Yey - I have finished work for the week and I have finished the big job at home I was doing that I have been doing solidly for two weeks. Tomorrow is a busy day with doctors and hospitals but Saturday - Saturday I am going to scrap! YEY
I do have 1 last page made from two weeks ago though
The photo was taken on the shore of Lake Erie which was really pretty.
Today I am thankful for
- a job completed
- work done for the day
- the smell of Thanksgiving dinner in the oven (yes we always celebrate)
Day 14 Gallup to flagstaff
28th October 2019
Start miles 4996
Start time 7.00
End miles 5324
End time 5.00
The one with The accident
Some days just begin badly and this was today. The shower over bath tub was the sleepiest place known to mankind. The bottom of the bath was completely smooth and let’s face it I can trip on a shadow so a wet soapy bath was no challenge for me. I slipped and hurt my knee so badly that in trying to get up I slipped again and plummeted to the depths of indignity in having to ask Nigel to come and help me. It would appear that what I had done was pulled my hamstring as well as twisting my knee and the pain was horrible. Apart from the fact it was hard to put weight on the leg the cramping pain in the calf was excruciating. Still, at least I was clean.
Today we received another time gift as Arizona operates on Pacific time and it was a good day again as we had a lot of places we wanted to see. As we left Gallop, in the dark of course, it was snowing gently. Not what we expected on this part of the trip but although it remained very cold the snow didn’t last and it was a beautiful sunny day. We saw another gorgeous sunrise just before we arrived in Holbrook. Holbrook is home to one of only two wigwam motels and we will also get to see the other later in the trip. It was an amazing site to see and it was even better that they had lots of old vehicles parked up in front of the teepees to add to the mood. It was bitterly cold but we braved the wind as it just had to be captured on film.
And some other Route 66 curiosities includingt he Jack Rabbit Trading post
From Holbrook we headed to Winslow as there was something really special we wanted to see. We are great fans of the Eagles and love their music and one of their songs, Take it easy, mentions standing on the corner in Winslow Arizona. They have a tribute on Route 66 with a huge 66 sign and two statues which are standing on the corner. As we pulled up, the shop opposite had speakers outside playing the song and the whole area had a lovely feel. It was lovely to wander around in the sunshine and there were plenty of other people doing the same. Yet again the lady in the gift shop was very friendly and interesting to chat to. We decided a quick snack was in order and found a Sonic which had immediately become one of our favourite snack places. Sadly they had obviously heard we were coming and the ice cream machine was broken and so we were one sonic blaster away from perfect.
From Winslow we followed the road out of town to the Painted Desert country Park. We had not been able to build in time to visit the Painted Desert properly but knew this would afford us a good view of what it was like. And it was stunning. Far gentler than the Grand Canyon, the colours were very similar and it was very pretty.
We had been toying with the idea of going to see Holbrook meteor crater, but it would have meant a reasonable detour and all of the pictures that we had seen was from the air and so we figured it was probably not going to be very impressive from ground level so we decided to miss it from our itinerary. We headed into Flagstaff, where we would be staying that night, but only as a means to getting us on the right road for Sedona. The good news was that the Sonic in Flagstaff did have ice cream… Yay.
One of the places that had devised our route for this trip was Sedona. Nigel had seen pictures of it and decided it was somewhere we absolutely must visit and he was so right. We wanted to make sure that we drove through Sedona the correct way to get the best views, hence the reason for going into Flagstaff and back out again so that we could pick up the road we wanted. Sedona was as beautiful as we anticipated, but it was a salutary reminder as to why the national parks are so important. You had this incredibly majestic scenery equal to anything you would see in Utah with the red rocks against a pure blue sky, but because it was not a National Park it was quite built up. It seems somewhat incongruous to see towns in the middle of such wilderness beauty. Of course people wanted to live there and you could still see the beauty in many places and the towns were very sympathetic in their architecture and colour, but it did make us appreciate what the National Park Service had saved in other places. We enjoyed stopping at the various viewpoints and taking photos. I even bought a new sunscreen hat, a Stetson of course, at the ranger station and store.
We headed towards what we thought would be the highlight of our Sedona trip, the chapel built into the rocks. I was a little worried as I knew you could not drive up to the chapel, but had to park either at the bottom or halfway up the hillside and I didn’t feel that I would be able to make the walk with my latest injury. Nigel was adamant that I would get to see the chapel I had wanted to see so much and so managed to find someone who worked there who found wheelchair and he said he would push me to the top. If I ever doubted his love it was certainly not at that point. The slope was steep and I mean really steep and I’m not exactly a lightweight. He was determined, but a very nice man saw him pushing me and said, ‘hey let’s do this together it’ll be more fun.’ And this stranger helped Nigel negotiate the twisting path up the Slope to the chapel . And it was well worth it. The chapel was beautiful in it simplicity with a huge cross at the window. Whilst I had been sat in the car waiting for Nigel I had been, of course, checking Facebook and Saint Paul’s Church had just posted a beautiful prayer. I took a screenshot and it was the perfect prayer for Nigel and I to read as we sat in the chapel. I don’t believe that these things happen just by chance, we were meant to read that prayer at that moment. The view from the top was stunning and we were fascinated by a large mansion below us. Whilst it does detract from the wilderness and natural beauty, how amazing it must be to live with those views every day. Having been up to the top, we now had to get back down again and I think I was more scared of that then going up. I swear I went the whole way with my hand on the brakes in case Nigel lost control of me, which of course he did not.
We carried on to the town of Sedona and then started our journey back to Flagstaff and we had no idea that that drive would be as beautiful as it was. First we passed through Sedona itself which was a lovely town and very mindful of being in keeping with the environment it was in.
The roads up and down the mountain was glorious as it meandered down mountainsides with twists and turns through pine forests and deciduous trees just changing colour. The light was incredible and we both agreed it was one of the nicest drives that we had done this trip.
We arrived in Flagstaff and called into a Walmart as we were almost out of water and soda. We then decided that I had had enough walking and so went to an IHOP for dinner before checking in to our hotel where we would be based for two nights. The lobby of the hotel was beautiful, quite outstanding, with a real Mountain Lodge feel, although the room was disappointing.
It was nice however to have a base for two days and Nigel did laundry for us.
The Wigwam Motel is a hoot! I am sure the Native Americans are not the least bit impressed--and may be embarrassed--by such a "landmark." I bet those things are really HOT in the summer sun with not much shade about. Do they truly use them these days, or are they just for show now?
I really like your photos of the ride through the mountains. The one that shows the road far down below is awesome. It just emphasizes how peaceful and lonely the area is, and how high up you were!
Posted by: Barb in AK | March 10, 2020 at 09:59 PM