We hit our first traffic jam in Dallas, but it wasn't too bad, and didn't last very long.
The big D! And I do mean Dallas!
After Dallas, the weather was terrible. The radar looked like this:
Not cool. That blue stuff is snow. Not cool.
At one point, we stopped to get gas, and snowflakes were actually hitting my face while I was pumping gas. It was also freezing.
From East Texas to West Texas, the landscape changed a lot. East Texas was hilly and more wooded, where as West Texas was FLAT and we could see for miles. At least until the rain started. One awesome thing about Texas is that the highway speed limit is 75. That was nice.
Flat, flat, flat. We were watching for twisters!
I drove some of the way through West Texas and the only time I was truly uncomfortable was when we were driving through Amarillo. Pouring rain, huge trucks, and traffic, aka the worst possible combination on a highway that I didn't know. Not cool. (This drive may have been my least favorite part of the whole trip). Outside of Amarillo, we planned on stopping at the Cadillac Ranch, but when we passed by it was SO muddy. Not worth it, so we waved at the cars and carried on. Eventually, we crossed into New Mexico.
New Mexico!
We were about 30 miles from our destination when Kate made me stop at the mid-point of Rt. 66. I got out of the car for a minute but ugh, it was freezing and windy and the rain/snow was hurting my face. Did not stay out there very long!
She had to get over there and take a pic.
This is how I felt about it.
We finally arrived in Tucumcari about 4:00 in the afternoon. Why Tucumcari? Well...a friend of ours from high school is married to a guy whose family owns a motel (The Blue Swallow Motel) on Rt. 66 in Tucumcari, New Mexico, and we got to stay there! Her and her husband and in-laws take turns running the motel. I tell ya, it was one of the coolest places I have ever stayed. Everything was SO retro but in a very classy, well-done way. I loved it there, and again, it was awesome to see friends!
We had a garage next to our room that was painted on the inside. Very cool! 
The inside of the room. I slept SO well that night! 
Kate and I with Jessica and Cameron. Thank you all again for your hospitality, we loved it there! 
The Blue Swallow has a webcam, and my sister saw us on it! Fun! 
Kate walking to our room after a very yummy dinner.
We went to dinner at a place on Rt. 66 called Del's which was so delicious. We also had sopaipillas and honey, which is a New Mexico thing. They were great. (We may have had these in Texas too, but I can't remember!)
After dinner, we got the tour of Tucumcari. Much of it is abandoned these days, a far cry from it's hey day in the 50's and 60's. Here is an old park, that apparently used to be a hopping place, but is now completely overgrown and empty. This place reminded me of somewhere an urban photographer would go. (If you don't know what those are, they are people who take photos at old and abandoned shopping malls, cities, parks, etc. I find their work fascinating.)
After dinner and our tour, we hung out in the lobby for a little while. The Blue Swallow was at full capacity that night, (as they are most nights it seems!), and yet there were still a few people who stopped in looking for rooms. It was really neat though, to get to talk to people from all over, and hear their stories. If you are ever driving on Rt. 66, don't miss The Blue Swallow. It's fantastic!
Day 4
We got up early again on day 4 (time zone change probs), and headed for Flagstaff, Arizona.
Back on Rt. 66!
It wasn't a long trip distance wise, but we took our time getting there, and got to see a lot of neat things on the way. The landscape continued to change as we went West.
Our first sighting of mountains!
The first stop we made was in Old Town Albuquerque. VERY cool place. Lots of Indian shops, restaurants, and beautiful Southwestern buildings. We shopped some and bought some souvenirs and then had an "authentic" New Mexican lunch. I don't know what qualifies food as New Mexican, but I can tell you my meal was SPICY. So yummy but my mouth was on fire. I had a bean and cheese burrito. It was awesome. Oh and we had soapaipillas again!
I was starving apparently, excuse the fact that I had already eaten the rice when I took this! :)
The first church in Albuquerque, built by the Spanish settlers. (I think..)
Old Town selfie!
After Albuquerque, we crossed into Arizona!
We made our next stop at The Petrified National Forest. What an AWESOME place. I was a bit skeptical, but Kate convinced me, and it was definitely worth the 2 hours of extra time that we spent there. I can't even really describe it, but here's a couple pictures that might help. They don't fully do it justice. If you are ever close to this, you should stop. It's awesome.
There are beautiful colored mountains all around, it is just glorious. 
After the Petrified Forest, we made our way to Kate's Aunt and Uncle's vacation home in Flagstaff. Flagstaff was not at ALL like the Arizona I remember visiting in childhood. When I was a kid, we went to Tucson, which was desert-y and full of cactus and very HOT. Flagstaff is wooded, full of pine trees and chilly. Very odd. But very beautiful. The home we stayed in was just lovely, in a beautiful neighborhood in the woodsy mountains. Kate's Uncle George took us to a really cool restaurant for dinner. It was a steakhouse, but all the servers were musical theater students at Northern Arizona University, and they all sang show tunes! It was so neat. They even took requests, and sang Kate's favorite song from Les Mis. Very cool place.
I had this awesome prickly pear drink. Yum.
Our server was the tall one in the middle. So fun!
After dinner we toured Flagstaff some. When we got back to the house, we went straight to bed. It had been a VERY long day. Next we were off to the Grand Canyon and VEGAS!! (My fav place). Stay tuned!
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