Road Trip, Day 3

Forgot to mention that I discovered why my GPS had amnesia about my destination every time I turned off the car. Operator error. Lo and behold there is a button as big as the GO button, right above the GO button which says SAVE. Duh. Life is better now. However, the GPS does not recognize the address of my motel tonight which is 2277 Historic Route 66. I tried several versions, like Hwy 66, but no dice. So I finally gave up and just put in Santa Rosa, NM, as the destination. That means I will be on my own to find the motel when I get to Santa Rosa.

Did I mention that this all occurred after I scraped the ice off my car? Are you seeing a pattern here?

Stopped at the CVS I had noticed on my way to Heidi's and picked up a neti pot since I forgot mine. I've wanted a plastic one for travel anyway. Mine is ceramic and tough to pack.

OK, hit the road around 10 and headed back toward Oklahoma City. Fog. Hoarfrost. As I turned west on I-40, started in with the wintry mix stuff. Is there good weather anywhere???

West of Oklahoma City, I-40 is very rough. Maybe they need to turn that patch into a turnpike? Or maybe the feds could put some money to good use and actually repair it?

Temperature kept dropping. Then it started to rise again. Range for the day was from 30-19. Snow didn't amount to much.

Got to the Texas Panhandle. Sign says, “Welcome to Texas. Drive friendly. The Texas way.” Panhandle is pretty flat and unremarkable until you approach New Mexico.

Now I'm drawing a blank as to whether or not the sign said Welcome to New Mexico or not. Big arch over the highway proclaiming, “New Mexico, Land of Enchantment.” Enchantment indeed. Buttes, mesas! Yeah!!! Some more interesting scenery. Also picking up an hour 'cause we're now on mountain time. Arrived about 3:45. Managed to find the motel in spite of the GPS—Santa Rosa is a pretty small place. Motel is high up on a hill with a great view.

Had a discussion with the friendly desk clerk about the GPS and Route 66. He's heard this before and says it's incredibly difficult to get street names changed in the GPS system. The road used to have a different name but several years ago they changed it to Historic Route 66. He says it can take years to get that stuff updated.

Asked the desk clerk about good places to eat dinner—wanted to go to a place the locals go to. Was given two possibilities, both historic Route 66 properties. One was the Comet Diner which I didn't find. Don't know if I didn't go far enough down Route 66 or what, but decided not to wander around in the dark. Came back and went to the Route 66 Diner which is right next door to the motel. Had fun talking to the waitress. She wanted to know where I had come from and where I was going and was in awe of all that driving.

OK, no snow here, but it's dang cold. The average high in January here is supposed to be 55. They'd better get cracking.