Flagstaff

I knew I was going to like Flagstaff as soon as I crossed the city limits sign, which is well before the actual city proper.  It's set down in the middle of a coniferous forest, the Coconino National Forest if I'm not mistaken.  There's a fresh, cool breeze blowing, and a piney scent in the air.  This town has allowed patches of natural landscaping to remain scattered about the parts of town I can see, which gives it a fresh, attractive feel.  The people seem more affluent, better fed.  And by that I mean better nutrition, not necessarily more calories.  Flagstaff is a more high-falutin' town than scruffy Gallup.

 

This Walmart has a sign stating very clearly that there is no overnight parking allowed, and the parking time limit is 2 hours.  Seriously?  They are going to time me?  I doubt it.  That policy is probably to discourage the riff raff from hanging out here (hopefully nobody in my party can be considered riff-raff).  There are a number of RV's parked here, so obviously people are using it as a rest stop.  It isn't that far from Gallup, and the goal is to make it to Kingman as quickly as possible, but I needed a break.  Trying to break up this leg as much as possible, because to put it bluntly, I feel like shit.  Probably dehydrated, probably need food, but my appetite is shot.  Near 7000 feet here, and I haven't had time to acclimate, so likely that's a big part of the problem.  Also haven't had any coffee yet, but the Subway was out and I can't be arsed to make any. 

 

It's a shame they aren't more welcoming here.  I plan to whip out my blog endorsed by Miss Rodeo Wyoming 2011 and the City of Laramie if anyone hassles me, and point out that I was just in the middle of a long post about how lovely Flagstaff is, and how welcoming they are, and what a great stop for travelers it is.  But I doubt that will be necessary. 

 

KD is perfectly comfortable, with the breeze coming in at the windows.  All I need is an oxygen tank and a cloak of invisibility.

 

 

 

The landscape after Gallup was a pretty, painted desert, peach and umber, with fantastic, piled up red rocks, crossed by the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railroad.  Passed one rest stop that had the most awesome rocks.  Wanted to stop, but needed to press on.  The Meteor Crater Trading Post had a bunch of ersatz tipi shapes around what was a fairly elaborate, roadside Americana structure.  It didn't look like much of a going concern.  Hard to tell if it was even open, and it was on the other side of the road so I didn't stop.  Perhaps it was the structure mentioned by one of my readers.   It was shortly followed by the Twin Arrows Trading Post, which also looked pretty dead.