Day Eleven - Gallup to Flagstaff

We started out with the best of intentions! We were going to drive the route and we were going to pay attention. We have proof that at one point, Kathleen was using her GPS and everything.

We went to the Holbrook Wigwam Motel. I will be staying at the one in San Bernadino eventually, but we wanted to get a look at it. There were cool old cars in front of the wigwams. And there was a Safeway across the street for snacks!

And we went to the Jack Rabbit ranch. I could not hoist myself properly onto the evil giant rabbit. But I came close! Kathleen was victorious. But she admitted that it was harder to get up there than she thought when she was watching me get (nearly) up there. 

 

Next up was the la Posada Hotel in Winslow. Kathleen was so excited to see it and I didn't get why she was so thrilled. Until we got there. 

It is a beautiful place, designed by Mary Colter. It was a Harvey hotel which thrilled me because I have always wanted to see one. And this one is a jewel. The Harvey hotels were right by the train station and this one has a beautiful lawn that leads to the railway.

 

The restaurant was very classy. They even had a special place for me! (You might not be able to see, but the window says "Barbara".) The only thing I didn't like was that the poor waitresses had to dress like Harvey Girls. It looked adorable, but I remember the horror of wearing a dink on my head at the King's Grant Inn all through college.

 

Imagine this, but in orange and brown polyester. 

 There was a really interesting art instillation with the work of Tina Mion. It was weird and fascinating. 

 Next up was standing on the corner in Winslow, Arizona. However, I was not such a fine sight to see. I was feeling a little woozy from the altitude. Katnleen was very patient with me. I just wanted to get where we were going. 

In spite of the wooze, I really wanted to see the giant meteor crater. But we couldn't find it. Surprising, seeing as how it is the biggest one in the world. Or the US. Or something. We did find a closed up meteor trading post that looked like Marvin the Martian's head. 

  We also saw something that looked like it is used to communicate with space. But we don't know what the hell it was. But here it is, if you'd like to identify it. 

  DOUBLE SELFIE ALERT! Before we got to Flagstaff, we had to prove that we didn't forget Winona. There was NOTHING in Winona. A gas station and that's it. Not a pony cart in sight.

 We got to Flagstaff and while my car and I both loathed the altitude. But the cooler temperature and pine scented air were wonderful. Kathleen and I had been joking around about saying EXACTLY what we meant.* And when we stepped out of the car, she said, “Breathe the air Barb!” because of the beautiful piney scent. I replied, “I don't really have a choice.” Oh how we laughed.

*It might have been in the context of helping with navigation, but frankly, we talked through so many places we were supposed to be paying attention, that we finally gave up on knowing where we were.

 

We went to the Riordan Mansion, a huge cabin built by two brothers who were instrumental in the beginnings of Flagstaff. 

 

Before we went down to Mund's Park, we stopped for lunch at Oregano's Pizza Bistro. I believe it is a local chain, but as it was new to me, well, you have heard this justification before. I tried an Arizona beer called Four Peak's Kilt Lifter. It was quite tasty.

After lunch, we stopped by the library, which was magnificent. Then we headed down to Eileen's house. 

Eileen is Kathleen's mother-in-law and she is amazing. More on her tomorrow. 

I napped like it was my job, and when I woke up, I felt wonderful. Apparently beer and naps cure altitude sickness. Who knew?

After a lovely dinner, we went down to the country club that night to use the wifi. More on that later, too!

Another fun day on the road!

Albuquerque to Gallup

Day 10 started with a good omen. We stopped on the way out of town to get ice and I found that the ice company was named after my parents! Thanks for the ice, Mom!

 

It was beautiful driving. We had a little glitch going out of town, though. I learned that Kathleen is really more interested in seeing where I would end up when left to my own devices than she is in navigating. As she put it, “How will I show you the beauty and wonder of the Southwest if I don't occasionally mislead you.”

Or as I call it - “Where the hell are we, Kathleen???”

As a result, we stuck to the highway for most of the day. But the highway paralleled the railroad track and every time a train went by I yelled "TRAIN!!" and made Kathleen take a picture. For some reason, she didn't hit me.

We stopped in Grants at the New Mexico Mining Museum. I was sure this was going to be one of those museums where I just go to the ladies room and the gift shop. But Kathleen surprised me by telling me this was her third mining museum and she wanted to go in. Who am I to stand in the way of a weird mining obsession?

 

We went on the tour which means we went into an elevator DOWN to the mine reconstruction area. I was a little claustrophobic, but I was so charmed by Jack, our guide, that I stuck it out. 

