Hello friends, and welcome back!  Today we continued our journey by traveling from Santa Fe to Flagstaff, and it was quite a ride!

We started our morning by having breakfast in Albuquerque.  We pulled up Yelp and top of the list was The Farmacy.  Who were we to argue?  It’s located in a great vintage neighborhood called Nob Hill.  It’s full of vintage hotels, shops, and gas stations turned into restaurants.  It is also home to The University of New Mexico.

The Farmacy is a great little place where you order at the counter and then your food is brought to your table.  They also have baked goods, coffees, and teas.  If I’m back in the area I’ll definitely stop by for a bite.

Because of rush hour on the highway, I decided to just drive straight through town and catch the highway on the other end.  It gave us a great overview of the city, especially the downtown area.  Downtown has lots of vintage buildings that were saved from the wrecking ball thank goodness!

Back to the highway and as soon as we were out of town the road ahead appeared before us!  To some it might seem daunting, I say bring it on!

As we were driving along I noticed a sign for the Continental Divide, and realized I had forgotten we were going to cross it!  We pull off at the exit for a photo opportunity.  The area is 7200ft up, and the scenery is stunning!

About halfway to Flagstaff, we stopped at the Painted Desert and The Petrified Forest National Park.  If you only have an hour or two to visit you have to pick one or the other.  The Painted Desert is right off the highway and easy to access.  The Petrified Forest is on the middle and South end of the park and will take more time to access.  We chose The Painted Desert.  As soon as we pulled into the first viewing point we were in awe.  Honestly, pictures do not do this justice.  You have to come here to experience all the colors and the vastness of it.

On our way out we stopped for a bite in the cafe in the park, and honestly, the burger was grass-fed beef, and really good!

Our last stop of the day was Downtown Historic Flagstaff.  There are lots of great old building here, coffee houses, bars, restaurants, and stores.  We had a nice walk around before heading to our hotel for the evening.

We also found some really cool murals!

We had quite a day and did a lot of driving.  We decided to pack it in and head to our hotel.  I was having a difficult time finding a hotel room at a decent rate in Flagstaff proper and noticed a good deal at the Twin Arrows Casino & Resort just outside of town.

We were very impressed from the moment we walked in.  The lobby has a stunning chandelier! I also noted that behind the front desk they had multiple AAA Four Star plaques.

Our room was great, very large, a wet bar, and a huge bathroom!

Tomorrow friends, we make our last leg to my new home in Las Vegas.  Let’s see what we can discover on the way to share with you!