Day 2 began in Arizona- really, incredibly beautiful. And like nothing either of us had ever seen before. Red desert with brush in all different hues of lovely earth tones, with incredible rock formations in all kinds of gorgeous hues. Interestingly, this was actually where we started seeing snow. Seeing patches of it dotted along this incredible desert was like some kind of fantasy alien landscape in Dr. Who. Incredible.
Not my pic, but yeah, like that. Only actually awesome-er in person.
Arizona was also where we saw the most traditional, kitchy, Route 66 roadside stuff (40 picks up the old Route 66 in places and runs close and parallel in others). Some of it was falling apart and kind of lovely in a gothic, oh look at that relic of a bygone era, kind of way. Some of it was alive and well....and downright mind boggling.
Like this
This is advertised ahead by a big sign saying 'Pottery! Made by INDIANS!"
The T-rex is just like a free gift with purchase I guess.
Look closely. No, your eyes are not deceiving you. A little known use of the tee-pee, despite supporting a nomadic lifestyle, which I'm not altogether certain was actually practiced by tribes in the Southwest, was protection from indigenous predators. Like tee-pee sized dinosaurs. Learn something new everyday, right?
Day two ended somewhere in New Mexico late at night after Amy's First Snow Driving Experience (tm). This involved me parking my ass behind a truck going 40 miles an hour so I could follow his headlights with my blinkers on, looking over at Brian every few minutes and repeating "Thank you for not making fun of me." Gods bless the man, he never once acknowledged there might be anything to make fun of.
I had really wanted to make it to Texas that night, but by 10 when the snow was starting again, we gave up and found the second awesome off brand motel (by then we had realized that the trick is to look for the Best Western or whatever that is big enough to advertise, then pull over and find the little guy down the block hanging onto its coat tails). Which gets us to your first actual picture, taken by us, of the trip
Soothing, restorative, booze!
Stay tuned for: Texas! and Missouri does *not* welcome you!
Sounds like a blast of a trip!
ReplyDeleteBest way to drive in the snow is to follow the big damn truck. They make tracks you can drive in. And the man was smart to not make fun of you. And the tee pee was more in my neck of the woods (midwest).
ReplyDeleteIs that the "ghetto-tini?" :D
ReplyDeleteChris- I knew it! (on all counts :-D)
ReplyDeleteand yes, that was the ghetto-tini :-)