It was a hot one today in Phoenix. And road construction was unbearable. We ran into it coming in to town, so we quickly exited and found our way to a non-existent gem and mineral museum (directions put it in a bad part of town...it probably got robbed) and then a cactus greenhouse. Stan filled up on pets and retailers and breeders (pets we keep for us, retailers he resells, and breeders he uses to make seeds/offsets). We tried locating some other greenhouses...one was unfindable and the other didn't have what he wanted. At the end of the day, we decided we should find a motel. They're a bit hard to come by, so we decided to head on down to Gila Bend...tomorrow we'll see Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. Traffic got horrendously bad on the westbound interstate...totally backed up more than usual, but the eastbound lane was completely empty. Was it some road construction detour? Worse than that--it was an accident. A horrible accident with dead bodies covered up that left such a sad feeling with me...I was holding back tears. Our westbound lane was backed up only because when people stop and stare at an accident, it causes a backlog for hours and miles.

We almost got a $99 room at the Space Age Lodge in Gila Bend. Part of me wishes we would've splurged just to get to spend a night at a funky retro modern landmark, but $99 is an awful lot, especially since this trip is expensive with gas anyway. At least we're saving money eating! We only spent $16 today on a restaurant meal. We ate at an Asian Indian restaurant for late lunch...a couple Dosas and two Lassis cost a little over $16 not counting tip. We are saving money on lodging too...we're spending the night at the Yucca Motel. Not as funky modern, but it is a restored Mom 'n Pop motel, now run by an Asian Indian family (I'm encountering lots of good curry smells today!) And guess what, here's the weird part, 20 years ago, some time in early June of 1987, Ann and Stan spent the night here coming back from California! Now how romantic is that? Plus, it was half the price of the Space Age Lodge. Bill will be disappointed because I think he stayed in Space once and is probably expecting us to, but...$99? That's like Hilton mint on your pillow prices.

Anyway, I've labeled all the Route 66 stuff in its own special category to make re-reading this easier (just click the "Route 66" label). I'm way behind on Photos, yes, I know, I still need to post photos from the past 5 days. It's just that even though the Arizona clock says 8:47 pm, my Wisconsin body say it's 10:47 pm.

Labels: Route-66-Part1, Vacation