Santa Fe was beautiful, full of adobe buildings and ornamental tilework. I appreciated this Apple Classic II still in use as a point of sale computer in a gift shop.

These computers were in use at my elementary school back around 1990 or so. It’s pretty sweet that they never bothered to upgrade.

In Santa Fe, we paid this crazy person $5 for a photograph. I admired his killer cowboy boots + shorts style,

so similar to my own when walking in Petrified Forest National Park, part of Arizona’s Painted Desert. I like to be safe from the twin perils of sunstroke and rattlers.

Visibility in the desert was so far that you could see the curvature of the earth.

The park rangers are very concerned about preservation of the park’s natural treasures. They were also amazingly cheerful considering the crazy people they must meet in 110 degree heat.

Scenario: we pull up to the park in a heavily laden Jeep.

Park Ranger: That will be $10. It is forbidden to take anything from the park. (She hands us several pamphlets. We have already watched an informational video about this theme.) Do you have any petrified wood or archaeological artifacts in the vehicle?
Mike: No, all we have is this dog!
Park Ranger: Fortunately, we are pet-friendly.

We spent the night in Winslow, Arizona. Despite a weak effort, we found no corners to stand on for a commemorative photo.

Get-there-itis set in by stages. Mike blew past the meteor crater outside Winslow and neither of us even pretended to care. We also decided to blow off the Grand Canyon to drive south through the Joshua Tree National Park, but then blew that off too.

One thing we did see along the way was Lake Havasu, Az, where London Bridge was reassembled.

We made it to San Diego by nightfall.