Standing On A Corner In Winslow, Arizona ...

We left New Mexico today and crossed over the line into Arizona. The drive is getting less and less scenic with long stretches of desert and the usual small towns of decaying buildings. It is not like it was in the mid-west where the old towns have been preserved.

We drove down this road for what seemed like forever - I was worried that our car was too low for all the holes and trenches ... only to find this at the end:

We are using a combination of a book on the Route, maps and extensive research that Griffin did on the roads ... this was not supposed to happen! But coming around the corner a bit later made it all okay ...

I will never get tired of seeing livestock roaming the streets!

I wanted to stay in this motel so bad when we first started planning this trip ... I am so glad that we didn't however. It is the cutest place ever but, no. I do not think this is for me. What we have noticed is that often the areas that the old motels are in are no longer the most desirable. Especially in the larger cities where the old Route tends to be in the seedier parts of town.

We drove through the petrified desert and saw the painted desert and we also took the drive out to see the meteor crater.

This prolonged our drive and we are tired of being in the car but not to tired to drive the extra miles to take a side trip to Sedona. We found some amusing things on the way ...

Remember the Eagles song, "Take it Easy"?
"Well, I'm a standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona and such a fine sight to see..."

original road remnant

The drive to Sedona was long but such a welcome change of scenery!

We arrived around 4:30 and checked in to our hotel - the Portal Inn. It is a fabulous place to stay and the owner, Dennis took time showing us the grounds, our room and sharing the history of the hotel.

We didn't have much time to spend in this amazing place so we tried to cram in as much as we could. We took a private jeep tour up the rugged roads to get a bird's eye view of the area. Our driver drove fast and talked faster. The dirt road was filled with a lot of uneven rock (boulders?) and we bounced and swerved a lot. It was definitely a wild ride!

It was fantastic. It was an hour and a half tour and it was timed for us to be at the top at sunset. And we were.

Sedona is beautiful and relaxed.
We are staying in a charming inn that was built by the innkeeper himself. He did an exquisite job staying true to the Craftsman Style - leaving no detail unturned. The walls are all thick adobe to keep the heat out in the summer and the furniture is all collected antiques. The proprietors previously lived in Pasadena and most of the furnishings were found there, either in antique stores or at the Rose Bowl Flea Market.

He told me he hand made all of the doors ...

They light a fire each evening and serve wine and appetizers ... and our room ...

Was just what we needed after spending so many nights in cramped rooms!

You can be certain this was one of my favorite things about the room!

We ended our night with a long uphill walk to a restaurant in town. We started with appetizers of rattlesnake with prickly pear sauce, bison, and cactus fries. 

They served us a complementary amuse-bouche of grilled pork, and then brought us a palate cleanser of tequila sorbet. By the time our dinner arrived we were so full we could not eat it. Thankfully we have a refrigerator in our room.  I am thinking it will make a wonderful breakfast!