Heading Back to Colorado Part 3

Me with all the Guy Fieri and Triple D stuff
at Brandy's Restaurant in Flagstaff.

Mom and I got up and ready to go. Mom re-packed the car with our night bags and we checked out of the hotel. We headed to Brandy's for breakfast and had a great meal. They have a wonderful Chai Latte, that I wish I had here in Colorado all the time. Brandy's was hard for us to find the first time we came through. But, once we found it we were hooked. Brandy's is one of the places we saw on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives with Guy Fieri (DDD or Triple D) years ago. Mom and I like to try places he has been if we pass through a town and we can remember we wanted to try a place there. We always tell them we are there because we saw it on Triple D. Brandy's was no exception.

After breakfast, mom and I stopped at Starbucks on the way back to I-40. We always fill up with coffee and use the restroom before hitting the road after our meal. We managed to get all the coffee we wanted and also a couple more snacks for the road. As we left Starbucks for the interstate, we stopped to fill up the car again, and we were then back on the road. This time we didn't do any site seeing as we had hit all of those places on the way to California. We just kept running down the road (hearing a little Eagles song in my head, "Well, I'm running down the road Tryin' to loosen my load...Take it easy, Take it easy...").

We passed through all of the towns in Arizona and crossed into New Mexico before stopping again. We stopped in Gallup to fill up the car and also use the restroom again. We also stopped at the Walmart in town because we were in desperate need of windshield wipers. Since it was November, there was rain and some small flurries of snow along the road, windshield wipers were a much needed item now that we were in a place where winter prevailed. We found the right wiper blades for my car and were outside trying to put them on, when we were approached by an American Indian who was willing to help. While mom was working with him on her side of the car, I was on my side trying to remove the wiper. Another American Indian came up and asked to help too. So, with the weird angle I was trying to work at, I gladly let him help.

After 15 minutes of these Indians trying to get them changed out, they finally had success (or so we thought). Mom got me in the car and one of the Indians asked me for money for helping us. And here I thought they were just trying to be nice to these ladies when they really had an agenda to get money from us. Little did I know that mom had already given the other Indian money and he had taken off. Mom and I tried to explain that we gave his friend money for helping, but he said they were not friends. So what kind of scam was this that they were playing? Mom wouldn't give up and give him more money (and rightfully so) but this guy was not taking no for an answer. I had already locked my door and the back passenger door as mom was going around to the other side to get in. This guy started trying to open my door to talk to me (or was that what he was really doing), but I wouldn't let him in. I rolled the window down very little and told him he had to go, we didn't have any more money to give. He wasn't very happy with us and was getting agitated. His speech was not easy to understand ad he was beginning to get belligerent. Good gracious, we did what we could at the time and we didn't ask for his help, he and the other guy had offered. We were getting scared by this point and drove as quickly to the interstate as we could getting out of this town. It took a while of being on the road before we felt calmed down.

A couple of hours after our encounter with the Indians (and settled nerves), the rain got a little heavier several miles outside Albuquerque and mom turned the windshield wipers up to a more frequent cadence. Everything seemed to be fine for a while when all-of-a-sudden the wiper on mom's side of the car came unhinged and started flailing around the windshield with each swipe of the arm. It scared us both so bad we were paralyzed in our seats (and for the driver to be paralyzed while on a highway in the rain, that is not a good or safe thing). When we gained our composure and our hearts stopped pounding so hard, we got a good laugh out of the whole thing. We pulled off the road in Albuquerque and mom attempted to fix the wiper. All I could do at this point was shake my head in disbelief at what had just happened and offer a few snickers here and there while rolling my eyes, too. Mom got back in car rolling her eyes and shaking her head in disbelief as well and we set off for the 45 minute drive to Santa Fe.

We have now vowed to never accept help from anyone in Gallup again, especially Indians!

We arrived in Santa Fe that evening still having no idea how to navigate around town and its outskirts. After checking into our hotel, we tried to find a place for dinner I wanted to try called Blue Corn Cafe. My Sprint phone had a navigation system which I was using to locate this place. It took us back across the Interstate and away from civilization. It was just short of being dark and we found ourselves wondering if we were ever going to find this place. We come close to an area that was a little more well lit. The closer we got, we started to see signs not to pick up hitchhikers and to keep your doors locked. Where in the world were we? Finally, when we found a place we could turn around, we realized we were at the state correctional facility. I really didn't think that mom or I were interested in eating at the cafeteria of this state run facility, even if the food were good. It was just not a place we thought we would like to spend ANY time.

Sprint navigation page.

Mom was completely beside herself and could not turn the car around fast enough heading back the way we came. By the time we got back to the other side of the Interstate, mom was just ready to stop at any place we knew the food was going to be okay. Neither one of us was willing to find the Blue Corn Cafe at this point using my phones navigation.

We stopped at Outback Steakhouse and calmed our nerves at the first table we could get. Mom told me she refused to allow me to use the navigation feature on my phone ever again. I didn't have any problem agreeing with her on this one!

By the time dinner was finished, we were laughing about being at the state correctional facility and knew we couldn't tell anyone about this, especially not my dad. We headed back to the hotel to settle in for the evening. At the traffic light just before our hotel, I looked to the right just seeing what was around. I started laughing hysterically and pointing in the direction of a couple of buildings and a small strip mall. Mom was trying to figure out what was so funny. Then she saw it. The Blue Corn Cafe in the parking lot behind out hotel! That stupid navigation!!!

We got to our room at the hotel and were ready to crash for the night after all we had been through that day. We called the family to let them know we were settled in and would call when we left the next morning. Mom took a shower and then we sacked out for the rest of the night.

Me waiting for breakfast at Harry's Roadhouse.

What an ordeal. This day was way too crazy. New Mexico was turing out to be a dangerous place for us just to drive through!

Mom and I got ourselves together, packed the car and found a place to eat breakfast. We really love to watch the Food Network show Triple D. Guy Fieri had reviewed several places in Santa Fe  but we wanted to head to the one we saw some great food from called Harry's Roadhouse (mom was really eager to try their Blue Corn Waffle with Bacon).

Next..."A Move Across Town."

Reflection:
"You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you." Isaiah 26:3