Days 21-22
As I headed out of Nevada into Arizona the signs say, Dam closed. Dam it. I wanted to see the dam. The good thing about this trip is I’m not seeing it all. So, next trip to Vegas is a trip by the dam, dam it. I did get some good looks at Lake Mead.
I reach I-40 in Kingman, Az. I almost turned right, to LA and the end of I-40 at its western point in Barstow. It was only 5.5 hrs away. Again, save some things for later. Left and eastbound.
Cutting across Arizona a quick stop for gogo juice in Flagstaff. It didn’t look like the last time I was there. When Shell and I was at the 17’ Final Four, we did a sidebar to the Grand Canyon and stayed in Flagstaff. It snowed that night. Not today, lots of traffic and hot. Along the way is the Petrified Forest National Park. I thought that would be a nice cool spot in some shade along the desert to Burque.
I was petrified to find out the Petrified Forest wasn’t a “forest” at all. And then someone had the audacity to “paint” a desert. That’s like me saying I went to get some dessert at the sandbar and they only served sand at the bar. I digress. It was neat to see all these really old tree stumps and logs that was millions “and millions” old. I grabbed some water and as I was driving thru the park, my mouth started to drop. It was pretty to see those canyons and the colors. I could see getting lost and walk around.
Along the way, I stopped in Winslow. They have a “corner” that people have to stand at. If Jackson Browne had not stopped “somewhere” along the way to have this corner in his memory, it would be any other corner on Route 66. I’m glad they did. It was nice to stop, stand there and take it easy.
Finally made it to Abq and grabbed some Whataburger, green chilie tacos and crashed. Breaking Bad / Better Call Saul stops and checking our some of the old spots we visited when I would work concerts there. I mapped it out. I went by several of the houses and storefronts from both shows. From The White’s house to Jesse’s and even smaller places like Mike’s “toll booth” at the courthouse he worked at in Better Call Saul. Come to find out, that booth is not at the courthouse but at the Albuquerque Convention Center and former S1 client “1,2,3 S1 pride…” I grabbed breakfast at Loyola’s. This is the diner in both shows where several of the storylines would pivot around like Saul meeting The Kettlemens or Mike and Jesse over coffee. Mike was a regular there in the show. Great green chilie breakfast burrito. I enjoy green chilies but my stomach doesn’t enjoy them as much as I do. All the pictures are on my IG stories saved there.
I headed out of ABQ to OKC. Along the way in Texas I had one of the best sunsets I’ve ever seen. The sun along the horizon not wanting to go. It was that bright circle you can stare at like in Key West and just enjoy. The distant rattle of the rattlesnake and quietness of North Texas. Almost halfway home.
Enjoy the Show 