It seems there always has to be a day that turns into a disaster. Hopefully this would be the only one I have on this trip.

I left Winslow shortly after noon, having stayed at La Posada until the last minute before check-out, in order to soak in the extraordinary-ness of the place. I took the time to watch an impressive video about the restoration of the building, as well as to have an absolutely delicious breakfast in The Turquoise Room. Eggs, shredded beef, red and green peppers, corn, tortilla strips and jalapeno jack cheese, scrambled together. Served with black beans. Worth every penny of the 8.95 price. Comfy booth again, relaxing morning, great meal.

It would turn out to be a good thing I took the time to have breakfast, as it would be my last real meal of the day.

Driving through AZ and NM is generally a breeze, as the speed limit is 75 and the roads straight and open. I knew there would be a little summer traffic, but I hadn't counted on extensive road work along I-40. My fault for running advance weather searches, but not road conditions. At least four times I dropped to a 45 mph speed limit for construction areas, which was really more like 20 mph because of two lanes merging into one. Watching family campers and vacationing tourists battle out merging priority with big rigs was a little like being back in L.A. Still, it was tolerable - mostly because I knew I had a good lodging plan and plenty of time for a few slow periods of travel.

To make sure I had some variety amongst the day's delays, I was given a literal push start when I pulled off the road for a restroom stop and was hit from the rear by a blue pick-up truck. This didn't take much time, though, since he took off as soon as I pulled over to check the car. A few good sized scratches and paint marks were the extent of the damages.

Just west of Grants the light gray clouds that had been hovering overhead turned dark and then darker, until it seemed the sun had gone down. Bolts of lightning streaked across the sky (I figured it was a show put on by nsrider) and it was not long before a bucket of water the size of Lake Tahoe was unleashed from the sky. Fortunately there were a few medium-sized spurts at the start of the downpour, which allowed me to take an upcoming exit and hide away in a truck stop until it eased up.

I was back on the road about thirty minutes later, which wasn't too bad. I zoomed on, hoping to catch up a little on time and was delighted when Albuquerque finally loomed in the distance. Another ten miles and I could turn north. I would still have two and a half hours to drive, but I had survived I-40.

That's when I saw the brake lights ahead and slowed to about 3 mph. I knew I was in trouble when I crawled past a sign that said "Road Construction 1 1/2 miles ahead." I knew I'd be crawling for at least two miles now and I was starting to worry about time.

I called the inn to see what they recommended. I had a back-up option that was not quite as far away and a couple others in Albuquerque, so I still felt I was covered. After all, I still had about four hours to make it before the inn's office close and I was only two and a half hours away. The innkeeper was kind when she reminded me I had crossed into the next time zone and had an hour less than I thought. I felt ridiculous, after all my years of cross-country travel, to have overlooked this.

We decided it would be better for me to arrive the following night and so I set my sights on a closer destination, just one hour away. Unfortunately, I spent that hour going the two miles it took to get through the construction stretch. Eventually I emerged and saw past Albuquerque's first few exits. I had considered stopping there for the night, but was so fed up at this point with traffic and rain delays, I grabbed onto I-25 like a life raft and headed north. Traffic was cruising at about 80 mph. I figured another forty-five minutes and I could finally get off the road. Called ahead to check room availabilty at Back-Up Plan C and was quoted an acceptable price, though a little more than I would have liked to pay for what would now be a late arrival.

I was still thinking I might be able to make my original destination, if I really zoomed along. This is about when traffic came to a complete stop. From 80 to 0 in sixty seconds. Thank heavens for good brakes. I sat there for what seemed like another hour (but was probably only twenty minutes or so) as car after car turned onto the median and headed back south. I decided to wait it out and traffic finally started crawling ahead. After slowly passing a horrific accident, Interstate speed was back to normal.

Now, I know Santa Fe well enough that I should have been able to head straight downtown. How I took the wrong exit and wandered side roads is unexplainable. But I lost another half hour driving in circles and by the time I arrived at Santa Fe's historic plaza area I was simply fried. The one way streets taxed my nerves and the tourists crossing against red lights didn't help. When I found the hotel, their parking lot was full, but I managed to find parking on the street a block away.

It was a very nice hotel, probably an excellent one to add to my travel list of historic accommodations, but when I got to the desk, the clerk told me he had neglected to tell me the room he had quoted me was a smoking room. He had other rooms, but I would have to pay more. He realized I had waited out the accident traffic (I had called while parked on I-25) and that it had taken me two hours to get there, based on his rate quote and assurance there would be space when I arrived. But he was firm about not giving me the rate he had quoted me, in spite of the fact the non-smoking room was identical to the smoking room, with the exception of it having a king bed instead of a queen.

One would think at this point I would have just paid the extra money and turned in for the night, but I was tired and cranky the principle of it got under my skin. It was late at night, the room would likely sit empty if I didn't take it, and it just wasn't good customer service, in my opinion. I took a brochure (why?) and left.

I called a few places and found other openings, but it's a pricey area in-season and all I wanted now was a place to get off the road for a night. I was considering returning to Albuquerque, when I saw that Tom Bodell had left the light on for me, just a few driveways from a Mickey D's. That was it. I'd go the budget route and wake up to a better day.

And so I did.

No pictures with this entry, but let's face it - who'd want to see them?

Here, we'll throw a few pretend pictures in:

Photo #1 - Yours truly, sitting in traffic on Interstate 40, drumming fingernails on the dashboard.

Photo #2 - Yours truly, alongside others, staring out the truck stop window, watching the rain pour down.

Photo #3 - Yours truly, parked on Interstate 25, wondering if the current paperback she's reading is in the car or the trunk.

Photo #4 - Desk clerk at Santa Fe hotel, trying to decide if the woman standing in front of him is going to go ballistic or not.

Photo #5 - Back up desk clerk looking relieved that she is not the one at the desk.

Photo #6 - Yours truly, ordering a 1.49 Snack Wrap at McDonald's at 10PM, thinking this will probably not make for a good food review.

Photo #7 - Desk clerk at Motel 6, trying not to laugh when asked if they have wireless Internet access.

Photo #8 - Yours truly, finally settled in for the night and relieved that a new day is just hours away.