We've clocked 2350 miles in 6 days. But, is somebody moving the states around while we're sleeping? This trip was planned around 5 hours of driving time from point A to point B, leaving enough time to make stops and still get to our destination by dark. So total car time should be about 8 hours. This is the 2nd time we plugged our route into Trixie and she spit out some ridiculous timeframe to reach our goal.  Calling her a liar and swearing at her doesn't help (at least that's what we've heard). So today, our 5 hour jaunt from Santa Fe was suddenly 8 hours without stops. And, to top it off,  328 miles of it was on the same road! That one road consisted of red clay, Indian Reservations and casinos. Once we left New Mexico and arrived in Arizona, the same road consisted of BROWN dirt, Indian Reservations and casinos. You get the picture. We did get off to make a stop through the Petrified Forest in Holbrook, AZ. Apparently, it's been around some 10,000 years so we thought it sounded interesting. Once we got to the gate, the guard told us the trip would take about 2 hours.  We couldn't spare the time so we had to jump back on that road again. Plus, some of the people we saw in the parking lot looked old enough to be the original inhabitants and since we don't drive a Winnebago, we felt a little out of place. So, if any of you get out there in the next 30 years, please make sure to send us your pictures.  

We did make one stop on our drive to have a quick lunch. Yes, on another lonely picnic bench...and yes, they were leftovers-but it was chicken fajitas this time. Always searching for the right spot to take it easy, we ended up on a corner in Winslow, Arizona.  Oh, c'mon, I couldn't resist. Of course we had to go see if there really was such a place in the Eagles song "Take It Easy"!  And, there is.  It's a couple of stores living off that one verse selling chotchkies and blasting Eagles songs all day in the street. Talk about beating a dead horse! But, there was an empty bench, sunshine and music so we stayed. 

Destination today was my sister's house outside of Phoenix. Sister, husband, 3 kids, a dog, cat and a home cooked meal awaited us. My sister is a caterer and unbelievable cook; hence the rush past the Petrified Forest to get here in time for dinner. And the noise level was a welcome change from our long journey. Everyone talking at once, kids wanting to change the rings on our cell phones, acrobatics in the living room and American Idol was on tv. It was all pretty great. Now tomorrow, I will give my sister the spices I bought from "14th Generation" Charlie. I intentionally didn't give them to her tonight because they are hot crushed peppers of some sort and I feared she might want to use them immediately and it potentially could have ruined the meal I had been looking forward to for a week. Selfish, yes, but we've been eating leftovers on park benches...I wasn't taking any risks.