Now THAT Was A Long Drive

Off we go, heading out of Albuquerque.  I've driven this highway before, but to be honest, hardly anything looks familiar.  That's probably because I was following Barbara and Tom Westerfield coming back from Maine and not paying attention.

 The mountains of New Mexico are beautiful, to be sure.  That red rock just fascinates me.  Traffic was heavy with the usual trucks going 75 mph while I cruise along at a lowly 60. 

I was pretty much counting the minutes as I crossed the Continental Divide.  This was a very long 8 hour drive I was not looking forward to.  New Mexico does not have very many rest stops, and most of them are closed.  Too bad for drivers like me that need a rest.
 

 The New Mexico roads aren't all that great either, as told by all the smashed up guard railings.  They were repairing them every twenty miles or so, the entire way.  Luckily there were some trains to grab my attention.

 Just in case you were wondering, all those really cool very old Indian Reservation stops are closed.  I was hoping one would become a rest stop, but alas, at this point the only place I could find to stop was the side of an off-ramp.  The puppies really needed a break after four hours.

 At long last I found a rest stop near Flagstaff.  We had lunch and spent thirty minutes hanging out on the couch.  It was a good thing because Flagstaff was the pits, and I'm being nice.  The highway through there is horrible.  Even at 55 mph, things were crashing and banging, including my teeth.  

Why go 55?  Because the wind was terrible, throwing me and everyone else all over the road.  Some people with trailers were down to 45 mph.  Boy was I happy to land in Williams, even if I was exhausted.

 Hmmm, is that a new sign?  Don't remember it, nor do I remember all the stop lights at every corner the entire length of this town.  I found the Grand Canyon Railroad RV park office with no trouble.  At least I DO remember this!  

I walked inside, totally beat up.  PLEASE PLEASE HAVE A PULL THRU.  Well let me tell you, Allison is a miracle worker.  SHE RESERVED A CANCELLED PULL THRU JUST FOR ME!  I can't tell you how excited I was.  I would have jumped up and down, but my back was killing me. 

I pulled in, plugged in and spent the rest of the afternoon on the couch.  It was then I realized I gained an hour coming into Arizona.  I kid you not, I fell alseep on the couch at 7:30.

 I did get outside to take one picture.  Terrible picture ... I'll try to get better ones today ... but if you look between the coach on the left and the tree, you will see a LaQuinta Hotel.  Now I KNOW that wasn't here before, nor was the huge bar/restaurant to the right.  It was a smaller bbq place.

More money savings ... one of my favorite quilt shops has gone out of business.  RATS!

Today I'm off again, hopefully only a six hour drive this time, to beautiful downtown Newberry Springs RV Park outside of Barstow.  I've never stayed there, so here's hoping it's not a dump.  But first, fueling up at a brand spanking new Loves Truck Stop on my way to the freeway.  You can't beat that!