Bugs, Hogs and Eagles

We left Flagstaff fairly early, following the I40 east. And immediately passed a small town, colourfully, named ‘Two Guns’. A little further on we saw a sign for a Meteor Crater. Unfortunately, the admission price was too steep and there was no way to access the crater for free. We were very disappointed as it is the gigantic one from the movie ‘Starman’.

Our next stop was Winslow, Arizona. The town made famous by the Eagles song, ‘Take it Easy’. It is a small dusty town, with many empty shops. And it looks as though it has fallen on hard times. But, it also looks as though the locals are trying to turn things around, with many public works. There is a small park and statue on the famous corner and we (along with a few other tourists) took happy snaps.

The main street through Winslow is also Route 66 and it seemed to us that small, dried up towns all along Route 66 seem to be making an effort to clean up and become tourist attractions again. There seems to be a desire from the general public to have these places restored. There also seemed to be small casinos (about the size of a large RSL or surf club) at regular intervals along the highway. The US Govt allows them to operate on Indian Reservation Land and the proceeds go to the Indian Communities. While this is happening all across the American West, those that lay on Route 66 are benefiting the restoration of the Mother Road as well.

Later in the day we stopped at a small Indian Trading Post on Route 66 in the exact spot of the Continental Divide. It was mainly fireworks, cheap souvenirs and hand made crafts. But we liked it.

We crossed the New Mexico border and the landscape changed. The rolling deserts changed to Buttes and Mesas. It was very beautiful. We saw tumbleweed blowing across the highway and a few dust devils about twenty to thirty feet high. We also saw some freight trains running on the Santa Fe line, alongside the highway. These trains were between 100 and 150 freight cars long, with most freight cars carrying two forty foot containers double stacked. These behemoths were powered by up to four diesel locomotives. We think they were even bigger than anything we have in Australia.

Late in the afternoon, we passed straight through Albuquerque and turned left (as Bugs Bunny always said he should have done) and made our way north towards Santa Fe. Along the way we passed the small town of Madrid (from the movie Wild Hogs).

Santa Fe was a real treat. We immediately loved it, as Mark’s father did in the 1950’s. He had been passing through and ended up staying for two years. We felt as though we could have done the same. It has earthy colors and adobe architecture everywhere. It is extremely pretty and although it is the capital city of New Mexico, it is far smaller than Albuquerque and has a real small town vibe. Everything there is focused on the arts, the outdoors and western mythology. We had a lovely evening strolling around downtown and a nice meal at an underground Bar/ Café called the Sleeping Dog.

Funny Fact: A little about Sacky the Van (she was feeling left out).
She is a 1993 Ford Aerostar Van. She has a 4lt V6, like the one offered in the Mustangs of that year and a 4 speed automatic (column shift!). She is fairly economical and having covered 2000miles since we bought her, she is ticking along nicely. The captain’s chairs are very comfortable, the ride is smooth and quiet and the stereo plays our Ipod nicely. She is named Sacky after Sacagawea, the native American Indian woman who guided Lewis and Clark safely across America.

The windows behind us are all murals, note the reflection of a girl, my Lord, in a flatbed Ford, slowing down to take a look at us.

Pia at the Indian trading Post on Route 66 at the Continental Divide

Street corner in Santa Fe. There are no buildings over 4-storeys around here and they are all this pretty, even the 4-storey car parks.

But the toilet flushes the same way.