October 22, 20205 yr I'll start posting some pictures from my trip. Here's a start. While I only ever watched a few episodes of Breaking Bad, but I know of a couple familiar places. Since I was stopping by Old Town Albuquerque, I saw a couple Breaking Bad places near the neighborhood.
October 22, 20205 yr Brigantine is a nice spot. Love those pics. Never been to NM or AZ. My sister in law just invited me to Evanston WY for Thanksgiving using Brother in laws miles. He has end stage liver cancer. He’s stable still working and traveling. She’s grieving her husband that’s still living but away most of the time, her mother, an uncle, and her brother. I get that. With Covid she could not be here in PA as there was no fumerals anyway. I turned her down. I told her how bout we (other sister in law) come to you next spring. Late May. We will have to drive out so can take her Mom’s stuff. Hope we can all hang on that long. Taking my kids to Cape May Dec 26 to Jan 2. No way I’m here in this ish hole for the New Year. I’m up for travel every 6 months or so.
October 24, 20205 yr If you ever take I-40 between Albuquerque and Flagstaff and want a good place to stay, I recommend the Hotel El Rancho in Gallup, NM. It was the hotel for the stars when Western movies were filmed in the surrounding countryside. The little hotel bar is on Esquire's "Best Bars in America" list. Check out the neon sign, which switch from "MOTEL" to "HOTEL" every few seconds.
October 24, 20205 yr I went to Window Rock, which is the capital of the Navajo Nation. In Window Rock, I saw the Navajo Nation Capitol Building, which is the only purpose-built tribal capitol building in the US, and also saw the namesake "window" in the rock formation.
October 29, 20205 yr For those with chase travel credit cards many are going 5x on amazon and groceries for next two months https://thepointsguy.com/news/chase-travel-cards-bonus-covid/
October 29, 20205 yr 10 minutes ago, Toty said: Nothing to do with your post... just LOL at the Indiana Jones bad guy nice avatar Thank you, I speak Hovitos
October 30, 20205 yr I'll start with my Petrified Forest National Park pictures, from my trip earlier in the month: The Painted Desert
November 2, 20205 yr Here's my final pictures from Petrified Forest National Park. I have some commentary on the park at the bottom. Crystal Forest SOME COMMENTARY There is a 0.75-mile paved walking trail through the Crystal Forest. It is easy and if you want to see the petrified wood, this is the best stop for it. There is a 1-mile paved walking trail through the Blue Mesa. I did not have time to do that, but would like to do that another time. I wish there were more hiking trails in this park. Maybe I was unaware of them. Maybe there aren't many because you're exposed to the sun everywhere. The only trails that I know of are the paved ones through Crystal Forest and Blue Mesa, a rim trail along the roadway above the Painted Desert, and an unmarked trail that I saw a few people down below in the Painted Desert. Each major stop is worth stopping at. I enjoyed each spot, from the Painted Desert, to the deserted Route 66, to the pueblo site, to Newspaper Rock, to the Blue Mesa, to the Agate Bridge, to Jasper Forest, to Crystal Forest, to Agate House. If you are pressed for time, here's what to skip: some of the many stops for the Painted Desert, since there are 6 or 7; the Route 66 stop with the old car frame; Jasper Forest, because there's not as much petrified wood there as there is at Crystal Forest, and there's no trail either; and Agate House, because you have to walk a half-mile each way to reach this building made of petrified wood. There is one road through the entire park. If you are passing through, it is best to go one-way through the park. I was heading west, so I exited off of I-40 (the park has its own exit on the Interstate), and went through the park southbound, exiting at the south end. I then took US 180 towards Holbrook, and got back on I-40 there towards Flagstaff. I did that instead of backtracking, because I could do 80 mph on Route 180. For those going west on I-40, do the opposite and get off at Holbrook, and then go in through the south exit and go north. If you are taking I-40 between Flagstaff and Gallup, this is obviously worth the stop. Most people don't know it's right on the Interstate, and I originally didn't the first time I was out that way. I made an impromptu decision to stop the first time around and was glad I did. Dedicate an entire day to the park. It's only open from 8:00 AM-5:00 PM. A half-day isn't enough time, if you really want to spend enough time at each spot.
November 6, 20205 yr If you're in Flagstaff, I recommend driving up and down Route 66. Some of the old roadside architecture is disappearing. On another note, anyone interested in prehistory in Flagstaff will find some literally on the side of the road. The ruins of Elden Pueblo sit in a little park nestled amongst the ponderosa pines in the northeast corner of town.
