To Holbrook, Arizona (nearly)

At the Tucumcari KOA camp, last night a family checked in claiming they were going to pitch tents and, instead, moved into one of the campsite's cabins. In the morning there was a confrontation between the campsite owner and the family who claimed they did not sleep in the cabins. We left before the confrontation came to a head.

Most of the day was spent driving to Arizona interrupted by three events.

The first event is that Chris locked the keys in the car at a rest stop. We borrowed a neighbor's cell phone to call 911 who called a wrecking service in the town of Clines Corners. He came in about 20 minutes. He took about 30 minutes getting the door open. The seals at the bottom of the windows were two tight to get his tool in. So he tried using another tool to open our side vents. The challenge with the side vents is that there is a button that needs to be pushed and held down before the latch can be turned. He was out of practice and had trouble remembering how to use the tool. Eventually, he used two tools. One to hold down the button. One tool to turn the latch. This experience cost us $60.

The second event was shopping in a Hispanic grocery store. We tasted the cheeses. We purchased a pound of fajitas in a huge display of meets that included chickens feet among other unique delicacies. Eventually, Kathy and I went through the cafeteria line. Kathy had chili rellenos with refried beans and rice. I had tripe with refried beans and rice. The food was good. Since the seeds had been left in the chilis, the chili rellenos was hotter than Kathy liked, The tripe had good flavor, but very greasy.

In Gallup, we stopped at Richardson's Trading Post. It is a pawn shop where the Indians pawn their turquoise and silver belts, bracklets, etc. The display counters had hundreds and hundreds of genuine silver and turquoise belts, bracelets, rings, huge belt buckles, Hopi Kachina dolls, and Zuni Navaho bear fetishes, etc. that I believe the Indians themselves once wore. This stuff was pawned and had not been recovered by their owners. Through a door leading to the back I could see hundreds more belts waiting to be claimed.

Another part of the store contained stacks of Indian rugs going back to the 1800s, shelves lined with baskets and pottery. These are good, high quality handicrafts. Like the stuff you see in museums. Not the sloppy stuff you see in most souvenir shops. The back of this store was blocked off by some stacks of rugs. Looking passed these rugs to the delights beyond, hanging on the wall are two paintings on hides of battle scenes between the Indians and the cavalry. The hides are very white and the colors very bright. So these paintings are probably new, but they are cool, nonetheless. Someone has posted 23 pictures of the inside of this store, Perry Null Trading Company, and Shush Yaz Trading Company.

Tomorrow morning we visit the Petrified Forest National Park. Photos.