Drove from Santa Fe to Sedona, Arizona today. It didn’t look that far on the map. It was that far. But tbh, I cannot move my legs today, so not complaining about sitting on my arse for 7 hours. I’m calling it a recovery day.

By complete accident, we were driving past Albuquerque this morning just after the mass hot air balloon launch – for the festival. We pulled over on the side of the road, along with 100 other cars, and watched for a few minutes. Pretty impressive. Not impressive enough for me to want to fight road closures and traffic to get any closer, though.

Took a quick-ish drive through the Petrified Forest National Park. Absolutely spectacular. Mother Nature has the best color palette. Ken was fascinated with the petrified wood that litters the park. It’s everywhere. Totally worth the detour.

Sidebar: America is a BIG FUCKEN PLACE. I’ve driven across the country twice, but never the southwestern route. I feel like the landscape here changes completely about every hour. It’s just beautiful.

Stopped for lunch in Winslow, Arizona. Stood on the corner, but the town didn’t have a take it easy vibe as much as a take your money and run/gtfo vibe. Hat tip to Winslow for the eagle in the window of the mural on the corner, though. Wow, depressing little town. Looks like it was mostly abandoned about 30 years ago. Was a bit livelier this afternoon bc there was a car show on Main Street. Cars do nothing for me, but Ken’s a car guy so we walked through. My favorite was the old VW bus. My grandpa had one of those. Passed one car and found this creepy doll situation on the front seat, which I present without further comment.

Learned that the road from Flagstaff to Sedona is not awesome if you’re prone to carsickness. Hairpin after hairpin. We have to drive that way tomorrow to get to the Grand Canyon and back. Need to find some Dramamine.

First impressions of Sedona: well, we found all the tourists. Also, if you need any magical healing crystals, lmk. Feels like there are more crystal shops here than restaurants. Also, candles.