Beginning of a great adventure, Day 1

And we're off. The particulars for Friday, Aug. 3:

Miles: 598.8

Route: Santa Monica to Barstow on the 10 and the 15, then Interstate 40 through Needles, Calif., and Kingman, Ariz., to Flagstaff, with a side trip to the Grand Canyon. Lisa took the sweet picture up above at sunset as we were approaching the canyon.

Time: Door to door, about 12 hours.

Consumed: Lunch: Me -- Double-double, animal style, fries and Dr. Pepper; Lisa -- cheeseburger, animal style, fries and Diet Coke, all at In 'n Out in Barstow. Dinner: Split a surprisingly not-bad pizza and had some salad at We Cook Pizza and Pasta (it's true, you know) just outside Grand Canyon National Park. We also ...

embarked on what we hope will be the first of many snack-food tastings during our journey east. Item No. 1 was Doritos Collisions Hot Wings/Blue Cheese chips. This is a new concept, with two flavors in one bag, and while we didn't dislike either individual flavor or the combo, it won't become a habit.

Blue cheese was the fourth cheese listed in the ingredients for its namesake chip (after mozzarella, cheddar and parmesan), its pungent taste started to show up after the first couple. The hot wings chips weren't as great, tasting sort of generically spicy. We found it best to eat one of each kind at the same time, but we're not sure we'd like a whole bag of either flavor.

Highlight: Neither of us had been to the Grand Canyon before, and we made it there just as the light was fading in the west. Nonetheless, we were both dumbstruck by the enormity and beauty of the place. We're going back in the morning to see it in daylight, and once we have a photo-sharing account up and running you'll see it too.