It’s day 6, and so far our CRX American Road Trip has been a whirlwind, a marathon, and a blast! So far, we’ve driven up the California coast from L.A. to San Francisco, trekked East to enjoy the wonders of Yosemite National Park, driven the barren journey from Yosemite to Vegas through the night, toured an Arizona slot canyon, wandered the winding streets of Santa Fe, and encountered extraterrestrials in Roswell.

Not only have Phil and I seen more of the country than we ever have, but we’ve also grown a lot. And we’re just halfway through! Thus is the beauty of road trips, where lengthy drives lead to great conversations! 

Phil and I have always prided ourselves on being good travelers, but this trip has really taught us a lot about travel, time management, and rolling with the punches. I spent a lot of time before the trip carefully planning our days, and I’ve come to learn that you really can’t create too many expectations when you travel.  Of course it’s important to have some ideas and points of interest in mind, but too much of that can take away spontaneity! Not only that, but when your original expectations don’t quite pan out, it can kill your mood for a little while. I found that out within the first couple days of the trip. One of the most exciting parts of the trip so far was completely unexpected; a 9 hour drive to Vegas from Yosemite that was originally set to start around 3 didn’t get started ‘til 8. Yes, that meant power-driving through the night, and rolling into Vegas at 6am.

But it was aaaall worth it. We even got to ride the roller coaster at New York, New York! 

At first, as the day’s plans changed the longer we stayed in Yosemite, the more anxious I became. And that killed my enjoyment of Yosemite for a little while! After a point, I just realized we were having a great time in a beautiful national park, and we should stay there longer, even if that meant shifting our plans (and admittedly, in a pretty crazy way). I mean, you can’t just drive past something as breath-taking as El Capitan and not stop for pictures!

People always say it’s not the destination, but the journey that really matters, and I don’t think I really believed that until this trip. Some of the most fun memories are our spur-of-the moment stops, such as deciding to photograph all the cool retro motel signs we pass, or stopping at the hokey gas station near Area 51 at 3 in the morning. 

Phil and I are extraordinarily grateful for the experience that CRX has given us to see so much of this beautiful country. We’re pumped to continue on our great American Road Trip, and make the most of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Phil and I have a special relationship with Hannibal, Missouri that began in June 2011. I’d heard the sleepy river town was a great day-trip location; only 2 hours away, the birth-place of Mark Twain, quaint–our type of place! We arrived, and immediately saw how at-odds with itself Hannibal is. A lot of the town is low-income, and many houses are pretty run-down. At the same time, there are many wealthy families that own (and have restored) the old Victorian mansions that remain downtown from it’s glory days in the 1800s. The town attracts many intelligent people because of it’s history and architecture, so there is a small, but vibrant, art scene. Unfortunately, there is a roughness to some (certainly not all!) of the locals who were simply born in the town, and do not appreciate its background. Main Street is really the only busy, functioning part of the downtown.

On this street, there is the Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum, the stairs that lead to the memorial lighthouse, pathways along the riverfront, restaurants, antique shops, the town’s incredible one and only coffee shop, Java Jive, the Hannibal History Museum (more about that later), and more.

If you saw just the Main Street, you’d think Hannibal was pretty hoppin’. But here’s Broadway, the large road perpendicular to Main Street.

When Phil and I visited, we spent a lot of time seeing the attractions on Main Street, went to the Mark Twain Cave, and spur of the moment, took the Haunted Hannibal Ghost Tour. This is where I get back to that Hannibal History Museum! Ken and Lisa Marks are a couple from St. Louis that visited Hannibal a few years ago, and were taken by its history. They moved to the town, started their own free museum, and have written two books since. Pretty intimidating self-starters if you ask me! Haha. They were never into ghost hunting, but after they moved to Hannibal, they began hearing from just about everyone that the town was haunted. Their tour is a blast! Lisa’s a wonderful story-teller, and we got to see a lot of the town and hear its unique history. The tour ended at Old Baptist Cemetery (which is likely the cemetery mentioned in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer), where we were given dousing rods to see if we were attracted to any particular graves. It sounds a little nuts, but I’ve gone on the tour multiple times since, and I’m definitely becoming a believer.

