We took AZ77 up thru Oracle (getting off to drive its main drag), with a stop in Mammoth to check out some lots that were for sale. Sheila wants some property outside of Tucson, which I'm sympathetic to but for me it has to be a great location for ham radio. There was a lot in Mammoth which would have been great, but it wasn't buildable due to terrain. We eventually found ourselves in Globe, where we had a nice meal at Irene's Real Mexican restaurant. Well, I liked the meal..........Sheila didn't like the enchiladas.
The next was a drive over to Show Low, thru some really awesome scenery, especially that of the Salt River Canyon. Show Low is a candidate location for a second home, but its drawback is the awful traffic they have there. From there it was up to Snowflake, which was checked out. Snowflake looked more like a town in Oregon than in Arizona. To me its drawback is the distance from Tucson, because I would want to be in a place I can get to within a day.
After Snowflake it was on to Holbrook, where we put down for the night. Holbrook reminded a lot of Needles CA. Both out in the middle of nowhere, both with historic US 66 running thru the main drag, and both where you stop for only one night before you continue on. The major difference is Petrified Forest National Park, which I visited once in 1986, but something I wanted to see again. That place has some scenery that you just can't get tired of looking at. We plan on going up there again sometime within the next six months.
We knew that when we left Holbrook, that we would take in the Four Corners monument. We also knew we would do that after stopping somewhere for the night. That stop was in Cortez CO. In retrospect we maybe should have stopped in Shiprock NM, but we had reservations in Cortez. The drive gave us lots of scenic formations to look at. As for Cortez, I think of it as a decent place to stop, and maybe on a future trip we'll stay there again. The next morning, Thursday, it was off to the Four Corners which was something I've wanted to see since high school.
Four Corners is way out in the middle of nowhere, but if you have an appreciation for southwestern scenery like I do then you'll enjoy the drive there. There were a lot of visitors there. As I was standing in line waiting my turn to stand at the quadripoint, it was weird looking down and seeing one foot in Arizona and the other in New Mexico. I got my picture taken (Sheila did not want to be photographed), and then walked around in all four states some. The decision had been made the night before to drive to Flagstaff, and again I loved the scenery that the Navajo Nation had to offer.
I can't say that I liked that section of US 89 some eighty miles north of Flag. That was pretty desolate and there was a lot of traffic. Flagstaff was something of a madhouse on Friday afternoon at 2:30, and I'm sure being near Northern Arizona University didn't help. We stayed at a Quality Inn and loved being within walking distance of a Himalayan restaurant.
After that it was the drive home, not made pleasant by the Phoenix metro traffic, but at least it moved. I was worn out something fierce the next day and now I am enjoying retirement at home.
I took lots of pictures on this trip, but I'm not sure that posting them here would do what I saw any justice. I would have to download them from my phone, and right now the "to do" list in my planner has ten items, and I'll settle for getting three of those knocked off the list tomorrow. I'm also going thru papers here; sorting, filing, shredding, organizing..........a lot has built up and the next challenge is to live long enough to see everything done.
That said, retirement is great. I can take an afternoon nap anytime I want to. I can get up at 3:00 AM and go on the air. And now I've got time to work on some family history. I want to get additional pages up, and get caught up on email.
With that, time now to call it a wrap.
Out.
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