Day 4 - Wednesday 5/18/2011
Duncan, OK - our day of rest!!!
Our original plan for today was to start driving after lunch and get to Albuquerque, NM but after an elaborate/delicious breakfast and lunch (thanks to Nitika and Sidd’s mom), we just couldn’t move and what can be more irresistible than baby Sasha, we had to extend our stay in Duncan -it was the much needed day of rest!
Day 5 Thursday 5/19/2011
Duncan, OK – Sedona, OK
5 am – Day 5 was an early start, we decided to make up for Day 4! Our food and bags were packed and ready the previous night, went to bed early and we started driving at 5:45am.
7:30 am - we touched Route 66 (well, we stayed on I-40 for the most part!) near Yukon, OK. We re-entered TX at the Panhandle. This was a very dry stretch.
11:30am – our first stop for the day was Amarillo, TX. We stopped at Joe Taco, a local Tex Mex restaurant. After some stuffed avocados and sopapillas dressed with honey and fudge, we continued on I-40W.
I-40 is the modern day substitute to the Historic Route 66. The Route 66 also referred to as the I-40 Business Loop (not symbolized as an interstate) is not found on the regular maps (online and offline). If you are interested in driving on Route66, the experts advise you to pick up special guides and maps on Route66. THIS is a great website on this route! We decided we would stay on I-40 but jump on Route 66 in two or three areas. So, somewhere near Tucumcari, NM we took our first detour to go on the actual Route66 but after the first 5 minutes into it and a quick stop for a few pictures, we turned back and decided against another detour!!! Route66 (at least the stretch we covered) looked more like a ghost town with run-down buildings and gas stations, it reminded me of the movie Monster starring Charlize Theron!
Okay, back to the good stuff. The stretch of I-40 from New Mexico going forward is pretty pretty pretty! It’s an absolutely beautiful landscape filled with canyons, their cross sections, it’s a never ending stretch of desert and wild trees and shrubs! Yes, we could tell we were in the “Mountain Zone”!
5pm – we reached Albuquerque, NM, stopped at the local Costco for a very exciting and long-due task! We finally buy our Canon Rebel today … yayyyy! So, after a quick celebration, texts to friends and a status update on FB (of course!) we head back on I-40. Madhav will take over the wheel now, I am way too excited to be driving now so I think am better off in the passenger seat J
8pm – as we drive out of NM, the temperatures dropped and it started raining and getting dark sooner than expected. We saw some beautifully ominous sights on this stretch. We stopped for gas somewhere in the outskirts of Arizona and the rest of the drive was in the dark.
12am - we reached Sedona around midnight (I strongly suggest anyone to not cover this stretch at night - I am sure we missed some beautiful sights and a lot of times it felt like we were driving into a forest and that was not a great feeling!!)
We checked into Wildflower Inn, this was a great last minute pick, we paid less than $100 and the hotel has some very pretty views of the red rocks (oh! the fare includes complimentary breakfast!!) When we stepped out in the morning, we were thrilled to see the beautiful Bell Rock and that's when we realized what we missed on our drive into Sedona!
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