On our fifth day, before we left Shamrock, we took some pictures of the U-Drop Inn/Conoco Tower Station. When they created the movie Disney the Cars, they based Romane's Paint Shop after this building.
After we left Shamrock I had planned to stop at Cadillac Ranch (basically a field with Cadillac's sticking out of it) but I missed the stop and when we drove by it on the freeway I could see oodles of cars and people so we decided just to skip it. I figured we would just extra enjoy our next stop at the Midpoint of Route 66 (midway between Chicago and LA). There was a cafe at the midpoint that boasted having great souvenirs so I felt like this would be a great stop. The cafe boasts of being open 24/7 but apparently the internet lies. Or maybe Covid just ruins everything. The Cafe was not open so all we could do was take some pictures of the midpoint. There were several people who needed to go to the bathroom so they were not happy about this turn of events.
Onward we drove in the middle of nothingness until we found another podunk place to stop at in Santa Rosa, NM- Route 66 Auto Museum. Thankfully this one was open. Basically a guy had restored a bunch of old cars and had lots of route 66 memorabilia and charged $5 for you to come look at it all. But my mom got real nostalgic looking at the cars and Tyler enjoyed the pictures. He really wants to buy an old Chevy truck. We were all shocked out how big cars used to be, man they have slimmed them down over the years!
Our last stop of the day was at my Aunt Ragena's house in New Mexico. We enjoyed chatting with her, taking a walk, and playing at a nearby playground. That night was a little rough for me. I am a ridiculously sensitive sleeper so I wanted to sleep in the laundry room at my Aunt's so I could have a quiet night for once, which I got, but it came with a price. The floor was rock hard and the air mattress was super thin and did not keep air in it so it deflated quickly and boy was that uncomfortable. Since we stayed at her house for another night, I ended up buying an air mattress in town. I had some slight confusion because this air mattress blew up with an air pillow. I had never heard of this before and thought I had been scammed out of a pump. It took me awhile to figure out how to work it and inflate it, but when I did, it made for a much better nights sleep.
On our sixth day, Aunt Ragena drove us out to see the Quari Ruins. But before she could drive us I had to move our car out from behind hers. This was real embarrassing because I couldn't find her second driveway and then basically after a series of stupid choices, I got my mom's car stuck in mud. Thankfully later in the day the mud dried and with some aide of sticks we were able to get it out of the mud.
Anyways, our drive to the ruins was a winding drive and the car was super warm and I felt real queasy by the time we got there but they were really neat. And the kids were excited because they could walk in them- we just had to watch out for a giant puddle! The only drawback was some students that seemed to be volunteering there were loitering about and stared at us awkwardly when we got close by and then there were some others that took the only picnic table so my Aunt had nowhere to sit down. Sometimes teenagers can be so thoughtless.
Later that day I took the boys to the Wildlife West Nature Park so my mom and Aunt could have some kid free time. We apparently picked the hottest time of day and so not only were we toasty but the animals were hot too so they were all hiding in their little "dog houses" which was really lame. The birds, turtles, a deer and a cougar were pretty much the only animals not hiding that we saw. But it killed some time and it is a rescue center so I figure our money at least went to a good cause.
On our seventh day it was time to drive on our final leg to Arizona. Before we left Aunt Ragena's we took some pictures with her. I am glad we got to visit her. She is one of my nicest Aunts- so easy going and thoughtful. The boys also seemed to enjoy their time with her.
On our way back to Arizona we stopped at two traditional places- one some Indian themed shops that had a fun photo prop. I also ended up buying a beaded bracelet that I really love and want a bunch more of.
At the end of day seven we finally made it to my parent's home in Chandler, Arizona. I am not a driver, in fact I hate it, but I am proud of myself for enduring and making the trek with my mom. And in the process of all those driving hours we managed to jam out to lots of fun music and listen to The Giver and Gathering Blue. The boys also did a lot of annoying each other (and me) but I am glad I got to see all sorts of fun places with them. I hope they will have some amazing memories from this grand adventure. I am grateful that the only 2 hiccups we had were #1- me getting the car stuck in the mud and #2- not having change for tolls in Oklahoma, I really don't love Oklahoma. I think we were really blessed and watched over and I am so grateful for my mom for allowing me and the boys to take this adventure with her.
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