Today was all about catching up. I headed out from Amarillo at 5:15 and headed west on Interstate 40. It's amazing to me how curved the earth really is. When I was farther east it was getting light around 5 AM, but this morning I drove in darkness for about an hour. Anyway, I've got to say, the feed lots west of Amarillo have got to be the worst smelling, or at least one of the worst, in the country. There was a light rain and a chill in the air.
I crossed into New Mexico and was on 40 all day. This is the land of enchantment and it did in fact enchant me. I love the views in New Mexico of the mesa's and the deep red dirt, the huge chunks of rock that have broken off and lay around the base and sides of the mesa's. It was also fascinating to me at the change in landscape. I went from the plains of Texas panhandle to the mesa's of New Mexico and the plants, colors, dirt, everything changed. The green in the plants was no longer that deep, dark, green. It was more sage and a light yellow green. The plants and trees were all scrub brush, short and kind of scruffy looking. I came to Albuquerque which is absolutely one of my favorite cities. If you've never driven into this city, it's a must. Out of these flat mesa's you come to these mountains, as you work your way through them the city appears below. It's especially magnificent at night. I wanted to stop to see my brother in law, Stephen, but had over 600 miles to get done so there was not way...sorry Stephen, I really miss you.
As I moved farther west and passed into Arizona the landscape changed again. The plants become less and less green and it looks more like a desert. There are mesa's and small mountains that get closer to the road. When I hit Flagstaff, your just overwhelmed with the smell of pine trees. You come into this small group of mountains and they are covered with pine trees. Just on the other side of Flagstaff is Williams, AZ, the entrance to the Grand Canyon which is were I spent the night.
I do have a question for Mr. Steinmetz, my chemistry teacher from High School...a really long time ago! I want to know why rain smells? It has a very distinctive aroma. Water doesn't smell, ocean water does from the salt, but just normal water does not. But as I was driving and came through some fresh rain I could smell that "fresh rain" smell. It made me wonder why it has an aroma?
One more thing I need to say before I get off this blog. I want to thank all those people that have been praying for Suzanne and I. This has been the most difficult time of my life, with more loss than I can articulate and I know that the prayers and love of my friends and family have sustained me. I'll probably do a post in a few days with more about this because it has a lot to do with why I'm on this road, but for now I just want to say thank you.
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