Day 7...Tucumcari, NM to Holbrook, AZ

Well, we are one week into our trip! Last night we stayed in the "Buckaroo" Motel in Tucumcari. It was a classic motor inn hotel, that at first glance, might remind someone of an unsavory motel in a 60s horror flick, but it was clean, the beds were comfortable, it had a fridge and microwave...and best of all, was $39 for the night. I'd stay there again. The morning started out a little rough, with a meltdown between my 12 year old and 9 year old sons. What road trip would be complete without a fight between siblings? Once we sorted out their differences and had hugs all around, we hit the road through New Mexico. Interstate 40, also known by "roadies" as "Superslab," is also Historic 66. There are a few diversions along the way through some historic sites, but much of it clips along the interstate. Much of what you see between Tucumcari and Holbrook are old hotels, gas stations and a couple of abandoned towns. We took quick pictures of a few of these stops, but we really wanted to make the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest before they closed, so we motored down Superslab as fast as possible. 

Now...for a little car talk and maybe a bit of philosophy:

Before we took this trip, I had an electric cooling fan installed on the Dart. We tested it out on our trip to Palouse Falls State Park in Washington, and it performed well. However, that trip barely reached 85 degrees...so we never got the engine too hot. On this trip, we have eclipsed triple digits, the hottest being 104 degrees and high humidity outside of Amarillo. Since day one of this trip, I have been nursing the Dart along at 60-65 MPH max to prevent overheating. This plan has worked flawlessly and we have cruised along until today. Today, the dry desert heat was putting the Dart through its paces. The engine temp was teetering in the danger zone for much of the day, especially after we dropped into Albuquerque, which felt like a drop straight into the mouth of Hades. On a side note, I felt less safe in Albuquerque than I did in Chicago, checking on the car regularly during our meal at Lindy's Restaurant downtown. In the words of my sons, "This place is sketch." Lindy's was a great place to eat, it's been open since the 20's and the food was excellent. There was a lot of road construction in the city, so hopefully some revitalization is taking place and we'll give it a second chance the next time we come through. Now...back to the car. After leaving Alubquerque, you make a nine mile climb out of the city onto the high plateau...and you reach an elevation of about 7,300 feet. During this climb, the Dart struggled - the temperature was climbing and I could not go slow enough to keep it down. We were also experiencing "vapor lock" which is where the liquid gas "vaporizes" before reaching the combustion chamber, simply because it's too hot. The car was on the verge of overheating and stalling out! Things were getting tense. As I mentioned in an earlier blog, I believe heat is the "enemy." 

As we drove along, nursing the car and hoping for an offshoot exit for Historic 66, I began contemplating this issue - wondering if my electric fan was even working at all. I had checked it a couple of times at gas stops and seen it turning, but hadn't really paid attention to how fast or anything like that. So...when we reached Grants, NM, I decided to do a thorough check on the fan. We stopped at a Walmart, and Tina and the boys went inside to refresh our snack supply. Upon an inspection of the fan...I realized it was turning, but only because the belt driven fan was sending enough air through the radiator, that the electric fan was turning on "wind power," but the electric motor was not on. I wondered if the fuse was out...so I check and it was fine. This fan has an adjustable thermostat, so I grabbed a screwdriver, turned the thermostat slightly counter-clockwise, and the fan roared to life. I roared as well...out loud in the Walmart parking lot...a rousing, "Thank you, Jesus!" Then it dawned on me...the fan thermostat had been turned off the entire trip. I have nursed it along, using only the belt driven fan.  I was mostly elated, for two reasons: First, the Dart has run awesome just on its stock cooling set up, which says a lot about the car and the engineering of 55 years ago. Second I was elated the fan wasn't broken, and now was fully operational.  But, I was also somewhat frustrated. We could have traveled much faster had the fan been working from the beginning. We could have covered more ground, gotten to our destination sooner...then I stopped myself. Isn't going slow the point? Isn't taking our time the whole idea of "vacation," of "rest," of true "Sabbath?" So...while I'm glad the fan is "fixed" or rather, operational,  especially as we head toward the "car-killing" Mojave Desert, I'm thankful for the last six days of being forced to slow down...to "take it easy" (I had to throw that line in there since tomorrow we will be passing through Winslow, AZ). 

I realized today that Route 66 has become for me, a very similar endeavor as fly fishing. If you have never fly fished before, you should give it a try. Before you do, though, you must know that you cannot, you absolutely cannot rush fly fishing. Everything from reading the water, to reading the bugs, to the motion of your cast requires a level of patient rhythm. If you rush, you will end up hooking the bushes, hooking your ear, or slapping your line down on the water in a way that's sure to scare the fish away. Our journey down Route 66 has become very similar. You cannot, you should not rush down the Mother Road. If you do, you will miss the point. "Superslab" will always be there...in every town...and the speed limits will be high and the unspoken "five or ten over" rule will more than likely apply, so the miles can be clicked off faster and faster. Sometimes though, "the road less traveled" gives you space to breathe, serves up valuable lessons and reminds you that sometimes, "the journey" really is the destination.  Today was a good day...and it ended with the buzzing sound of my cooling fan allowing the 318 Poly to breathe a little. Tomorrow we will hit the Grand Canyon and several other awesome points as we inch ever closer to Santa Monica and the end of the road. Adventure awaits! Enjoy some pictures from day 7.

Oh yeah! We saw a rattlesnake today while getting ready to leave the Petrified Forest. Tina and the boys thought it was dead. I assured them it wasn't so I threw some pebbles at it...and sure enough it rattled away! Cade took off like a shot, the color drained from Tina's face...and Luke, like me, wanted to pick it up and play with it...I assured him that wouldn't end well. So we left it alone...