Flagstaff to Cortez

When we left Flagstaff, this was our first stop, the Meteor City Crater. It was the first "proven" meteor crater, and it's the NASA benchmark for all other craters. It's enormous--4000 feet across and 570 feet deep. You can hike around the rim, but needless to say we skipped that.
We did stand on the rim and say "Wow. Big." In 1938, in true Route 66 fashion, someone founded Meteor City right next door and built a tourist trap.


But OUR next stop was Winslow, Arizona, which has done it's own capitalizing on a meager claim to fame with the Eagles song "Takin' it Easy." Now, instead of just standing on any old corner in Winslow, Arizona and waiting for a girl in a flatbed truck, you can stand with the official statue! I want you, dear readers, to pay especial attention to our stylish cowboy hats. We like to think that we need nothing but those and our toothbrushes on this roadtrip, but the reality is somewhat different. We are not, however, carrying our friends' various suggestions of guns, baseball bats, or tasers; this led to our temptation to stop at Knife City.
We had lunch at La Posada, the Harvey House designed by Mary Jane Colter. It's beautiful, and the restaurant is fantastic. There, I resisted buying an ENTIRE SHRINE to the Virgin of Guadalupe. You may now applaud my restraint. I'll wait here.


After Winslow, it was on to Joseph City, where you can see this billboard:It's possibly the most famous billboard on Route 66. You can see why, can't you: it's awesome. You can also sit on the plastic jackrabbit. At that moment, we were battling a large weather system (one of the five literary dramatic conflicts), and were unable to take flattering pictures while wearing our skirts. Just imagine a large jackrabbit with a saddle--I get that unsolicited mental image all the time, myself.

It was then time to leave Route 66 for a time and head north towards Mesa Verde. We stopped at Four Corners, which is just that. It's in the middle of nowhere (but you can buy flatbread and get a pony ride, so it's probably worth it).
We trudged on to Mesa Verde, where I made reservations at the Far View Lodge inside the park. They, however, lost my reservation. I hate them just a little. But we backtracked to Cortez and found a Comfort Inn, and headed out to the park yesterday.