In the next 5 days we crossed the states of Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona.
Day 4 : Fort Smith (Arkansas) - 350 miles - Shamrock (Texas)
In the morning, we first went to see the Fort Smith located on the Fourth Street in the town, on the banks of the river Arkansas. The Fort Smith was an old building constructed in 1888, to house the Jail, the district courts and the troops to maintain law order in the area. The fort also served as a supply depot for troops fighting the Red Indians in the old times.
The building today is converted into a museum displaying photographs of the period of the federal fights against the Red Indians, the court proceedings of those times and the jail used to house the outlawed Indians. It also displays the guns and other arms of yesteryears.
After checking out the fort, we drove back on the I-40 and after crossing the river Arkansas moved into the state of Oklahoma: 'the land of Red Indians'. It is a dry state with hardly any forest cover with red soil all around. The weather became warm by now, and you don't get to see many people around also. It is just barren all around. The people en-route seemed polite and they were all very similar looking : well built, tall, tough- looking rough and all sporting mustaches! The typical hinterland Americans!
While moving along the I-40, we suddenly came across a bill-board on the right saying 'Sajhi Roti' written in Gurmukhi, a script used by Sikhs in India. On following the directions on the board, we kept moving around in circles and finally reached a road side Dhaba run by a Sardarji from India!! Of course the board sign had been put up in the opposite direction to the dhaba, but once we got there, we were served very delicious Indian food, typical India style.
After a filling dinner, we moved along the highway and reached Shamrock in Texas and checked in at Holiday Inn to spend the night. Shamrock was a small sleepy village with hardly any people seen on the roads. We just had a nice swim in the pool which was refreshing in the hot weather and retired for the night as there wasn't much to explore in the little village.
Day 5 : Shamrock (Texas) - 270 miles - Tucumcari (New Mexico) via Palo Duro Canyon
After spending the previous night comfortably at the Holiday Inn just next to the highway, we set out early by about 9 am and set our GPS for Amarillo, a major town in north Texas. We drove along the highway for 100 miles and we were able to maintain a good speed of about 80 mph as there were hardly any vehicles on the road. The entire stretch was very thinly inhabited and we could not see any habitation for miles on both sides. All we could see were some cattle grazing in the vast dry grass fields on both sides of the road. There was no greenery at all but for few bushes in the fields here and there.
On reaching Amarillo, we moved south along I-27 for Palo Duro Canyon State Park. In the park, we saw deep ravines with 27-30 layers of rocks in various colors and textures. There were many walking, horse and bicycle trails in the park and we decided to walk to the Light House along one such trail.
The trail was 3.5 miles one way and the day turned out to be too hot, 101 Fahrenheit! It was a tough trek and only people who are physically very fit should take the risk as there are chances of dehydration en-route. Lot of people gave up mid-way and returned but we were able to reach the top somehow.
It was a picturesque site at the top of the the light house, which has been designated as the National Natural Monument by the US government. It is a natural feature created due to the effect of rain over a long period but looks just like a man-made lighthouse. On reaching the lighthouse you feel good about being able to complete the trail. It was a tough walk and tests your fitness to the maximum level.
After the canyon, we returned back to the main highway and stopped at the famous Cadillac Ranch which has a couple of graffiti painted cadillac cars planted into the red Texan soil! It was something different then anything else we have seen and was definitely worth checking out. After the ranch, we drove further for 100 miles and reached a small town called Tucumcari (New Mexico) on the I-40 itself to spend the night at Days Inn.
Day 6 : Tucumcari (New Mexico) - 170 miles - Santa Fe (New Mexico)
In the morning as we got ready to leave the motel, the owner Mr Bhavesh came to us and invited us for a cup of tea at his house as he was also from India, just like us. He was happy to meet us as we had also stayed at his native state of Gujarat for a couple of days and he narrated his success story to us about how he came and started a motel in the US. It's nice to see how happy people from India are to see others from their country!
Anyways, today, we decided to not drive much as the day before had been a hectic one for us. So we travelled for about 170 miles on the I-40 towards Santa Fe. The whole drive was completely barren and for miles and miles you could not see a human or even an animal. Its an absolutely empty desert with no vegetation at all. And the weather here was also very hot.
