Road Trip 2007

After 4,891 miles, I'm home from Road Trip 2007.

(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET News.com)

SAUSALITO, Calif.--At last, I'm home. After 25 days, 4,891 miles and a huge number of motels, Road Trip 2007 is over.

I can barely type at this point, but it has been an amazing run. I was in six states (California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado--even if the latter was only for about 30 seconds at Four Corners), several national parks, some great museums, and I got to look at a heck of a lot of airplanes.

Along the way, I went to three hot springs, ate a whole lot of really bad food, listened to more than 1,000 songs on my iPod, fought hard to find good Internet connectivity, and did so much more.

The very last thing I did before I got home was stop in for a tour of the construction of the new eastern span of the Bay Bridge. This is going to be a truly world-class bridge, the world's largest self-anchoring span and a wonderful addition to the culture of the San Francisco Bay Area. Stay tuned for a full story and gallery on Monday.

In the meantime, I thank all of you for reading my stories, looking at my photos and contacting me via e-mail and talkback on stories. There will be a few follow-up pieces over the next few days, but really, this is it.

The last thing I did on the road trip was visit the construction of the new eastern span of the Bay Bridge. It is going to be amazing.

(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET News.com)

While driving through Milford, Utah, I came across this contraption. It looked so cool and so steampunk, but I have no idea what it is. Do you?

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MILFORD, Utah--I need your help.

I was driving through this tiny western Utah town on Road Trip 2007, and I saw this contraption by the side of the road as I zipped by.

It was so bizarre looking that I had to go back to see it. Fortunately, there wasn't another car in sight, so I simply popped the car into reverse and backed up.

It was there, just off the road, looking like it hadn't been used in decades. Kind of like a display piece. And it reminded me of the steampunk revival that has been going on recently: old, funky machines with odd belts and gears that are steam-powered.

Now, I don't know anything about this machine, except that it was in Milford, Utah.

But I hope maybe one of you fine folks might have an idea.

So, if you know what it is, please e-mail me. I don't have a prize to give, exactly, but I can certainly publicly give you your due props if you're the first person to correctly identify it.

After all, this is the Web 2.0 era, where everything is interactive, right?

Help me out!

Where I hit the 4,000-mile mark in the middle of Zion National Park, the scenery, like this sandstone and shale cliff face, was stunning.

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ZION NATIONAL PARK, Utah--I've been on Road Trip 2007 long enough now that I've reached 4,000 miles of driving. And while the actual spots where I hit 1,000, 2,000 and 3,000 were nothing to speak about, that was certainly not the case when the odometer rolled over from 3,999.9 to 4,000.0.

That's because I was in the middle of this incredible national park when all those zeroes appeared, with gorgeous sandstone and shale cliff faces surrounding me.

Now, to be perfectly honest, when I hit 4,000 miles on the dot, I wasn't at a pull-out. I was on the road, with a place to get off the road literally a tenth of a mile in front of me. But thanks to the fact that a giant tour bus was snarling traffic behind me, there was no traffic at my rear. So, I stopped the car in the road and snapped a few pictures. Full disclosure, you know.

Anyway, I am pretty close to home now--that is to say, fewer than 1,000 miles--so I don't think there will be a blog entry at 5,000 miles. But hey, maybe I'll be forced to make a lengthy detour somewhere.

I hit 4,000 miles on the dot in Zion National Park, though I didn't quite reach a pull-out at the exact moment

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Spider Rock, at Canyon de Chelly in northeastern Arizona, is one of the most popular attractions at this national monument. The rock is 800 feet high and made of sandstone.

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CHINLE, Ariz.--Of all the places I've visited on Road Trip 2007, I don't think any have been quite so far off the beaten path as Canyon de Chelly.

This is a truly wondrous place. For nearly 5,000 years, people have lived in these canyons among four mountains sacred to the Navajo. Even today, the Navajo still live here.

Still, the reason most people--including me--come, has got to be more about the scenery than the history, sad as that may be.

Truth be told, I had never even heard of Canyon de Chelly until reading about it in my Southwest guide book. It compared this place favorably to the Grand Canyon for pure scenic beauty. And I have to say, I can't see how they're wrong.

To get here, of course, you have to go far out of your way. It's not very near to any other popular destinations, though it's probably only a couple hours from Interstate 40, a heavy-traffic highway.

But it's so worth it. Here, you have canyon walls 1,000 feet high. You have Spider Rock, an 800-foot pillar of sandstone. And you have thousand year old cliff dwelling ruins. And then canyon views that are truly out of this world.

