Day 5 - The Simple Things

Well, we've been on the road now for five full days and we are all still alive!  No, seriously; I mean nobody has snapped yet!  The kids have had their own small disagreements along the way (to be expected) but you might think that being together in the car all day and in our tiny house at night somebody at this point would have had a melt down. Nope, not even close and I hate to jinx it but....I am very proud of everyone's patience and behavior thus far!

We were off to an earlier start this morning.  Pulling into the motel last night was a terrific idea!  Everyone got good sleep, the kids got their TV fix (when I say kids here, I am including Shale) and prior to leaving this morning we had a very enjoyable breakfast that was provided by the hotel owner!  Now, when I say breakfast, you are probably thinking - paper plates, plastic forks, Styrofoam cups and food that is mildly edible - NO.  Our table was set up just for us.  A small CA state flag topped a table number (which indicated our room number), a lacy tablecloth covered the table that flatware was set nicely on.  China plates, coffee cups, glassware - all there.  We were to select from fresh fruit, bagels, cereal, homemade jams, juices and more.  I know I am going on about what may to you, seem like some simple thing but that is exactly it!  A simple thing like this is the kind of thing that makes me happy.  I travel quite a bit for work and stay in a lot of hotels and when I get someplace where there is evidence of care and pride in what a place has to offer, I am truly impressed because that is hard to find these days.  Peter and his family came to the US just 5 1/2 years ago from Austria, they bought the then run down and abandoned Globetrotter Lodge and have spent countless hours since bringing it back to life.  It is a charming little place....clean, homey and for right around $100 the four of us were able to stay AND have breakfast!  I like it.  If you are ever in Holbrook, AZ you should consider making a visit!  

Off to the Petrified National Forest.....  A forest turned desert after millions of years leaving remains of trees that have actually turned to stone, what?!  Yep, that is what the Petrified Forest is all about - cool!  Now, there is a lot of geological explanation behind all of this change and I'd love to share what I learned with you sometime if you'd like but for now, let our photos peak your interest!

Please take note of all the different colors in these tree stumps!  This is for real!
No filter used on any of the pics above.

At the North end of the Petrified Forest National Park you will find the Painted Desert.  Lots of vast open land with ridiculously vibrant colors.  Again, geological explanations for all of this but for now...our photos (and I have to say the same as I did yesterday with the meteor crater - our pictures do not do this place justice!)

Onward to New Mexico from here and the landscape was so amazing!

We made it - State #3...The Land of Enchantment!

We stopped in Gallup, NM for lunch at the historical El Rancho Hotel/Motel.  I have to say, they have really kept this place in great condition!  The lobby is quite impressive with most all of its original decor.  There are hundreds of photographs of movie stars lining the upstairs corridor that acts as a balcony of sorts looking down onto the lobby below.  All of the guest rooms are named after movie stars that stayed here at one time or another....Humphrey Bogart, Doris Day, Jane Fonda, Elizabeth Taylor, and the like.  Lunch was simply fantastic.  "This is the best Mexican food I have ever had!", Cassidy announced to us all once we had stuffed ourselves with the deliciousness of the El Rancho Cafe.  Mmmmm, yep - delicious!  

Above, a photo of the Hotel/Motel way back when (year ??)  Other than the fact 
that the sign atop the main building has changed, the exterior still looks just the same.

The weather changed a bit from the time we walked into this time capsule to our exit.  The sky was filled with clouds now and it sprinkled a little bit which was a welcome change to the continuing arid, dry weather we have been experiencing along our journey.  It's about 100 miles from Gallup to Albuquerque.  Camping just outside of Albuquerque tonight is what seemed to make the most sense....and then the wave of "Oh Crap" came over me.  We hadn't had the A/C looked at!!  Crap, Crap, Crap!  Were we to spend a night in our Airstream sweating all night long because surely the tiny sprinkling of rain we had just experienced wasn't going to last. 

By the time we pulled into Albuquerque, it was too late to have anyone check the A/C - oh well.  I was already starting to sweat just thinking of what was yet to come.  We pulled into our spot, got all of our hook-ups hooked up and.....YES, the A/C miraculously was working!!  Yippeee! You see, its the simple things. I am convinced at this point that we must have done something wrong night before last and probably froze the thing up.  

Dinner tonight was at The Cube in downtown Albuquerque.  Thank you to Guy Fieri for the good reviews on "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives".  The cube serves up some dang good bar-b-que so check it out the next time you are in this town:  www.thecuberestaurant.com.

I had seen the wall in the photo below on our way to dinner and felt the need to run down the street afterwards to snap a quick photo (and to work off all those sweet potatoes!)

We were mesmerized on our way back to camp by the lightning show that was going on to the north of us.  We actually pulled up our camp chairs and sat outside for a while to watch it.  Both Shale and Eli were trying to catch some of it in action so I could post it....take a look!  

One last thing before I sign off for the night.  Tonight, my stepson, Shale's son Mason; asked his gorgeous best friend to marry him!  Her name is Kirsti and she said, "Yes!"  We are excited to have her become part of our family.  The two of them will get married this September 25th in Utah!  Congratulations - we love you both!!

Mason Ming and Kirsti Faux

A friendly hotel owner, excellent service, good food, cold air and love...today, these simple things made me happy.  What simple things made you happy today?   Until tomorrow....