Last few! (Days 33-37)

We are back in Los Angeles safe and sound, but I still have to catch up on the last few days of our trip - back through New Mexico, Arizona, and home to California! The Southwest is very near and dear to me, and being able to visit these states twice on our trip was a huge treat. Please enjoy this marathon post that concludes this road trip...but stay tuned for more travel to come later this summer :-)

Days 32-33: New Mexico (Albuquerque, Acoma Pueblo, Gallup)

I've loved Albuquerque since I was a kid, and was excited to return for the first time in about 7 years. New Mexico is full of so much beautiful scenery and good food, and given our limited time in ABQ (less than 24 hours), we tried to make the most of it, and hit Route 66 spots whenever possible. Much of our time was spent in Old Town ABQ - first stop was the San Felipe de Neri parish. While the building that stands today was constructed over 230 years ago, the church itself dates all the way back to 1706. You can walk through the sanctuary and a small museum next door, which had some eccentricities...(apologies, but I did not take a pic of the bloody Jesus in a coffin on display in the museum...). We had a fantastic dinner Church Street Cafe (traditional New Mexican fare), which is housed inside of what some consider the oldest residence in Albuquerque (dating back to the early 1700s). Along with the rich history, I just love that in New Mexico, servers don't ask if you want sopapillas - they just bring them - and it's totally normal to order a dish 'Christmas' (with both red and green chile). Afterward, we had a night cap at the High Noon Saloon nearby (casual yet classy spot in another cool older building). On the walk back to the car, we saw no less than 5 stray cats and a raccoon meandering around Old Town...must be a hot spot! Sad to leave so soon the next morning, we stopped at Java Joe's (featured in 'Breaking Bad,' impeccable vibes) for coffee and crepes on our way out of town. 

If you are in NM, I would highly, highly recommend taking a pueblo tour if you can - obviously, just be very respectful (it's an active community), and make sure you know if you need a camera permit to take photos. As we made our way west of ABQ en route to the Acoma Pueblo ('Sky City'), we stopped to use the bathroom at the Dancing Eagle Casino, and Alex decided to play some slots...he made $10, so it ended up being a worthwhile stop! We then made the stunning drive into Acoma land to tour the legendary pueblo atop a 357-foot mesa. This is one of the oldest continuously-inhabited communities in the US (since the 1100s). Historically, the Acoma would summit the entire mesa by hand/foot holds carved into the side of the rock; fortunately, today there is a bus that takes you to the top. The tour was substantial, and the guide was fantastic. Our guide permitted us to enter the San Estévan del Rey Mission church at the pueblo (dating back to 1641), which was one of the most stirring spiritual places I've ever encountered (no pictures allowed inside the church grounds). We also encountered many artisans on the tour, and bought some petite cat/bunny pottery to bring home.  

Our stop for the night was in Gallup, near the NM/AZ border. This is a very cute town with one of my very favorite Route 66 stops, Hotel El Rancho. where we stayed for the night.  This hotel has a closely intertwined history with Hollywood dating back to the 1940s, and was essentially built to be a home-base for actors/crew who were shooting in the area. Many rooms bear the names of celebs who have stayed there - ours was William Bendix. I really enjoy an old hotel with a cozy common area, so we spent a good deal of time just hanging out (and blogging, of course). My only complaint is they were not transparent that there isn't AC (yet there is a unit on the wall), so we inadvertently made our room a lot hotter by trying to run the AC...but in the end it was fine, and would definitely stay there again if it wasn't supposed to be really hot out. Gallup Coffee Company down the street was also a very satisfying stop on the way out of NM, toward AZ. 

​Days 34-35: Arizona (Painted Desert/Petrified Forest NP, Jerome, Sedona, Cottonwood)

The incredible diversity of Arizona has been a major revelation on this trip. You can go from the desert to the forest (and then a weird hybrid of the two?) practically at the turn of a corner. Before getting to the forest, though, we stopped at the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest National Park, just over the Arizona border. This park is a gem full of so much truly ancient history and beautiful landscapes! While you can technically drive through it within an hour, definitely set aside at least a few hours to explore the many wonders this park has to offer (you can easily fill a whole day or more, if you have the time). Some of the highlights were the Painted Desert Inn (which has an ice cream parlor), the excavated site of Puerco Pueblo, and the ancient petrified wood of the Crystal and Rainbow Forest. 