There are two arms to Canyon de Chelly: A north rim, and a south rim. I only drove the south rim, because I was short of time. And it was spectacular. I can't speak personally for the north rim, but I'm sure it's fantastic.

Either way, I suggest that you find your way here. And in the meantime, I expect to post a gallery of pictures of Canyon de Chelly (along with some of the North Rim of the Grand Canyon) on Wednesday. Stay tuned.

These ruins, called White House, were built by the Puebloan people more than 1,000 years ago. The cliff dwellings are still visible, and visitable.

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I pulled over in the Infiniti QX56 I'm driving to call my dad and let him know which road I was taking in case something went wrong.

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TEEC NOS POS, Ariz.--I had just left the Four Corners monument and was on my way to the Canyon de Chelly.

The map showed me two different routes. First, the main roads, a 93-mile route. Not bad, but longer than I wanted to go, since I had much farther to travel after visiting the canyon.

The other route was on a dirt road over some mountains. It looked far shorter. And it was all on roads that were on my AAA map. How hard could it be?

Plus, I had a brand new 4-wheel-drive SUV (an Infiniti QX56), gallons and gallons of water, a full tank of gas, three car navigation systems, plenty of food, warm clothes and on and on.

I felt pretty safe heading out on the back roads.

Iridium 9505A satellite phone

(Credit: Iridium)

So, I started driving. At first, it wasn't so bad. But then I noticed that the road had a lot of washes, and they were all wet. And I looked into the sky, and it was menacingly dark. And it occurred to me that those washes could well get hit by flash floods if it started to storm.

I stopped the car, and thought about it. I finally decided to continue, but I wanted someone to know where I was going, just in case. Only problem? I was far away from a cell phone signal.

Luckily, I had a satellite phone, an Iridium 9505A that I had brought along as one of the many gadgets I've been carrying with me on Road Trip 2007.

So I pulled out the sat phone and called my father. I just wanted to let him know what road I had taken. I told him I would call back later to assure him all was well. But if he didn't hear back, maybe he should call someone.

The signal was crystal clear. It was better than any cell signal. I've used these phones before, but I am still amazed that out in the middle of the mountains, or the desert, or wherever, you can get a great signal with one of these devices.

Anyway, the road actually turned out to be too much. I got to a point where the car really didn't want to climb a particular hill. I probably could have done it if I had tried several times, but then again, I might have gotten stuck. I didn't want to try that badly. So I turned back.

Still, in the end, the jaunt was worth it because it gave me a chance to head into a totally wild, out-of-the-way place, feeling safe that I had all the bases covered. And that's worth a lot.

I used the Iridium 9505A satellite phone to let my dad know that I was heading into the mountains on this poorly maintained road.

(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET News.com)

At any given time, dozens of people visit the Four Corners monument, which, in addition to the marker on the spot itself, is decorated with the flags of all four states, as well as a U.S. flag.

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FOUR CORNERS--For years, I've wanted to come here. I can't say why.

I suppose it's because it's one of those places you're supposed to visit. What's its draw? Well, the chance to lie down in four states at once. To break the law in Arizona and jump two feet into Utah. Ha! Come get me, copper!

Maybe it's just to take part in one of those American rituals that bind us all together.

A Dept. of the Interior marker signifies the place where four states--Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado--intersect.

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I'm really not sure. I visited it as part of my Road Trip 2007 around the Southwest, and I felt a little shortchanged.

Perhaps that's because I could only get about 10 seconds at the marker, given that there were a whole bunch of other people trying to get at it. And maybe it's because I had to pay $3 to visit the site. Or that surrounding it on all sides are stands with the usual tourist-bait swag for sale.

All in all, I'd have to say that it was an utterly banal experience. But I did it. And I'm glad I did. Because I've always wanted to.

The 'shiprock,' a giant rock formation that's also a sacred Navajo site, is located outside, appropriately enough, Shiprock, N.M.

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SHIPROCK, N.M.--When I was looking at the map, trying to figure out how to get from Taos, N.M., to the north rim of the Grand Canyon, I saw that the road would take me through this little town.

At the time, it didn't occur to me that the town's name might be meaningful.

Well, until I drove through, on Road Trip 2007, my journey around the Southwest looking for the best of science, technology and nature.

And lo and behold, even before you get to Shiprock, off in the distance, a gigantic--and I do mean gigantic--piece of rock begins to dominate the horizon.

And as you get closer, you see that the rock--a sacred Navajo site--does sort of resemble a ship. A really, really, really big one.

I guess that will teach me to think people do things for no reason.

