Day 17: Ridin' the Wild Hare

We left Holbrook, AZ yesterday and made a brief stop in Jackrabbit. This little town is about as big is it's name, but after seeing all the huge yellow and black signs encouraging us "RIDE THE JACKRABBIT" we just couldn't pass it up. Fortunately for us, this big ol' guy was pretty tame and didn't feel like hopping around very much in the heat. Even the Flat Boys had a good time riding while we shopped.

From Jackrabbit to Winslow. Hazel gave you the background for this great small town, so I can give you a bit of the color. Diane Patterson, owner of Roadworks (http://www.roadworksroute66.com/), has a great gift shop, and gave us a very warm welcome. She's such a nice woman, and loved hearing about our trip. She stocks lots of Route 66 items (the good stuff), as well as Eagles CDs, jewelery, scents of all kinds, books and art work. If you are looking for the "crap" type of trinkets, this is NOT the place. Diane's wares are unique and worth the stop.

Although we have not had that first problem with the police in ANY town we have stopped in (well, there was that incident at the El Rancho Hotel where the police told me to go inside), Hazel thought it would be fun to take this photo. Mom, it's OK. I was out back smoking a cigarette and there were some intoxicated guys out front. The police were just patrolling the area and thought it would be in my best interest to go inside.

I do seem to have a propensity for attracting cats, dogs, and people with stories to tell. We dropped in to a little coffee shop and there was a great big black cat to welcome us at the door. He loved me and spent some quality time in my arms. Down the street, we met a big, curly dog and his owner. The guy was celebrating his birthday and had consumed a vast quality of coffee and nicotine (and I'm thinkin' something a little more special). Hazel and I stopped to pet the dog, and the guy had a story to tell..and tell...and tell...to me (it's the human sacrifice thing that Hazel does so well).

Next stop, Meteor Crater! Our blog pictures just cannot do justice to this place we almost passed by. It is HUGE! It is simply called Meteor Crater, but should be called something like LOOK AT WHAT MISSED KILLING ALL MANKIND! You just can't imagine how big around and deep this is! This picture is me standing on the edge of the crater. Anyone that knows me, will understand the courage this took. Notice that I'm NOT holding on to the railing. There is pretty much nothing behind me...or below me! I'm so cool!

Hazel took this picture from an upper level of the observation path in hopes we could get some perspective. A large thunderstorm was brewing and the shadows you see are from those clouds.

Between our hike through the Petrified Forest the day before, and hiking up and down this observation trail around the crater, I was pretty worn out, but I'm still around and didn't keel over! I know our gentle readers have noticed the lack of Flat Boy pictures. It is incredibly hot out here, and carting my fellas around in this heat is just too much.

Our next stop was Flagstaff. From the sand and heat to the coolness of the national forest! Hazel and I are just dumbstruck at how quickly and how dramatically the climate and landscape has changed. This a beautiful town, and I can't wait to get out there and explore.

More to come, so stay tuned!

Penny S. Head