Sad to leave this magical place so soon, but knowing we needed to try to get to our campsite before dark, we left the park and headed to Winslow, known primarily of course for being memorialized by the Eagles in "Take it Easy." As you can imagine, there is a lot of 'Standin' on the Corner' kitsch, but Winslow has a few other fun stops as well, including the Tiny Church of the Mother Road, the Brown Mug Cafe, and La Posada Hotel (the 'Last Great Harvey Railroad Hotel'). Fighting for daylight with still a couple of hours before our stopping point for the day, I briefly contemplated if we should bunk in Winslow for the night...but opted to press on so we could make the most of our brief time in Sedona. The drive through Flagstaff was beautiful as we headed southward to camp for 2 nights in Cottonwood at Dead Horse Ranch State Park (much prettier than it sounds). 

Luckily, it was not too difficult to set up camp after dusk, and we were rewarded with waking up to some pretty epic views from our campsite the next day. I've been very impressed with the facilities in AZ State Parks - I mean, I can deal with vault toilets if I have to...but nice bathrooms with showers and running water are vastly preferable! After breakfast at camp, our first stop of the day was the Tuzigoot National Monument in the beautiful Verde Valley (near Cottonwood). This historic hilltop pueblo built by the Sinagua people between 1125 - 1400 has 110 rooms! While the excavation methods used in the early 20th century are now controversial by today's standards (a lot of reconstruction took place), it's still an immensely impressive site. After touring the monument, we headed up into Arizona's 'Black Hills' to Jerome, a historic copper mining town. There's a surprising amount of places to see - we stopped by the Mining Museum, Paul & Jerry's Saloon (the oldest family-owned bar in AZ), Nellie Bly Kaleidoscopes, gift shops galore, and the Douglas Mansion in Jerome State Historic Park. Unfortunately we didn't have time check out the historic Haunted Hamburger (which is apparently the hottest spot in town), as we had to get to Sedona for lunch. 

We headed onward to spend the afternoon in Sedona, first stopping for lunch at the incredible Mariposa Grill, which had some of the most spectacular views I've ever seen at a restaurant (the food was also fantastic). You can't go to Sedona without visiting a crystal shop and hiking, so we headed to the Peace Place and Red Rock State Park. It was quite hot, but Red Rock fortunately had a lot of shade. Unfortunately, the red rock views were less than stellar from this eponymous park....but there were plenty of great overlooks on our scenic drive up to our sunset viewing location, Airport Mesa. After sunset, we said farewell to Sedona and headed back to Cottonwood for dinner at the Merkin Vineyards and Trattoria (and yes, they do lean into that name). It did not blow me away, but we tried some pretty good white wines and took a couple of bottles to-go.

You may know that Sedona can be fairly expensive...but staying in Cottonwood (30 min away) was very affordable, and still convenient to see everything in the area. I wish we could have spent a few more days here to take in all of the wonderful sights (and find some of the famous Sedona vortexes...), but after an epic cinnamon roll from Sedonuts and Coffee, we had to press on to our final stop...I'm not too sad though, because I'll be back in Sedona next month for my friend Ali's bachelorette party!

Days 35-36: Idyllwild

The drive out of Cottonwood through Prescott National Forest was beautiful, but after a long windy mountain road, I was thrilled to return to flatter desert terrain (and to my surprise, more saguaros!) Crossing the state line back into California felt great after 5 weeks away, which is the longest that Alex or I have been outside of California for quite some time. We ate lunch at Steaks n Cakes in Blythe, CA (the namesakes are solid), and made good time on the drive to our last stop, Idyllwild, for the wedding of our friends, Breana and Miller. We stayed for the second time at our favorite quirky bed and breakfast, Hicksville Pines...which is like the weirder mountain lodge cousin of the Madonna Inn. This place is meticulously curated by nerds who share many similar interests with Alex and myself, with themed rooms paying homage to Twin Peaks, Dolly Parton, John Waters, Dita von Teese, Disney's Haunted Mansion, and others. Our A-frame room this time had a fantastic array of psychedelic art that looked amazing under black light. We grabbed some Idyllwild Pizza (highly recommend) and had a great time hanging out with other guests in the Rec Room common area (which has a jukebox, arcade, and other games), and relaxing in the hot tub. We chilled more the next day before heading to the wedding, which was at the very elegant Harvey House in town. It was a beautiful ceremony and delightful evening, and had the chance to catch up with some folks I hadn't seen in quite a while. Our final morning, we had our signature Hicksville waffles, said goodbye to the cats, and headed down the mountain back to LA, stopping for lunch at the Jolly Jug in El Monte (known for their 'dip' sandwiches). We made it home, not too much worse for wear, and have slowly been unpacking/reorienting...it's a lot to be on the road for 5 weeks!

Thank you immensely to those who have read this far - it really means a lot! We did so much on this trip that I knew I'd need to document it to remember all of the details. While the blog ended up being A LOT more work than I anticipated, it was totally worth it and so much fun to write. We loved this trip so much, and plan to travel more later this summer, so I'll do my very best to keep blogging later in May - stay tuned!!!