We had an uneventful, if slow, crossing through Albuquerque. Sure enough, the scenery reverted to desert rimmed with mesas. Temps were in the sixties so travel was comfortable and not as much trouble as earlier days.
Just after we had gotten settled in our campground the previous day, the wind took out the power to the campground. We were tired so we just went to bed. No worse than staying at Wall-Mart, right? Well, that cold front had some teeth to it. I woke up cold about 1:00am. Good thing the power had been restored by then because I got out our little electric heaters and ran them both for the rest of the night.
We decided to stop in Grants, NM for some shopping and lunch as we had spotted a Wall-Mart. The main street through town is the historic Route 66 and we wanted to find a local diner for lunch. There were all of the standard fast food places at the exit so we cruised the length of town looking for something different. The town was a striking collection of boarded up shops and vacant buildings typical of what happens when a town gets bypassed by the interstate. There were business, a tattoo parlor and a custom bike shop. A few others, but it looked like we were going to have to settle for McD's when right next door we spotted the First Street Diner. Saved! It even had a parking lot I could maneuver the coach in. The inside was pleasantly decorated and the people were friendly. The food was fabulous. They had four kinds of quiche and ten kinds of home made pie! This was easily the best place to eat we've found so far on this trip.
Then it was back on the road, past Gallop and the state line and on into Arizona. After 45 miles, we stopped at Petrified Forest National Park. Let me tell you, you haven't seen nowhere until you've made it here. There is just nothing but barren desert for miles and miles in any direction. No cell towers, nothing but I40. And then this. It's the kind of place that you really need to stop at if you're going by but hard to justify a special trip. That's not to put it down. It's very unique and well done and interesting with a great movie at the visitor's center. The petrified wood itself grew 225 million years ago and then got buried in a swamp and covered with minerals and ash deposits. Over time the ash and the minerals replaced the cells in the wood with crystal growth so now these logs are composed of semi-precious gemstone material of colors. Just incredible to see when a slice is cut and polished. But the place is strictly look but don't touch. Helping yourself to a stray pebble is a federal offense and the rangers are really on guard. Since petrified wood is found in other locations around the world, the gift shop has plenty to sell you, all shined up and ready to go. Every souvenir shop for miles afterward has it as well. Our campground has a fenced in collection of it they sell by the pound.
So tonight we're at Root 66 RV campground (their spelling, not mine) for our last overnite on the road. We're about 200 miles from our Arizona destination and we'll meet up with my cousin tomorrow afternoon and settle in there for a while. But, stay tuned, as more adventures will be forthcoming.
No comments:
Post a Comment