Road Trip Essay, Research Paper

Road Trip

One hot and humid summer The Parks family decided to take a road trip to California. The family consisted of a father, a mother, a ten-year-old boy named Joey, and his six-month-old sister named Trinity. The family was from Houston, TX and they were planning on driving the spacious, luxurious, and monstrous sport utility vehicle that would be comfortable for the family. Mr. Parks mapped out the route he would be taking for the trip. He estimated that they would be driving one thousand miles to get to their destination. Mr. Parks didn’t think that it would take long to get there and he loaded the car up with mounds of toys and snacks of sticky cotton candy to keep the kids busy during the ride. At last, they were on their way across the never-ending state of Texas.

The family would be passing through New Mexico and Arizona to get to California. Baby Trinity started to get cranky. Something was bothering her but no one could figure out what it was. Trinity was crying so loud she woke up the roosters. Joey tried, unsuccessfully to calm her down. He was making funny and goofy faces and to no prevail, Trinity would not stop. Mr. Parks stopped at the nearest gas station to calm Trinity down. It was so hot and humid that the family did not want to get out of the car. They felt like butter melting in the sun as soon as they stepped out of the car. As soon as they entered the diner, that was part of the gas station, it felt like they were in an ice cooler. Anything was better than being outside in the smoldering weather. The

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waitress greeted the family with a warm welcome and seated them at a table near the window. Trinity had stopped crying for a moment to look at the waitress’s colorful face. The waitress had on cherry red lipstick with deep blue eye shadow. The waitress served them ice-cold water with their meals. Mrs. Parks had a gooey ham and cheese sandwich and Mr. Parks had a juicy hamburger with all the trimmings. Joey had a crunchy and toasted grilled cheese sandwich. The Parks finished their meal in record time and headed back on the road. As they passed through the plains of Texas there was nothing in sight but green and prickly cactus. The desert was so dry that a man looking for water wouldn’t find a single drop for hundreds of miles. They had finally passed through the thick and humid roads of Texas.

New Mexico is the fifth largest state in the Untied States. The passing through of New Mexico was quite unique that when Mr. Parks passed Carlsbad Caverns National Park Joey wanted to stop and take a tour of the caverns. The family walked through the 3-level cavern that contains the largest known underground room in the world: about 300 feet high by 1500 feet long by 300 feet wide. It was an immense, cathedral like chamber with water slowly percolating through cracks in the limestone and calcite to erode the caverns. It was an amazing site to see when stalactites and stalagmites meet to form columns. There were limestone columns and chandelier like columns from every possible corner. The tour came to an end and the Parks family was once again on the road.

After seeing the Carlsbad Caverns National Park, Mr. Parks wanted to see the Grand Canyon when they passed through Arizona. It took a good 8 hours to get to the

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Grand Canyon National Park. Mr. Parks stopped at a hotel so the family could rest for the night. The plan was to get up early in the morning and start touring the park, which encompassed 277 miles of the Colorado River and adjacent uplands. Mrs. Parks was so excited she woke everyone up early in the morning to get the kids dressed and fed them their breakfast. The family took the guided bus tours through the Canyons. The first view of the mighty gouge in the skin of the earth hit them with the force and surprise of a heavyweight’s sucker punch. There was a calmness of peace and tranquility in the vast parks of the Canyons unlike the Caverns.

Finally the Parks were heading to California to enjoy the warm sunshine and the cool breeze of the ocean. It took them approximately five hours to arrive in California. Little Joey wanted to go to Disneyland to see Mickey Mouse and ride the enormous rides it had to offer. The Parks stayed in California for a couple days then they headed back to the hot and humid weather in Texas. Mr. Parks and Mrs. Parks decided that they would take a vacation from then on every summer to experience the different sides of nature and to show the kids how beautiful the world around us is.

(832 words)