White Toast

This post is for Sunday's festivities.

Her perspective
Very early Sunday morning I thought I heard snow plows on the street outside of our hotel room. When we got up, Flagstaff had received a couple of inches of snow. A quick check on the weather heading to Gallup and we were off. Once we were on the main road, the roads were clear and we made our way toward Gallup.
We drove into the Navajo Nation an area I would love to go back and explore again. With time constraints and the drive to Gallup several hours away we had to keep moving.
Canyon de Chelly was our big stop. On the advice of the ranger we took the south rim drive. The trails looked like they would be a beautiful place to wander. Unfortunately it was incredibly cold and windy. There are seven different lookout points. We made it to three of them before heading on. The canyon looks like a smaller version of the Grand Canyon. Gorgeous rocks, beautiful colors with the ravens soaring above the canyon. Very beautiful! Along the way, at lookouts we met a few artists selling their wares. They were very interesting to talk to and who could resist buying a little something?
We wanted to get to Hubbell Trading Post before it closed at 5:00 p.m. What we forgot is that the state of Arizona does not change time with the rest of the country but the Navajo Nation does. So, when we got to Hubbell, we thought we had 45 minutes to see it. Instead, they had closed 15 minutes previously. Oh well, can’t do everything!
On to Gallup where we checked in to our hotel. Off for a quick dinner at Cracker Barrel.
I’m not a huge fan of Cracker Barrel but love their gift shop and of course if you are on the road, I think you HAVE TO eat there at least once.

His perspective
We woke to the sounds of snow plows. It seems in Flagstaff that people put a snow plow on the front of their pick-up and go around plowing parking lots. Although the Toaster was white with snow, there only seemed to be about 3-4” on the ground.
Today was another low distance day, just as far as Gallup, although we took a lengthy northern detour to Navajo Nation. We drove through high deserts, valleys, on mesas and through forests in rain and light snow. I believe in 6 hours of driving, I passed 3 cars and was passed once.
We drove north from I-40 toward a place called Second Mesa. Along the way we stopped at Homolovi Ruins State Park….which closed today due to state budget problems. We did see a few ruin remnants and a sign warning of quick sand. Off to Second Mesa, which had a Texaco sign….but alas no gas station or pumps.
Next was Canyon de Chelly National Monument (pronounced De Shay). A beautiful red rock canyon, still inhabited by the Navajo. Windy, cold, with the colors of the canyon changing constantly with the clouds and sun. We did not spend enough time at Canyon de Chelly to do it justice, it is a truly beautiful place. But we wanted to go to the Hubbell Trading Post, also a National Monument and advertised as the oldest active trading post in the country. Hubbell closed at 5, so we hit the road and we got there about 4:15. This would provide plenty of time to stock up on more things to stuff into the mobile pottery barn. However, Navajo Nation follows daylight savings time, the only place in Arizona that does so. Therefore it was 5:15 when we got to Hubbell. Maybe another time.
Checked into the hotel and got a bite to eat. Thank God we got back to the room in time for you guessed it……….figure skating and ice dancing! There is evidently no way to escape it.

Tomorrow, Santa Fe.