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June 18, Horseshoe Grand Canyon, Painted Dessert, Petrified Forest and a POW Wow

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June 18, 2025 We took a little detour today—an hour off Route 66—to visit Horseshoe Bend near the Grand Canyon. It was more than worth it. I had my scooter, and Janet powered along with her walker. I tried to trade with her at several points, but she wasn't having it. Thanks to her daily walks with Augie, her brother's dog, she’s in training mode! Augie’s been her coach for months now, insisting she take him out every day. Thank you, Augie—you’ve done good work. It was hot, and we stayed hydrated with a lot of water and Gatorade. The view was absolutely breathtaking. From our perch, we looked down at the Colorado River. The kayaks below looked like tiny little toy boats next to the massive walls of rock surrounding them. We spotted a motorboat too—barely visible—but you could make out the ripples it left trailing behind on the water. I sat there for a while, just soaking it in, praying, and reflecting on this incredible journey we’re on. Then I noticed a little toddler—part of...
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Not your average GUMMY

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Since cannabis is legal in Ohio, we had gotten into the habit of taking night time gummies to help us sleep. You know how it is—when you get older, a good night's sleep doesn’t come as easy, and sometimes you need a little help. As our supply started to run low during the trip, we figured that once we were back in a legal state like New Mexico, we’d restock. But not just anywhere—we wanted to find the  cutest , quirkiest shop with the most fun name that matched our low-key weed obsession. After driving 487 miles across New Mexico, we finally struck gold. The shop was called  Call Me Crazy , in Gallop and it was absolutely adorable. The vibe was chill and creative, with artwork by local artists decorating the walls—including a charming Bert and Ernie piece that looked like they had been there for a while. The owners and staff were incredibly friendly and helpful. Honestly, outside of sleep gummies, I had no clue what I needed, but they walked me through it all like pros. Along ...
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The So Slow Adventure

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On our way back from the pistachio farm, we ended up stuck behind this giant earth-moving machine—just the dump bucket part of it. It was crawling along a two-lane highway but somehow managed to take up  both  lanes. It was moving so slowly, it felt like it was taunting us. We joked that we weren’t following it—it was following  us , like it somehow knew our route and had made it its mission to stay directly in front of us. Every time our navigation app told us to turn, it turned  first , like it was reading our minds. After several turns—slow, grinding turns—we’d had enough and decided to take a shortcut. First, we got off the freeway and found a faster-looking side road… which turned out to be a dead end. So, back to the freeway we went. Tried again, and this time we ended up on what we can only describe as  the road from hell . The sun was setting, and we couldn’t tell if we were driving on potholes or just weaving through ditches. We were going maybe 10 mile...
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The Slow Go Adventure

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On our way back from the Pistachio farm, we ended up stuck behind this giant earth-moving machine—just the dump bucket part of it. It was crawling along a two-lane highway but somehow managed to take up  both  lanes. It was moving so slowly, it felt like it was taunting us. We joked that we weren’t following it—it was following  us , like it somehow knew our route and had made it its mission to stay directly in front of us. Every time our navigation app told us to turn, it turned  first , like it was reading our minds. After several turns—slow, grinding turns—we’d had enough and decided to take a shortcut. First, we got off the freeway and found a faster-looking side road… which turned out to be a dead end. So, back to the freeway we went. Tried again, and this time we ended up on what we can only describe as  the road from hell . The sun was setting, and we couldn’t tell if we were driving on potholes or just weaving through ditches. We were going maybe 10 mil...
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PistachioLand

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Pit Stop at PistachioLand – Alamogordo, New Mexico We made a flavorful pit stop at  PistachioLand , just outside  Alamogordo, New Mexico . The farm was originally started by  Tom McGinn , and after he passed away, his son honored his memory in a big way—literally. He had a  30-foot pistachio nut  built from steel and concrete, inspired by the road trips he and his dad used to take to see “the biggest whatevers” across America—very likely including Route 66. The farm now boasts over  12,300 pistachio trees  and  14 acres of wine grapes . We hopped on an  open-air bus tour  and learned so much about how pistachios grow. Did you know pistachio trees are  dioecious ? That means male and female trees are separate—only the  female trees produce nuts , while the  male trees produce flowers . A single male tree can pollinate up to 24 female trees in a season! Each female tree is  grafted from one of the original trees  p...
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Tinkertown Museum

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Tinkertown Museum – A Whimsical Detour We made a quick little detour to the charming, eccentric  Tinkertown Museum , tucked away in a small town—but packed with surprises. This quirky roadside treasure was the life’s work of  Ross Ward , who began it as a hobby and watched it grow into something far beyond that. The museum is an explosion of creativity. The outer walls are built from  over 50,000 bottles  embedded right into the structure. Inside, Ross created an entire  1880s replica town  with 26 buildings and over  300 hand-carved figures , all animated and brought to life with motion and whimsy. He also created a 3 Ring Circus. The  floors were covered with horseshoes , and  license plates  were nailed just about everywhere—the walls, ceiling, even furniture. It became a bit of a scavenger hunt! Janet found an Ohio license plate and had to stand on it. We spotted: Planter’s Peanut Man Barbie and Friends Disney Princesses Mary Poppin...
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