Livin' On Tulsa Time

Nothing today except driving. Wanted to get a big chunk out of the way. Left Santa Rosa at 7:30 and got to Tulsa OK at 4:30, but that includes a time zone change, so it was 8 hours of driving. 537 miles through New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma. 
Rosie is resting in the Parking lot and I'm gonna go get a bite to eat.

Eastbound in New Mexico

Old route 66 sign at rest area

The rest areas in Texas are nice!

I couldn't' resist the Tulsa Time reference, the song has been going through my head since Tulsa started showing on the road signs.

("Tulsa Time" is a song written by Danny Flowers. Don Williams recorded and released it as a single in 1978. "Tulsa Time" would be Don Williams' eighth number one on the country chart.  Eric Clapton also recorded "Tulsa Time" for his 1978 album Backless which was later featured on his live album Just One Night.)

Williams AZ to Santa Rosa NM

Well today was pretty much just a driving day, so not too much to post. I did stop at Meteor Crater in AZ, it is Meteor Crater the most well known, best preserved meteorite crater on Earth. Meteor Crater is nearly one mile across, 2.4 miles in circumference and more than 550 feet deep and is the result of a collision between a piece of an asteroid traveling at 26,000 miles per hour and planet Earth approximately 50,000 years ago. Once again something pretty cool to see in person.

After that it really was just a whole lotta nothin'.

I did see some amazing scenery after I crossed into New Mexico.  Interesting how the geological landscapes changes.

First view of New Mexico

And some interesting events along the way,

Where'd our trailer go Shaggy? (Look at the side of the truck cab)

There it is Scooby, how'd that happen?

Glad I'm not on that side!

Look! A mirage!

Anyway, Rosie and I are comfortable here in Santa Rosa, tomorrow Amarillo Texas.

The Grand Canyon

Well, not very often do you get to complete two things you've always wanted to do in three days. Today I visited The Grand Canyon and it is that for sure. I left early, it's an hour drive from Williams where I'm staying, I got to the Canyon at 8:00 AM. I spent the next four hours traveling the South Rim. I took the blue line shuttle to the red line at the recommendation of the Ranger at the Visitor Center. She was right, the vistas are spectacular.

Not many people when I got there but by the time I got back to Rosie in the parking lot it was packed. If anything I can say in the difference between Joshua Tree and The Grand Canyon is that there were fewer people at Joshua Tree and it's VERY much less commercial. No hotels or lodges or banks or restaurants, just the environment. Not to take away from the grandeur of the Canyon, just an observation, and honestly they're bot spectacular in their own right. Do not miss either if you get the chance and are a nature person.

Made the drive back to Williams and decided to grab lunch/early dinner, it was about 2 ish my time so I decided to take a tour of downtown. Made the turn onto Main St. and it was like Rosie said "stop here they have food for both of us!" An old gas station converted into an Italian Bistro with wood fired pizza and more.
Alas, Rosie waited patiently outside longing that the pumps were still operable. (Me too, at 13.8 per gallon!)

Had a great lunch of a meatball, (yes, "A" meatball, the size of a baseball), Mama's Spicy with Homemade Marinara, and a ceasar side salad with Flat Tire Amber Ale from New Belgium Brewing Co.

Tomorrow I head east on Route 40, starting early, gonna see where the day takes me, I have no other "must" stops on my way home.

Yucca Valley CA to Williams AZ.

Well I said goodbye to Yucca Valley about 8:00 AM. Headed to Arizona  Flagstaff or somewhere in the area.  My next photo destination on the way home is the Grand Canyon.

Traveled through 29 Palms, home of Marine Air Ground Task Force Training Command. Passed at least five barber shops all touting "marine haircuts", I even passed a bar called Marine Haircut.  Oorah!

Next was the Heart of the Mojave. Let me say, I took many photos and none of them does it justice. That's one of the hard parts of photography. The human eye sees more than any lens or sensor on a camera can. In addition your brain processes all of the scene together, when you look at a large panorama, a vast expanse of colors and light, your brain puts that all together, and that's when you say "WOW". I took two photos with my 10mm and stitched them together yet still didn't get the wow I got standing there taking the shots.

