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From Santa Fe To Flagstaff
Sep. 29th, 2009 07:13 pmI'm on my grand tour of the American Southwest, and I'm in Flagstaff, AZ, taking advantage of their free wireless. (Yes, staying at a Holiday Inn Express can make you smarter.) So, herewith are a few random thoughts before I go track down some dinner.
Transportation
The rental car company gave me a gold, or "cool vanilla" Chrysler 300 to drive around in. It's a nice car, but not that good of a hill-climber, as it was consistently downshifting on the hills. Also, I found the cruise control to be not very intuitive to set, but I eventually cracked the code.
Driving out here in the southwest is a new experience for a flatlander like me. Albuquerque is in a valley, which runs north-south, and Santa Fe is in a similar, smaller, valley. Except there are three decent valleys between the two, so you are up hill and down dale all day. Adding to my white-knuckling, the road to Los Alamos is, for the last three miles, a two-lane road cut into the side of a mountain (Los Alamos is on top of said mountain). You can see why they put a secret base there - it's hard to get to and easy to secure.
Then, coming from Santa Fe to Flagstaff you have to climb out of the Albuquerque valley and drive around the Zuni Mountains. It's a pretty drive, but up and down. Also a new experience is the "naked" freeway exit. I'm used to every exit of a freeway having at least one gas station. Not so in New Mexico and Arizona. Many don't have any services, and some don't even have a road - just some dirt tracks!
Petrified Forest
On the way from Santa Fe is the Petrified Forest National Park. It is well worth the stop. The scenery is magnificent, and you can drive through the whole park and see just about everything in two hours. I-40 cuts right through the park, and the entrance, with gift shop and cafe (skip the french fries - one order would feed two for dinner) makes it a great lunch stop. Going westbound, you exit the south end and catch US 180 which loops you back to the interstate.
I do have to admit that the US 180 leg was a little weird. When you turn onto the road, the first thing you see is a sign that says the road is not patrolled at night or weekends! It's a terribly lonely stretch for about 15 miles, until you hit the very tiny town of Holbrook and the interstate.
Gallup, New Mexico
Gallup, NM is the biggest town between Albuquerque and Flagstaff. (Get gas there - thare are few other opportunities). Since I'd been seeing signs advertising "historic Gallup" for 30 miles at least, I did a quick drive through town. Not much there - a few chintzy souvenir shops and some bedraggled hotels. It's what Las Vegas looked like before the casinos. Get your gas there and move on.
Transportation
The rental car company gave me a gold, or "cool vanilla" Chrysler 300 to drive around in. It's a nice car, but not that good of a hill-climber, as it was consistently downshifting on the hills. Also, I found the cruise control to be not very intuitive to set, but I eventually cracked the code.
Driving out here in the southwest is a new experience for a flatlander like me. Albuquerque is in a valley, which runs north-south, and Santa Fe is in a similar, smaller, valley. Except there are three decent valleys between the two, so you are up hill and down dale all day. Adding to my white-knuckling, the road to Los Alamos is, for the last three miles, a two-lane road cut into the side of a mountain (Los Alamos is on top of said mountain). You can see why they put a secret base there - it's hard to get to and easy to secure.
Then, coming from Santa Fe to Flagstaff you have to climb out of the Albuquerque valley and drive around the Zuni Mountains. It's a pretty drive, but up and down. Also a new experience is the "naked" freeway exit. I'm used to every exit of a freeway having at least one gas station. Not so in New Mexico and Arizona. Many don't have any services, and some don't even have a road - just some dirt tracks!
Petrified Forest
On the way from Santa Fe is the Petrified Forest National Park. It is well worth the stop. The scenery is magnificent, and you can drive through the whole park and see just about everything in two hours. I-40 cuts right through the park, and the entrance, with gift shop and cafe (skip the french fries - one order would feed two for dinner) makes it a great lunch stop. Going westbound, you exit the south end and catch US 180 which loops you back to the interstate.
I do have to admit that the US 180 leg was a little weird. When you turn onto the road, the first thing you see is a sign that says the road is not patrolled at night or weekends! It's a terribly lonely stretch for about 15 miles, until you hit the very tiny town of Holbrook and the interstate.
Gallup, New Mexico
Gallup, NM is the biggest town between Albuquerque and Flagstaff. (Get gas there - thare are few other opportunities). Since I'd been seeing signs advertising "historic Gallup" for 30 miles at least, I did a quick drive through town. Not much there - a few chintzy souvenir shops and some bedraggled hotels. It's what Las Vegas looked like before the casinos. Get your gas there and move on.
