"Winston, Arizona, don't forget Winona."

New Years Day, two weeks after returning from Mexico, during a high stakes game of Yahtzee, Tad threw out the dice and the bait.  Anyone for a road trip, say, New Mexico?  Hook set and three days later we were off to Santa Fe via Rice, Earp, Parker, Yucca, Peach Springs, Winona, Winslow, The Petrified Forest, Gallup, Thoreau, Navajo Nation, and La Cienega.  Our objectives were simple.  Tad wanted to see Santa Fe for the first time.  DB was looking forward to return visits to Flagstaff and Sedona. I was eager to follow the route to Lake Havasu taken by all the toy haulers that screamed past Magoo's on Friday afternoons.  And Sevi, she's happy just getting in the car. (Boxer preferred staying near the Casa Verde kibble buffet.) Not ones for pre-road trip research, we were surprised to find much of our route on the old Route 66,  12 degrees and snow in Flagstaff, and better enchiladas in New than regular Mexico.

Lines and curves dominated our road trip.

You can't drive the Rice Road without the image of a long straight line and you can't drive to Sedona without thinking of a poorly stored extension cord. Obviously, this isn't unique to these places.  Most flat roads take you from here to there in the shortest distance and mountain ravines require turns, lots of them. Please note the handy, dandy, GPS visuals.

We stayed at the pet friendly Flagstaff La Quinta Suites our first night.  Very prophetic. In this part of the country, flags are ubiquitous. All kinds. Flags that are used to sell politics and nostalgia but mostly American and BIG. These flags remind us that this is America. This bridge may have once spanned the Thames but now it resides in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, USA.  Powerful groups who lived in balance with this harsh climate and were here long before Betsy Ross took up sewing, have become the symbols for American consumption.

  The flags remind us that the names of cities, towns, missions, streets may be in the language of a previous conquering nation, but gosh darn it, we raise the American flag not bandera.

Another theme of our trip was color.  Santa Fe means "Holy Faith."  It was founded 400 years ago and at 7,000 feet above sea level is the highest of all US state capitals. Yikes, you'd think these facts would top the list of memorable Santa Fe  information, wouldn't you?  No. Remember BROWN and BLUE.  Think all shades of brown: tan, sand, muddy, taupe.

Built of adobe, a combination of clay, water, sand, and fibrous organic materials like sticks or straw, Santa Fe is literally the earth. Think blue: the most brilliant, eye-squinting, can't quite believe it could be so blue, sky. Add street musicians, silver jewelry, art, more art, and you've got what we witnessed. Santa Fe: a very old, high, blue, brown, experience. What we didn't explore but will on a future whim, are the native cultures of the Santa Fe area. Our two day, one night stay only captured the brown/blue saturated surface.