A whirlwind romp today fueled by cooler weather and beautiful skies (puffy white clouds in the morning).  Tidied up the NW corner of AZ and, while at it, across the border to nearby CO cities.  I hadn’t been to any of these places before so it was extra fun for me.  Then down and over to begin our next chapter:  about 9 days in Arizona before heading east to Cincinnati.

Late, as usual, so let’s get to the photos.  Shiprock, NM — how’s that for blue skies and bright signs — are you squinting?

 

A fun little place in Shiprock:

 

On to Colorado — this one in Cortez.  Once again, a freakin’ pole to spoil my photo.  I shot from the backside but looks like crap since facing the sun.  I made a note to return in the afternoon sometime.

The Cork ‘n Bottle also has this rooftop sign — clock not working:

 

Also in Cortez:

 

From Mancos, CO:

 

On to Durango, CO.  This is a…. dog park!  24 acres — right next to downtown.  With access to the Animas River.  Hiking trails.  It goes on and on and on.  Do I need to tell you how much fun the kids had here?

 

Also in Durango — stained glass and vitrolite:

 

On to Farmington, NM.   What appeals to me most about this sign is the neon swirlie on top:

 

Pretty buried in the trees — not sure what a rocket has to do with mobile homes:

 

I don’t know if this Pancake Alley is related to the one in Las Cruces that I posted a few days ago:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/7193640440/

Extra credit to anyone that wants to google-search to find out — I’m just too beat tonight.

 

Chef Bernie’s has not only a wonderful sign:

but this sensational building as well:

In-cred-i-ble:

 

This detail is from the Cameo Theatre — built in 1971:

 

And finally — across the border into Arizona.  I always have to stop at these cheesy tourist things no matter how many times I’ve seen them before.  This one always amuses me because of the juxtaposition of the nature-made and the man-made:

 

Magnificent and tacky at the same time:

 

Let’s stop in Holbrook for the night:

 

The forecast for the next five days here in Northern AZ is nothing but orange dots:  meaning nothing but non-stop sun.  I gave Sparkle’s A/C a quick test today and all seems up to snuff.  Bedtime now at 12:30.  Gotta get up bright and early for dinosaurs.  I may have seen them all before — but I can’t wait!