Day 3

Monday, March 28, 2011

We headed west out of Amarillo at 8am this morning. I had heard about Cadillac Ranch and kept my eyes peeled for signs. Within 20 feet of 10 random objects out in a cow field, I realized we passed it. We turned back around and parked so we could walk in the freezing cold over in the cow pasture to view the 10 graffiti cadallics stuck in the field like surfboards. Completely weird “lawn art,” but cool random stop none the less.

Soon after we entered New Mexico, the sun came out and we started to believe that it might make it into the 70s. New Mexico was beautiful. Endless plateaus, badlands, rock outcroppings, and telephone lines. The further we went the more I wanted to take pictures.

It was the first time Joe saw a 75mph speed limit sign, and yet somehow someone still managed to get pulled over.

We stopped in Albuquerque for lunch. For anyone who watches Guy Fieri’s Diners, Drive-ins and Dives, you may recognize Monte Carlo Steakhouse. We had pork tenderloin shish kebabs and a cheeseburger with chiles.

Joe really enjoys abode architecture so we drove around Albuquerque for awhile. Chance loved the opportunity to hang her head out the window with such nice weather and low speeds. 

We passed many double-decker box car trains and all I could think about was how great the Cars movie was. It raised awareness of historic Route 66 to a whole new generation. My nephew Liam would have loved this part of the trip with trains, box trucks and cars left and right.

Arizona is just as beautiful. When we were over an hour away from Flagstaff, we could see the large mountain on the horizon in the distance.

Flagstaff is an awesome city. The views of the mountain are amazing. Northern Arizona University has a really nice campus which seems well-integrated into the city. There were a lot of people out walking, biking and walking their dogs. Route 66 went through town and the historic area near the railroad tracks was really cute.

We had dinner near there at Beaver Street Brewery. We tried a sampler of 7 microbrews, wood-fired pizza and salmon BLT.  We came back to the hotel early to relax and prepare for the day at the Grand Canyon tomorrow.

Although we only were in 3 states today, we crossed 2 time zones. We are now on Pacific Time. We’ll be staying in Flagstaff again tomorrow night.