Arizona, Day 2

Saturday was a big day. We were up at 4:45 am for a four hour drive north to Page, AZ for a tour of Antelope Canyon, near the Utah border. 

We woke up to a ton of rain and bitter cold. My mother had to drive in the dark in a rental car that she did not like and she was terrified. She kept complaining about it and I didn't really appreciate it, considering  it was the same make and model car that I drive.

We made it to Flagstaff, which is about halfway there and by now he rain had lightened up but the temperature was only around 40 degrees. With the mountains, with a little snow on top, and the cold temperature, I thought I was back in Alaska!

I had the vibe she was no longer looking forward to the tour, she wasn't really dressed warmly enough. We stopped at the Starbucks and decided at that moment to try to get our money back, we ultimately were able to get a 50% refund. And I think it made sense, because we would have been outside at least two hours, and done eight hours of driving. It just did not make sense.

So we headed about 20 minutes north of Flagstaff to Cameron, where they have a famous Trading Post. 

So then, I took over the driving and we went east from Flagstaff down Route 66 to the famous town of Winslow. Yes, just like from the Eagles song, "Take It Easy." We took some pictures at Standing on the Corner Park, which has statues of both Jackson Browne and Glenn Frey. There isn't a whole lot to the town, it's kind of lower class with a few shops and local hotels downtown. But it isn't a place you're going to spend multiple days.

Driving back to Flagstaff, we hit our peak altitude of 7,286 feet. By now, it was close to mid afternoon, so we decided to grab a bite in downtown Flagstaff. Being up in the mountains, it was quite a bit colder than it usually is in the valley. We went to the McMillan Pub, where we had a drink each and their spinach and artichoke dip. Service was a little bit slow, but there were only two employees, so it could not have been easy. 

Then came the 2 and a half hour drive back, which felt like it was just dragging and dragging. I don't think we got back to the hotel until about 6:30. So after cleaning up a little, I walked across the street to Hundred Mile, a local brewery, that I guess is run by some hardcore Iowa Hawkeyes fans. I'm not into dark beers, but I dug the peanut butter porter, not too heavy or filling, but still a deep roasty, nutty flavor. I had 10 BBQ wings, which I really liked, they had that southwest spice to them, and the sauce wasn't overly thick or sweet, they were more like BBQ glazed. Plus a side of carrots celery, and pickle slices, and I was pretty pleased. Super nice and engaging staff as well.

On the way back, of course, I had some In n Out Burger, an apparent west coast must. Now I had them once before, many years ago, in Vegas. I did not expect an armed guard inside, nor did I expect every table and booth to be occupied at 10 pm. I had a double double, animal style and after eating it, I wish I had ordered a 3X2 for the extra burger patty. It had a little too much of their spread for me and I thought the burger was just too salty. But for the burger and a drink, it was less than nine bucks, which is not too bad price wise.