Why have I been on the ghost tour so much, you ask? Well, after the tour was over, Phil and I had a long chat with Ken and Lisa. We really hit it off, and at the time, Phil wanted to start a video project focusing on small towns. He thought Hannibal would be a great start, so we visited a few times since for various events, and Phil did some video work for Ken and Lisa, including filming a couple ghost tours. Now we’re good friends with Ken and Lisa! We certainly didn’t think our little day trip over a year ago would lead to so much. Sometimes places surprise you, and Hannibal was definitely one of those for me and Phil.

Hannibal is DEFINITELY worth a visit (or 4, if you’re us). All in all, the town is just interesting. There is so much history that I’m still learning, even after going there so many times!  

So, what seems to good to be true has finally happened. Phil and I won Car Rental Express’s American Road Trip Contest! Well, he was the entrant, I’m the travel partner. We decided to submit just one entry and use both of our efforts to garner as many votes as possible! We swarmed Twitter and created a new account we can use hand-in-hand with this Tumblr. Filled with travel info, updates on our trip, and more, we hope to make it useful for all travelers out there! Also, Phil utilized our great prairie dog footage and created a commercial for CRX.

So what exactly is this American Road Trip contest? On August 10th, Phil and I will embark on a two-week road trip from L.A. to New York. Our car, lodging and food will be funded by CRX. Our job is to promote their brand during our travels, and update often with pictures, tweets, videos and blogs. All of this comes second-nature to Phil and I, so we can’t wait to get started. Right now, we’re figuring out the best possible route to make the most of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

And don’t worry–we’ll try to make this blog about more than our upcoming trip, too. There’s still so much from South Dakota, as well as our many other past trips we’d love to share. 

Here’s our winning contest picture. Nothing more appropriate than our road-tripping car in front of the most notable landmark in our fair city of St. Louis!

Our detour to the Ranch Store outside the Badlands was an unexpected treasure. What was especially great is that it cost near to nothing! Free entry, and only $2 for 2 bags of unsalted peanuts. Frugal travelers like us were THRILLED. 

Who could blame us for spending 2 hours (in the hot, hot sun mind you) at this place. Just look at this little guy!

There were big ones, small ones, round ones, scraggly ones–and even white ones! South Dakota is one of the only homes of white prairie dogs. 

Streeeeeeetch!

What was really great is we didn’t even plan to stop at the Ranch Store! We were on our way to The Badlands, and happened to drive by. We saw “Free prairie dog ranch” and we were sold! Spontaneous detours like this are what make road trips so great.

The Black Hills is one of those places you really have to see to understand why it’s so special. However, I’m going to do my best to sum up my favorite parts of this beautiful area! 

Initially for me and Phil, the lure of South Dakota began with Mount Rushmore, located just north of Custer State Park. The size! The scope! The patriotism! We couldn’t help ourselves.

All and all, Mount Rushmore was pretty great (note: our excited faces), but to be honest wasn’t one of our favorite things we saw in comparison to other attractions in South Dakota. 

What could be cooler that Mount Rushmore you ask? I think I can answer for both Phil and myself when I say Needles Highway! This twisty turny road that goes through Custer State park seemed pretty intimidating on paper; Reading some online posts and reviews of the attraction, I saw mention of narrow roads carved under the mountainside that barely fit one car. The highway is a two-lane road! I had visions of me backing out of a narrow mountain-locked road, scraping off my paint in the process. 

That didn’t happen. Not even close! Although the reviewers sure weren’t kidding when they said there was only room for one car.

Yes, there were some sharp turns and lots of hills, but that’s the best way to experience the beautiful landscape! There are vantage points spotted across the highway, and many places to get out and start climbing. And climb we did!

