The drive from Flagstaff, Arizona home took from 3:00 in the afternoon (Arizona time) to 12:30 in the morning, and was actually pretty interesting. Driving from the mountains of northern Arizona to the southern Chihuahuan desert of New Mexico, half of it in the dark, was something I'll never forget.

I had been in Flagstaff on a recruiting trip and was eager to get home, so rather than staying with my father in Avondale, west of Pheonix, I decided to go ahead and drive home. I was surprised at how nostalgic the route would be.

When I was about 13 or 14, my Dad decided to take us all to California to visit my step-mother's mother, my step-grandmother I guess you would say. The first day we left Amarillo and drove to Albuquerque - a rather exotic place to a kid from the Texas Panhandle. The next day we left and drove on I-40 toward Flagstaff but Dad, not being in a hurry, thought the day would best be spent at Petrified Forest/Painted Desert National Park, about three hours or so west of Albuquerque. I remember that time fondly, as we drove through the park, stopping to look at whatever we wanted to. That night we stayed in Holbrook, or Winslow, I don't really remember. We headed on west the next day, through Flagstaff and beyond. I was fascinated with the park and never remembered the trip there until last week, when I drove past it.

About an hour out of Flagstaff I saw a sign:

Tune to 1610 am(I think) for
information on Meteor Crater
National Monument

Meteor Crate? Cool! A little farther on was a sign for the exit to Meteor Crater ( as well as a Subway shop!) "Meteor Crater, only 5 miles from the highway!"

Wow, I thought, I didn't know it was so close and looked off to the southeast and there it was. I called my wife on the cell and told her about it, thinking it would be neat to bring the kids a little memento from Metoer Crater. I mean, the astronauts trained there for the Apollo missions, and it IS the largest best preserved impact crater in the world - how could I not stop? So, I got off the highway at the exit and drove the six miles south, while always watching the impact rim in the distance. All I wanted to do was see it quickly and visit the gift shop for something for the kids, but once I got there I realized the entrance fee was fifteen dollars. Now, it really is not much, but I was on a rather limited budget and didn't know how much more gas I was going to need to put in the van, so I turned around, disappointed, and went back to the highway. An hour ahead was Petrified Forest National Park.

Just outside the boundary of Pertified Forest was a small rock and gift shop, advertising petrified wood for a dollar a pound. Now even low-grade Arizona wood costs more than that, but I thought I would take a look and see if I could find something for the kids, so I pulled into the parking lot, not expecting much. Boy was I surprised! There was an enclosed area full of petrified wood, with many trunk pieces weighing up to a hundred pounds, and it was not low grade stuff either! I selected three fist-sized pieces of reddish-orange gem-quality Arizona pertified wood and paid less than three dollars for the lot. The kids are going to love this! And back onto the highway I went.

Well, time passed and I was getting close to Gallup and the sun was going down. I was low on fuel, both for the van and for myself, and decided to stop and fill up, then get something to eat. Gallup was one of the classic Route 66 towns, and it has maintained the glitz and glamor of this all-American road. The buildings along main street, Route 66, have been restored and the neon was bright as I made my way into town from the highway - it was beautiful! Bright blues, purples, oranges, greens, and reds were everywhere and it was obvious that Gallup takes pride in its place along old Route 66. All I could think of was watching the movie Cars with my son a few months ago. This entire time I had been listening to an AM radio station and now found out that it was from Oklahoma City. All the way over in the western part of New Mexico and I was listening to something two states away.

Back onto the highway, heading for Albuquerque now. Just west of the city, I saw a cut-off, a short-cut, from I-40 to I-25 at Los Lunas and here I had to go through the dial on the radio again, finally picking up a statio from St. Louis! This route should NOT be taken at night, as it's a small two-lane road through the sage and brush west of Albuquerque -I'm sure it's beautiful during the day but at night it's a bit nerve-wracking. In Los Lunas I stopped for gas again, and got some botteld water for my parched bones, then got onto I-25 heading south - with no stopping until I got home to Las Cruces. I lost my St. Louis station and had to settle on one from Denver(!) this time and after about two hours or so was only about half an hour from home, but I was VERY tired, as it was now midnight and I thought I would fall asleep if I didn't get out and stretch so I pulled over at a rest stop and got out.

There were the requisite trucks at the rest stop and several cars with drivers dozing peacefully (I hope!) in them. When I went into the restroom I was bombarded with flying praying mantises! They apparently are attracted to the light and the insects it brings in. While I was there another car stopped. The man driving had three rather elderly women in the car with him. He was a Navajo from Gallup and was on his way to San Antonio. "If I can keep driving, I can make it there in seventeen hours. I used to be a truck driver so it's no big deal." Well, I felt better about my last half hour of driving time, got into the van, and got home about 12:30.

Home. My wife was anxiously awaiting me, my three kids were all tucked into their beds safe and warm, and I was worn out, and that was the drive from Flagstaff.

Good Night.