Western States Road Trip

June 5, 2022 Hunter Wallace Blogging 69

Brief update:

1. Over the past few days, we have driven across the country from Montgomery to Little Rock to Amarillo to Salida, CO in the Rocky Mountains and then today across Colorado and down into northern Arizona. We’ve been through Alabama, Mississippi. Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado, Utah and Arizona.

2. We really enjoyed meeting up with an OD reader in Oklahoma.

3. I’ve been out of smartphone range for the vast majority of our trip.

4. We were really impressed with rural Colorado where we spent the last few days. Even the Pride festival in downtown Salida couldn’t spoil the scenery. More on that later.

5. We’re finally getting settled in for the night here in Arizona. It felt like driving across Mars. There is nothing like it in Dixie.

69 Comments

  2. Having grown up near Tombstone in Arizona, no, it ain’t Dixie. However, it has an old, and rich history of it’s own. The southwest has a history as old as the south. The Spanish started settling there over 400 years ago. Native Americans, go back thousands of years. I hope you enjoy it.

    • We love the Rockies and Southwest. I can tell the libtards do too. It is the same problem in Appalachia, Texas and the Gulf Coast. We were just talking about how they move in and buy up the best areas. Colorado and Arizona used to be a lot better without the shitlibs.

      • Arizona is a true blue state now. Even people you’d think would be more pro-family, etc. are that way.

        • I’ve never understood why Arizona elected people like Jeff Flake and John McCain. Then again, I have never been here before. Just passing through now. I saw a bunch of libtards in Flagstaff and Sedona strikes me as being another magnet for them. It is a beautiful area though

          • Like other places in the nation, it’s that whole vacation and hedonistic mentality that nothing is wrong and only beer and golf matter.

  4. Did you get a chance to go though Prescott? Nice area relatively close to the Grand Canyon. Decent size place roughly 5200 feet in elevation so it’s not too hot and we have forests instead of desert landscapes. It’s where I spend half of my time. Bought a house out here in August and am tying up loose ends in Las Vegas for the final move.

    • Prescott was like a small mid-western (or maybe Southern) town dropped in the middle of the AZ mountains. The weather was very pleasant there even in July when I was visiting years ago. Jerome – an old mining town higher up in the mountains – was like being in Michigan on that trip (in the high 60s).

      • Yep, great place. It still has that old school way of life that I appreciate. After 17 years in Vegas it is literally a breath of fresh air to be here.

        Jerome is a town on sticks, cool antique shops and restaurants, only about a 40 minute drive.

  6. With fuel prices at all-time highs, perhaps now is not the optimum time to take a long driving vacation — but yes, there is a lot of nice scenery in the western US.

    Take a look at all that open space — that’s where people like Matthew Iglesias (a tribe member) would like hundreds of millions of third worlders to live (link).

    • It is aggravating, but we drive so much anyway back home. Gas is $4.70 out here. I heard it has gone up further back at home though.

    • Thanks.

      This is without a doubt the best road trip we have ever been on. I credit my wife with coming up with the idea.

    • We just dipped into Utah for a minute to say we had been there. Near the Four Corners

      • Four Corners ?

        Did you visit the gigantic bone piles of the cannibalistic Anasazi Indians ?
        You know, those peaceful natives who can teach the barbaric WHITES so much.

        Good place to have lunch, if you have someone you don’t like.

      • Four Corners is a refuge for Orthodox Mormons (polygamists). Someone told me they bought up the land around the state lines and move around at will across the state lines in trailers to dodge the law

  9. If you have streaming video check out Koyaanisqatsi. At least the desert scenes in the first part. Again, highway 8 over 10 if you are going to California.

      • Gila Bend to San Diego is amazing. Even pilots say it. Julian is touristy but the gold mine is cool if it’s open. Lots of camping around Fosters Point. Nothing between El Cajon and the beach really. My favorite beach is Stone Steps in Encinitas. It’s underwater at high tide so you have to time it. Used to be free parking.

  10. I’ve lived in both the Colorado Front Range and the Arizona Valley. To readers who haven’t experienced a cross-country trip from Georgia to California as I did in my youth, I assure you, there is no greater feeling of awe and terror discovering the Rockies. Appalachia has its own splendor, but hundreds of miles of plains and mesas give these Western mountains such a scale that it’s a true testament to the adventure and bravery of our forebears who recognized Manifest Destiny.

    • We’ve both decided that the Rockies and Southwest are coming with us. These areas are just too beautiful to surrender to the libtards.

