We woke in out hotel that sits directly on Interstate 40 (Route 66) – the traffic hummed and the water on this stretch lasts funny. After morning doggie rounds, we loaded up and headed for a morning walk at Painted Desert National Park.

Today is the 8th anniversary of Kachina’s gotcha day. I wanted to celebrate because Kachina’s day often gets lost in the road trip. I got an ice cream bar (before lunch) and gave the pups each a taste. Then, I went in and got them signed up as Bark Rangers. They each got a little tag and I got Kachina a bandana.

We hiked the rim walk for about a mile. Koko’s snout and heart issues (and time) kept us from finishing. I carried her part of the way.

Once back in the car, we headed south towards the low desert. I should mention that we saw a traffic backup (mostly semis) going east while driving to Petrified Forest. It started as a 2 mile backup but grew to over 10 while we were at the park.

Strangely enough, we were just a few cars behind a wreck that closed the highway outside of Show Low. It’s a little sobering on a road trip. I hope everyone is OK.

From there, we continued south and crossed the Salt River Canyon. That place intrigues me and I usually stop for a lot of photos. But, I’m trying to focus on finding new things plus we were running late after the detour.

Once checked in at Globe, we went and explored Old Town. Fascinating buildings. I bet it was something to see in the copper mining boom!  Tomorrow, on to Tucson!

Love GM ❤️