Austin July 13, 2010

Matt and I got up first, going down to breakfast so Katie could get ready in peace. Great choices at the hotel: cereal, waffles, bagels, donuts.

One stop Katie requested on this trip was Four Corners. Since we are still feeling guilty about the meteor crater, we are definitely going there. Again, it was six miles off the highway, just like the meteor crater. When we got to the entrance, the road was blocked off with a "closed for construction" sign on the gate. More tourists than us were disappointed (one from Norway).

We drove to Monticello for lunch (there were too many wraps at the Peace Cafe, our first stop -- I just can't eat them). We saw a deer crossing a street in town (Northern Exposure!). Katie wants to drive to Twin Falls, which makes this a 10 hour day, then into Seattle (another 10 hours). That would get us home on Wednesday. After lunch, Katie said she could drive into Seattle without stopping for the night. Matt replied he would not be able to unwrap his fingers from the armrest. I think Katie is tired of being with the parents. She says she is just tired of driving; all the tourist stops we made were on the way to Austin.

I felt a drop on my head at lunch, so figured it must be Katie's turn to drive. With her driving, we hit a rainstorm outside of town, of course. We didn't drive very much in Utah. We saw Balance Rock near Price UT. We also saw a closed gas station with a price sign of $1.00.

We finally got to Twin Falls around 11:30 PM. We hit construction for about 13 miles, driving 45 mph. That wasn't supposed to happen after we dropped off the trailer. Katie mentioned she hadn't seen any construction in Idaho; Utah is full of it; then we ran into it again after I took over.

Twin Falls is about 5 miles off the highway, with no motels closer. the Super 8 sported a "Sorry" sign so we went to the Shiloh Inn. Matt and I thought the clerk said "$222" as the price but she actually said "$72" plus breakfast at Perkins.

Matt's birthday is Thursday, July 15. I at least bought a card in Austin. Katie and I also agreed to purchase the cowboy boots he picked up in Austin.