Albuquerque to Phoenix

Today was the final truck driving leg of this segment of the tour...Albuquerque to Phoenix.  KC and I departed the hotel at about 7:30AM and began hunting for a Carl's Jr.  With our arsenal of smart phones, GPS and finely tuned senses of smell we made a bee line for a wholesome breakfast of sausage, egg and cheese biscuits.  After trying subsist on Hampton Inn breakfasts for the past three days my digestive system needed some grease.

Since the drive to Phoenix was only 450 miles, KC and I agreed to take a more scenic route, which this map approximates,

and began with a leisurely stroll down Central Avenue which is the old Route 66.  Central Ave makes a straight line trip through Albuquerque and leaves a traveler with no doubt about the route's history.  The street has ample examples of historic art deco Route 66 motels, restaurants and gas stations...some showing their age, others looking like they'd been lovingly restored.  You could easily imagine families touring through here in the Chevy station wagon in the 50's and 60's...before the interstate highway system sped up and sanitized long distance motor touring.  Following two and a half days of nothing but interstate, it was a welcome change of pace.  It left me with the impression that Albuquerque was a happening place with a pretty active economy.  I like it a lot.  At the end of town, we hopped on I40...but only briefly.

Old Route 66 Bridge

A short ways out of Albuquerque we stopped for a bio break at a Route 66 gas station which doubled as a Laguna Burger stand.  As I came out of the station I spotted a young lady walking a large black animal...clearly not a dog.  As I got closer I could see that it was a pig on a leash.  

I approached her and asked, "Is that what I think it is?".  

She said, "Yup".  

Boone the Pig

The pig, named Boone (as in Daniel) was a house broken pet that she said was very smart and very clean. Boone discovered the remnants of my bag of ice that I'd dumped on the ground and was devouring the ice cubes as we pulled out.  Reminded me of Buck, our Golden who passed on...he loved a good ice cube.

At Grants, NM we turned south on Hwy 53 and headed through the El Malpais National Monument known for the black lava fields that run along side the road. After El Malpais we entered the El Morro National Monument which gained altitude steadily and became more isolated. 

El Morro Nat'l Monument in New Mexico

During a road side break,  KC claimed that he could smell the carcass of a dead mule deer we'd passed a quarter of a mile back.  In the still air we both heard the noisy buzzards working on the road kill.  The skies were clear and blue and the temp was in the low seventies.  What a wonderful place.

Adobe Oven...not my photo

Throughout the drive we were in and out of reservations, notably the Navajo and Zuni tribes.  In one of the small "rez" towns, we noticed how indescribably decrepit the housing was.  The other thing we spotted was the nearly universal red dirt adobe ovens in everyone's front yard.  My research says they use these ovens to bake bread.Our consensus was that the Zuni tribe got the shitty end of the stick when it came to the quality of the land on which the reservation was sited.

Los Corralles in Show Low, AZ

In Show Low, AZ we stopped for lunch at a Mexican restaurant named Los Corrales.  The food was great and the decor was astounding.  Every single chair, table and booth in the place had a hand carved scene in it and they were painted in incredibly bright colors.  The place was a sensory overload.  Loved it!!!

Los Corralles

Our route eventually took us to Hwy 60 and we entered an area that is known as the Mogollon Rim...a 200 plus mile long escarpment that runs from northeastern Arizona to the New Mexico line. Its elevation runs from 4,000-8,000' and offers some gorgeous vistas.

Mogollon Rim

Mogollon Rim

Tonite we're at a Hampton Inn at the Phoenix Airport and will be picking up Sherry and Karen in the morning.  From here we'll head towards Sedona and some very luxurious accommodations at Enchantment Resort.  Nothing but the best for Lucy and Ethel.


I received a text from Sherry at around 9:00PM EST alerting me to the urgent news that she and Karen had to make a room change at the hotel.  Apparently neither room met their needs and the hotel staff was scrambling to accommodate.  To add insult to injury, the Georgia game was NOT available on their TV system.  

Oh, the humanity.