Today was a day of catching up and being grateful that we can just go with the flow. Today's miles: 672. We woke up in Albequerque, and as we were finalizing our plans, we ran into some necessary reroutes. We didn't realize that several items on the agenda were in Navajo nation, which is under a strict curfew, due to a surge in their COVID cases. We decided to make a few stops on our way down to Phoenix to meet up with a college friend for dinner, but first, a few necessary stops both because we're traveling during a pandemic and because it's part of being prepared when traveling with celiac and NCGS (non celiac gluten sensitivity).
We planned on at least getting some photo opps outside two of the museums (New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science and National Museum of Nuclear Science and History) that are closed, but have cool statues and then heading to meteor crater, with maybe a stop at the Petrified Forest and then Sedona. Long story short, the hunt for my daughter's chosen souvenir: a sticker took much longer, along with our tails that were dragging this morning. These stops were supposed to be easy and quick, but we were in a town I didn't know and with stores I didn't know. So, this took way longer than expected, but we managed a few healthy fresh snacks and some splurges, and finally found some souvenirs. We were an hour out of town before I realized we completely spaced out on the museums photo ops for anything in Albequerque. Good thing we didn't have our hearts set on these new plans.
As we continued to go with the flow, we pulled up to the Petrified Forest and then realized this would be a long excursion that wasn't high on the priority list and the drive would also let us out on what would turn into a big detour. So, we saw the gift shop and the bathrooms here. Then I had her look up what specifically she wanted to see in Sedona. To be clear, I have been there and I loved it, but I knew for my twelve year old and reading how she was feeling, this probably wasn't the right age yet for her to check it out. After she did some research, she decided that she would rather get to the Meteor Crater and see that.
I noticed on the map that we would be driving right past Winslow, Arizona, so we were going to need to make a stop. Did I mention that my daughter became obsessed with all things Route 66 when she realized this was our planned route along what is now I40? While she wasn't on board at first with this stop, the cute little gift store made up for it for her. She is definitely my daughter with that love for shopping. Our quick visit to the Corner of Winslow, Arizona was worth it.



Next up on the fun list: Meteor Crater. Here's the part where I must tell you that I don't think I have ever experienced true crazy winds until we visited this crater. There were many cool areas to visit within their visitor center, but we just came to see the big hole in the ground. There were clearly marked signs regarding the wearing of masks, as the visitor center required both being inside and outside. We complied with the rules, hence the lovely beard masks for the selfie.


Off to Phoenix for dinner with my college friend Val at our favorite spot every time I am in town, True Food Kitchen. I love this adorable place and I love that when we meet with Val, she already knows the good gluten free places for eating. This place has always been a hit and has tons of options. I love their food, usually. I was a bit let down by their lack of flavor compared to what I have come to love. I know many places have limited menus with the Rona, including them, so maybe wait until they are back full force with their menu before making a visit. Val had their seasonal ingredient salad. I had their turkey burger wrapped in lettuce, with a side of sweet potatoes and my daughter opted for their chicken sausage pizza. She thought it meant chicken and sausage. Oops. For dessert, our options were chia seed pudding (which appealed to none of us), key lime mousse (my daughter's choice) or a chocolate quinoa brownie sundae. I forgot to get a picture of the mousse. We all enjoyed the meals and were impressed with the quick service. Normally I love dessert. Unfortunately, this might be the first time that both my daughter and I opted to not finish dessert. Two thumbs up to their constant creative energy put into their craft cocktails. I recommend trying whatever seasonal beverage piques your interest. For me, it was the watermelon mojito, the only adult beverage I had and enjoyed on the entire trip and well worth the splurge.




To end the day and prepare for an early drive to the Grand Canyon, we headed back north to Flagstaff for the night.
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