We left Albuquerque by the I40 and carried on straight to Grants where we picked up the scenic Highway 53 heading through Western New Mexico. It loops between Grants and Gallup and crosses the continental divide. Covering the Zuni and Navajo Indian Reservations, it is described in Road Trip USA as one of the most beautiful places on the planet. The road skirts the foothills of the Zuni Mountains and travels the edge of the massive El Malpais lava flow – thousands of acres of pitch-black rock, some of it 115,000 years old. We passed the El Morro monument, a 200ft sandstone cliff with 400 year old graffiti from the Spanish discoverers. It was midday in the desert and we really didn’t feel up to the 2mile walk to the top so carried onto Gallup.
Lunch was at the El Rancho hotel, another Route 66 icon. Built by the brother of a Hollywood film director in the 1930s, the hotel was frequented by matinee idols and the rooms are all named after the stars who stayed in them; the Marx brothers, Doris Day, Burt Lancaster, Ronald Reagan and so on. The boys were particularly delighted by the burgers’ side of jelly beans but also loved the huge southwestern style lobby filled with hunting memorabilia, a walk-in stone fireplace and an entire three-piece suite made out of cattle horns.
The last stretch of the day’s driving was 70 miles to Holbrook, Arizona. We checked in at the Wigwam Motel at 3:30pm and left the children to veg in their concrete wigwam. Mark and I headed off in search of a cold beer and bumped into two British couples from Abingdon doing Route 66 via Virgin Holidays. We swapped tales and then headed back to the wigwam for supper and an early night.
Today’s Tune: Mustang Sally by The Commitments
Wildlife Watch: Mustang horses at Ramah on the Navejo Indian Reservation
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