Flagstaff -- much accomplished

First of all, Flagstaff's high temperature today was in the mid-80s. It was sunny and beautiful and refreshing. the drive from Las Vegas was pretty smooth. Remy and I stopped for lunch in Seligman, AZ, and then took Route 66 for about 17 miles. There wasn't much on it, but it was peaceful and beautiful. In Flagstaff, Route 66 is the main drag, but Hwy 40 is the route across the country.

I bought this on Fremont Street yesterday. The one I got in Stillwater, MN, was dead.

Some thoughts from the drive:

* Highways are designed to connect towns along a string, like beads on a  necklace. The expressways were designed to connect much larger beads, but in such a way that drivers lose sight of the interconnectedness of all of the parts of the necklace.

* There are too many of us on this planet not to affect it negatively. I was just musing bout the great national parks that I have visited so far on my trip. They are mobbed with people. What if those who first discovered these amazing places had not shared them with others? Surely, they would still have been discovered by the masses. What if we, as individuals and as a culture, could go into these beautiful places and treat them with respect? Would there still be too many of us to leave the beauty alone so it can be appreciated by the next person, and the next?

     I can't help but think of myself as a young child, walking with my mother and seeing a beautiful flower. i wanted to pick it, but my mother said, "No. Appreciate it. But leave it where it is so the next person can appreciate it, too."

* I keep thinking about my Aunt Louise asking if there were any trees in North Dakota and Montana, and thinking that was so funny. In North Dakota, however, they really weren't a lot of trees. There certainly weren't forests the way we think of them in Michigan. But everywhere I have gone, till now, there have been trees.

     Crossing into Arizona from Nevada, there are no trees. OK, I take that back -- there are small trees that look like overgrown bushes. Now that I am a little further from Lake Mead, I am starting to see more green undergrowth, but for a while it was rock and scrub.

* One of the most stunning drives yet, between Las Vegas and Flagstaff ... well, between Boulder City and Flagstaff.

* In Las Vegas, it felt like I was in an oven. When the wind blew, it felt like a convection oven.

* Everything I experience is a gift from the universe, a gift in the realization that it is part of me. We like to think of gifts as "nice" things, things that give us pleasure or delight. But not everything give us pleasure or delight, yet every experience, person, relationship ... everything is a gift.

* Something near Westside Lilo's, where we stopped for lunch in Seligman, creaked like an old, metal gate in a cowboy movie. On Route 66, heading out of Seligman, Burma-Shave signs:

     Angels to protect you

     when you drive

     usually retire

     at 65.

     Burma-Shave

     Just this once

     and just for fun

     we'll let you finish

     what we've begun

     ????

*Sign in the back window of a truck: My windows aren't dirty. It's doggy nose art.

And here's the best part of today -- I bought a new bike! The Absolute Bike Shop in Flagstaff was a professional and reasonably-priced place, and I found a bike that I like even better than the one that was stolen! I'll get a better photo of it up tomorrow. It's a purplish blue color. It fits my body perfectly, and selling it to me involved a lot of testing and fitting by the staff of the bike shop. They also put on the rearview mirror I had purchased to put on the Fuji, as well as a new back rack that fits my pre-existing pack. 

I left the pedals alone. I'll add some convertible pedals later that can be used with either regular shoes or clip-ins at a later date. For now, I'm keeping the (women's) seat that came with the bike. If I ride for a bit and don't like it, I'll be in the market for something better. Now, I just have to contact the maker of Remy's cart and see if I can get another attachment piece, since the one that came with the cart was stolen along with the bike. 

I'm so happy that I'll be able to ride again. Even the short test ride I took reminded me how much I love riding.

Oh, I forgot to mention that I'm enjoying my Airbnb host, Audry, her dog and her cat. I also spent some other time in the city of Flagstaff making a hair appointment, having a cup of coffee, visiting the post office, and getting a mani-pedi. Then I got some supper things at a Sprouts store and came back to Audry's to chat and eat.