This will be one of our crazy endurance road trips where no distance seems too far. For some reason or another, we didn’t leave the night before and shave two or three hours off the driving; instead, we left at 6:30 this morning and raced forward. North was our direction as we passed through Cordes Junction, Flagstaff, Page, and then Kanab in Utah. We breezed through Carmel Junction, looking west with a loving look in our eyes toward Zion National Park, just 15 minutes down the road. Another mile or so later, we pulled over for a roadside picnic in Long Valley, and before long, we were pulling over again, this time for a photo near Duck Lake.

We are driving kind of hard today to cover a lot of miles. This is just west of  Cedar Breaks National Monument.

This is the way into the Great Basin National Park; we are taking a peek at the peak.

Our visit to the Great Basin didn’t work out as it was too late for a quick tour of the Lehman Cave, and the scenic drive was closed due to snow. No big deal, as we’ll just put this one on the list of places to return to; we also learned that this park is home to the Bristlecone pine tree, which can live for thousands of years. We must come back.

There is a general excitement that occurs the first time we drive through a terrain that is new to our eyes.

It forces us to stop and grab a photo so we might better remember why this part of the journey was just as exciting as the other parts.

An amazing shooting star appeared, but obviously, that wasn’t going to be photographed by the time we stopped the car. We pass a sign for a turn-off directing us to the Ruby Lake National Wildlife Refuge, and while we ignore it this time it is now on the list of places to come back to. By 8:45 p.m. local time or 9:45 Arizona time, we arrived in Jackpot, Nevada, after a grueling 865-mile drive. We’ll stay at the Covered Wagon Motel for only $19.93, including tax, because luxury is for those who need pampering; we need adventure.