Here we are on the road to Flagstaff watching the terrain change yet again crossing Arizona. We left off with an update on our stop in El Paso and a plan to make our way to the Petrified Forests of northeastern Arizona. We were then supposed to head on to Meteor Crater in the same day. Unfortunately, we had to continue a time honored Beard tradition that involves winding and narrow switchbacks through mountains at 10 MPH adding miles and hours to our trips just for fun.

Our detour took us through the Apache Sitegreaves National Forest with some amazing views and steep grades along what used to be US 666 (but was mislabeled on our original map). We had a casualty along this leg of our trip, and for those of you faint of heart, we won’t be posting a picture of a critter that got caught in our grille.

We passed through several small towns along the way that were founded in the late 1800’s seemingly to support mining copper in the Pinaleno Mountains.

 This unintentional detour also taught us that Arizona had a much different landscape than just plain desert and saw several expanses of trees, brush, and wildlife that were reminiscent of more Alpine climes.

Once we finally made it to the Petrified Forest, we were a little road weary and really wanted to see some spectacular stuff. Unfortunately for me, I didn’t realize this forest wasn’t standing any more. But we saw some cool rocks.

After a brief bike ride along the national park road just to say we did it, we headed further west. Along the way in Holbrook, Az, we happened upon the town that had to have been the inspiration for the Disney movie Cars.

 As we thought more about it, the interstate definitely had its impact on Arizona. There were many towns we passed along that looked like they could have used more traffic.

For the night we planned to stay in Winslow, Az. That’s right THE Winslow, Az. Never heard of it? We were standing on a corner in Winslow, Az and stayed at the historic La Posada Hotel along Route 66.

This was a great hotel that had a genuine southwestern flair in art, furniture and great service. The hotel staff were all very nice and helpful and the hotel restaurant, the Turquoise Room had very tasty southwestern dishes. As we had to save Meteor Crater for the next morning, we settled in to La Posada for the night.

Hoping to find a local spot for breakfast before we hit the road, Sean and I walked around Route 66 close to the hotel. Unfortunately, besides the hotel and rail stop that was the inspiration for the hotel, the rest of the Winslow was virtually dead. The only commerce and activity was closer to I-40.

We headed west again to fulfill a childhood dream of Sean’s: see Meteor Crater in Happy Jack, Az. It was pretty impressive at nearly a mile wide and over 500 feet deep. We took a brief walking tour along the rim and learned a little about what dangers meteors hold for humankind (I’m waxing science fictitious here, I’m sure there is nothing to worry about :o)

One thing we learned about Arizona is that the state is low on funds and consequently has been closing state parks, rest areas and reducing public services. This didn’t impact us directly on our trip but was a grave reminder of the impact of the current state of the economy in the US and how it reaches far and wide.

From here we head to Las Vegas to visit Sean’s cousins Chris and Angie. And to visit the Sin City for the first time together. We’re looking forward to it as we both have stories that would raise some eyebrows from our times here independent of each other…