We both woke up very early today and decided rather than waiting until 7:00 for breakfast we, could get ready and eat at 6:15, hitting the road at 7:15.
Patti insisted that we stopped at a restaurant a block away from our hotel for the first of the photos of this trip of Patti with very large objects. This time a large red Adirondack chair. These are so much fun and Dick is such a good sport in terms of stopping and taking the photos. For some unknown reason, he doesn’t like getting his picture taken with these giant objects. Who can understand that?
The morning up in the mountains was crisp in the upper 50’s. We were about to leave the Ponderosa Pine forest. Soon after leaving Flagstaff, we headed down off the high plateau, and the temperature started getting hotter again. We had a lovely morning, soaking in the changes in the environment and landscape. Some of it looked very volcanic and lunar, some had trees, some was just flat grasslands. We made a brief stop at Petrified Forest National Park. We had been there several times before so we just stopped for a photo. We needed to get through eastern Arizona and crossing the border into New Mexico.
The plan was to arrive in Albuquerque for a 1 PM lunch with dear friends, Tomi and Hank. Patti and Tomi were roommates in seminary in 1982-83. Having dear friends for so many years is so precious. Both Tomi and Hank have had series health challenges, so it is especially great to have some time together. We ate at a Cracker Barrel restaurant and had the chance to catch up and just be together.
All too soon, we had to drive down the road needing to get another 3 hours down the road tonight. Immediately to the East we climbed through the southern end of the Rocky Mountains. Here they are lower and it took only about 30 minutes to reach the other side. In front of us was the Great Plains with another couple of days to cross it. This year it is not a leisurely drive across the country, because we have to get to Minnesota for the family wedding and gatherings.
We chased some dark clouds and large raindrops across the Eastern part of the state. It never rained very hard, but it really freshened up the air. later in the evening, we enjoyed listening to the thunder outside. And enjoyed a lovely rainbow in the sky.
One of the things that we sometimes do when we’re on this long trips is listen to an audiobook. Today we listen to one that was really well done. "The day the world came to town: 911 in Gander, Newfoundland.” this is a fascinating story of a very small town in Newfoundland that ended up being the place where 38 large jet planes and over 6600 people had to make immediate landings when all of the US airspace was closed following the 911 attacks. It is very well told story of how this small town took in thousands of strangers and treated them with such care. Will finish it tomorrow. Sometimes it is excellent to have a long time that you can really get into a book that is well written and well read.
We made a picnic dinner on the bed while we watched some Women’s Basketball tonight. We have lots of food in the car and it was just fine to have a nice indoor picnic.
So we’re moving our way across the country. Two more days until Minnesota.
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