Road Trippin' - Part 1; Minnesota to Arizona

For our honeymoon, we took a road trip to the Grand Canyon and then on to Hoover Dam.  Because I was busy with the wedding plans, I left the trip planning to Hubby.  Little did I know at that time that we were somewhat following Route 66.  We traveled through Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona along I-40, stopping at some of the small towns and attractions along the old historic road.  Ever since then I have wanted to go back and travel Route 66.   

Last winter on our way home from Florida, Hubby brought up the idea recreating the trip for our 20th anniversary which was in November.  I was so excited I immediately started planning; I wanted to hit all the things we missed the first time.  I guess you could say this trip was 20 years in the making.

The week before we left was filled with anticipation and disappointment.  My mother-in-law had recently passed away and the probate court date wasn’t until the week before we were to leave.  Hubby was waiting for a letter from the court so he could take care of some of her assets.  Each day the letter didn’t come I began to worry that we weren’t going to be able to go.  It was down to the wire and I hadn’t even started to pack or make hotel arrangements.  Two days before we were to leave, he got tied of waiting around for this letter and went to the courthouse to see if he could get it there.  Luckily he was able to get the letter and take care of what he needed to the next day and I was frantically cleaning the house, washing clothes, packing and making arrangements at the last minute.

Day 1:  Minneapolis, Mn to  Pratt, KS

We got up around 4 and were on the road by 5.   At home, we were experiencing unseasonably warm weather and heading towards a major storm that was wreaking havoc in Southern California. How this would affect us we weren’t sure.  We just crossed our fingers and hoped for the best.  We had great weather the whole day.  By the time, we hit Missouri it was in the 70’s.  I was hoping we’d make it to Kansas City by lunch so we could try some of the famous BBQ it’s so well known for but instead we ended stopping at a place in Bethany which was ok, but not great. 

Somewhere along the Kansas Turnpike

In Kansas, we traveled down I-35. If you've ever traveled through Kansas you’d know once you get on the turnpike there is absolutely nothing to look at for miles in all directions.   It’s a very long stretch of boring road with only a few places to stop for gas.  Seemed like we were driving for hours.  Once we left the Flint Hills area things got a little more interesting with a few trees on an occasional farm here and there.  My mother-in-law used to winter in Arizona and had found a "shot cut" between Wichita and Tucumcari, NM that would take us through some little towns and what seemed like back roads.  We stopped for the night in Pratt, Kansas.

Day 2:  Pratt, KS to Gallup, NM

The Temperature had dropped overnight and we woke up to fog and a chill in the air with temps in the 40’S.  Checking the weather for the day ahead, it was snowing in Flagstaff.  We thought we were going to shoot for Holbrook but it was another 12 hours of straight driving, no stops.  With the fog, we knew we wouldn’t make it.

Foggy morning on the Kansas plaines

We passed through a town called Hooker that had a Chinese massage parlor with table showers.  I’ll leave it up to you to figure out what it was. This shortcut we were talking sure didn’t seem like one as we passed through one cow town after another; some of them looking kind of sketchy.   It looked like a modern day wild west.  We thought we’d stop for lunch in Dalhart, TX, but it was Sunday and there wasn’t much open except for fast food and two Mexican restaurants.   We decided to stop at one but got ourselves turned around and were heading the wrong way.  When I saw what I thought was the restaurant we were looking for it looked busy so we stopped.   When we walked in it was pretty much empty and everything was in Spanish.  The four years of high school Spanish left me with just enough vocabulary to ask where is the bathroom, so we decided to not chance it and left.  There’s not much between Dalhart and Tucumcari but we did manage to find a bar and grill in a little town called Logan and finally got to stop for lunch around 1:30.

We joined up with I40 in Tucumcari, NM.  It was interesting to watch the landscape change.  In Kansas and Oklahoma, it was flat prairie, once we hit Texas the prairie changed to rough patchy shrub like ground cover and once we hit Tucumcari we started to see mountains.  I tried to capture the scenery as we drove by at 65-70 mph and surprisingly got some decent shots.  Nothing great but acceptable.  We stopped for the night in Gallup.  650 miles was enough driving for Hubby when he had been battling the traffic and wind all day.

Our hotel was nice but not without its issues.  The WI-FI signal for our hotel was weaker than that of the hotel next door so every time I tried to get online it either wouldn’t connect or would kick me off in a matter of minutes.   And just before bed we had to switch rooms due to a plumbing issue but overall it was clean, comfortable and quiet.

