Where to next?

Tuesday – AZ to NM
We grab McDonalds and hit the road by 7:30 – we will be driving along Rt 64 to catch more glimpses of the Canyon and then heading south to Montezuma’s Castle then on to Albuquerque.
We stop for one great photo opp with the clouds dancing thru the Canyon. The next stop is not as photographic but it is wild to see the clouds roll thru in seconds. The magnificent view is quickly masked and we move on ~ hoping for one last glimpse before we head south.
8:18 – Lipan Point – 7360 ft and totally cloud covered; it is a shame.
8:45 – We leave the Grand Canyon National Park and enter Kaibab National Forest.
9:03 – Every “Indian” Stand we pass is deserted or closed. Now at 5000 ft ~ we have started our decent. The rain has picked up too. I am hoping it is drier 2 hours south.
9:09 – Looks like someone was listening and I thank Her. The skies are starting to brighten and the clouds are more patchy. We stop to take some shots if Navajo Land – it is a shame to see their poor living conditions.
We stop at a Navajo ran shop to stretch and look around. The were pleased to see us and have our business. The sky is clear and bright & it is much warmer ~ time to shed some layers.
9:56 – Back to 6000 ft – Cococino National Forest
10:05 – We pass Humphries Point – the high point of AZ (Bill drools). Only 15 miles to Flagstaff and about an hour to the castle.
10:15 – We enter the City of Flagstaff ~ elevation 6906 ft. This explains Candi’s throbbing head and my left eye wanting to pop out of its socket.
11:09 – We stop at the McGuireville rest area to stretch and pee. The view is an added bonus. The rain keeps catching up with us ~ bless it!
11:19 – We turn off of Rt17 and head up the road to Montezuma’s Castle – passing by Cliff Caverns Casino… it is only a little commercial. I didn’t know they made colored bulbs bigger than a human head.
12:28 - Montezuma’s Castle was very cool. We got good pics, but sadly no video. We got back into the visitor’s center just in time to miss a down pour. The exhibit is did a great job of trying to show what these Native American’s culture was like so long ago.
12:20 – We stop at Crusty’s Café (I am scared) for lunch. It turns out to be decent… I would love to take some of that bread with us!
1:23 – We see a blinking sign on the highway warning of “Winter Driving Conditions – Be careful” – is it that cold out? It is probably due to the elevation; my ears start to fill as we head north on Rt 17.
2:24 – Albequerque – 299 miles! It is delightful to see fluffy white clouds and an expanse of clear clue skies ahead. Dare I say we have driven out of the storm?
2:39 – We roll past the exit for the Meteor Crater & Meteor City, deciding that $12/head is stupid to see a big hole in the ground. Of course, after the Grand Canyon, what can compete? Meteor City also boasts having the world’s largest dream catcher – also rather lame.
3:05 – we skirt the edge of the Painted Desert – I will have to remember to get a post card.
3:14 – We have hopped off Rt40 to see the National Petrified Forest and we are back on old Rt 66 again. The National Petrified Forest was amazing, but a bit longer of a detour than desired. The trees we are seeing were there 225 million years ago and are now unearthing as quartz.
The Painted Desert – OMG! This is such an amazing view –the rich red vibrates from the ground – my second favorite view.
Onto Albuquerque @ 90 mph – trying to catch up on time. The Christian Radio station keeps us awake.
8:40 – We made good time getting to Albuquerque but then we hit a detour from HELL trying to get into the city. After several turn arounds we find our way to Central – a huge Neon Rt 66 sign greets us.
We meet up with Chris and Susan and head to the Rt 66 Diner for dinner. Two words – Pumpkin Milkshake or Peanut butter Milkshake (ok, so that is 3 words) but holy cow were these suckers good! After the hushpuppies and the extra crispy fries we were about to roll out of the building.
We wrapped up the evening posing w/ Marilyn Monroe under the Rt 66 wall mural. It plots out all of the cities along old Rt 66. The locals think we are off our rocker. We score some super cute schwag – Rt 66 pins and postcards of the front of the diner on our way out.
The Silver Moon Lodge was built in the 50’s and is a little scary at first glance but we crash hard and are out for the night. This was after Candi and Bill discovered that their first hotel room lacked a necessity – a bed. They got a new room – one complete with a place to sleep!