Jack is a retired miner who was running three mines by the time he retired and he has a million stories.

 He started out at the very bottom of the ladder and ended up winning national safety awards during a time when miners were considered more or less expendable. We listened to his stories, fascinated, and he was so appreciative of our interest that he even gave us little goldstones when we left. He was great. 

 

Aside from Grants, the only thing I really wanted to see on the way in to Gallup was the Continental Divide. However, when we tried to get off the highway, we were trapped by construction. Should have driven Route 66!

We got to Gallup shortly before three and went to out hotel. It was nasty. The lobby was dirty and we had to yell to get help at the desk. I know, these are not real problems, but if you haven't been paying attention, I have become kind of a princess, hotel-wise. Luckily, the pool was broken so they let me cancel out reservation without penalty and we went to a nicer place down the road. 

This is not that hotel! This is the el Rancho Hotel where movie stars used to stay back in the day. 

 

It had a beautiful lobby that was just papered with autographed movie stills from the golden age of Hollywood. Everyone who every appeared in a western appears to have stayed here. 

 

There was a lovely courtyard where I could just picture myself surrounded by handsome movie stars of yesteryear.

 

And we snuck into the section where the guest rooms are to find that each of the rooms was named for a movie star who had stayed at the hotel! Kathleen took the two good pictures here, but I managed to take a Humphrey Bogart selfie to fulfill my quota for the day.

We ate a late lunch/early dinner here and went back to out nice clean chain hotel, both wishing that we had researched this sooner!

Day Nine - Tucumcari to Albuquerque

I left the Blue Swallow Motel with a bit of sadness in my heart. It was so wonderful to sleep in another era. But I had a big day this day and I needed to get started! But I would miss my “fully refrigerated” room!

 

First up was the Route 66 Auto Museum in Santa Rosa. This museum is enshrined in the I-would-have-gone-into-this-museum-if-Rich-were-with-me but-since-he-isn't-I-used-the-bathroom-bought-a-postcard-and-hit-the-road Hall of Fame. And I did just that. And had a nice lady take my picture on this somewhat cool couch.

 

Any of you who know me well are aware of my fear of Blue Holes. As a kid I was terrified of the Blue Hole in Castalia, Ohio. I had nightmares that I was in it and no one knew where I was. Apparently I was drowning-proof in these dreams, which was handy. But the place scared the hell out of me. My college friend Sara shared the same fear and even wrote a creepy dirge about it when she was a kid. “Blue Hole, Blue Hole, Nobody knows how deep it is, nobody knows how deep it is, Blue Hole.” Terrifying isn't it? Anyway, I decided to face my fear and visit the Blue Hole in Santa Rosa. Imagine my shock when I saw how they had taken this place of horror and despair and turned it into a rockin' little water park! I was thrilled. Take that, Blue Hole!

I got to Albuquerque earlier than necessary so I decided to hie my way to the National Museum of Nuclear Energy. Because who wouldn't? I looked around and decided to award it a place in the IWHGITMIRWWMBSHIIUTBBAPAHTR Hall of Fame. Great gift shop! Clean bathrooms! I assume there is educational content in there somewhere, too. But I'll never know!

I went and killed some time in a book store, had a sandwich and then checked into the hotel.

Then went to pick up my travel companion for the next 4 days – KATHLEEN!!!

 

Kathleen is a Betsy-Tacy friend from Phoenix who has been bit by the travel bug HARD! She is going to be my guide to the Southwest – the Tonto to my Lone Ranger, the Sacajawea to my Lewis and Clark, the Ratso Rizzo to my Joe Buck. It is going to be fun to have another travel companion and since she has the most positive attitude since Effie Trinket, I just know we are going to have a great time! (Spoiler – we do!) 

First of all, Kathleen claims she never watches TV. Now she hikes a lot. If you don't know what that is, it means she goes to the edge of civilization and walks into the wilderness FOR FUN! I know, it sounds crazy to me, too. But it is enough to make me believe her about the horrible “no tv” thing. However, when I mention that we could go on a BREAKING BAD tour before dinner, she squealed like a bobby-soxer at a Pat Boone concert.  

 

So we went to Jesse and Jane's apartment...

and to Jesse's house...

and most importantly the hotel where Windy used to work the parking lot! We did not, however make it to The Candy Lady candy store which sells the blue rock candy that was the actual stand-in for Walter White's finest creation. So no meth for us!

 

For dinner, we went to the Route 66 diner which was adorable. I wanted Kathleen to get a feel for the Route a little, even though I am still a little routed out, but damned if it didn't just charm the heck out of me.

