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Day Five: Flagstaff, AZ to Alberquerque, NM (via I-40)Miles today: 324 Total Miles: 1546 |
| So it takes about 2.5 hrs from waking up to getting on the road in the mornings. Especially given that my car is so far from my hotel room. And there are steps. Climbing steps in subfreezing temps at 6900 ft or so is not fun. At least its not snowing too much in the morning. |
More of I-40 east of Flagstaff |
The San Francisco Mountains that are just north of Flagstaff. They dominate the landscape for hours. Esentially eastern AZ is a flat plateau, and the mountains stick up from it. (Click for larger picture) |
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More views of the SF Mountains |
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First stop today is outside of Winslow, AZ to see the meteor impact crater. Interesting, but not worth the $15. Maybe if I had hung around longer. 
The impact crater. Click for larger image. |
Another shot of the impact crater |
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Dust devils |
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The Petrified Forest was quite the detour off I-40 to get to the entrance, and pretty nifty place. Thankfully the 20 mile loops ends up on the north end back at I-40 in the Painted Desert. Breaktaking scenery that the camera just cannot capture. 
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Petrified tree stump |
The Crystal Forest |
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Pretty blue skies |
The Teepees |
Building cumulus over the park |
Painted Desert Panaorama (Click for Larger picture) |
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Stopped again on the eastern edge of the Navajo Reservation at the AZ/NM to pick up turquoise jewerly for my mother. 
Welcome to New Mexico! |
More snow showers near Gallup |
Descending into Alberquerque Got to Alberqerque at a reasonable hour, around 6 pm, but it took me around an hour to find my hotel, which was hidden behind another hotel. At least I found a good Thai resturant in my meanderings. |
All Photographs © 2009 Arlena L. Moses |