The trip to California begins

I have no memory of the last time I failed to leave a daily post, but it's pretty obvious I haven't written one since Tuesday. I managed to do my laundry and pack my bag away, but my art bag is still sitting on my "Work Desk" table, where I dropped it the day I got home. Over the next few days, I'll try to catch you (and me) up on things, hoping to get back into the swing of things. For the moment, I still feel like this really nasty bug loves me so much it's moved in.

Regardless, I will try to add a few photos a day until I get them on my blog. Don't worry. I took well over a thousand photos, so you'll see only a fraction of them.

If you've never lived in, or traveled through, New Mexico or Arizona, (southwestern states), I think you will enjoy these photos. We left central Kansas Monday evening (Feb 28), drove all night, stopped only for gas and pit stops, and found ourselves on the other side of Santa Fe, NM when I took these first photos.



By now, we have traveled through three states (Kansas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico).


Don't you just LOVE these old signs? I think they were around the last time I drove to California (back in the early199os).


It's still New Mexico because of the red clay


and flat topped rock formations called "mesa's." By now we were well past Albuquerque.


The next time I took photos we were near Flagstaff, AZ. We're making pretty good time, I would say. You can see the many evergreens, pines, and other greenery just outside our windows.




I couldn't help taking a photo of the elk we needed to watch for!





The closer to Flagstaff we got, the colder it got.


The guys wanted hot coffee, and I did, too. They each had pie and called Scott's mom. Then they got out the computer and Scott checked both their e-mails, since they were looking for information from the gentleman whose house we would be staying in that night.

I have no idea why I didn't take photos of the house where we stayed in Kingman, AZ, but I think we were all quite tired and just wanted to eat a quick sandwich and head for bed. The pool was beautiful and had lovely lighting as evening descended. And to think we stayed there twice and I got no photos.

The next morning we gassed up before heading to California. Scott and Rusty both got some yummy looking pastries. I never eat early in the morning. Just can't do it.

Like everyone entering California, we were stopped at a mandatory weigh station and asked if we were carrying any fruit or veggies. By this time, the guys were starting to think about breakfast. So after about an hour or so of driving in California, we stopped at one of those tourist type places. I had a basket of french fries and the guys both had biscuits and gravy. For some reason, that was all I wanted and knew it would last me the entire day.


Here is the interior of the restaurant All I really wanted was a photo of the horseshoes and other goodies nailed to the rafters or beams (whatever they were called).






Outside, I took a lot of photos. After all, we (actually Rusty) had paid for the 1940s or 1950s ambiance in the restaurant. Then we headed into the desert, where I'll start the next post (as soon as I have a few more photos off my camera).

BTW, the photos at the second restaurant were taken with my Vivitar. The rest were taken with my Kodak Zi6. And yes, you'll read the saga in full as it progresses.