8000+ miles later...

 Friday afternoon we stopped by Graceland

 Go ahead…..laugh.  I have no idea what I was trying to do here.  Elvis……praying?

 Then we stopped at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis, where they have their famous duck march from the elevators to the fountain twice daily.

 Our next stop was the Memphis Temple, followed by a three-hour drive to Nashville.

 Yesterday we visited the Nashville Temple...

 …and ate lunch at Honky Tonk on Broadway - downtown Nashville.

 We decided to drive hard last night in order to avoid another night in a hotel/motel,

 so after another 3000+ miles on the road,

 we made it!

 This was the route of our three-week road trip.  I'm missing a few points because "Google Maps" won't let me have more than "Y".  They must be BYU fans.

Other than needing a good cleaning inside and out, our car was amazing.  No issues whatsoever.  I just don't want to get back in it for a month or so.

Here are a few fun stats about the trip:

8,166 - Total miles driven

22 - Number of days on the road

18 - Number of states driven in/through

16 - Number of temples visited

And one more to give you some perspective on the drastic change in gas prices over the last 40 years:

Back in 1973, Dad took a few institute teachers on a Church-history tour across the country.  They drove approximately 5,500 miles in 11 days, and they paid $105 for gas……for the entire trip!  The price of gas was around 38 cents per gallon at that time.

We drove 8,166 miles in 22 days, and paid $810 for gas.  I believe we paid an average of $2.99 per gallon.

These are the states we drove in/through, along with their corresponding nicknames.  How many did you know prior to reading this?  I did not know many.

Virginia - Old Dominion

North Carolina - The Tar Heel State

South Carolina - The Palmetto State

Georgia - The Peach State

Alabama - The Heart of Dixie

Mississippi - The Magnolia State

Louisiana - The Pelican State

Texas - The Lone Star State

New Mexico - Land of Enchantment

Arizona - The Grand Canyon State

Nevada - The Silver State

Utah - The Beehive State

Colorado - The Centennial State

Oklahoma - The Sooner State

Kansas - The Sunflower State

Missouri - The Show Me State

Arkansas - The Natural State

Tennessee - The Volunteer State

One last response to our question about Mormons:

Haley - Waitress at Romano's Macaroni Grill - Bartlett, TN:  "They have a lot of children." 

OKANSOURI

My friend, Eric, told us about this great place to eat in Oklahoma City, so we ate dinner there last night. It's probably one of the best Mexican restaurants I've ever visited.  The fajitas were amazing! 

 We started out this morning at the Oklahoma City temple.  After enjoying 60-degree weather in Amarillo we were greeted by 25-degree weather in Oklahoma City.

 Then we drove to Kansas, stopping along the way to enjoy another of Eric's recommendations.  My Oreo cookie shake was delicious.  I know……I'm crazy eating/drinking a shake when it's so cold outside.  The hamburger was really good too.

 Our second destination: The Kansas City (Missouri) temple.  Above is a shot just before sunset.  Below is a shot just after sunset.

 Just before sunset - 16 degrees and windy.

 Just after sunset - not too windy, but still 16 degrees!

 On the way to St. Louis the temperature dropped to nine degrees.  I never want to live in a place with single-digit temperatures and wind (at the same time).

 Mormon temple right next to Baptist University.  I love it!

Beautiful, no?

Must……get…….sleep.  Three states, three temples, nine hours of driving.  My bum hates me.

Responses to our question, "What is one thing you know about Mormons?":

John - Concierge at Country Inns & Suites - Oklahoma City, OK: "Different Christology.  They have different doctrine on the Godhead.  There was a splinter group that practiced eugenics.  Back when I was in college I played tennis and I must have had the desired genetics, because I was approached by a gorgeous blonde girl one day……they're all blonde males between 6 feet and 6'5'' tall, and the women are blonde and beautiful."

Faith - Concierge at La Quinta - St. Louis, MO: "I don't know anything."

Welcome, 2014!

