After leaving New Mexico, I decided it was time to head home. I hit a severe dust storm outside of Winslow. In fact, of all the storms I encountered in my three weeks on the road, this was the only storm that had a police presence to handle the driving hazard. I stopped off in Flagstaff, AZ to have lunch at the Beaver Street Brewery. Good food and great beer made it a pleasurable stop. I then continued into California in time to catch one of our fantastic sunsets.
These photos were taken at Leal’s Mexican Restaurant in Amarillo, TX, then along Route 66 in New Mexico and El Malpais National Monument. I stopped in Amarillo, TX for a late lunch, early dinner. A local radio station ad piqued my interest, so I headed for Leal’s. The food was okay, but Southern California has the best Mexican food anywhere.
As I continued into New Mexico I came upon a roadside stand outside of Laguna. While talking to one of the girls about the large rocks holding the roof onto her stand, she told me they were lava and that I should take a detour to El Malpais National Monument and their Sandstone Bluffs. I took her advise and was glad I did.
After leaving the meteor crater we headed towards the Painted Desert. The Painted Desert is the entry to Arizona’s Petrified Forest National Park. Since the day was drawing to a close and I have visited several petrified forests in the past, I decided that we would skip this one and just enjoy the beauty of the Painted Desert. I have seen it from the opposite side, but it was nowhere near as nice as this.
After photographing the Painted Desert we headed on to Springerville, where we enjoyed a great meal at the Safire Restaurant & Lounge. They make most of the food fresh so it was quite welcome and delicious.
Follow Us!