November 12, 20205 yr Continuing on with pictures from my trip, my next stop was Flagstaff. I've been in Flagstaff a few times before, last in 2016. Back then, Flagstaff was pretty run-down and didn't have much going on. It had good bones, for sure, but there was so much potential. On the outskirts of town were some mountain homes for people living in Phoenix, but the inner neighborhoods were underperforming. A lot has changed in 4 years. Northern Arizona University and its students are pumping money into the now-trendy Southside neighborhood, just north of campus. There's good development going up, and old buildings are being rehabilitated. Flagstaff is becoming a cool college town. I went to Mother Road Brewing Company, which was on my bucket list. They are (were?) the best brewery in Flagstaff. They have some pretty good beers, but tend to stick to IPAs. It's in an old hospital laundromat building in the trendy Southside neighborhood. After the beers, I walked around Downtown. If you're ever in Flagstaff in the evening, make sure to drive up and down the old Route 66. There's a good amount of cool neon signs. This is one, on the western side of town. (I would also recommend driving along Route 66 during the day. Much of the old buildings still exist. Some are normally non-descript, like old motels, but when you realize that it's a different type of history, it's interesting to see them.)
November 18, 20205 yr Author Went to Cabo last week for the first time, cruised up the Baja California. Really good fishing and wildlife in the water, great food.
November 18, 20205 yr 58 minutes ago, eagle45 said: Went to Cabo last week for the first time, cruised up the Baja California. Really good fishing and wildlife in the water, great food. Was married in Cabo last October. Really liked it. It was a lot different and much more scenic than the other side of Mexico. My wife and I are headed to Cancun tomorrow morning for our "1 year” anniversary. That’s probably the 3rd time I’ve posted that in here, but we have successfully rescheduled this trip twice because of both of the hurricanes that ripped through there recently.
November 18, 20205 yr Baja California looks like someone took the Mojave Desert and put it right next to the ocean.
November 18, 20205 yr Author 48 minutes ago, hputenis said: Was married in Cabo last October. Really liked it. It was a lot different and much more scenic than the other side of Mexico. My wife and I are headed to Cancun tomorrow morning for our "1 year” anniversary. That’s probably the 3rd time I’ve posted that in here, but we have successfully rescheduled this trip twice because of both of the hurricanes that ripped through there recently. Enjoy and good luck. We were really lucky to get out and enjoy a week away during the pandemic. It's a very cool area. Lot's of SoCal socialites there. It felt like there were more famous people than regular tourists at the restaurants and pools. I'm not really into that scene; fortunately Cabo has a lot of other good stuff to offer.
December 3, 20205 yr Continuing with my trip in New Mexico and Arizona, here's the beginning of the two days at the Grand Canyon. After the previous day at Petrified Forest N.P. and the evening in Flagstaff, I drove that night to Tusayan, a village just outside the park's borders. Tusayan is a little similar to a place like Pigeon Forge, TN, but you don't have all the kitschy stuff like ziplines and wax museums. But you'll find plenty of hotels along the road going into the park, and a couple fast food places. I stayed at the Best Western Premier Inn. I don't know what Best Western Premier hotels are like, normally, but if the Best Western brand is just an average next-to-the-Interstate kind of place, this hotel exceeded expectations. There were bronze statuary and waterfalls and so on inside. My room was pretty cheap because of the pandemic, to. Driving into the park and to the rim is a nice trip through the ponderosa forest.
December 4, 20205 yr How about some pictures of a few of the many nice buildings at Grand Canyon National Park? Most of these buildings were designed by architect Mary Jane Colter, noted for her Rustic architecture style and projects in the Southwest. El Tovar Hotel, built in 1905. I never noticed this inscription over a side entrance until this trip. This little guy was running all around the hotel (see the first picture too). The Hopi House, built in 1904. Designed by Mary Jane Colter. Bright Angel Lodge, built in 1935. Designed by Mary Jane Colter. Inside the Bright Angel Lodge is a fireplace designed by Colter that has rocks in the geologic order that you would find them in the canyon, with the top of the fireplace being rim rocks, and the bottom of the fireplace being river rocks. Colter also designed the little cabins surrounding the Bright Angel Lodge. Lookout Studio, built in 1914. Designed by Mary Jane Colter.
December 5, 20205 yr Just recently booked a cruise to the Caribbean. Our cruise this past summer was cancelled, so we used our credit and booked for Thanksgiving week 2021. We were able to upgrade our room. Hopefully we’ll be good by then to go.
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