You might even encounter wild animals, like I did with this bison. And by encounter, I mean drive by within the safety of your car. Don’t worry–this isn’t the part of the highway where you’re supposed to get out and climb around ;)

All in all, the road takes about 45 minutes to drive, but if you stop, explore and take pictures, it can easily take 3+ hours. And it should! There are so many wonderful little pockets to see. The Black Hills have beautiful rock formations, trees and, well, hills. Who knew! 

Hey, everybody! This one’s from Cat. Last week Phil and I went on an out-of-this world trip to South Dakota, which, we discovered, has just about everything: offbeat landmarks (Corn Palace, Wall Drug, hi), very very Badlands, Mount Rushmore, sweeping landscapes, charming towns–the list continues. I can’t believe that before the trip all I knew about South Dakota was Mount Rushmore. We took far too many pictures, as usual, so the next several posts will be detailing the trip, including several stops along the way, like Kansas City, Omaha, and an unexpected stint in Wyoming. Stay tuned!

Cat

Howdy guys! My name is Phil Diehl, and I’m the other half of this travel-blogging duo.

(Hangin’ out at the Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, TX)

• I’m a 24 year old freelance video professional from St. Louis, Missouri.
• I work for a traveling production company that streams music festivals held all across the nation live, over the internet. They’re a bunch of amazing guys, and you can check them out here!
• I spent the last year or so helping adults labeled as developmentally disabled express themselves via the audio/visual arts at RHD-MO’s Blank Canvas Studios.
• My great-grandpa invented microwavable pretzels.
• I’m obsessed with old buildings and urban renewal. Nothing thrills me more than seeing a formerly abandoned structure experience new life via renovation!
• I love creating videos and interactive content about the unforgettable places I’ve visited, especially if they’re off the beaten path! Here’s a perfect example.
• I once got beaten up by a few dozen live-action-roleplayers (LARP’ers) at a local park. Click the link above for evidence of this encounter!
• My spirit animal is the red panda. Or maybe the lobster. Can I have two?
• I can’t wait to share all sorts of sweet, unique content with you, right here, on this very Tumblr!

That’s all I’ve got for now. I hope you’re as excited as we are!

The closest thing I’ve come to a UFO sighting! In middle-a-nowhere Illinois, outside The Pink Elephant Antique Mall.

So, first of all, who’s running the show here? Second, what’s this blog all about?

We are Phil Diehl and Cat Hendel: St. Louis natives, media junkies, and traveling fiends. In our nearly two years together, we’ve traveled lots of places–some near, some far. We are drawn to places that are off the beaten path, unusual, and often nostalgic. Our favorite way to travel is by car; seeing the many landscapes of our huge nation is exciting, and we love being able to stop at the drop of a hat at anywhere we find interesting. We gravitate towards kitsch, tourist traps, and diner food–Lucky for us there’s LOTS of that in the US!

This blog is dedicated to documenting our many road trips! Let’s drop this whole “our” business and get a little more personal. Shall we?

It’s bio time!

Cat Hendel

• I’m a 21 year old college senior at Webster University. I graduate in December, y’all!
• I’m studying Media Communications and Advertising, and I want to go into Social Media Management.
• I have 2 middle names, Ann and America, which is named after my grandma
• There are few things I enjoy more than a good meal. 
• I am very level-headed and rational, which I sometimes worry about being boring, but they’re actually good traits to have.
• My father was a Catholic priest for 36 years, and my mom was a Catholic nun.
• …I’m agnostic.
• I’m easily fed up with ignorant and close-minded people.
• I’m am very introspective, and know myself well.
• Studying abroad has made me evaluate my life and what I want out of it a lot more than I thought it would.
• I love antiques and flea markets. I could look at them all day.
• I have lots of interests but not one passion
• I want to travel as much as I can while I’m young.
• I’m increasingly fascinated by my family history. See other blagh: http://inthenameofmyfather.wordpress.com/