Saltillo

In Saltillo we visited the excellent Museo del Desierto, a museum dedicated to the geology/zoology/botany/anthropology of the Coahuila region. The deserts of the region have a fascinating history from dinosaurs, to mammals, to indigenous tribes, to conquistadors, to modern Mexico.

We went out afterwards for street nachos and to see the city at night. 

We also saw our first live banda. It was quite an experience.

Bienvenidos a Mexico!

We crossed the Rio Grande from Eagle Pass in Texas, to Piedras Negras in Coahuila, Mexico. If you are familar with the film No Country for Old Men, it is where Llewelyn Moss staggers across the bridge seeking medical attention for a gunshot wound. 

We managed to secure six month visas and a six month importation sticker for the gladiator. The drive down State Highway 57 to Saltillo was beautiful (and there was not a cartel hitman in sight).

We rolled into Saltillo in the late afternoon, a quiet and tidy 500 year old city in the mountains. We met up with our coach surfing hosts Javier, Teresa and Mariana who took us out for taquitos. They wouldn't even let us pay. First night and already experiencing amazing Mexican hospitality.

28 states visited

Today is our last day in the US. We are driving south through Texas to Eagle Pass and then over the border tomorrow morning. We have been busy these last three months as you can see:

A few nights in Canyon, Texas

After all of the amazing hosts we have had on this trip, we definitely didn't think it could get any better. Well, Torrey's first cousin once removed (it's easier to just call her aunt Stephanie), proved us wrong. Aunt Stephanie and uncle John were incredible hosts, wonderful cooks, excellent canyon tour guides, and all around great company. Their little slice of heaven was a great place for us to recharge after a couple months of racing around the country. The hot tub did not go to waste! They even sent us off today with a homemade pumpkin pie, a new chilly bin/cooler full of goodies, and a new audiobook. Thank you so much guys, looking forward to repaying the favor in NZ!

Palo Duro Canyon

Went hiking this afternoon with my Uncle John in the Palo Duro Canyon, the 2nd biggest canyon in the United States. It was described as a "burning seething cauldron, filled with dramatic light and colour" by painter Georgia O'Keeffe. It was beautiful.

A quick stop in Lubbock

Lubbock was the perfect stop between Dallas and Canyon, TX, and Torrey's cousin Kelsey and her husband Dusty were lovely hosts. Their pack of dogs were super cute, as were the residents of Prairie Dog Town.

Goodbye to Sean and Tris

After a couple days of relaxing at our lovely host Lauren's pimp pad in Dallas, we said goodbye to our travel buds of the last few weeks, Trisna and Sean. They are heading to Florida for a Caribbean cruise, and we are heading up to Lubbock and then Canyon, TX to get everything ready for the central American part of our journey. It's been awesome having those two with us, hope to meet up again soon!

The Peoples' Republic of Austin

Had the full Texas experience in Austin thanks to our amazing host Alana. This included, but was not limited to: barbeque, firearms, and music. Here is a song from an impromptu concert put on by our new friends Eddy, Logan and Kyle. All the best y'all and thanks for showing us around Austin.

As yet unnamed Texan band - Streets of Bakersfield

The Big Easy

New Orleans is definitely one of the coolest cities we have visited. We enjoyed some good food and music, and soaked up some history of the region. We also got two flat tires due to potholes, which made for the most expensive day of the trip so far.

Little Band O' Gold - Spoonbread

Breakfast in Nawlins

Our breakfast this morning consisted of chicken andouille hash, red beans and rice, a boudin po-boy with homemade remoulade sauce, and a biscuit with gravy.

This breakfast order reminded us of this:

Nashville, Tennessee

Had a great time in Nashville, visited honky tonks, ate super spicy Nashville chicken, and went to the Grand Ole Opry, the "Mother Church of Country Music". We saw one of my favourite bands Old Crow Medicine Show. Here are some of my favourite songs of theirs:

Cumberland Gap

The Cumberland Gap is where three states meet: Virginia, Tennessee and Kentucky. It has served as a pass through the Cumberland mountains for modern travellers, native tribes, frontiersmen and civil war troops. There is a beautiful National Park with a great view of the three states.

On the Kentucky bourbon trail

What is straight Kentucky bourbon? As we were told multiple times yesterday, federal law states that it must be: 
- made in Kentucky
- aged in a new charred American white oak barrel
- be at least 51% corn (the rest is usually rye and barley)
- be bottled at at least 80 proof.

We visited three big distilleries around Lawrenceburg: Woodford Reserve, Four Roses, and Wild Turkey. We also stopped by Corsair, a newer and smaller craft distillery. The pick of the whiskies we tried? Corsair's triple smoked...(and its not even a bourbon it's a scotch style whiskey).

If you ever find yourself on the Kentucky bourbon trail, make sure you bring lots of inbetween drinks*. They don't pour much at the distilleries and they don't have on-licences.

Felice Brothers - Whiskey in my Whiskey

*panamericangladiators recommend that you convince someone else to sober drive, freeing yourself up to get your drink on.

Justified

Driving to Kentucky today. There is a small chance we may swing by half a dozen whiskey distilleries...

We are driving through the Cumberland Gap and Harlan County on our way to Lexington. Anyone familiar with the show Justified will know these areas, as well as this band which provides the theme track.

Gangstagrass is a rap/bluegrass group, here they are sampling a 1930's song by Jimmie Rogers "Pistol Packin' Papa".

Remember acid rain?

Spent a day checking out the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. We were lucky to get the van to the summit of Clingman's Dome as the snow was waist high on the sides of the road. Trisna was lucky to walk the kilometre up to the true summit as she was wearing ugg boots. Sean was lucky to not get knocked out when he threw a snowball at me, but missed and hit a husband and wife couple. From the top we could look east into North Carolina and west into Tennessee. Stunning views. 

Remember acid rain? It sounds pretty "nineties" now, and may have dropped off the radar lately, but it is still having an impact here. From the summit you can see that thousands of the trees are dying as the precipitation is 5-10 times more acidic than it should naturally be. This impacts soils, streams, plants and animals. Acid rain is caused by pollution from vehicles, industry and power generation being taken up by clouds and falling back to the earth with snow and rain.

That old time mountain music

The Blue Ridge Mountains are considered the birthplace of American folk music. English and Irish folk music (fiddles, dancing) combined with African rhythms (banjoes, drums) to create music known today as traditional/folk/bluegrass music. These hills are still producing amazing music, and are well worth a trip if you want to soak it all in. We stopped in at the Blue Ridge Music Center - an excellent museum which chronicles the musical history of the region. Anywho- this is my jam:

Greensky Bluegrass- Demons

Blue Ridge Mountains

Some photos from our drive today through Shenandoah Valley and the Blue Ridge Mountains. Check out them autumn colours...