Saturday in Arizona

Last night David and I realized that the Painted Desert/Petrified Forest National Park was not very far from Show Low where we were staying. We also found out that we could again pick up Route 66, which originally went through the park. So that became our destination for the day.



We spent several hours viewing some of the most incredible vistas imaginable. The parts of the southwest that we have seen in the last week have such a unique look and feel, so different from ones I grew up with. My east-coast eye and soul have finally come to appreciate the colors and sytle of this part of the country.





After we left the park we headed east on 66, much of which has disappeared or is not drivable in these parts. Much of our trip has been criss-crossing or actually joining interstates as we try to follow The Mother Road. Here in Arizona and New Mexico it is I-40. And so we followed it back into Land of Enchantment and are spending the night in Gallup.



By the time we get back home, we should be able to say that we had travelled Route 66 from Chicago to the Petrified Forest near Holbrook, Arizona. Not quite sure what we will do tomorrow, let alone the day after, but things have gone well and our travels have been very enjoyable so far. Stay tuned!

Connie

A couple more photos from Friday

Water hazard. We went through, but one car turned around.



This theater has not operated since 1974.

Where are the earlier postings?

Only a limited number appear when the blog opens. But you can get to older ones by clicking on the dated listings under "archives" in the far left column.

States

So far, we have traveled in six states: Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and, currently, Arizona. Route 66 also runs through Kansas for a few miles, and we hope to pick that up on our return journey. Connie has been sending postcards from each state to her grandsons Luke and Ryan, who have been showing an interest in geography lately. Three arrived back in Chicago yesterday. We want to make the set complete.

Into Arizona

Much to our surprise, today we came into Arizona--we had planned to travel east, not west--and are spending the night in the town of Show Low.

There is a "rule" in New Mexico that, despite the sparse population, you won't really run out of gas if you keep your tank filled into the upper half. But ours got lower than that because we didn't add fuel before starting out from Silver City NM this morning. The highway we went down had few services, and at a certain point we got worried.

The GPS informed us that the closest gas was 70 miles away, to the west. So we went there, across the Arizona line for the first time.

It was the tinest little gas station I've ever seen. And when we pulled in, it was locked up! But soon a girl showed up riding a motorcycle, unlocked the pumps, and got us gas. So that worry was solved.

But from that point we had to follow a complete different path, much of it across Indian reservations on US 60. The scenery was spectacular, though, so we have enjoyed our day completely.

Tomorrow our plan--plans are not always realized, of course--but still our plan is to get back on Route 66, this time heading eastward, not westward. It is a good bet that we might spend tomorrow night in Gallup, New Mexico.

The Weather Factor

Connie and I have been very aware of weather this trip, and that seems a very good thing. We might easily have left Santa Fe and gone north through the Rockies, aiming to get to Fort Collins. But there are snow storm warnings up there, and travel would be difficult and hazardous.

It appears, though, that we will be okay if we don't travel east too fast or go too far north. Chicago, though, apparently is getting quite a bit of rain. All we are likely to experience are some fairly strong winds.

Silver City, NM

Spending the night here after a wonderful drive through wonderful mountains! It is an old silver mining town turned, at least in good part, into an artist's community.


First crossing, this morning


Second crossing, this afternoon. Notice the difference in elevation?


This is where we had supper, in a true "ghost town."



It was a great day, because of great scenery and great food. Also friendly, helpful people.

Later Wednesday

Well, we had quite an interesting and unexpected day! We stalled around a while this morning, waiting for a restaurant that Connie had enjoyed previously to open at 11:00 am. Tomastita's, which is in an old Santa Fe Railroad building. Anyhow, we had a really great meal there, so that was very worthwhile.

Our travel motto is always "probably," or "maybe," etc. Plans are subject to change at any moment. We had had difficulty figuring out where we would go, but looking at a map, decided on Roswell NM, solely on the basis of the flying saucer stories that abound there. That meant going south--but not farther west--so it isn't really taking us a lot farther from home, as continuing on to LA would.

However, our thought was readily out-bid by the suggestion from Paul (Connie's oldest) that Roswell wasn't that exciting a destination. He suggested, instead, White Sands--which I know of mostly as a missile testing ground.

