The Last Road Trip (IV)

Tuesday, September 13, 2005

Looks like I’ll be posting everything a day late.

Today I departed the bustling tourist trap of Seligman, Arizona at 6:30, after a dreadful night’s tossing and turning in the Broken Arms Motel. Already tired and grumpy, I bid adieu to Route 66, which for all practical purposes ends here, and merged into the truck traffic on Interstate 40.

I knew in advance I wouldn’t be able to keep the speed down as I had the day before. All day Monday I’d been able to drive between 55 and 60, and when I got off the interstate a few miles east of Seligman to gas up ($3.19 at Conoco), I found I’d gotten roughly 35 miles to the gallon by cruising, restraining the urge to drive fast. So take it to heart, comrades; you can save big bucks, as well as wear and tear on your engine by slowing down and taking it easy.

Anyway, 60 used to be considered real fast. Wasn’t there a cliché: "Go like 60"?

Unfortunately, you can’t do that on the interstate, and I soon discovered that 65 is not fast enough to move with the flow of traffic, and 70 is just barely adequate to keep the casual tourist out of the way of truckers doing 80, 85, and 90. Bottom line: the interstate gets you there quicker, but entails needless wastage of money and resources.

I decided to make this just a "get there" sort of day. Saw my first gas under $3 at Joseph City, Arizona.

On I-40, you get to New Mexico before you cross the line, because one of those rust-colored mesas the state is famous for pops up on the south side of the freeway a few miles before the "Welcome to New Mexico" sign, 600 miles out from Palm Springs. There are gorgeous red rocks at the state line, then a continuous line of pinkish-brown mesas paralleling the north side of the highway as you proceed into the interior.

Fifty miles into the state you cross the Continental Divide. That was the big excitement for the day. I stopped early, tired, back aching, road weary, and collapsed into an extremely clean, quiet, and spacious room at a Motel 6, in the little roadside settlement of Grants, NM.