- Road trip Pre-Checks - Engine, Check!
- Road trip Pre-Checks - Lights, Check!
- Road trip Pre-Check - Tires Pressure, Check!
- Ready
- Set
- GO!
- Right out the gate we were sucked in by the Cascade Mountains of Washington state along I-90
- Through the highlands of Northeastern Oregon.
- Blazing through Idaho we hit our first stop, Idaho State Pen in Boise Idaho.
- Prisoner #1406, glad Mr Orchard turned over a new leaf.
- While spending the night in solitary confinement seemed tempting...
- There were much more reasonable accommodations in the next cell block over.
- Equal opportunity jailor's didn't take kindly to Hannah's hospitality when she tried to offer them a drink. How uncivilized!
- However, ladies do get there very own spa!
- One very long road, a speeding ticket and a get out of jail free card later, we found ourselves dining in one of Salt Lake City's premier dining establishments!
- Next morning onto the foothills of the San Juan Mountains of Colorado. A pitstop in Ouray for a burger and pint did the trick.
- In these parts my Mazda seemed a little out of place, but alas off-roading in the red rocket was in my future. Oh boy..
- Heading south from Ouray you go up highway 550 to the "Million Dollar Highway" for one of the most scenic drives anywhere.
- Putting the Speed through the windy turns of Red Mountain Pass was a blast.
- Once we cleared the pass it was a short jaunt to Silverton Colorado. Located at a lung crushing 9,318ft Silverton and surrounding area will leave you breathless.
- Spent a few days in Silverton visiting with my parents, they own Natalia's 1912 restaurant, one of the oldest standing historical bordellos on the Notorious Blair St.
- Parked outside is my fathers 1931 Ford Model A. Reminders of a time gone by are scattered all throughout Silverton.
- You'd blush too parked across the street from the Shady Lady Saloon!
- Well I guess all good things come to an end.
- Trading in the Mazda for a Jeep Grand Cherokee we spent a couple of days exploring the San Juan Mountains. This is the town of Animas Forks, a mining town high in the mountains long since abandoned.
- Molas Pass Elevation 10,910ft.
- Back in Silverton a great collection of old military trucks spend the afternoons sun bathing.
- Taking the shortcut to Telluride over Ophir Pass always provides a butt clinching experience you'll soon not forget!
- But you can't deny the raw beauty of the high country.
- Telluride: Interesting fact -In 1891, entrepreneur LL Nunn & Westinghouse worked together using Nikola Tesla's discovery of alternating electrical current to run almost 2.5 miles of power line from a hydroelectric plant in Ames to the Gold King Mine.
- Eventually, those lines would be brought in town, and Telluride would become the first town in the country to be powered with alternating current electric power.
- Relaxing after an inspiring gondola ride to the top of the mountain.
- Spotted this cool old Power Wagon leaving town. No tailgating!!
- Time to hit the road! We travel west of Durango CO to visit the ancestral home of the Puebloans Indians.
- Mesa Verde National Park: This ruin called Cliff Palace is nestled high in the cliffs above the valley floor. Protected from the weather and providing commanding views to spot incoming invaders, these Native Americans had style!
- Mesa Verde National Park
- Ok, so we headed down to four corners monument. This is the exact spot where state lines for Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah meet . If you're creative enough you can get arrested in four states at the same time. (Insert random people here)
- Moving on towards the town of Page Arizona, we sneak a peek of Glenn Canyon Damn, holding back the mighty Colorado river to form Lake Powell.
- On the way to Zion Utah we took a detour at Grand Staircase National Park to find the ghost town of Paria.
- This area was remote and only accessible via dirt roads. After searching for the ghost town for a couple of hours, guess what... we didn't find it. I guess it lived up to it's reputation.
- So did the Mazda taking most of the dirt road and dry washes in stride. There may have been some mischief here. My lips are sealed!
- A few hours later we pulled into the east gate of Zion National Park in Utah.
- Coming in from the east gate and driving through the park is a stretch of road I'll never forget. Don't ask questions, just get in your car and go see it yourself!!
- The next day we continued into Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah. A couple of hours north of Zion this place is amazingly beautiful.
- The rock formations formed from centuries of wind and water erosion are spectacular.
- The 3 eyed raven made an appearance to tell me Winter Is Coming.
- Shameless Social Media Selfie Time!!!
- Leaving the park after a few hours of playing tourist, we started our journey back to Seattle after Bryce. Eighteen hours of roads and audio books from my driveway in Washington.
- Here we are watching the sunset over the Cascades as we drive west on I-90.
- Finally made it back home. After a week of traveling, and 3,200 miles of roadtripping, the Mazda proved a worthy traveling companion. Hope you enjoyed my road trip, I know I did! Be sure and post or drop me a comment about your travels too! Cheers -

Speeding Across The Southwest:

I recently took my Mazdaspeed 3 on a week long road trip through Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona state. Curvy roads, alpine forest, and desert landscapes made this trip very memorable!

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