It is interesting how this trip thus got a technological bent. The motel we stayed in at S.F. was very near the house where Paul (a physicist) and family lived in when he worked at Los Alamos. Connie and I both felt that White Sands was right on, in part because it would appeal to Connie's husband, Jim, and to my father, both engineers.

So we set off to the south, but took the "scenic route" for quite a ways, which had a fascinating landscape. Then we went a bit west to the Interstate--and its 75 mph speed limit, and its rest areas with "rattlesnake danger" signs posted! ;)

Now we are in Truth or Consequences, NM. Driving through town quickly, it is another example of how the development at the junction of the interstate has badly hurt the older businesses along the former main highway. And really much against our own preference, we too ended up at a Comfort Inn near the off-ramp. But we are going to go into town for a dinner at one of the "older" restaurants.

Connie and I have both been so impressed by the scenes that have passed our window. Everything in S.F. is built of adobe. All the houses, the buildings, are so different from our midwestern world.




And the high desert (is that the right word?) landscape of NM is also so unlike anything that we know.



The other striking thing is how vast the distances are. You can drive so far without seeing any evidence of human activity, let alone a gas station or restaurant.

Anyhow, we are having fun. Now this is seeming like a trip into Oklahoma, New Mexico, and part of Texas as much as a Route 66 trip. But we did cover more than half of the mother road, and with luck, will get a chance to do the other half sometime in the future.

Early Wednesday morning

Well, this last night, I got about half a night's sleep, which is an improvement over zero. Not gasping for air so much!

One new theory is that perhaps the altitude here is a factor. Start with a heart that works poorly, and then add thinner air, and you get distress. We were talking with a woman who works in a local hospital. She says that in many cases older people who do fine in places like Ohio need oxygen when they come out here.

Yesterday was mostly not an exciting day. Clean-up. Connie did a load of laundry, and then we were at the car dealer getting a wire that had been knocked loose tightened up. Has to do with the oxygen level in the fuel.

However, we did go down to the Square in Santa Fe, which really is remarkable: different and beautiful! Almost all the architecture in the whole city is adobe. In addition, they limit the height of commercial signs so that they don't "stick up" and spoil the appearance of the impressive skyline.





Still haven't decided what we will do today. I am inclined I think to start home via a lower altitude path. But we need to look at maps and the weather forecast, etc.

We have been very fortunate on the weather. Yesterday it was clear and lovely, and then it has been getting cool at night as well.

A week on the road!

Well, this is Tuesday morning, so it is a week we have been traveling. Seen many sights! But the bad news is that I didn't sleep at all again last night, so that is two nights in a row.

Yesterday Connie did all the driving, and we went up to Taos and then through the nearby forests and towns. Last evening we checked in to a very nice older motel on Route 66 in Santa Fe, the El Ray. Really, it is so nice! But once again I was caught into my can't breathe/cough/sweat/have to sit up routine, and really got no rest.

We have a room here for tonight as well, and a number of errands to do, as well as fine things to see. But I am less enthusiastic than before about going very much further west. Hopefully my condition will improve, but it if got worse, I would like to be in striking distance of home.

The landscape here is so different, and very spectacular. I think that is what I am enjoying the most! Anyhow, even with not feeling well, it is a very worthwhile trip.

Breathing difficulties

I have begun to have the same kind of breathing difficulties that I have had many times at home. Don't know the reason, but it makes it almost impossible to sleep much at night, and then leaves me tired most of the day. (When that gets too bad, I switch off and ask Connie to drive.)

All those pills, but they still aren't a sure cure for a heart that only pumps about half as strongly as it is supposed to!

Connie is fine, so far--fingers crossed. She does get worn out, but seems perfectly healthy.

Whether or not we may have to make our total trip less ambitiuous isn't clear....

We have made it more than half way!

We stopped at the Midpoint Cafe for a late breakfast, then later pushed on into New Mexico. Now we are spending the night at Las Vegas, NM, which is fairly near Taos and Santa Fe. Our plan is to go up to Taos tomorrow, and then get the minor repairs to the car in Santa Fe on Tuesday.