The place looked like 1950 inside and out. And they had chicken pot pie as the blue plate special. 

 

 

It was like they knew I was coming!

The neon was spectacular outside. There were a few other establishments in the neighborhood that added to the vibe.

 

And this is the picture that was over our table. If you don't recognize it, it is the Blue Swallow Motel. I ended the day, right where I started out!

Kathleen is a wonderful travel companion. She doesn't make me hike. She lets me turn on stupid sitcom reruns on the hotel tv, even though she has no idea who these people are, and she likes to read before bed. Perfect!

And thus another great day on Route 66 draws to a close.

Day Eight - Amarillo to Tucumcari

CADILLAC RANCH!!

Pardon the unusual excitement, Cadillac Ranch is something I have been looking forward to for a long time. 

It is just 10 Cadillac skeletons half buried in the ground. They are supposed to be painted in a different theme every year, but since people are invited to graffiti them I couldn't really tell what the theme was supposed to be.

There was a family there that all walked up together with cans of spray paint in their hands. It was kind of awesome. And the mom went first.

I was having such a good day I had two pieces of pie for breakfast – once slice of peach and one slice of Elvis. Elvis was peanut butter, chocolate and banana. They were both amazing. I only had one bite of the peach and packed it away (it was lunch) but I scarfed the whole Elvis and it was goooooooood!

I ate this spectacular and healthy meal (they both had fruit!) at the Midpoint Cafe in Adrian, Texas. It is the midpoint of Route 66 and it was adorable. 

I wanted to take pictures of everything, the formica tables, the kitschy toys, but instead I focused on the juke box. The waitress was awesome, she took my picture for me. And brought me two pieces of pie with no judgement. She's basically my new best friend.

 

Funny story... it was supposed to be really hot in Tucumcari. They were saying up to 106. I HATE the heat. (Good thing I'm driving deeper into the desert every day!) SO I left Amarillo super early. I was on the road by 7:30 and at Caddilac Ranch by 7:45. Which makes that spray-paint mom even MORE badass.

Well, it's only a 113 mile trip, so I was in Tucumcari by 10:30, even driving the Route almost the whole way. I jump back and forth between the old road and the highway, I'm not a purist. But today, the driving was really great – mostly an access road along the highway, but lots of nice dips and some turn-outs that were interesting.

So I get to Tucumcari only to realize that I am now in Mountain Time and it is actually 9:30 AM. I have 5 and a half hours until I can get into my hotel room. Whoopsie!

 

So I went to the public library and spent 4 hours there! I got a lot of grading done. I started HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX. Yes, I've read it before, but, you know, new book coming, must keep current!

 

Then I went to Del's Restaurant for lunch – taco salad and iced tea. And they gave me a sopapilla which is like fried dough with no powdered sugar and you add hone. I loved it so much!

And hey, if you see Caleb, let him know that the mountain behind the restaurant is the one that inspired the mountain outside of Radiator Springs!

Then it was time for the hotel! I have wanted to stay at the Blue Swallow Motel for a really long time and it was just as great as I thought it would be. The place opened in 1939 and it has been restored to that era. My room had a chenille bedspread, a claw-foot tub and a rotary phone THAT I GOT TO MAKE CALLS FROM!!! It was so great.

I went back to Del's for dinner hoping to get another sopaipilla. Sadly, they don't give you one after dinner without asking and I couldn't remember what they were called! But since my pal Katie told me it was National Mojito Day, I had one of those. It was perhaps the best mojito I have ever had. Yay, Del!

This is what the Blue Swallow looks like when the neon goes on. It was extraordinary. And it is ground zero for talking to strangers. There are chairs and tables in front of all the rooms and once they turn the neon on, people come out of their rooms and socialize.

I met an awesome girl named Denise who is the hugest LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE fan I have ever met in my life. She was as thrilled at my story of meeting Allison Arngrim as I was at her story of meeting Hillary Clinton.

She is a fan of the show not the books, and I am pretty much the other way around, but I feel like we bonded.

When I asked her what her favorite episode was she immediately said 

“Whisper Country” and proceeded to tell me the whole story. And it was amazing! She left me with a great quote - “All you need to know in this life is the good book and suffering!” Her travel buddy corrected her, it's supposed to be “the good book and ciphering”. But I like it the other way better.

There were also a dozen Danish bikers, who were very nice. 

This was a great day!

Here is a video-tour of my room.

 

I also saw a ton of WWII era quonset huts that people have repurposed in all kinds of way. It wasn't a very exciting part of the day, but I wanted to remember it, so here it is. Just imagine that this whole picture and paragraph in parentheses.