Wow. Today we covered about 1/2 of NM, and almost all of AZ! We didn't hurry, but Rte 66 through AZ is fabulous. Nicely paved and not too much jumping on and off across I40.
We spent yesterday just chilling in Santa Fe. Went to the Georgia O'Keefe museum, browsed around the galleries and shops, and just relaxed. If you ever get to Santa Fe, go to Milagro and treat yourself to the grilled quail with tres moles. Unbelievable! I wanted to tell the waitress to just bring me 6 of them and forget the entree! Of course, if I had done that I would have missed out on a really good braised short rib.
Anyway, back to today! We went back down to Albequerque to continue westward. I have never seen so many hot air balloons in one place. Is it always like that? It was quite impressive. We also saw quite a few cacti still flowering red and yellow.
Heading west out of Albequerque we crossed the Rio Grande, which did not seem to be so grande today! It was more of a creek than a river. I'm sure that will change when the real rains arrive. At this point we entered into Indian land where we had to stay on Rte 40 since what used to be 66 runs through pueblo land and travellers are encouraged not to trespass or take photos.
We discovered that you don't need to go to Hawaii to see lava flows! Just drive through McCartys, NM. Both sides of the highway are lined with folds of black lava rock, seeming to still undulate in the heat. When we left the lava flows and approached Prewitt, NM the lanscape changes yet again. To the North you will see the red rocks and mesas, to the South it is green prairie and trees. It is as if Route 66 is the dividing line between two separate and distinct worlds.
Today we crossed the Continental Divide! For those of you who were not paying attention in Geography class in middle school, this is the divide which separates where water drainage to the Pacific Ocean from where it drains into the Gulf of Mexico.
Passed through Gallup, NM and on into Arizona at Lupton. Westward to the Painted Desert. Simply amazing colors in the rocks here. It's one of those things that pictures just don't do justice. You have to see it for yourself.
Yay! The moment I have been waiting for! Holbrook, AZ, home of the Wigwam Motel! One of the most iconic places on Route 66. This motel has been owned by the same family since it was built in 1950. Unfortunately, since we arrived there at about 11am, it was WAY too early to stop for the night. At least, it was too early to stop in Holbrook for the night. A bustling metropolis it isn't. Besides, if we had stopped, I would have missed seeing my first real tornado! Yes, just east of Winslow, AZ we saw a tornado form and spin across the desert. It wasn't a particularly large one, but it was well-formed and pretty cool!
You caught that, didn't you? Winslow, Arizona? I had to stop and stand on a corner just to be able to update my FB page saying I was 'standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona'. I know, corny and predictable, but it was still fun! :-)
We didn't forget Winona, but we didn't see any reason to stop there either. Approaching Flagstaff it was time to decide whether we would continue west or drop down south for a visit to Sedona. A look at the sky made that an easy decision. Although it was only about noon, to the south it was black as night, while to the north the sky was clear and blue. We rode the line between the two in to Flagstaff where we lunched at Salsa Brava. Their pineapple jalepeno salsa is unbelievable!
Great roads and weather from here all the way to Kingman, AZ where we finally stopped for the night after covering about 500 miles today. It didn't seem that long since we were entranced by the ever changing landscape.
Tomorrow we attack the Mojave!
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