The Altec Lansing iM600 is an attractive, high-quality, affordable iPod speaker system.

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FARMINGTON, N.M.--One of the many gadgets I've been carting around with me on Road Trip 2007 is Altec Lansing's iM600 iPod speaker system.

I personally own a much earlier iPod speaker from Altec Lansing, and I've enjoyed it for a long time, though I've often wished it had a little more oomph.

Well, the iM600 has answered that desire, and for a remarkably affordable price: only $150 gets you this sweet compact little device.

Here's what it has: an easy-to-fit iPod dock (with plug-ins for iPod Nanos and older models), as well as an antenna for the built-in AM/FM radio.

The iM600 has wonderful, rich sound. I hesitate to turn it up all the way since I'm in a motel and it's kind of late, and I know that I would have no trouble waking up the neighbors with this little machine. Yet, at high volume, the sound doesn't lose any of its richness, something that wasn't true with my earlier model.

It also has a little remote control that lets you change songs, the input source (iPod, radio or auxiliary device) and more.

Even better, the iM600 has a rechargeable battery instead of using AAs. And while I haven't put this thing through endless testing, my sense is that it lasts a good long while. So far, at least, I've not really had to worry about it going dead. And, of course, when it's plugged in, it charges the docked iPod. Which is nice when you're on the road.

I suppose my only complaint is that it's difficult to search for songs on the iPod while it's docked, because it's hard to spin your fingers around the click wheel. Over time, I think that would be a significant annoyance, but so far, it hasn't bothered me too much.

All in all, though, I am pretty happy with the iM600, and I would think that most others would be, as well. There are, of course, many options to choose from, some cheaper, some more expensive. But when I learned that the iM600 was only $150, I was shocked. It's worth that much and far more.

Road Trip 2007 author Daniel Terdiman hit 3,000 miles in the Infiniti QX56 he's driving just after starting a slow, winding road back home.

(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET News.com)

CHAMA, N.M.--We all like milestones and round numbers. That's why, during all the driving I've been doing on Road Trip 2007, I've made a point of pulling over and documenting the most important ones.

When I hit 1,000 miles, I couldn't stop. It was late at night, and it was dark, and I couldn't see a place to pull off. But I was within a few miles of Arizona's Meteor Crater. And I thought that was cool, especially since last year, on Road Trip 2006, when I hit 2,000 miles, I was at an overlook with an incredible view of Washington state's Grand Coulee Dam.

Last week, I hit 2,000 miles on this trip out in the middle of nowhere near the tiny town of Three Rivers, N.M. There was a gorgeous sunset, and I was only about in the middle of the whole trip.

Now, I'm at 3,000 miles, and I've begun to slowly head toward home. There's still days to go and much to see, but I'm no longer getting further away. I turned left at Taos, N.M., and homestretch it is. And at 3,000 miles, I was once again in the middle of nowhere in New Mexico, though this time it was raining and about to turn into a maelstrom.

Last week, I asked where I'd be at 3,000 miles. I know that answer now. There's at least another thousand to go, though. Where will 4,000 be?

The 3,000 mile point was just south of the town of Chama, N.M.

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Black Rock hot springs, near Arroyo Hondo, N.M., are a lovely set of two pools nestled right up against the Rio Grande.

(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET News.com)

ARROYO HONDO, N.M.--There are few things in life I enjoy more than soaking in a natural hot spring.

That's why, despite my being late getting started with my day and having hundreds of miles to drive to get to my next stop on Road Trip 2007, I couldn't resist stopping in at Black Rock hot springs near this tiny town.

These are two stone pools on the edge of the Rio Grande, and with amazing views of the Rio Grande Gorge. During my visit, in early August, the pool farther from the water was a perfect temperature: Hot, but not too hot, even on a sultry summer day. The pool closer to the river was colder, according to the visitors who tried it out.

Apparently, during winter and spring, this hot springs isn't really usable because the river is too high and overwhelms it with cold water, even washing it out completely. Then, when the river recedes, the locals come back and rebuild the pools. Thank you!

This is a popular spot. It's a bit of a trek, including many twists and turns on a narrow dirt road, and then a five minute walk down a rocky dirt path. But thanks to my hot springs bible, Marjorie Gersh-Young's Hot Springs and Hot Pools of the Southwest, I had little trouble locating it.

For me, finding local hot springs is a big part of every road trip adventure I take. And thankfully, the American West is brimming with them. Yay Earth!

From Black Rock hot springs, you get an amazing view of the Rio Grande Gorge.

(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET News.com)