As
always when we travel to the Southwest, we take the short three hour drive to
Tehachapi to kick off our trip. Since it
was a short drive we didn’t leave home until after lunch and arrived in
Tehachapi around four. Traffic was
surprisingly light for a Saturday so it was an easy drive. Tehachapi had quite a bit of snow a few weeks
ago and we were surprised to see there were still patches around
despite the warmer temperatures. Our
favorite spot to eat in Tehachapi is the Red House BBQ and that is where we
headed for dinner. As usual, it didn’t
disappoint and we had a good barbecued rib dinner. After dinner it was back to the hotel for the
evening.
Day 2 - Laughlin, NV
Our destination
today was Harrah’s Hotel in Laughlin, NV, which is another place we usually try
to stay when head east. We left
Tehachapi around nine and once again encountered very light traffic. Today is Superbowl Sunday so I guess everyone
is at home getting ready for the big game.
We arrive in Laughlin around one and were soon in our room. Our host came through and we were
comped a suite, which is always a welcome surprise, thank you Leslie.
After
getting cleaned up we were off to the casino to get in a little gambling and
found it very crowded; now we know why
the highways were empty. Harrah’s was
hosting a Superbowl Party for its loyal customers so I guess that drew a lot of
people. We were invited, but Val and I
aren’t really big football fans so we decided to pass. Once the game got underway the casino was
much less crowded so that was a plus.
After a while we got hungry and decided to try the new Mexican
restaurant opened by Guy Fieri called El Burro Borracho. It was actually quite good and we enjoyed our
meal. After dinner it was back to
gambling where I lost all my allotted funds, but Val actually turned a profit,
she did very well today. We called it an
early night as we have a long drive tomorrow, but we did enjoy our short stay
in Laughlin.
Day 3 - Gallup, NM
After
two easy days, today we have a longer drive all the way across Arizona to
Gallup, New Mexico. To add to the day,
we lost an hour when we crossed into Arizona.
We took the cutoff from Laughlin to Kingman, AZ where we got on to
Interstate 40 and headed east. After
hitting some heavy truck traffic just outside of Kingman, traffic thinned and
it was an easy drive the rest of the way.
We stopped for lunch in Seligman, AZ, which is a major stop for Route 66
enthusiasts. There are many cafés and
businesses keeping the spirit of the old Route 66 alive so it is an interesting
place in a very kind of down and out retro way.
After a good lunch at the Westside Lilo’s Café we were back on the road
heading east.
As we
rose in elevation and got near Williams, AZ we started to see snow along the
road and by the time we neared Flagstaff it was quite heavy in places. It grew less and less after Flagstaff, but we
saw traces of it all the way to Gallup.
We arrived in Gallup around five and after getting cleaned up, we had a
quick meal and called it a day.
One
small crisis arose today when Val discovered she had left her driver’s license
in her purse at home, so she called our friends Doug and Ev and they came
through and were able to get the license and overnight it to Carlsbad, NM where
we’ll be staying tomorrow night. Thanks
so much Doug and Ev, you are truly good friends.
Day 4 - Carsbad, New Mexico
When we
got up this morning the temperature outside was in the twenties, but it was
sunny with no clouds. We had a long
drive today so we were up and about and on the road by nine. We continue east on I-40 until we reached
Clines Corners where we finally got off the interstate and turned south
on US-285. Clines Corners was kind of interesting in a roadside attraction kind of way. For miles and miles before we got to Clines Corners there was sign after sign advertising everything from fireworks to fudge. We didn't stop, but if you had the time it might have been an interesting diversion.
As we traveled south, the land became very flat and
barren with very few cars on the road. Southern New
Mexico is quite different from the more mountainous Northern area, this was truly
desolate country. There were a few small
villages looking pretty down on their luck until we reached the large town of
Roswell.
Roswell
is best known for a UFO incident in 1947 where there was a supposed UFO crash near the town.
The town definitely has a UFO / Alien theme as the town makes the most
of its fame. There is a UFO museum, but
it was closed so we didn’t have a chance to visit it. We did stop and get gas, which so far has been
very cheap in New Mexico compared to California; we paid $1.60 yesterday in
Gallup and $1.63 today in Roswell.
After
Roswell it was a 75 mile drive to our destination for the night, Carlsbad, NM. We made good time today and arrive in
Carlsbad around 3:30. We will spend two
nights here so we can visit Carlsbad Caverns tomorrow. We decided to have dinner at the Trinity Hotel, which is an old hotel located downtown.
Despite it being a Tuesday night it was pretty busy. We enjoyed our dinner and finished it off with a piece of fudge layer cake, which we shared. After dinner it was back to the hotel for a
little relaxation and planning for tomorrow.
