3000+ miles in 3 weeks, Route 66 & all that. Episode 9

[Sue]

Monday 29th March

Greetings 66'ers - the day dawned sunny and hotter than we thought it would be - based on J's notions of the weather, I had not packed any lightweight trousers or shorts (I'm blaming him anyway) - I therefore bought some really bad shorts at a local store that I would not normally be seen dead in - there are NO photos of them (nor do I possess them anymore!)
Late start today as not much mileage to do and not much to see we think - today is a detour so from 11am when we set off, we were not on Route 66 and would not be for two more days. We are heading to a town called Kayenta in Arizona, this is the nearest place to stay to visit Monument Valley (about 22 miles away) - which is tomorrow's destination.

Not too much to say about today as it was mainly just getting from A to B. All gathered - Charli had not managed to get organised enough to put her laundry in with everyone else's and had done it all by hand. We discovered that the car's dashboard made a superb dryer



We dropped in at the very handy Starbucks and then set off on our way north. There was lots of spectacular scenery for the first part of our journey but it does not really show up in the pictures? Basically you can see for miles and all the different levels and colours are lovely. Also, taking pictures from the car often are grainy or blurred; still here are some of them:







We were climbing higher and higher as we drove along and our ears were continually popping. This place is actually higher than Ben Nevis:



The roads were superb, dual carriageway a lot of the time and we made good progress. We stopped to eat at a place called Sonya's Diner (turned out to be a small chain as we saw a couple more in different places afterwards):



It was really very good, all enjoyed apart from Rach who was not hungry and opted for the cheesesticks (which looked revolting!). J and Charli had omelettes, Sally had chicken and fries:



Phil had a burger and I had the club sandwich, which was a much better size and yummier than the one I had in Ziggies:



All fed and watered, we got back on the road:



Before long - we entered a place called the Four Corners, where New Mexico. Arizona, Colorado and Utah all meet. This is part of the Navajo Nation and is governed by them. The old towns in this area are old coal mining towns and are quite industrial and/or run down. Sad to say that we saw literally dozens of "Pawn Shops" and obvious poverty.
We also saw a few of what these areas are famous for - casinos! This one is the Apache Casino - they are literally stuck in the middle of nowhere (often with a few trucks parked outside) - some have accommodation and some don't. Very strange.



At some point we entered Arizona:



We would of course be doing this on another day as well - we could have left Kayenta and joined Route 66 further along, but we had to drive all of it. So the day after tomorrow, we will retrace our tracks back to Bernalillo and rejoin Route 66 where we left it today.

[Sue]

Continued:

The scenery was much the same:



Windmills had become a common feature since Texas, we had a windmill counting competition from each side of the vehicle for a while. It lasted, oh... seconds...before we got bored with it




As we neared Kayenta, we could see rock formations similar to the ones we would see tomorrow, but on a smaller scale:





Kayenta is a reasonably small town - a few motel/hotels and some small shops but little else. It is not that well maintained, which is a shame.
We had prebooked the Best Western and it seemed very nice (pricey, but then you have little option if you want to stay close to Monument Valley) - $174 per room for 2 nights.
Nice room and the breakfasts were actually very good



We walked out to find somewhere to eat and it was a real struggle. We nearly settled on McDonalds! We went to a restaurant called The Blue Coffee Pot in the end and unanimously agreed afterwards that it was the worst meal of the trip. Indian owned and run, the menu looked OK - but no additions or substitutions were possible and we discovered why, when the food appeared within minutes of ordering - it was all microwaved and probably ready meals or cooked from frozen! Seriously awful - it put J off Enchiladas for life. I had an awful burger - Rach did the best as she had a "Chef's Salad" which actually could not be microwaved
It cost $47 but we all wished we had not bothered.

Anyway - off to bed.

Mileage today = 292

Total so far = 1947

Tomorrow - Monument Valley

[Nicksgirl]

Sue, you there ?
Have not read this one as wanted to know if you are doing another one tonight. If not I want to save this one for later.

Can you let me know... thanks hun.

[purple myra]

^^^^^^^^^
She's mad!

Love the scenery... hoping to see something a little similar on our wee trip. loving the knickers on the dashboard!

[Sue]

Originally Posted by Nicksgirl

Sue, you there ?
Have not read this one as wanted to know if you are doing another one tonight. If not I want to save this one for later.

Can you let me know... thanks hun.

See more...

Hoping to do Monument Valley in a bit hun - depends if my lover calls...

[Nicksgirl]

Originally Posted by Sue

Hoping to do Monument Valley in a bit hun - depends if my lover calls...

See more...

oh goodie... I do like to read with a glass of wine...in the evening.

[Nicksgirl]

Originally Posted by purple myra

^^^^^^^^^
She's mad!

Love the scenery... hoping to see something a little similar on our wee trip. loving the knickers on the dashboard!

See more...

Shut yer face.

[purple myra]

Originally Posted by Nicksgirl

Shut yer face.

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Ooooh fightin' talk ...come ahead :pop::pop::pop:

[Sue]

Originally Posted by purple myra

^^^^^^^^^
She's mad!

See more...

She is indeed - and I'm registered mental, so its a professional assessment in this case

Originally Posted by Nicksgirl

oh goodie... I do like to read with a glass of wine...in the evening.

See more...

Well - it will be mainly all pics, but hope you enjoy it anyway.
Can I have a nice chilled Chablis please?

[Nicksgirl]

Originally Posted by purple myra

Ooooh fightin' talk ...come ahead :pop::pop::pop:

See more...

Originally Posted by Sue

She is indeed - and I'm registered mental, so its a professional assessment in this case

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You two are horrible... good job I am so lovely.