Galloping Past Gallup

Yup! We went the extra mile today (or should I say 90 miles!) and drove on to Holbrook, Arizona. The reason why we went farther than we originally planned is because we decided we wanted to have more time at the Grand Canyon and  we felt that we could add an hour to our drive time without getting too tired. 

We also added some travel time because of some of the stops we made. We stopped at a shop called the Flying C Ranch. We could see it coming a few miles off because of all the signs just like the trading post we stopped at yesterday. As the sign suggests, there was some pretty cool stuff there. We saw some desert themed gifts, pottery, lots of knives (there was even one shaped like a gun!), and some great postcards. After we were all done shopping we treated ourselves with some Dairy Queen ice cream. 

After some shopping we drove through all sorts of things today: rain, construction, rain and construction at the same time, and some really spectacular scenery. The mountains in New Mexico were beautifully colored. It was as if someone had painted them to look like sunsets. Many of the ridges and plateaus seem to pop up out of nowhere.

We also crossed the Continental Divide today. For those of you who aren't sure what that is (like all of us here were), the Continental Divide is a hydrological separation of the nation and it tells the rivers where to go. It is because of the Continental divide that the rivers on the eastern side of the divide all flow into the Atlantic Ocean and all the rivers on the western side flow into the Pacific Ocean. 

After crossing the Continental Divide, we passed through Gallup, New Mexico and then we crossed yet another state line that took us into Arizona. When we got into our hotel for the night we were pooped! We drove around 400 miles total and we had unknowingly crossed into another time zone. We are now in the Pacific Time zone and that's 3 hours behind our home state. It's a good thing our drive tomorrow isn't too long! We'll be headed for the Grand Canyon and will stay there for a few days to explore one the most amazing sights of our country. I can't wait!

Ready to gallop to the Canyon!

Kim 

PS. Yesterday's answer for the joke of the day (how much did Tucumcari?) is:

A WashingTON!

Today's joke is more like the funny thing of the day. Arizona has some crazy laws and we thought we'd share some with you. For example:

Hunting camels is prohibited,

Donkeys cannot sleep in bathtubs,

You cannot play cards in the street with a Native American,

and

In Mohave county there is a decree that declares that anyone caught stealing soap must wash himself with it until it is all used up. 

Id' hate to be caught stealing soap; it's a good thing I brought enough to last for the whole trip!