We decided to drive across the continent in order to wrap up some minor business in California as well as pay a final visit to friends and family on the Left Coast. The hassel of airports has resulted in opting for the hassel of spending many hours at the wheel of Nessie (our Ford F250 Diesel pickup). The family vehicle of choice would have been the VW Passat turbo sedan, but stepson requested we haul a recently acquired spare engine for his Mercedes 450SL back to Georgia from South Lake Tahoe, California.This posting is from Flagstaff, Arizona after 3 days on the road and over 1700 miles. This is about the 14th transcontinental surface trip for ΛΕΟΝΙΔΑΣ since 1981 aboard autos, motorcycles and trucks. Many changes in the countryside are apparent. The interstate highway system has suffered greatly over the years from wear and tear and a lack of upkeep. I would assume that the politicians have their priorities adjusted for projects other than maintaining infrastructure. Additionally, the number of over the road large trucks is nothing short of phenomenal and they outnumber the passenger vehicles by at least 5 to 3. For this reason the return trip to Georgia will rely more heavily on avoiding the interstate system.
Although members of the indigenous population of flyover country are still the friendly and helpful sort of 26 years ago, They have undergone considerable gain in the area of body mass, especially those of the female persuasion.
Part of our journey has taken us along part of the route of historical Highway 66 as you can see from the accompanying photo of Nessie in the New Mexico town of Tucumcari.
Tomorrow we plan to revisit the Grand Canyon, having today enjoyed the Petrified Forest and qualified as senior citizens for a lifetime pass to such attractions. I suppose the theory is that the "lifetime" is coming to a close thus making the bargain tariff economically feaseable. In any event I will update this adventure for those of you who are interested in this diversion from the usual fare of depressing socio cultural events.
