Day 24 - Monday, 7/13/09 ON THE ROAD

On Rt. 40 West there are silver sculptures of yucca cactus which light up at night with solar energy. The colors change. There is lots of solar usage here. Casinos are everywhere. Most, but not all, are Native-American run.

We are driving in the middle of nowhere, and suddenly, to our surprise, there will be an RV dealer.

There are mesas extending for miles. The soil is yellow and sandy.

I play seamstress and try to take in the armholes of one of my shirts that is too big. I brought it along on the trip anyway, because I love it, and it is very lightweight, which will be very useful in the heat. Ever try to thread a tiny needle while in a vehicle going 65 mph?

We see a working mine. Are they looking for turquoise?

The railroad goes through a tiny town in the middle of the desert called Los Lunas. We understand now why certain towns developed where they did.

Wait! There is something on the side of the road! Is it a giant snake? No, it's a sewer hose from a camper. Someone is not going to be very happy when they get to their destination.

Laguna is an interesting little village we pass. Most of the buildings are adobe, with a white Spanish church.

There are Native American artists selling their jewelry at the Rest Area. We feel badly for the fact that they drive long distances to get to the place where they can sell their wares. We are in our air-conditioned RV and they are out in the hot sun all day.

We pass an Asplundt Tree Service truck on I-4o in the middle of the desert. Where are the trees?!

I hate driving through construction areas where there is a concrete wall on the edge. I get quite claustrophobic. Now we are driving through an area like that with a rumble strip in the middle of the lane. If you drive to the right of the lane to avoid the rumble strip, your wheels are dangling off the shoulder. Aargh! I do love it when the construction vehicles remind me of tiny Tonka Toys from a distance.

Crossing the Continental Divide is very exciting. It feels like a momentous occasion.

200 miles from Flagstaff, the terrain begins to change. The rocks are smoothly etched by the wind into giant triangular shapes. They look like they are sliced rather than eroded. It appears that God took a bite out of the mesa.

Chaiku:

ARIZONA HIGHWAY

Metallic blue truck
Sparkles like a sapphire
In my side view mirror

We are in the high desert. The wind is so strong it almost blows us and everyone else off the road. Storm clouds hang in the sky with rain pouring out of them, but the rain never seems to reach the ground.

We see some commercial beehives in the desert. Very surprising.

There are electric poles that seem to lead to nowhere.

Meteor Crater, at 5000 ft. elevation, is one of the highlights of this leg of the trip. It is 700 feet deep. An explorer named Berringer lived there in a tiny stone house with a root cellar and studied it for 26 years. The Berringer family still owns the ranch, and has opened it to the public for their education. Sceptics believe that it was caused by a volcano, and not a meteor. Berringer tried to mine for iron ore there and sold it to the railroad. On the road to the edge of the crater we are shown pulverized limestone, sandstone, and fossils of coral, shells, and giant prehistoric worms.

From this distance up, clouds with sunrays emanating from them look like UFO's.

The closer to the Grand Canyon we get the greener the grass is, the more fir trees we see, and the more dark brown the soil appears. The Grand Canyon is in Tuscayan, AZ.

Mule rides in the canyon have to be booked far in advance. Bob wanted to go Standby.

Our campground is very nice. It has all the amenities. If we want, we can go use the pool at the hotel next door. I doubt we will be thinking about pools once we see the canyon.