Interestingly, en-route, when we stopped at one place for taking a couple of photographs, a lady moving in the opposite direction went past us for about 50 yards, then stopped, took a u-turn and came back us to ask if we wanted some help!! We were really touched by this gesture and also realized, that in a place like this if you get stuck, there is no help for miles either side!!
Anyways, in two hours, we reached Santa Fe, the capital of New Mexico and an 'oasis in the desert'. On reaching Santa Fe, the weather which had been warm till now suddenly became quite cold, so much so that we had to put on woolens here!
Santa Fe is a very quaint little place, quite touristy too. All the buildings here have a unique design similar to the mud houses in Rajasthan in India. It was a pleasure to walk through the town admiring its beauty. We also saw the oldest house, the oldest church in US as well as the hanging stairs in the church. And for the Indian food enthusiast, there is a good Indian restaurant named India Palace that serves very tasty Indian food.
In the evening, we checked into the Hilton Golf Resort & Spa, a grand resort in the New Mexico desert, and a place to definitely stay in if you get a chance. It is difficult to imagine such a green lush area right in the middle of a desert! Including a well landscaped green 18-hole golf course!! Anyways the hotel had rooms built in the same mud designs as the rest of Santa Fe. It also houses a Casino, which is the largest in the state. After spending the evening in town, we had a nice swim at the hotel and relaxed.
It was a moonlit night and the resort was looking like a diamond in the desert! It was a special day for me too, my 59th birthday and was lucky to celebrate at such a wonderful location!
Day 7 : Santa Fe (New Mexico) - 300 miles - Holbrook (Arizona)
We started again on the I-40 and after traveling for about 100 Miles through the New Mexican desert, with no sign of any human settlement for miles and miles, we reached the Petrified National Forest Park. Well, its just called a 'forest park' but in reality it is a 28-mile drive through barren painted desert. The rocks here are all multi-colored and multi-layered. They were created due to the sand washed away by rains. This park is also called the 'Bad Land' in local areas. The park also has some craters where it had volcanic eruptions, we checked out a crater nearby.
In the evening, we checked in at Holbrook in Arizona, again a small village on the I-40.
Day 8 : Holbrook (Arizona) - 150 miles - Flagstaff (Arizona)
After spending the night at the small town Holbrook, we started in the morning at 8 AM. We drove through the Arizona desert on I-40 with no vegetation all around and a very hot weather. As we covered about 100 miles, when we entered the city of Flagstaff, suddenly there was a big temperature drop. The weather became cooler and there were tall pine trees all around. Its a sudden change from a desert landscape to low mountains, from dry bushes and grass to lush green vegetation. It's a great feeling when you enter this town leaving the searing hot and yellow desert behind.
From Flagstaff, we moved another 20 miles along a meandering road through the pine forests along deep gorges and reached Sedona or the Slide Rock National park where there was a nice stream flowing with ice cold water. The water in the stream flows at a very slow speed and is normally 2-4 feet deep but at one place it was about 10-12 feet deep too! People were jumping from the top of a high rock into the stream, I tried the stunt too! We also saw some more deep gorges on the way.
That night, we came back to Flagstaff to stay for the night. We had dinner at Delhi Palace, a nice restaurant that served very tasty Indian food. Its a surprise how even in the smallest of US towns, we were able to find at least one restaurant with good Indian cuisine.
By this time we were at more than halfway through our cross country trip, but still San Francisco looked a long way off. Nearby there were a lot of more places to visit and we ended up staying a couple of days more at Flagstaff itself.
From Flagstaff, we moved another 20 miles along a meandering road through the pine forests along deep gorges and reached Sedona or the Slide Rock National park where there was a nice stream flowing with ice cold water. The water in the stream flows at a very slow speed and is normally 2-4 feet deep but at one place it was about 10-12 feet deep too! People were jumping from the top of a high rock into the stream, I tried the stunt too! We also saw some more deep gorges on the way.That night, we came back to Flagstaff to stay for the night. We had dinner at Delhi Palace, a nice restaurant that served very tasty Indian food. Its a surprise how even in the smallest of US towns, we were able to find at least one restaurant with good Indian cuisine.
By this time we were at more than halfway through our cross country trip, but still San Francisco looked a long way off. Nearby there were a lot of more places to visit and we ended up staying a couple of days more at Flagstaff itself.
