FUN-travel: Driving the good ole US of A! Tucumcari, NM to Flagstaff, AZ

June 10, 2014 by · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Driving the good ole US of A! Tucumcari, NM to Flagstaff, AZ 

Day 4 – drive 474 miles – Tucumcari, NM – Pop. 5363

5 Shamrock, Texas

U Drop Inn

  • Had a great speech @ NACUFS Southern Region Conference
  • 12:00 – hit the road
  • 12:30 – lunch stop

FUN- food – Cowboy Travel Plaza for the best BBQ lunch! The place was packed and the service was great. It’s basically a truck stop with a big store and restaurant. Rotisserie chicken sandwich, bbq beef sandwich, 2 sodas $20.

  • Shamrock, Tx stop – photo op U Drop Inn
  • 6:00 – arrive Tucumcari, NM
  • Holiday Inn & La Quinta behind the McDonald’s
  • Stay at La Quinta – newer hotel
  • 7:30 – dinner @ K Bob’s across parking lot – nice salad bar & drinkable wine

FUN-fact – Many of the scenes in the television show Rawhide (1959–1966) starring Clint Eastwood were shot in the Tucumcari area.

Day 5 – drive 496 – Flagstaff, AZ – Pop. 67,468

  • 8:00 – hit the road after McCafe coffee w/espresso shot
  • 1:00 – Gallup, NM – more great art deco on Route 66 – Hotel El Rancho
  • 3:00 – arrive Flagstaff
  • 6:00 – meet long time friends for happy hour @Rendezvous Martini bar
  • Dinner – PaTo Thai next door
  • Starts snowing

FUN-fact – Had enough points to stay 2 nights for free.
Not so FF – La Quinta in Flagstaff is old and tired.

1 Gallup, New Mexico

El Rancho

FUN-travel: Driving the good ole US of A! to Stillwater, OK

May 17, 2014 by · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Driving the good ole US of A! to Stillwater, OK 

Driving the good ole US of A! That is the plan when all foreign travel has been completed. And hallelujah – we’re getting close!

1 Holbrook, Arizona

Route 66 Holbrook, AZ

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So how was the first of our “road trips” we plan to take in the US?

Well, we decided we were not going to drive across the entire country. East of Albuquerque and through the Texas Panhandle was let’s say, “Not so scenic.” So we won’t be doing that again! We have decided for now that the farthest we will go is Mt. Rushmore. Also we’re going to go at a much slower pace!

Day 1 – drive 576 miles – Holbrook, AZ – Pop. 4917

  • Stayed at the Best Western
  • Only had 2 rooms left @ 6 pm
  • They say it’s the cleanest

FUN-food – Dinner at Mesa Italiana (2 blocks from hotel) really good! Eggplant Parmesan & Pizza – Dancing Bull wine – $51 (get there by 6:30 on Saturday night or you’ll have to wait)

4 Cadillac Ranch, Amarillo

Cadillac Ranch

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day 2 – drive 600 miles – Shamrock, TX – Pop. 2029

  • Bad coffee at hotel! Instant w/powder creamer
  • Good news – McDonald’s McCafe coffee w/shot of espresso better than nothing!
  • 5:15 – Stop – Cadillac Ranch just east of Amarillo (this was the “high point” of the day)
  • Best Western Plus sold out
  • Only 3 hotels total
  • Opt for Holiday Inn Express – great hotel!
  • Great bed & great coffee!
  • 1st time staying in one & will do that again

Day 3 – drive 200 miles – Stillwater, OK

  • Get there  by 11:30
  • Stay at Atherton Hotel on OSU campus for my speech tomorrow
  • Campus has a real East Coast feel
  • Very beautiful and well manicured
12 OSU, Stillwater

OSU

 FF – (FUN-fact) – We got to see parts of Route 66 and some really well preserved Art Deco buildings along the way. (and some not so well preserved)

More FF – Temperatures ranged from 81 to 50.