Next was my first trip on Route 66. There are sections all over the country where you can still travel on roads that were once known as "The Mother Road" before the advent of all the interstates it was the way to travel, much like Routes 5 & 20 in the northeast. It was a pretty cool experience, first thing in the morning, not much traffic, sunshine and flat roads. Rosie was in her glory, as a road car she had a great time, and came through with flying colors. My first car was a Triumph Spitfire, and open top two seat sports car made by British Leyland Motors. Kind of a deja vu thing.

After getting on Route 40 East it was just freeway driving. Interesting to travel along the roads and watch the scenery change, the elevations, obviously not as much desert, more green and the mountains change as well, redder stone, more mesa formations. And most importantly, cooler temperatures!  It was 99 at one point this morning.

I finally decided on Williams Arizona as my stop. I had stopped earlier in Kirkland AZ to get fuel and looked at the map. Williams is 58 miles from the Grand Canyon and is a straight shot up Rte. 64.

Tomorrow the Grand Canyon...

Cross One Off The Bucket List

For as long as I've had a love of photography I've wanted to go to two places.  The Grand Canyon and Joshua Tree National Park. Something about the rock, the formations, the sheer expanse of the park.  I've seen videos, shows on PBS on TV, read about the history of the southwest, the mining and attempts to tame the land for farming and cattle ranching.  Nothing even comes close to actually being here.  Nothing.  Cross another one off the Bucket List.

I spent three hours at Joshua Tree, hiked several trails, the best one being Barker's Dam.  It was an incredible afternoon.

Tomorrow I leave the San Bernardino Mountains and California.  My next stop is Flagstaff Arizona.

Laundry Morning

Found this laundromat just down the street, right next to a donut shop. Perfect for a retired cop or what?!  If it had been 25 years earlier I'd have done my laundry later in the day, Murphy's Sports Bar is around the corner.

Out for some shopping after I came across a classic car show right in one of the shopping plazas. Very cool stuff, beautiful colors, and my oh my besides all the other great cars, a 1957 Bel Air Nomad Station Wagon, in tourquoise!

I even found lunch...

Headed off to Joshua Tree in a little while, waiting for the cooler part of the day (it's 89 right now) and the better lighting for the photographs.

Yucca Valley

When I travel I just ignore what time it is at home and let the local time be my guide. I have such a hard time trying to play "catch up" with time I may have lost or gained. The hard part about that is doing something like this when you're three hours behind "home" and have a full day.

I left Cliff's house this morning and went to the Mini dealer in Ontario (California) for service on the car.  (Which I've named Rosie. The obvious, she's red, she's English, Rosie fits. The clincher, Cliff and Alba have two cats, Gracie and Rosie. Gracie is the shy one, Rosie greated me as soon as I walked in the door. Finally, she's gotta have a name, I can't call her "the car").

Anyway, that all said, she did fine at the dealer, new oil, new brake fluid, new wipers, tires checked, rotated, adjusted to proper pressure, all fluids topped off, washed, and vacuumed. Mini service is amazing, they can tell everything about the car from the key fob you have to put in the dash to start the car, you hand it to them, they put it in the computer at the service desk and download all the information. All the work was under warranty. Took about 3 hours total, so I was on the road about 1:00 PM.

Headed out 10 East after leaving the dealer. Stopped and grabbed some lunch and then headed back out. I came across the windmills in the dessert and was amazed at how many there were. I've heard about them, but seeing them stretch on almost unending has to be seen. I stopped when I made exit off of 10 to take some shots.

I researched hotels near my first destination, Joshua Tree National Park, and decided on Yucca Canyon as it's only eight miles from the park. As I headed across Route 62 through Desert Hot Springs I happened to look down at the thermometer, and realized how that area got it's name.

So, here I am, enjoying the sunset and moon rise by the pool, Rosie is comfortably parked in her spot for the night.  Joshua Tree tomorrow...