New Mexico was pretty to drive through but we didn’t really do anything.

It was probably a good thing that we didn’t have planned stops. Every time I looked at my new red spots that weren’t coming off with wipes, I wondered how long I would have them and how noticeable they were to others. You can use your imagination as to what they might resemble.

So, the next few hours of motoring down the road with the sounds of Duck Tails from the backseat and the Grateful Dead on the radio I worked on bringing myself back towards center.

We did stop at the continental divide and I was amazed at the beauty of the mountains, dessert and vegetation all working together. Someday, we will go back in the fall to Albuquerque for the Balloon Fiesta and see more of the state.

One thing that I always like seeing is unique public art. Every place always has its own way of being creative and I love how New Mexico picks up on its Native Indian and Spanish heritage. The painting on the side of the building and the continental divide sign are great examples. I’m sure a slick sign could be made and a flashy billboard put up but these hand made works make the stop extraordinary.

We then settled back into the car to make our way to Holbrook, Arizona to see the Wigwam Motel.

So cool to see, also, kinda weird. I mean, we were walking around the parking lot of a working motel, as tourists. Thank goodness for it’s kitschy-ness otherwise we would’ve looked silly. The boys loved running around this place and checking out all the old hot rods but couldn’t understand why they weren’t allowed to go into one of the wigwams. They did run up to several doors but thankfully they were all locked. I did have to apologize to one young man though, as he came to the door to see what was going on.

We went into the lobby to check that out. It’s a bit of museum with all of the Indian artifacts, civil war memorabilia and a petrified wood collection of the developer. I’m sure if we would have had more time and less rambunctious kids I would have looked around more but after a few minutes I had to herd the boys back to the car. It was one of those moments where I got sick of hearing myself say, “don’t touch that”, “don’t sit on that”, “don’t mess with that.”

Our last sightseeing stop of the day found us on one of the most famous corners in world.

Winslow, Arizona was fun for us. The Standing on the Corner Park was constructed in efforts to bring tourism back to the downtown in the late 90’s, as well as, commemorate Jackson Browne and The Eagles. Winslow was built up around Route 66 creating it’s busy main street until 1977 when Interstate 40 opened to bypass the downtown. The park helped and some other landmarks that were revitalized making the downtown relevant again. For us, that corner took Eric and I back to our childhood when we were introduced to The Eagles.

After hearing a handful of Eagles songs while hanging out on the corner we climbed back into the car. Wishing that our finally destination was closer but knew we could watch the sunset and the kids fall asleep all while cruising to the radio.