Day 9 - Holbrook to Phoenix (October 19th)

So it was the day of truth. Do I continue along Route 66 to Williams or stop at Flagstaff and drive down to Phoenix. It essentially came down to a right or left turn in the late afternoon of day 10.

After breakfast I was on my way to cover some 250 miles to Williams via Grand Canyon. My first stop was Winslow. I stopped on the corner of Winslow (as the Eagles sung in their 1972 song “Take it Easy”). It was a pretty spot and decorated with lots of Route 66 reminders. I was back to the Americana I knew and wanted. I looked around in the local gift shop and almost brought lots of things for my guest room project – restrained only by the fact that my car trunk and suitcase had no more space!

My next stop was Meteor Crater. It houses the remains of a massive meteor that smashed to earth in the 1930’s. It is about a mile in length and width – truly impressive and a strange calm.

Following a brief stop in Winola, it was onto Flagstaff. Flagstaff is hailed as a very pretty place but I did not see it. Perhaps I did not go up far enough to appreciate it. Perhaps my mind was on making a snap decision on whether to continue to Williams – and then – there it was. A left would take me 140 miles to Phoenix…a right would take me 80 miles up to Grand Canyon.

After springing a little surprise on my cousins, I took the left turn and drove the I-17 straight down to Phoenix. It was such a lovely drive through the mountains – up and down and some breathtaking views. I only stopped at the local outlet mall in Black Canyon City to pick up some presents and arrived home for 19h30.

Puja was at work and it was nice to see Ashu’s parents over from India. After some HOME COOKED INDIAN food we went to check out the first Dairy Queen (my first experience of a blizzard from the store that my cousin owns). It was then onto the local Applebees and finally finishing around 2am with a round of drinks in the garden.

I am happy to be here and have a drink without worrying about driving. It’s my first visit to my cousins’ home and it is lovely! My left turn to Phoenix was based on me wanting to enjoy my last few days whilst in the States. I knew that this would probably mean the end of my Route 66 adventure (until Santa Monica) but it was what I decided. Today’s drive was 186 miles long. That takes the total miles driven to around 2,020 miles!