This week: June 16
The wonders of our country, planet, and universe
It’s been an action-packed week!!!
The Rector’s sabbatical journey continued this week as Rev. Allison, her daughters, and her best friends since middle school (Ginger, Katie, and Lydia) traveled through the remainder of Arizona into New Mexico. I referenced Calvary parishioner and retired UC professor Dave Meyer many times as we saw some of the most spectacular geological wonders in the United States/world.
Here are the highlights of Route 66 this week:
• Fun Route 66 food, including snow cones at Delgadillo’s Snow Cap in Seligman, AZ and dinner at Galaxy Diner in Flagstaff, AZ.
• Searching for “giants” like the Lumberjack Giant on Northern Arizona University campus (this is presumably the first of many “giants,” created in 1962 and featured, with a red shirt, in the film Easy Rider).
• Stamping the girls’ memory books at the National Parks and places like Hackberry General Store in Mohave Co. AZ.
• A short hike on the Bright Angel trail in Grand Canyon National Park
• A very special, astounding tour of the Grand Canyon via helicopter
• Learning about the wonders of our planet over the expanse of time at Petrified Forest National Park
• Expanding our horizon to space as we viewed the Meteor Crater in Winslow, AZ
• “Standing on the corner in Winslow, AZ”
• Staying at the fabulous El Rancho Hotel in Gallup, NM and getting a glimpse of movie-star life in the 1940s
• Racing across the Rio Puerco Bridge in western Bernalillo County, NM (Olivia won the race!).
• Hearing “America the Beautiful” from the rumble strip in Albuquerque, NM at the Musical Road of Tijeras.
In Albuquerque, Allison’s husband Robert flew from Cincinnati to continue the journey, and her friends travelled home. Robert, Allison, Olivia, and Amelia commenced a detour south through New Mexico to El Paso, Texas, Robert’s childhood home. They met Robert’s father in El Paso and proceeded to go on a nostalgic visit to special places, Robert’s family burial plot, several beloved Mexican restaurants, and a stop in Hatch, NM, home of the best chiles on the planet.