    • “Awe & terror discovering the Rockies.” True. When I was seven my family made a summer road trip from Dallas across the north Texas plains through northeastern New Mexico & on to a rental cabin near Estes Park, Colorado. My brother & I had never seen mountains before. First was Capulin Peak, an extinct volcanic cone in far north New Mexico. Then the mighty Spanish Peaks, which guard the southeastern flank of the Colorado Rockies just north of Raton Pass. Coming to the Rockies for the first time in this way & at my age was one of the most memorable experiences of my life.

      • We traveled from Vega, TX to northeast New Mexico and up to Colorado in the Rockies through Trinidad. From Trinidad, we drove up the interstate before driving through Westcliffe and Salida up to around Mt. Antero and Monarch. Stayed there for a few nights. Then drove from Salida through Gunnison to Montrose then through the mountains again to Cortez and down into Arizona

        • On your next Rockies trip spend a day on one of the tourist trains that wind their way through the mountains or foothills. There are several to choose from. I’ve had good experiences on the Cumbres & Toltec & the Durango-Silverton.

    • We’ve seen a few in the Rockies and a few here in Arizona. Mainly though, we have seen nothing because we drove through the mountains and then the desert. He is mainly interested in the Indians. We passed through Navajo country.

  12. Arizona? Try to avoid Scottsdale, where you may get trampled (or drowned in vomit) by herds of inebriated young white women from around the country getting totally debauched at the 11,600 bachelorette parties scheduled there this year, who besides imbibing vast quantities of alcohol get “serviced” by “Cabana Boys,” about 1/3rd of whom are blacks, especially black African immigrants. The bachelorettes favorite sing-along, according to an article I read, is “WAP,” the lyrics of which make other rap songs sound like church hymns.

    Be careful in Nashville, too – 30,000 bachelorette parties in 2022.

      • Flagstaff

        I think, it was long ago, there’s a big purple mountain east of Flagstaff. Did you see it? It astounded me so much I pulled off the road and gathered a couple of purple rocks. Volcano.

      • There’s a lot of “immigrants” and nonwhites there, but you can steer clear of them. I’d suggest going to a real grocery store and loading up a small cooler with ice and fresh food. Buy bread, lunchmeat, cheese, veggies, etc. You can make your own sandwiches, chips, ice tea, fruit…and not worry about any food sickness. Cheaper, and safer for sure. I also don’t trust the anti-white stuff out there.

    • @Wilburn Sprayberry – ” herds of inebriated young white women from around the country getting totally debauched at the 11,600 bachelorette parties scheduled there this year, who besides imbibing vast quantities of alcohol get “serviced” by “Cabana Boys,” about 1/3rd of whom are blacks, especially black African immigrants.”

      ^^ Conjuring up White women to hate on out of whole cloth?? You must be thinking of your ex-wife in the above description. Decent women don’t behave that way.

      Safe journey, Hunter Wallace and family!! And thank you for all you do. I recall in my earlier days seeing the immensely vast, wide-open landscapes of the American west and feeling that it was a glimpse of the presence of God.

      Thank you for all you do!

      • OETBYM: Just happened to read the article this morning, then saw Hunter’s out there in the A.O. I don’t want our guy gettin’ run over by a stampede of drunk sluts, that’s all. 🙂

  13. “I’ve lived in both the Colorado Front Range and the Arizona Valley. To readers who haven’t experienced a cross-country trip from Georgia to California as I did in my youth, I assure you, there is no greater feeling of awe and terror discovering the Rockies. Appalachia has its own splendor, but hundreds of miles of plains and mesas give these Western mountains such a scale that it’s a true testament to the adventure and bravery of our forebears who recognized Manifest Destiny.”

    Yes: the West is where the truly heroic & awe-inspiring American scenery is. I’m drawn to the majesty of giant snow-capped mountains, but also scared of great heights. I’d probably have to wear Depends to drive over the Rockies…lol

  14. Suggest having the kids keep an eye out for road runners. You should be able to see a few from the road. Really cool birds. They seem to like to race you if you are on a bike.

  15. “It felt like driving across Mars.”

    Ha! I’ve often said the exact same thing when the camera pans to the surrounding landscape when watching college football games being played out west. It looks like a different planet out there.

    I once asked an intern from San Diego what he thought about Virginia, and he said we had a lot of trees. I had never really thought about it–what else would there be?–but he was right: I’ve been to San Diego, and trees are sparse.

  17. Hunter, When I was in my 30’s and still single, I took a few months and traveled around the country. Some of the memorable moments of that portion of the country were the volcanoes somewhere around Albuquerque (?) had natural hot tubs to enjoy. Beware of some of the more liberal minded folks who might hang out there who might not be family oriented though. Lots of National Parks, the giant Sequoia’s park near Orick, Ca, ect… I set up the tent up and camped inside a giant Sequoia tree there so that’s a once in a life time opportunity. Sorry I missed yall when you traveled through Texas- I’m just doing the family thing with lots of kids these days.

