As the scapes grow in preparation for blooms and the outdoor thermostat gets turned up, I think about the first sign of spring.  For me, that is my Southwest road trip.  It is a new tradition for the last three years.  When you drive south from Colorado, it is nearly impossible not to hit #Route66.

The first year, it was the goal to travel Route 66.  We took the old road as much as we could, and took the Route 66 turnout at our end point, the Petrified Forest.  I love this old car at the turn-out!

The Petrified Forest/Painted Desert have become favorite stops because they are #dogfriendly.  There are very few National Parks with such open rules about dogs.  So, it is a great ice cream and a hike stop.

And, the scenery is like something out of Jurassic Park. What was once the far point of my trip is now more of a gateway to the Senora Desert.

So, what does this matter to a daylily blog? Well, first of all, I take the trip about the time that the daylilies are starting to send up new growth for the year.  But the other really cool part is that after that first trip to Route 66, I came home to find a daylily named Route 66.

I found it in the local garden shop, before I got addicted to the mail order daylilies.  It was one of those strange coincidences, just like my 6/5/16 blog about finding a local Stephanie Returns daylily the year my daughter, Stephanie, returned to Colorado.  Route 66 is an older daylily that was hybridized in 1967.  The colors match my Route 66 tea shirt.  It is a hardy daylily and I look forward to seeing it again in 2016!