We checked out of our hotel this morning in Flagstaff, AZ and went to the Shell station to top off the tank. We had about a 1/2 tank but gas was only $3.259. The car took 11.361 gallons for $37.03.

Our first stop was to the Winslow Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center to get our passports stamped. I parked the car and immediately lost Eddie. He was distracted by a large pile of red rocks and ran over to it so he could pick out the most perfect red rock to take home with us. He plans to put it on the shelf next to his giant piece of salt he got from a salt mine in Kansas.

Once Eddie returned to the car we went in the building to get our passports stamped. We weren’t able to get all of the stamps in our passports because many of the places had annoying hours, like Th-Sun from 10 – 2. We ended up driving by a bunch of places when they were closed, but stopped everywhere we could when possible. The free gift at this place was a piece of petrified wood, also known as a rock. I’m sure Eddie’s will go on what will now be his rock shelf.

A few blocks from the visitor’s center is the Standin’ on a Corner Park which commemorates the song “Take it Easy” recorded by the Eagles. There’s a verse in the song that goes “Well, I’m a-standin’ on a corner in Winslow, Arizona and such a fine sight to see. It’s a girl, my Lord, in a flatbed Ford slowin’ down to take a look at me.” Eddie and I both stood on the corner near the flatbed ford.

We continued our driving and crossed over the border into New Mexico. We only drove along the southern border of New Mexico on our way out to California, so these were all new views to us. We both decided we’d never get tired of all the mountainous views if we lived out here.

Driving on I-40 in New Mexico is a lot like driving on I-95 in South and North Carolina. There are tons of old billboards with catchy sayings trying to steer you to the next exit to buy souvenirs. Eddie has been desperately wanting to get another cactus so Jeff has a friend but we hadn’t found any at this point. There really haven’t been many on the side of the road in Northern Arizona and New Mexico.

We passed a series of billboards that said some Navajo souvenir stand off the next exit had cactus. They lied. Eddie was not happy. We got back on the highway and followed 2 more sets of billboards to tourist traps until we finally found 1 that had cactus for sale. Eddie bought a pot that had 5 different types of cactus in it. I don’t think he’s decided on names yet, but according to Eddie, Jeff is very happy with his new friends.

We got back on I-40 and got stuck in dead-stopped traffic due to road construction. I kept hearing funny noises outside so I opened my window to find out what it was. Turns out we were stopped right next to a truck filled with cows! Most of them were baby cows. For the next 20 minutes as we sat in traffic together I proceeded to make friends with every cow on the truck. They were very talkative and I was very responsive. It was quite possibly the best traffic jam I’ve ever been in!

While the traffic cleared up, the same could not be said about the sky ahead of us. We were actually chasing a thunderstorm (despite my pleas to stop the car and find shelter). Luckily we didn’t actually hit the storm, but we’re still along side of it.

We stopped at a place called Enchanted Trails to get our passports stamped. It was an RV park along Route 66. Our free gift was a sticker. I really enjoy this passport game. I wish we had more time so we could get ALL of the stamps, but I guess this just means we’ll have to do this trip again sometime!

Now we’re heading to dinner in Albuquerque. Per Eddie’s request, Mexican food!

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