me to get the proper historical perspective while in the "shrine of Texas liberty." There's also a small historical museum on the grounds at the Alamo. No pictures are allowed in the shrine. After seeing the Alamo (which is pretty small), I walked along the well-developed commercial part of the Riverwalk, which was very nice. While I entered a few shops, I didn't buy anything or go to a restaurant in that area. While I didn't spend much time there (it was very hot and I had places to go), San Antonio seems to be a pretty nice city.

Then, I took the 90 minute drive up I-35 to Austin. My first stop in Austin was the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library, located on the northern end of the University of Texas campus. The LBJ Presidential Library was excellent, especially for a place with $3 student admission, and I spent around 90 minutes there before heading to my hostel. My hostel is located on Lady Bird Lake about 2.5 miles from downtown so it isn't the greatest location in terms enjoying what Austin has to offer. For dinner, I went to Lamberts Downtown Barbecue, where I was able to get a delicious BBQ Brisket sandwich for only $7 since it was still Happy Hour.

After that, I walked around downtown Austin for a bit. It may have been because it was a weeknight early evening in the dog days of summer but Austin didn't seem like a particularly lively city even in some of the areas that are supposed to be lively (I may have missed other parts). I ended up at the original and flagship Whole Foods where I picked up dessert (haven't had it yet so I can't comment).

Tomorrow, it's on to Dallas although I may stop in Ft. Worth on the way.

Next Stop: Dallas, TX

Days 32 and 33--Whites City, NM to San Antonio, TX, stopping at Big Bend!

Yesterday (July 27th), I drove from my motel in Whites City, NM to Terlingua, TX, seeing Big Bend National Park on the way. I left my motel around 9:15am Mountain Time. On the way out, I stopped in Guadalupe Mountains National Park, which is just over the line in Texas. Guadlupe Mountains was pretty but not a big stop en route (not many places to pull aside and look around). I did manage to take several nice pictures there.

Soon past Guadalupe Mountains, I entered the Central Time zone, which was rather shocking given the distinctly mountainous/southwestern landscape. The road to Big Bend was somewhat pretty but also rather bland. I stopped for gas in Van Horn, tried to look around Marfa (think I missed what is nice to check out there), and stopped for lunch in Alpine. Shortly after 3:00pm Central Time, I entered Big Bend National Park at the east entrance.

Given my rather late entrance, I didn't have time to do more than an auto tour of the park highlights. Big Bend is spectacular and in my opinion, one of the nicer national parks. However, I think it is less frequented due to its vastness and desolate location. While I did stop for a picture or two along the main road of the park, my first "destination" stop was Boquillas Canyon and the Rio Grande overlook.

After that, I headed towards Chisos Basin. On the road up to Chisos Basin, I encountered a bear with a few cubs (I believe I saw a total of four cubs although I did not capture all in the picture). I believe the type of bear is a Mexican Black Bear.

Then, I went to Santa Elena Canyon, which is probably considered one of the main landmarks of the park.

Here are some more highlights from Big Bend National Park:

While in the national park, I did encounter a few severe thunderstorms, which dropped the temperatures very temporarily from well over 100 (the high I saw was 108) to around 70.

I didn't get to my motel, located between the west entrance of the park and the Terlingua Ghost Town (a few miles from each) until 8:30pm. Instead of seeing if better eating options existed and were open in the ghost town (turns out there were), I decided to have dinner at my motel's cafe, the Big Bend Resort & Adventures Cafe, where I had a mediocore, overpriced chicken, sweet pepper, and onion pizza. My room was pretty nice for the location and for $49.95 per night plus tax but there was no in-room wifi and tv options were limited.

Today (July 28th) was another packed day. In the morning, I decided to take a half day canoe trip down the Rio Grande in Big Bend Ranch State Park. The trip, run by the Far Flung Outdoor Center, departed at around 8:00am from their office (very close to the motel) and returned just before 12:00pm. The time on the river is probably 2.5 hours or so and much of that is at a break point, so the distance covered is rather short. Nevertheless, it is a wonderful experience. Some pictures below:

After canoeing, it was on to San Antonio. The drive is approx. 458 miles or 6.5 hours, so it wasn't exactly a short trip. On the way out of Terlingua, I had to go through a US Border Patrol checkpoint where I had to wait around 10 minutes for additional screening. I made a few stops on the way, getting to San Antonio around 7:15pm. In San Antonio, I'm staying with Diane and Steve, who are friends of my mother's from college.

Tomorrow, I hope to explore San Antonio in the morning, drive to Austin midday, and then explore Austin.

Next Stop: Austin, TX