winding a windy way to flagstaff

We woke up  knowing that the day was going to be breezy, but the cold was a bit of a shock. Farmington was barely breaking 40 when we rolled past Sunny, its first rate Muffler Man, mounted atop the Sun Glass Store on West Main.  Sunny was rocking rather violently. leading us to hope that the show didn't end abruptly with a large fiberglass man crushing us.

It didn't, but we almost wished it had, standing with our teeth chattering at the famed 4 Corners monument northwest of Shiprock.  We'd dreamed of playing catch there, throwing to 4 states at once, but alas... It's a Navajo owned attraction, and they think that taping there should be worth $1500.  That's right, they've had crews pay it, the guy told us.  Not us, of course, and we left with a bad taste in the four corners of our mouths.  Bummer.

Long stretches of driving through more Navajo country followed, leading down to Adalamo, AZ.  At exit 303 on I-40, the signs all point to Stewart's Rock Shop.  And not just signs, but giant homemade dinosaurs with moving parts that light up and blink!  No problem shooting pictures here.  Along with rocks and petrified wood, the Stewarts (it's really Charles' wife Gazell who runs the place) have over 100 ostriches to see and feed.  We left with the promised petrified wood sample and postcard, along with a bonus parting gift from Gazell--an ostrich egg that we'll try to get cooked up tomorrow.  No cholesterol, you know...

And finally,  a few miles further west,  Holbrook helped us score the trifecta.  That is, we've now seen all three remaining Wigwam Village Motels.  The one here is operated by the son of the man who opened it back in 1950, when it also pumped a lot of Texaco to Route 66 travelers.  As Don pointed out, that's the same year he was built, and his wiring's starting to fritz.   But overall the 15 units appear to be doing quite well.  This Wigwam was the one that Oprah visited a year or two back, but there wasn't enough room for her 18 crew members, so she didn't actually stay.  She did send a chopper back later to get some aerial shots.  We told John we'd send ours someday too.  

Music In the Van--"Jayhawks "Live at the Women's Club", William Shatner "Has Been", Dire Straits "Making Movies", R. Crumb, Dirk Hamilton, and a CD someone gave Don that I can't remember now.  (We drove a lot.)