For New Year's Eve we dined on Mom's coconut-milk zucchini soup, salad, and chips while we watched Texas A&M beat Duke in their bowl game (Boooo!  We wanted Duke to win.).  Dessert was Mom's yummy date roll with whole milk.  My taste buds were happy.  We also followed the NYC ball drop on Fox News, because it's too painful to watch Anderson Cooper and the oh-so-strange (and foul-mouthed) Kathy Lee Gifford (is that her name?) on CNN.

Today is the first day of 2014.  It also happens to be Dustin's birthday.

Two cookies from the hotel lobby: Free

One lighter from the gas station: 96 cents

Two candles from Albertson's: $2.16

Making Dustin smile on his 31st birthday: Priceless

We have one response to our question about Mormons: 

Heather - Concierge at Country Inns & Suites - Amarillo, TX: "Well……I'm not really sure…….I don't know anything…….now I'm going to have to google it."

On the road again

After a fantastic week in Utah we're on the road again.  Our first stop was the home of Paul and Krista in Colorado Springs, where we filled our tummies with Krista's delicious chicken pot pie and talked for hours.  We also had fun playing with their darling little daughter, Hailey.

Now we're off to our exciting New Years Eve destination:  Amarillo, Texas

Home, Sweet Home

 I had to scrape a few inches of snow off the car before we could depart Flagstaff...

 …and four hours later we were in sunny Las Vegas.

 That's the backdrop of the Las Vegas temple.

 We finally made it back to Utah!  Friday night we met Sam's family in St. George and we visited Tuacahn to check out their Christmas lights/activities.

 What an awesome family!

 The live Nativity at Tuacahn.  Short and sweet.

 We also had fun cheering for Spencer and the rest of the Mustangs during a basketball tournament in St. George.

 Yes Sir, the vehicle needs a bit of maintenance after 5,107 miles in two weeks.  Our bodies need some maintenance!  We'll take a week off to think about our Lord and Savior during our Christmas activities, spend lots of time with family, eat lots of food, rest, and then drive back across the country.

This is the route we took.

 Tonight we continued to celebrate Sam's birthday (she turned 25 yesterday).

This is just a random, cute photo of the three little guys (one improvising to find a place to sit and eat his ice cream), with Dan giving Ari some advice about money.

Land of Enchantment

I don't think I would use the word "enchanting" to describe much of New Mexico, but there are most certainly some enchanting places and people there.

 Our first stop after leaving Texas.  This sign is approximately seven miles away from the actual caverns.

 Look at me!  I'm a Ranger!

 Sam too!

 Descending into the depths of the earth

 My camera cannot possibly convey the awesomeness that are the Carlsbad Caverns.  Sam and I walked around the caverns for three hours……..and now, a day later, our glutei maximi (the internet tells me that is the plural of gluteus maximus) are protesting.

 Behold, the awesomeness.

 Back in the daylight, I asked an Asian couple if they would take our picture next to the Carlsbad Caverns sign (the one right on top of the caverns).  However, because the sun was shining directly into our faces, I suggested to Sam that we simply close our eyes for the photo in order to avoid squinting.

 This was our first attempt...

 …and this was the second attempt.  Immediately after snapping the photo, the Asian woman said (with that fun Asian accent), "Okaaay, you can open your eyes now."

 After turning our legs into jelly walking through the caverns, we went to visit the Bell family in Weed, New Mexico.  Last night we boosted the population of Weed to 22 (or 23 if we're counting the baby).  The main reason I like this picture is because it appears that Sam is about to be struck my lightning.

 And what hosts they were!  Good food and great conversation.  Twas a short visit, but a very nice one.

 They showed us around the ranch...

 …and I finally got to meet Donkey!

 Don't bite me, Donkey!  He (she?) was trying to get the snack in my hand.

 From Weed we drove north to Albuquerque to visit the temple.

 Then we drove straight over to the Snowflake temple.

 We stopped in Flagstaff for the night because it's snowing pretty hard.  Can you believe it?!  After two weeks of travel during the month of December, this is our first encounter with serious weather.  The Lord has blessed us.

Before retiring for the night I received another pre-Christmas gift from my amazing wife.

One response to our question about Mormons:

Elizabeth - Park Ranger at Carlsbad Caverns: "They don't drink coffee."