Sedona, AZ part 2

Trip miles 2917
Daily miles 429

Now that Junior Nomad has joined the expedition I have a lot more pictures. Below are some of the highlights of Thursday's run from Santa Fe to Sedona.

If New Mexico was barren then Arizona was desolate. There was just nothing in every direction.

I wish pictures could capture the epic vastness of this part of the world, but frankly they look flat and dull while the actual places are awesome and inspiring. So rather than bore you with pics of open road here are some interesting billboards:

I can't imagine this is conducive to the states' campaign against DWI...

Incidentally there were some pretty gross billboards against meth abuse which I did not capture. Suffice it to say just say no!

There were also ads for some has-been entertainers that were popular 15 or so years ago. I had wondered what happened to him...

It's important to be able to buy high explosives whenever possible:

I would have preferred devices measured in kilograms or kilotons but oh well - I knew we should have stopped in Los Alamos instead...

Anyway, we did stop there to tank the car and the collection of fireworks was indeed extraordinary.

We also picked up an additional traveler, Nano Nomad, who joined us for a while. More on him later.

There is a certain Zen about this sign:

Note the simplicity and elegance of the statement - 'Cow.' That's all that needs to be said.

The trains out here are truly epic. They go for miles are some of them are double decker. I can't imagine how much torque is required to get one of these things started.


Some strange critters lurk in these parts...


Actually this pic (and plenty more like it) are quite sad. There are a few tourist traps along I-40 and their attractions are very basic and poorly constructed. Scratching out a living in the middle of nowhere by trying to attract tourists with papier-mache statues such as this must be grim indeed...

On a brighter note we saw something truly spectacular - the Meteor Crater. Again, you can find it on Google Maps it to get a sense of the scale - it's massive! It happened when a 150 foot wide asteroid smashed into the Earth at 20,000 mph. The crater is roughly 2.5 miles in circumference. NASA used it to train astronauts for moon missions.

Again, pictures don't really do it justice, but here are the best ones:


The observation platform is awesome. You really get a sense of the scale of the crater.



The view of the surrounding desert is equally compelling. It's breathtaking in scope.


I love shots of telephone poles into the distance I guess - they at least give you sense of scale.


The change in landscape from the meteor area to Flagstaff was nothing short of extraordinary. Within the space of 40 miles the scenery went from the desolation you see above to rich forest. Apparently this is the largest Ponderosa Pine forest in the world.

Sedona itself is known for the red rocks, and it does not disappoint. Again, pictures do not do it justice (and I have gigs of them) but here is one of the better ones. You'll see more later.

In conclusion, the run from Santa Fe to Sedona was extraordinary and the scenery was everything I had hoped I would find.