Ashley Harrell

Thanks to Linda for the blog title here… I am completely spent and having some trouble with creativity. Just sitting here in our Flagstaff hotel room after an extremely long day, I can’t even begin to think how I might start writing tonight. Ten to 4:00 AM seemed like a good time to get up for our longest travel day of the week. I couldn’t allow myself to call it 3:50 AM. Oh, and “seemed” is the key word in that previous sentence. I have had the problem, since I was very young, of getting stomachaches and becoming an insomniac when something in my life is about to change. I did not actually get to sleep until about 2:30 last night… not the best evening’s rest I have had. Well, my mother and I both started our morning in a state of utter exhaustion, got on the freeway, and headed Southeast. After nearly 13 hours of sitting, three different books on tape begun, six episodes of Sex and the City, a few liters of water, and countless [disgusting] bathroom stops, we made it to Flagstaff, Arizona. It was actually really funny when we crossed the state line because neither one of us was aware of our proximity to the border. All of a sudden, this sign came out of nowhere with “ARIZONA STATE LIMIT.” I didn’t even have a chance to say goodbye to my beloved California. After we crossed over, we crept up to the higher elevation, cooler temperatures, and more luscious greenery. It’s simply beautiful out here, and I’m so glad this is our rest stop for the evening. After we arrived at our hotel (thanks to the incredibly helpful GPS system in our rental), we checked into a comfy and clean room, and walked across the street to get some dinner. Both of us were so drained that we were barely able to mutter more than the necessary conversations. Finished dinner with a piece of pie, and now I’m back in the hotel room – praying I get an eight hour night of sleep. Tomorrow morning we’re hoping to get an early start, then head through New Mexico to our next stop in Amarillo, Texas. I wonder how the “panhandle” stands on facial piercings…