Day 11 - Albuquerque NM to Holbrook AZ

Today's entry was delayed due to lack of WiFi or telephone in the room in Holbrook - I'm posting from the van in ??????? and it is @#^$&%* hot outside!

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This morning, we had a fabulous picnic breakfast in the Rio Grande Park. They have hiking and a very nice bike path that run along the Rio Grande River. We broke our “family in the car and ready to go” record by 30 minutes, though we were helped by the hour we gained by moving into the Mountain Time zone.

We drove through Sky City, which is the oldest continually inhabited city in the United States. Most of the homes in the area are adobe style, - bricks made of mud and grass with flat roofs to minimize heat absorption. This whole area is covered with lava beds, remnants of the Bandura volcano. The lava rock is dark black – it looks very eerie in contrast with the reddish soil surrounding it.

We stopped at the Continental Divide just west of Thoreau NM. It is not as obvious as some other locations, such as in Yellowstone Park. The elevation at that point is appx 7,200 feet.

We had lunch in Gallup at the famous El Rancho Inn – home of the movie stars. It is a very charming place – it has both a hotel and a motel on the property, as well as a restaurant. It was very popular with the Hollywood set from the 1940s through the ‘60s. The entire second floor lobby walls are full of autographed photos of the famous visitors.

Our final outing was a tour through the Petrified Forest National Park and the Painted Desert. It is beautiful beyond description. The Petrified Forest was created by trees being preserved by silica over time, which created a chemical reaction with the cellulose in the trees and essentially turned them in to stone. There are various crystals which formed inside the trees during this process, including agate and amethyst. They are scattered all over the ground in this area. The same process also created colorful layers of soil and sediment, which over time eroded away to expose the layers in the mesas and buttes throughout the landscape. It is absolutely gorgeous.

We arrived at our very cool accommodations in Holbrook – we are staying in the Wigwams! They were built in the 50s and are a very famous Route 66 remnant.

I had my worst meal of the trip last night – at a steak house just down the street. I was leary when the “salad bar” had dill pickle spears and unpeeled carrot sticks as part of the offerings.  Mark kindly shared his ribs with me.

For those who took the poll – the correct answer is 12! We have Route 66 versions from everyone from Nat King Cole to the Rolling Stones.

Can anyone guess what inspired the photo for today’s entry?

Today, we’ll be standing on the corner in……