As expected, days one and two didn’t embody feelings of freedom and independence. It was more filled with letting go of remaining work, personal conflict, and getting used to trying to will my behind to not fall asleep while I drive for hours.
The first stop and night in Phoenix was a bit of continued home, since I stayed with my sister, a place I go quite frequently. I woke up on Monday morning and finished off the last bit of day job work and officially turned off work e-mail. My phone crashed 5 times, when I attempted to turn off the work e-mail—ahh, sweet irony.
Flagstaff was beautiful. It was quite a refreshing change from miles and miles of desert. And no, I won’t bore you with photo after photo of desert from out the window of my Prius. Truthfully, I was still holding onto a lot in my head as I went through Flagstaff. There is something so frustrating about trying to truly be within your break from what’s back home. And because this is how life works, the more you try to let it go, the more you think about it.
I kept seeing these signs warning me of wildlife for the next some-number-of-miles. I was quite disappointed that I didn’t see anything. On a side note, I have seen a disturbingly wide variety of road kill in the past few days. We haven’t gotten to Texas yet but it hasn’t exactly been on my list to see 11 dead armadillos–ack!–but I digress.
Not to be rude and talk about road kill and then food but I must. I stopped at Diablo Burger, which had rave reviews. It is right in the heart of downtown Flagstaff (they also have a location in Tucson) and I was met with the kindest service. They boast of their veggie burger, dubbed “The Netsky”, that is produced locally by a catering company called Alternative Catering that is based in Flagstaff.
I got the veggie burger with sharp cheddar cheese, hatch chile mayo, and roasted green chiles. All burgers are served on branded english muffins, what a great idea–it held the burger together perfectly. Also, a brilliant marketing concept, if I do say so myself. The “frites” are thin and have a quality of a curly fry flavor (one of my favorites) and are doused with herbes de provence. Lettuce and tomato are served on the side with the ever perfect food, a dill pickle.
The rest of the road to Albuquerque really knocked it out of me. I hadn’t really strengthened my driving muscle yet. Not going to omit the fact that there were moments of slapping my own face and blasting the air. I also learned that when I stop for lunch and then still have to drive 300 miles, I will start to have an intense food coma within 30 minutes–much like a small child.
As I got closer to Albuquerque, my nerd alter ego really set in. I had quite the obsession with geology in high school and the rock formations along this route are absolutely breathtaking. Sadly, and in keeping with my Breaking Bad fueled fears, when I stopped to take the photo below, five not-so-gentlemanly men in a not-worth-more-than-a-few-hundred-bucks car attempted to ruin my day and caused me to jump like a action hero back into my car and speed off. I probably just looked like a bumbling spaz but in my head, I looked like a Bond girl.
I spent the few hours left in the evening with a few members of my family that live in Albuquerque and getting as much sleep as I could. My mind was still so full of excess, that I couldn’t quite get the rest I needed despite the heavenly bed at the chain hotel where I stayed. I was excited to get onto the parts I had never seen and finally get a true feeling of freedom and that independence from the every day that I mentioned earlier.
This post actually will include a pinch of Day 3 because breakfast in Albuquerque was too good not to share. My Dad grew up in Albuquerque so I have been lucky enough to have a personal (and loving) relationship with hatch chiles, which is the defining taste in this city. The question of the area is without a doubt, “Red or Green?”. Hatch chiles in their young stages are green and quite hot (hotter than a jalapeño on the scoville scale) and they as they mature they become red and although still spicy, they have a deeper and richer flavor.
Frontier Restaurant, right across from the University of New Mexico is a staple provider of chile-centric cuisine. The owners of this place have an affinity for art featuring John Wayne and they blend it with Southwestern decor. I mean, get out of town, can my house look like this?
I ordered Huevos Rancheros, christmas style (half green chile & half red chile) with eggs over medium. You all know of my obsession with eggs and there is nothing that isn’t perfect about this egg dish. I could eat this every morning and be a little round but really, REALLY happy.
Day 1 & 2 Summary //
900 miles, 3 states, 2 cities visited, 11 sparkling waters, 3 family members seen, 1 near road side attack, 0 kittens
+ Diablo Burger, 120 N Leroux St #112, Flagstaff, AZ 86001
+ Frontier Restaurant, 2400 Central Ave SE, Albuquerque, NM 87106