Flagstaff, AZ

	Dateline: Earl's Restaurand in Gallup, NM, May 17 Ummmmm, meatloaf.... You can't tell from this picture, but virtually the rest of the patrons and the staff were Native American - we dig eating in places loaded with locals! Heck, who knows where the good food is like they do? (Sadly, that doesn't explain the long lines outside Chilli's on Glenwood on a Saturday night.) There were vendors going around with "authentic crafts," too - usually a bad sign, until Nancy found and rescued ...
	... Earl. This tiny little stoney toad now sits on our dashboard and helps us negotiate I-40 while RoadPuppy naps.
	Dateline: Arizona Visitors Center, May 17 One thing about Arizona: you cross the border and you immediately start getting this geology-with-an-attitude. None of your tasteful east coast geography with cute little trees and water features, nosiree. This is punk geography! Oy!
	Dateline: Arizona Visitors Center, May 17 Want a drink, little doggy? Hahahahahahahaha!
	Dateline: Petrified Forest National Park, AZ, May 17 On the way up the trail to this shot, passing tourists would smile at RoadPuppy and make comments like "Oooo, I wish Petey was here - he'd LOVE this place!" RoadPuppy had the dignity to ignore the tasteless implications regarding dogs' supposed affinity for trees, and declined to leave her tinkle in an injudicious place. There are more shots of the Petrified Forest and the Painted Desert, but they just don't do the scenery justice. Whew!
	Dateline: Holbrook, AZ, May 17 One of the sacred stops on the old Route 66. Sleep in an authentic concrete teepee! The 50's cars out front of each teepee were a nice touch.
	Dateline: Ponderosa RV Park, Parks, AZ, May 17 Home for the next few days, nestled under scenic tall Ponderosa pines. I was setting up the tent under clear blues skies when I was strike on the head by something that felt like a rain drop. Five minutes later, it happened again - turns out the pines were drooling sap. This is a cool place - it's like the road cast of "Northern Exposure" set up behind Angus Barn, cuz there's a GREAT steak place just over the ridge to the right, with the best prime rib I've had in like forever, and a whacky 60's cover band that's like the Patridge Family meets Grizzly Adams.
	Dateline: Flagstaff, AZ, May 18 Now we're talkin'! After artsy-fartsy Santa Fe, we're in the land of wall-to-wall camping stores, great restaurants, and lots of greyhaired dudes with pony tails! Cancel the rest of the trip - I'm home!
	Dateline: Flagstaff, AZ, May 18 One of the great restaurants - I just thought this was a cute shot of Nancy! (There's also the coffee cup slogan - see, we were married in 1976. Okay, it's a sentiment thing. Deal with it.)
	Dateline: Meteor Crater, AZ, May 18 The van is starting to list to one side with the weight of the accumulated snowglobes. In the words of our Aussie tourguide, Meteor Crater is "a dirty big hole." Liked it, though - I'm a sucker for big cataclysmic geology stuff.
	Dateline: Le Grande Canyon, AZ, May 19 What Nancy and I will remember about the Grand Canyon.
	Dateline: Le Grande Canyon, AZ, May 19 What RoadPuppy will remember about the Grand Canyon. (Dig that sultry pose! Oh, baby!)
	Dateline: Le Grande Canyon, AZ, May 19 Well, we HAD to get this one, didn't we? I mean, it's got all those little hoppy musician thingies that's sooooooooo "Arizona."
	Dateline:Kinkos at Flagstaff, AZ, May 19 Okay, I've been a little slack about posting! So freakin' what? I'm on vacation, dammit, and in the last four days I've seen a crappy play, driven 600 miles, visited the Painted Desert, the Petrified Forest, the Grand Canyon, camped in colder temperatures than our sleeping bags are rated for (key to survival = cuddling), and seen "A Mighty Wind" at the mall! Ack!