Today was supposed to be about getting back on track. However, a couple detours kept us from getting completely caught up:
The first detour was the Pre-1937 alignment of Route 66 that takes a trip up to Santa Fe before returning back to the current route that goes straight through the middle of Arizona. Many think of this town as the turquoise capitol of North America but it is also a huge and unique artist community. There was no lack of stores where you would find unique jewelry, sculptures, even meteorite rocks or pre-historic fossils. But I do have to confess that the most memorable experience is the sidewalk shopping in the square where merchants display their turquoise creations on blankets in the town square.
The second detour lives between Montoya and Palomas where the road turns under the interstate into a one-lane tunnel. Watch those rear-view mirrors and flash your lights as you go through!
The third detour wasn’t really a detour but a historic stretch of road that is shown in books and on GPS, but is also considered dangerous for large vehicles. It is a portion of road that starts out paved, but then turns to gr
avel in the farmlands. It pulls away from the interstate until you are out there in the middle of the country with no lights or houses to be seen. The road was surprisingly smooth and we even shot video of the journey. At the end of this stretch the road becomes paved again, but becomes a 4-lane road with lane dividers. We came upon the deserted “Last Motel in Texas” located at the AZ/TX state line. What character and history!
Detours can be fun!
