First I want to wish my dad a happy birthday. I hope you had a wonderful day. Sounds like my parents won at the casino.
I woke up early, I wanted to go see one more point at Canyon de Chelly before I started on my way. This ended up being a short hike on the North Rim to see a different angle of the canyon. The sun was up and shone on the caves in the side of the wall. This area is known as Antelope House. You follow the trail around to Fortress Rock. It took me an hour or so, and then I got back to the visitors center to pick up some postcards to send home.
I was a little behind schedule on my way to the Petrified Forest National Park, my 4th park on my trip. You’re welcomed to the park with red rolling hills. The park has several pull-offs to look out over the Arizona landscape, with white and red rock formations out to the distance. After a Route 66 marker, you circle back and I hit the main Route 66 again.
The eastern section of Route 66 in Arizona has mostly been replaced by Interstate. Every now and again you are redirected to some rural stretches of highway off the Interstate, sometimes you are driving parallel to the Interstate for miles. When you do approach a town, you get a different view of a time once lost. You see a decent amount of now-abandoned hotels and stores. You also see a lot of poverty. It gives me time to reflect on the privileges I’ve been given. I’ve been very lucky with the opportunities I’ve had to get to where I am today.
I’ve worked hard to save and put myself in this position. Next week will be my 20th anniversary at work. I was. 18 when I stated, I never thought I would stay with a company for so long. let alone build a security for myself that before I was 40, I would be able to just take off and see every corner of this country. As kids, we did several cross-country trips, in a van, sleeping at rest areas. Not always being able to get a hotel along the way. My parents made it the best it could be for us. I think this is where my love for the road comes from.
As I get back to New Mexico, I reach the Continental Divide. Where rivers flow now east instead of west. I find myself divided. I’m divided on how I feel about this trip. Wanting to find this nostalgic past and glam of a highway with a good promotion team. Route 66 is synonymous with the American Family road trip. The highway got you between two major cities, a gateway from the Midwest to the West. The route went through towns, acting as a main street. That’s why it boomed. It was the lifeblood of some of these towns. You finally approach a town after miles of nothing, a small town appears with a hotel, with a desert theme, bright neon, and a diner across the street. It was your one stop shop for the evening. In a technology-free world, this is the dream, it was foreign as some families will ever experience.
When the Interstate was developed, infrastructure changed how we cross the country. We sped up, we found better ways to traverse the country. This meant that we no longer had to cut through a town to get from Point A to B. Now you simply hit a truck stop, a business area that is feet from your exit. Then you’re on your way again. You don’t come upon little businesses to try anymore because the fast food options is right there. Eventually, these town would die, which is why you see so many dilapidated hotels, businesses and signs. Most are in a vacant lot to symbolize what is essentially a grave marker.
There are still towns thriving along the way that have their foothold as destinations. Williams, AZ is a good example; it provides an affordable location outside of the Grand Canyon, with businesses along the approx 2 mile stretch of town, one way in each direction, with businesses in the middle. The trail takes you to the canyon daily.
I don’t know what to really say about how I feel right now. It’s sad to me that we’ve lost that bit of Americana. But I also think that a lot of that was or has been looked back on with rose colored glasses. It’s a sign things, were realy build on capitalism. The promotion of the road was a way to make money off the family looking to see the country. The towns that have the best maintained sections of the road, decorations, celebrating the centennial are the ones affording to because they have the ability to bring in tourists. Albuquerque is a good example, the most beautiful stretch I’ve seen since LA, but it’s the heart of a major city. Even from state to state, the quality of the road changes. Just as state budgets see to let the road die, while other states allow it to hold to life. I take this to say the road has allowed me to take a chance to reflect on myself, see beautiful scenery, and slow things down. If only for a few weeks. I will take in and reflect.
