TGART Day 9; Grants, New Mexico to Flagstaff, Arizona

The Wigwam Motel, Holbrook, Arizona 

www.dennismook.com

I can honestly say that each day this road trip gets better.  The things we do and see are more interesting every day.

This morning we left Grants, New Mexico and drove to Gallup.  Gallup is quite alive and seems to be doing well.  The downtown area seems to be thriving, the buildings are mostly occupied, the old hotels, for the most part, are open and the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad has a good sized yard in town.  In addition, Amtrak stops twice per day to pick up and discharge passengers on the Southwest Chief--a train I have ridden from Chicago to LA and LA to Chicago.  Gallup is the exception to almost all the towns along Route 66.

In Gallup, we visited the historic El Rancho Hotel.  This piece of history was fascinating.  It appears that the outside and inside are still pretty much original.  On the second floor of the lobby, the walls are covered with photographs of Hollywood stars, presidents, famous politicians and others who have stayed at the hotel.  Most photographs are autographed.  It is a throwback to the 30s.

Lizard Sunning on Petrified Wood

Leaving Gallup, our anticipated visit to the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest National Park was next on our list.  This bipolar park is out in the middle of nowhere.  These two places are adjacent and are as desolate as anything can be, short of the Sahara.  Mostly, it is badlands with a bit of grasslands.  However, the badlands showed erosion patterns that revealed beautiful reds, oranges, grays, blues and whites of the underlying strata.  Quite the sight.  We drove the NPS road south to the Petrified Forest part of the park and were greeted with more badlands, but this time with petrified pieces of trees from 225 million years ago gathered in "forests" along the way.  Some of these former logs were 3 or 4 ft. in diameter.  Quite striking how the silica tainted by chemical reactions to create beautiful colors replaced the cellulose cells of the wood fiber.  It seems the biggest problem in the park is theft.  People walk out with pieces of these treasures, thereby denying future visitors of the splendor of the sights.  I wish they wouldn't.



Where Route 66 Used to Be...

Also, while in the park, we saw where the original Route 66 crossed the now park area.  The telephone poles that paralleled the road still stand, but the road has totally disappeared and is covered with sagebrush and short grass.  There really is no trace of the actual road and roadbed.

After spending a few hours in the park, we drove west to Holbrook, Arizona.  We stopped there because we wanted to see and photograph the well known Wigwam Motel.  This is the photograph you see at the top of this blog post.  The motel complex was really well done.  There are 16 wigwams that are available as motel cottages.  The owner has placed a vintage automobile in front of each one, making a great effect.  The property was very well maintained and everything looked freshly painted and the grounds well groomed.  I would like to stay in one of those wigwams one day.

After leaving Holbrook, the one thing I wanted to see in this part of the country was the giant meteor crater--4000 ft. across.  I have seen it from 34,000 ft. while flying west, but not from the ground.  When we arrived in the area, it was about 5:30 p.m. Well, we saw this sign, but drove the 6 miles off the main road to just see it.  We confirmed the grounds were closed but enjoyed looking at the upended landscaped around the edge.  What used to be relatively flat, is now a crater rim a couple of hundred feet above the surrounding surface.  Maybe next time.  Can't do everything.

Update:  I forgot to mention that before we drove to Flagstaff, we stopped in Winslow, Arizona.  Yes, we did stand on the corner!  No, a girl in a flatbed Ford did not slow down to take a look at us.  Only an old guy yelled something about getting out of his way!  Seriously, there is a corner that has a statue, an old red flatbed Ford truck, murals on the walls and many, many people getting photos taken.  It is a regular tourist attraction.

Finally, we drove to Flagstaff, checked into our motel and then went to Fat Olive's for a nice Italian dinner.  Neat place, nice staff, good food, reasonable prices.  We had a nice experience.  Tomorrow, the Grand Canyon!

Today we drove through New Mexico and Arizona--297 miles.  Today was better than yesterday and it was better than the day before.  Life is good!  Enjoy!

Thanks for looking.
Dennis Mook