Day 3:  Gallup, NM to Page, AZ 

What a difference a day makes.  The other day I was getting snow and rain alerts on my phone as we traveled and we passed by some areas where we could see the snow or rain falling in the distance. Arizona snow storms are different from those in Minnesota.  Wait a day or so and it melts; where at home if we get dumped on it sticks around for months.

We woke up to light rain and clouds but it quickly cleared to cloudless blue skies.   On our way, out of Gallup, we drove down part of Route 66 to get the freeway.  I guess I was expecting it to look like it did in its hay day and was a little disappointed to see a mix of rundown empty buildings with the new.  It’s a shame that the interstate pretty much killed the little towns along the way.

Giant Route 66 shield, Winslow, Az

San Fransico Peaks, Flagstaff, AZ

We stopped for a quick photo op in Winslow.  The giant 66 road shield in the intersection of Old Hwy 66 and N Kinsley Ave at Standin’ on the Corner Park.  From Winslow, we got our first look at snow capped mountains.  The San Francisco Peaks in Flagstaff.  Little did I know we would be driving almost right at the base off those mountains when we turned on to Hwy 89 heading for Page.  It was an awesome view, but to close to get any decent photos.

On our way to Page, we stopped at Sunset Crater National Monument.  Since it was President’s day admission was free.  We drove through the park stopping to walk through the Bonito Lava Flow and then drove up to the volcano overlook.

Hubby and I at Sunset Crater.  The volcano is the peak behind us

Sunset Crater is two parks in one.  Drive farther through the park and you come to Wupatki National Monument where you can visit ancient pueblo ruins. 

Wupatki pueblo ruins

It was after lunch when we left the park, we hadn’t eaten since breakfast and we weren’t sure if there was any place to stop before reaching Page,  which was still 2 hours away.  There really isn’t much along this stretch of highway.  It’s all reservation land with small communities here and there.  Some of them have little vendor booths you could stop at to buy local arts and jewelry.  When we came through there were only a few open and most of them looked like little shacks about to collapse.

As we got closer to Page we had our first taste of mountain driving with switchbacks, steep uphill climbed and cliffs that dropped off right next to the road. We were both nervous, Hubby was gripping the steering wheel while I was holding my breath and praying.  We made it into town about 3:30. After getting settled in to our hotel room we went looking for something to eat.  That was kind of tough since just about everything was closed for the holiday or for the season or just because it was Monday.  We did find a bar and grill open and had an early dinner.

After dinner, we were looking for something to do but since there wasn’t much open we didn’t have very many choices.   I suggested Horseshoe Bend.  It was one of the reasons we had come to Page and since it was late afternoon the sun would be setting by the time we got there.   I really wanted to get a sunset photo over Horseshoe Bend, but as I discovered this was the wrong time of year.  The sun was setting off to the side and it was cloudy so there wasn’t much of a show.  I had read about the hike to the edge; and thought ¾ of a mile would be easy;  but what I wasn't prepared for the fact that most of it was down a steep hill that you had to walk back up.  

Horseshoe Bend from the top of the hill. Look close to see the tiny people along the rim

We stood at the top of the hill and considered turning around and leaving.  Looking down at the tiny people dotted along the rim, Hubby asked where the guardrail was.  See I had neglected to tell him there wasn’t one; knowing he would refuse to go if he knew.  I told him we were already there and if he came with me that night I wouldn’t make him come back; as I had no intention of coming back when the sky was clear try for a better photo.    

Horseshoe Bend at the rim

Slowly we made our way down, watching the people coming up who looked exhausted.  We got to the rim and stood back for a bit watching people take selfies with their backs to the edge while sitting just inches away.  One wrong move could send them over the edge 1000 feet to the bottom.   This made Hubby very nervous and he couldn’t watch for very long.  I summoned up enough courage to stand about 3 feet from the edge and take a few pictures but it really made me nervous when just as I was about to snap some pictures this guy, totally oblivious to anything other then himself, comes and stands right in front of me.  One wrong move could of sent us both over the edge.  He did this a few times not just to me but to a few other people as well. 

  

We spent about a half hour at the rim.  The sun was going down and we wanted to be at the top of the hill before it was dark.  I don’t know how long it took us but right towards the end was the toughest.  I had to stop and catch my breath a few times, this other couple who was coming up behind us stopped to ask if I needed help.  I politely declined and told them I made it this far I could make it another 100 yards or so.  It was dark when we got to the top of hill and I stopped to take a picture of the city lights in the distance, but it didn't turn out because I didn't have my tripod.  We made our way back to the hotel and collapsed in bed for the night.  We had to be up early for tomorrow’s adventure.

 Road Trippin' - Part 2; White Pocket