WINSLOW, AZ to SANTA FE, NM (Thursday, July 23)
4:00am - No coffee. Warm beer. Not the perfect start for my day. But even the thought of a complaint about such minor inconveniences was the furthest thing from my mind. Any experience on these adventure rides is a good experience. Living life on the open road to it's fullest, is what I live for. Even if I do have to be sleepy and sober once in awhile.
6:00am - Posts and emails completed, it was time to pack up Honey and hit the road.
7:15am - Breakfast across the street. I usually don't eat breakfast on my road trips… they normally make me groggy, but I decided I needed a little coffee, and the sign outside The Falcon Restaurant said it was World Famous, so in I went.
Actually, I spoke with Frank from Kansas outside for awhile, before I went in. He said he liked the back roads better than the freeways too, and from the look of the Jeep he was driving, his back roads where smaller and muddier than the ones Honey and I like.
When I went in and sat down inside, I immediately asked Dodie & Marie if I could have a cocktail from the adjoining lounge. They both laughed… I don't think they thought I was serious. They said that legally they had to wait until 10am, but if I wanted to ask the Mayor of Winslow, she was sitting right over there and pointed to a dark haired, middle-aged woman sitting alone at the counter.
Setima was a Hopi Native American Indian and told me that she was an ambassador for her Nation, currently involved with the battle with the US Government over a piece of their Holy Ground that us palefaces wanted to mine for uranium. She also told me she was a speaker for her Tribe… verbal history is still valued and often even preferred with their culture. She respectfully declined my request to take her picture, and explained that she was going to need her soul for other things she had on her schedule later that day.
Dodie and Marie (Marie was actually much more personable than this picture makes her look)
Side Note: I forgot to mention something about yesterday's ride. After saying good-bye to Eron and Sid in Valle Verde, and on my way to Winslow… the road and weather conditions cooperated, and I got Honey up to her highest speed ever. Even loaded down with all my gear, she hit 121mph. And no… we were not going downhill or downwind. I held that speed for only a minute or two, and then let her level off at 105, where we cruised comfortably for about 15 minutes.
8:00am - Back on the road after the best eight dollar breakfast I'd ever had. Huevos rancheros con chili verde. Yum.
I didn't make any journal notes for the next 4 hours… not sure why.
Noon - Zuni. Gas and Beer.
1:30pm - Grants. Gas and Beer. And food. Went thru a summer storm squall a ways back, and had to stop to put on my jacket. With the wet conditions and the altitude I was at (7,884 feet when crossing the Continental Divide), the wind chill was pretty darn cold.
I almost stopped to put on gloves with fingers on them, but after about 15 minutes, I came out the other side of the storm and in about another 15 minutes I was warm and dry. In fact I had to stop again, to take off my jacket.
Another stretch of a couple hours without a journal entry… I must've been tired.
4:15pm - Just east of Albuquerque. I'm not sure why I've heard that this area is pretty. It's not ugly, don't get me wrong, but I guess being raised on the west coast between Monterey and Santa Cruz, and spending so much time in the Sierra Nevadas… including the Yosemite and Lake Tahoe areas… I've been spoile. It usually takes something pretty darn impressive to get my motor running. Speaking of that… I haven't seen my next potential ex-wife yet today. Where the heck is she?
4:45pm - After the longest single stretch of freeway of the trip so far (72 miles), I turned off onto a small highway. Route 14… also called The Turquoise Highway and The Scenic Bypass to Santa Fe. As with my impression of Albuquerque… the terrain remained non descript in my opinion.
5:15pm - Santa Fe. I found her. Rose was working behind the counter at the motel I stopped at, and would've made a wonderful ex-wife… hooo baby. Too bad I was so tired.
6:00pm - Rib eye steak and cheese enchilada, both smothered in red sauce… very good.
7:00pm - Watched a little TV for the first time on the trip. Nothing special. Bones. I like that show. They're both hotties.
8:00pm - Fastly and soundly asleep.
381 miles for the day, 1,477 for the trip.
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