Williams AZ

I drove through a blizzard, at 7,000 feet. In hindsight, though everything ended up working out fine, even to my advantage in some ways, this was not a wise choice of driving weather. Behind a truck at 30 miles an hour, he slowed down fast and I panicked and slammed on my brakes. Into the snow bank I went, and when they went to fish me out, my transmission had somehow blown. So started my 9 day tenure in Williams, a sleepy little Route 66 town, the "gateway to the Grand Canyon."





The hotel. By the time I left it had thawed out a great deal. The town was surrounded by foothills, as you can make out from the last picture, taken in a hail flurry the day my car was supposed to be finished and wasn't.









The town of Williams. I rented some movies, I walked to Safeway several times, I mingled with the local cowboys a little, and crashed at The Flyer for wifi connection during the day. All and all, not unpleasant.

Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon Rail. I got scalped tickets from the owner of the Grand Motel where I was staying: he got them for free and sold one to me for less than half price. Pretty sweet. On the way to the Canyon, the train de-railed, in it's first accident since 1961. Don't worry kids, they sent buses for us and the only reprocussion was that we were 40 minutes late. They let us stay at the canyon later, and got the train back on track by the time we were ready to come back into town. There was a staged robbery, but because of the snow and the later hour, the robbers didn't ride up and overtake the train on horseback like usual.

Views from the train: from desert to pine forests.











Me at the canyon. The views are overwhelming, the sheer distance you can see tricks your eyes into flattening out the landscape. Like looking at a miniature. I hiked the trail 3 miles roundtrip and ate at a restaurant.

New Mexico (continued)

Downtown Santa Fe..

Snuck a photo in the museum... marionettessss. They were so beautiful! I bought the book of the artist's other marionette/puppet work/shows... <3


Don't do this at home kids.




Hiking....brrrrr. It was too much uphill, too. I gave up before I got close to halfway around the loop, turned back, and went downhill again..






Off Rt. 66 through a little run down Pueblo.


Shot of I-40 from off a dirt road.


The continental divide! Exciting! I now even know what it IS, actually. Something about water direction.

Ravenssss~ <3

Tulsa---Santa Fe

Ta da~ out of Oklahoma, brand new "curtains" for the van. Cardboard edged in black duct tape with the old curtains stapled on. They snap-fit over the windows like a charm.


As pictured.


Some amazing cloud cover getting through Oklahoma towards
Texas in the morning..







Spent the night, 8-9 hours after departing from Tulsa, on the Texas-New Mexico border. There was snow on the ground, until I got out I thought it was sand. In the dark, to a Floridian... well. It got down to 9 degrees that night, I woke up to frost on the INSIDE of the van windows. Brrr.




A little one-horse town off of Route 66, with this great old church.. My fingers nearly froze off taking these pictures, the wind was very strong today.




And more.


Route 66 cafe on historic 66 in Santa Rosa NM, I had a hamburger, and did a sketch of the interior.


Here it is: The Road. Hwy 66. I drove on the snow for six miles, got nervous when I didnt see an exit, wussed out and turned back. It was running parallel to I-40 anyway, same scenery, less snow.



In Las Vegas, NM, at a gas station


Closer to Santa Fe, on the Santa Fe Trail, route 25.


More Santa Fe Trail.





Won't post the Tulsa pictures till later, they need heavier sorting.