MORE DO'S AND DON'TS

1. 285N out of Dallas-Stretches of steadily moving two lane pleasantly interrupted by little towns like Clarendon with motels like the It'll Do Inn, Western Skies Motel and the L.A. Motel. Lot's of boot and hat shops. One town had a restaurant that served Thai, Chinese and Lao. There isn't even a Lao restaurant in Atlanta...
2. Horse Hotel (Amarillo, TX)-Free 72 oz. steak. If you can finish it. Free limo service too, whatever that means.
3. 25 N to Santa Fe-Nothing against I-40, which from Amarillo to Arizona runs through some amazing landscapes, but this little road, completely absent of billboards is everything you might have imagined this region of the country to be. Curving back and forth as you ascend, the road cuts through a stretch of sunflower colored fields decorated with sponge prints of dark green trees and bushes, punctuated by red rocks, boulders seemingly stacked atop each other, pink skies and those purple mountains you've heard about in that song you've heard a million times.
4. Santa Fe-My 45 minute stint in downtown Santa Fe was alright, just alright. I'm guessing the downtown historic district isn't built with dogs in mind, as there was nowhere to eat with a welcoming patio. Or maybe it was just because it was Sunday. I'm guessing Santa Fe is one of those old towns (oldest capital in the USA actually) that caters to well off guests who frequent the premium shops in its downtown. Not really my thing. Starving at 9 PM, we finally found the Blue Corn Cafe in a strip mall and feasted on a huge burrito filled with black beans cooked to the wonderful consistency of a paste, and chicken tacos in blue corn shells. More than satisfying.
5. Meteor Crater-Sadly, too tired to stop.
6. "Indian" Stores and Native Reservations-The not so great aspect of the drive, traveling past desolate settlement after desolate settlement and AUTHENTIC Indian Craft store after AUTHENTIC Indian Craft Store. I'm guessing that at least 50% of those working at the Love's Travel Stop, on a cozy 99 degree afternoon, halfway between Albuquerque and Flagstaff, would rather be hanging out in suburban Raleigh or Norfolk, where their Great Great Great Grandfather lived. But ultimately they got legal casinos, isolation and rampant alcoholism so I guess they're really happy with the way things turned out.
6. Flagstaff, AZ-Kind of like Athens, GA but in Arizona. We took Route 66 off I-40 into the downtown, which is a charming little grid of two to three story brick buildings, housing bars, clothing stores, record stores, restaurants and more bars. The busy train tracks run alongside Route 66 and past the downtown; the hotels offer their apologies for the noise upfront. A couple of good sized mountains tower over the town. And you can get to the Grand Canyon in an hour or so. Our hotel was actually on Route 66, which still features a nice array of seemingly vintage motels, like Motel El Dorado, and bars like Crazy Bill's.