Gail - Greetings from Prescott, AZ. We had a blitz driving day yesterday, only stopping for coffee, gas ($2.95/gal just east of Needles in AZ), and a sandwich. We've been trying to come up with a name for the GPS travel assistant. She's a demanding and bossy woman (and I don't mean Carolyn). It's definitely a female voice, and she tells us what to do in an uncompromising way! She was a big help finding a Starbucks in Barstow, and only led us astray in Prescott (the trickster). We're looking for suggestions for a name for her...
Today we're visiting with Mom, planning our route and days, hiking in the adjacent forest, and getting the car's oil changed. Tomorrow is another blitz day across mid Arizona (Payson, Show Low, Springerville) and into San Antonio, NM, for the night. ttfn, Gail
Carolyn - After a delightful visit in Prescott with Gail's mom, we got an early start this morning and hit the road about 7:30. After a short drive, we took a side trip and visited Montezeuma's Castle, an old indian ruin built into the side of a cliff. We met a volunteer from Modesto there - small world! We had lunch at a spot called Tonto Natural Bridge and saw Javilinas (wild pigs) and a Cardinal that was on the westernmost edge of it's range. We crossed the Continental Divide so it's all downhill from here and we're heading toward the Atlantic. New Mexico has some pretty strange scenery, lots of Pinion Pines, calderas and SETI arrays (ok, maybe just astronomical dishes - Jodie Foster where are you?). The Pronghorns 
have lots of room to roam (we saw lots of them). Most of the journey today was spent above 5000 ft (highest point 7500) so it was cold with snow covering the surrounding countryside. Don't worry Steve, the road was clear and dry. Probably the strangest sight today was the Christmas tree made out of antlers, we had to backtrack back to take a photo of that one!
