This is the day.  The Fellowship headed out on its journey, Frodo and Sam Wise taking on Mordor.  Well it felt like that anyways.  And just so you know, Matt is Frodo, I am Sam.The hike to The Wave was the most physically challenging thing I have ever done.  8 miles, no markers, sand, steep cliffs, rocks, cold and the constant threat of being stranded due to the rain and snow that was in the forecast.It took a couple hours to get to the Wave, and it was absolutely worth it.  If you could imagine...

Woke up this morning and headed over to the community center for the lottery for The Wave.  They only pick 4 groups a day, up to 10 people, plus some pre-registered folks.  In total only 7,800 people get to hike to The Wave a year.  It is one of the most exclusive amateur hiking destinations in the US.  The odds of getting picked are extrememly low, very low.  We talked to people who have come every day for years to win, and are still waiting.  So of course, WE WON!  No joke, Spillane is getting...

And on the seventh day we rested. Tomorrow we enter the lottery to get 2 of 16 passes for The Wave, then make our way down to the Grand Canyon. ...

Day 6, wow, we saw so much today.  It seems like each day brings a more spectacular view.  Once again, pictures do not do justice.We started out the day early with a hike into the Antelope Canyon.  It is a walk thru a naturally formed canyon that is rarely more than 3 feet wide.  But soars to over 100 feet in some areas.  The walls are formed by flooding that happens each season, which slowly erodes the cliff walls.  Inside is a museum of naturally formed art work.  Our guide, Laura, pointed out...

Day 5, oh my, words cannot do justice for Day 5.  We started out by heading back to Monument Valley for the Valley Road tour.  17 miles in amongst the mesas.I took so many pictures, just picked one to share.The valley is just indescribable.  Each mesa is unique, you can tell each one has a story.  How it aged over the millennia to become what it is.  Wind and water carefully shaping each one, bringing out the character of the stone.  You cant help but wonder the awe the Navajo had when they came...

Late update.  There is not much connectivity once you get deeper into the desert.  Day 4 took us from Albuquerque to Monument Valley.  Pretty short drive, we were hoping to get into Monument Valley early enough to drive the Valley loop, but not so lucky.  Trip took longer than expected, go figure, and it ended up raining.  We still spent some time at the park, and quite honestly some of the most awe inspiring landscape I have ever seen.  The hole valley is enormous and each mesa totally unique. ...

850 miles, 13 hours in the car, 2 gas stops, 1 for food, and an asteroid field of tumbleweeds.  Its 2am mountain time and we finally arrived in Albuquerque.   Day 3 is coming to an end, and even given the long day, it was enjoyable.  We started the morning off with a spa treatment and massage.  Hot Springs is known for their spas, dating back to the 20's.  Really cool architecture, they restored it well, so it feels like the 20s.  Matt informed me that Hot Springs was an alternate location fo...

Pretty simple itinerary for today.  Need to get to Albuquerque by end of day.  Simple.  Only 850 miles, long day. ...

Ended up being a really great day. The repair only took an hour so we were back on the road by 1130am. Decided to skip Buffalo Trace since they did not have anything new today, which ended up being a good move. We hit all four distilleries on the Western KY craft distillery trail. Which means coin number 2! The distilleries were all good. We only did tastings, no tours, had to keep moving. I tend to enjoy the craft distillery much more than the big bottler. They tend to experiment more, ...

Our adjusted itinerary for today.Safelite Glass RepairBoundary Oak DistilleryDueling Grounds DistilleryMB Roland DistilleryCasey Jones DistilleryMemphis for dinnerHot Springs Arkansas for the night ...

Not the best start today.  Woke up to find our window busted and a few items stolen. Quick stop at the SafeLite repair in Fairfiled OH, then back on the road.The journey continues, and I thinks its fair to say we are a bit wiser. ...

It 30 degrees, but scoots all the way! ...

And so it begins….Hit the road at 130 today with my travel buddy for the next 10 days, Matt Spillane.  @spillanemattShort trip today, heading to to Cincinnati for the night.  Meeting up with the boy (my son Jared) for dinner and football.  Tomorrow brings bourbon... ...

A journey of exploration, introspection, reflection ... and bourbon.  Begins 12/6. ...