Take It Easy...

Today Linda and I drove west on 40 to check out Winslow, as one of our advertisers is there. Holbrook, the town where we are staying, is on the famous Route 66, as is Winslow. I can imagine that back in the day these towns were thriving, vibrant towns with neat cafes and stores that made it interesting for travelers to drive this route and check out all the neat attractions. Now each of these towns are pretty barren and have seen better days.

We got to see "the corner in Winslow, Arizona" that was featured in the song made famous by Jackson Browne and the Eagles (it was written by Jackson Browne and Glenn Frey). I have a sentimental preference for the Jackson Browne version, not because I've seen him perform twice, but because the album that this song came from was one of the earliest albums I owned. I bought a collection of about 60 albums from a co-worker when I was 19 and this collection opened by eyes to a whole lot of artists I'd never been exposed to....one of those being Jackson Browne.

The other day, when we were out at the Petrified Forest, we saw a group of motorcyclists that had a Route 66 emblem on their jackets.

There was a van that was following them on their journey so they must have been on a trip, covering a stretch of Route 66. What a neat ride that would be....not as great as it would have been years ago but fun anyway.












One of the nicest places in Winslow is La Posada, a historic hotel that is like a gem to this area.

Here's the description from their web site: "La Posada Hotel, the “last great railroad hotel,” offers a unique cultural experience for Southwest travelers. Built in 1929 for the Santa Fe Railway, La Posada is truly one of America’s treasures.

La Posada’s story weaves together two extraordinary visions. It begins with Mary Elizabeth Jane Colter and Fred Harvey, who hired Colter to design the hotel. It embodied her vision, from its architecture down to its finely crafted details. But La Posada closed in 1957; for the next 40 years, its future remained tenuous. Enter Allan Affeldt and his wife Tina Mion. Affeldt heard about the hotel and purchased it in 1997 after much negotiation, bringing with him a strong vision and commitment for returning La Posada to Colter’s original concept. Restoration started immediately and continues today, thanks to Affeldt’s efforts and the support of local preservationists, hotel guests, and a talented team of artisans and craftsmen."

We didn't go in today but will be calling on them over the next week. Anxious to see the inside of the hotel....the website is pretty impressive. The menu, in the Turquoise Room (in the hotel) is likewise as impressive so we might need to try that out too. Here's to more adventures !

Seven Falls

A lot has happened in the last couple days. This job has ended, due to lack of advertiser support. It had a bad vibe to it from the git go and yesterday we talked to our boss about it and he pulled the plug on it. Yesterday a rep team quit and they had two jobs scheduled in Holbrook, AZ that they were to do so guess what....we are pulling out tomorrow to go to Arizona to do those two jobs. As things are scheduled right now, we'll go to Holbrook for three weeks, then to South Fork, CO to hang out with our friends Bobbie and Jim over the July 4th holiday. Then we're off to Wyoming for three parks there.

Old gal catching a ride to the falls....

Since we are leaving here in the morning, we went out this afternoon to see a little more of the area. We went to Seven Falls, which isn't too far from the park where we're staying. We thought that the falls would really be full and pretty spectacular, since we'd heard about record snow falls and snow melt in the mountains but apparently the water doesn't run this way as there is a drought here and the falls were pretty meager. We took the elevator up to the viewing platform (no way I was taking the 185 stairs straight up) and from there you could look over and take in the falls.
After viewing the falls, we went back down the elevator to the base of the falls, where the gift shop and cafe are. There were several chipmunks running around and Boomer was fit to be tied, watching and wanting to chase them. The chipmunks must have thought he was a giant version of them, cause they would run up to within two feet of him to check him out. He thought they were the cutest things and wanted to play with them. They were quite the rascals.

On our way back down to Bertha, in the parking lot, we saw the dog riding in the wagon. The husband and wife said that she's 14.5 years old and can only tolerate walking for one leg of the trip. How nice of them to let her walk the downhill leg of it ! She was sitting in that wagon, pretty as you please. All she needed was a parasol and cushion to sit on and you'd have thought she was royalty. Boomer wanted to say hello but she'd have nothing to do with it.

Well, best get packed up and ready to pull out in the morning. Someone we saw today said that smoke from the wild fires, in Arizona the other day, blocked visibility of the mountains up here. Since we are staying in a canyon at the base of the mountains it didn't seem to be around here. I could see them just as well as we have the whole time we've been here. Must have been some other place. We're hoping the fires are settled down before we get there on Friday. Neither of us have been to Arizona or through New Mexico so we're anxious to see new things. Let you know what we discover.