    • We’re headed back through Texas from one side to the other this weekend: El Paso to Midland to Austin and then on to Louisiana. Congrats on the family man. We don’t get out and travel much like we used to either.

  18. There’s some sort of “Summit of the Americas” going on out in LA that Biden and his handlers are putting on. TV showed the 30 second video promo put out by the regime promoting in and it was loaded with all this woke crap like Rainbow flags that clearly shows these people intend to force this anti-culture on Latin America. Fudge packing is really important to these people, it shows who they are.

    When I went to the southwest my favorite was Bryce Canyon, the bright red rocks contrasting with the smell of the Ponderosa Pines and view was my favorite. Carlsbad Caverns were also really impressive, the cave was the size of the Astrodome inside and was pretty much like the site of one of those underground cities in mid 20th century sci fi that never materialized in reality. You can walk down into the cave on a paved tourist path and take the elevator nearly a thousand feet back up. An underrated gem out in the middle of nowhere in SE New Mexico. I remember down in the Sonora seeing the Saguaro Cacti but being particularly amused as a kid by some smaller cactus called “Teddy Bear Cholla” that was supposed to be the most painful of all to sit on.

  20. Hopefully your route into Las Vegas is through Kingman. The last leg of the approach to Vegas is unreal. Mountains and then a great view of Lake Mead via Boulder City. You will get a good view of how low the lake is. They have shut down most of the boat ramps.

    When in Vegas eat out somewhere nice like the Delano or Mandalay Bay. They both have rooftop restaurants and you will get a feel for the city. Avoid North Vegas, too many blacks and it’s crime central.

    • Sure did.

      We stopped in Kingman, gassed up and got some Dutch Bros coffee. Saw the Hoover Dam. Saw North Vegas and Las Vegas. Definitely noticed the difference. We stopped on the southside and ate some El Pollo Loco tacos. Parked at the Mirage where my wife has stayed before and toured the strip. There was a lot of road work going on. I didn’t get to stay as long as I would have liked because we were in a rush to get here to California

  23. I went to California in 1960 when I eight with my older brother and grandparents. I live in Missouri, and they went there a lot to visit her brother. We went bon Route 66, and to be honest, I don’t remember a lot except it was a looooot of open space. I keep thinking everything in New Mexico was pink. The color seemed regnant. I don’t remember Indians, but I did see Mexicans. A group of them wore white tops and pants, like you see in the Speedy Gonzalez cartoons. And yes, sombreros. Arizona: again, space and space, but my grandparents were fond of the Joshua Trees. If there was a lot of great geography, I don’t remember it. My grandfather drove through the Mojave at night. It was too hot in day, and there used to be a way where you could buy an air conditioner, hang it on your window, then turn it in on the other side of the Mojave, but my grandfather couldn’t afford it, so he drove in the cool night. You have to remember, most cars didn’t have air conditioners then. I remember seeing lots of cars with water bags on the front, and skull and crossbones signs telling you to have a water bag.
    I remember California because police checked your car for fruit. They were really serious about protecting their crops. As for L.A., my uncle lived in Hawthorne, a very cozy suburb. Now it’s all Mexican, but everywhere then was very, very white. There were little bungalows and palm trees and lawns. All very American dream. It really was the postwar paradise. We went to Manhattan Beach and Disneyland. Disneyland…tons of crowds. I liked it, but all you did was wait in line, and even as a kid, I kind of saw through all the mechanical set up with the rides and displays. It seemed a little cheesy to me, even then.
    I wore a civil war kepi (union, of course), since it was the centennial and TV was full of the 1960 convention. The biggest thrill was since my uncle’s house would be overcrowded, my brother and I slept with my two cousins in the garage, cots set up and we had a great time at night. That was a lot of fun.
    I also remember my grandfather was pretty overwhelmed by all the freeway driving. When we got home to Missouri, I was glad seeing trees again. I’ve never been to California or the west since then, and don’t feel I’ve missed much. I should try, but I’m just not into the desert or L.A. thing, which makes me some kind of Martian compared to most Americans.
    Still, Hunter, glad you’re seeing it, and that you and the family are having a great time.

    • “everywhere then was very, very white. There were little bungalows and palm trees and lawns. All very American dream.”

      Gospel truth.

  24. Arrian: What was funny was people had so much less and they were happy. No McMansions, no four cars, no special parking…you had a house, a yard, good kids, A GOOD JOB…and things were all right.

    I remember seeing the movie Hollywoodland (2006), about George Reeve’s (Superman) murder. There was a scene in a neighborhood, and it had the palm trees, manicured lawns, bungalows, TV antennas and modest people…and that was exactly what LA looked like then. Precisely, and it was very good work on location.
    It really Brought back my childhood vacation.

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