Day 5: We <3 NAU

---

Thrifty Travel Tip #6: If you can fit into a group of people that have open access to a public showering facility, 24 hour buildings, and free entertainment in the evening, say a college, you have a free place to stay... so do it.

Thrifty Travel Tip #7: Stop in the welcome centers to new states and new cities. You can get free information about the cities and attractions as well as free maps. There are also drinking fountains to refill your water bottles and public restrooms that are usually fairly clean.

Hey Ya'll,

No sleep till LA. That's our newest theme song. Sleeping in the car for the second night in a row is the most SUCK thing in the world... well, maybe not in the world but on this trip so far, it was. If you can avoid it by any means, I suggest you do. We rose bright and early this morning, around 5 AM. We were glad for the head start, though I can't exactly say we planned for it. We contemplated getting breakfast in the Best Western we stayed at but I realized that if we started driving, we would have plenty of time to grab breakfast in the next major city, continental of course. So we passed on the first accessible free breakfast and hit the road again on I-40W.

As we drove out of the city with Beck setting our morning mood, we saw the most beautiful sunrise. Since we were driving West, I viewed most of through the rearview mirror (I got mixed up on the last entry; I actually watched the sunset as we drover west the evening before.) Regardless of how you saw it, it was magnificent. The vastness of the desert is seemingly the perfect place to observe the rhythm and beauty of the universe; the grace with which the sun paints the sky on such a desolate place is simply stunning, followed or preceded by the seemingly endless sky, full of infinite amounts of stars on a clear evening. The desert is a treasure to say the least. We moved smoothly across 40 with the sun rising for a good while and continued to do so until it was high in the sky. When it was way above our heads, it almost seemed as though it had stopped moving, and shortly there after, so did we.

When I saw the stopped traffic and the line of breaklights on the two lane highway, I was upset. I knew it had to be one of those two hour traffic jams since we were in the middle of the desert. Dustin and I turned the car off for about 20 or so minutes. We discussed the times that we had been stuck in columbus traffic with Matt Jaffe for 4 hours once on 71 N on our way to a Queens of the Stone Age concert in Cleveland, and another time coming back from one in Indianapolis... with Matt Jaffe. (Jaffer, I think I just decided your not allowed to drive with us anymore since you seem to initiate horrible traffic jams when I drive us anywhere far.) After rolling the idea around to do a U-ey and drive over the grass dividing us from the East, we watched the truck in front of us do it. He had enough and so did we, so we turned the car around and sped off into that rising sun. When we reached the first exit, we tried to take a road that ran along side 40 and we were flying! Yay, freedom... until we hit the dead end a mile or two later. We were at a higher elevation and so the insanely long traffic jam we got out of and dusted our shoulders off while we turned the car around. It was better than sitting in that, doing nothing. We pulled out the old travel atlas and found and alternate route that took us into the desert a little ways but ot us back on track with only a slight detour.

By the time we hit Albequerque, we were hungry and I was very, very crabby. My internet wasn't working, I was spending too much time in the car, and I didn't have anything in my tummy. After a slight tantrum, I sped out of the city and headed for somewhere I knew would make me truly happy; we were flying towards the Grand Canyon. Dustin knew how hungry I was so he slopped together a very messy but delicious chicken sandwich with salt, pepper, and cheese on a piece bread that wolfed down hot dog style. I had some chicken in my lap, but I was a bit tamer of a beast and looking forward to being out of the middle of nowhere and into somewhere fascinating.

After A LOT of driving and stopping in the Arizona welcome center, we finally reached Flagstaff, Arizona, our destination for the night. I was determined to explore and we tried to find a big crater where a meteor crashed but instead found a public campground that we considered staying in. Big down sides were that the fee for camping was separate from the fee for the park and it was already beginning to get late in the evening. Altogether, camping would've cost close to 20 bucks but we thought we could do better and we were starving, so we headed to town. The attendant told us we could come back whenever we wanted if we decided to camp so we drove into town on good old route 66.

As we drove down 66, we weren't at all impressed with Flagstaff. All we saw was Walmarts and chains and we began to feel a bit disappointed. Dustin and I kept driving and we almost turned around 4 or 5 times. THANK GOD WE DIDN'T! As it turned out, we almost stopped BEFORE historic Flagstaff, which would have been awful since it's one of the coolest towns I've ever been in.

The size is comparable to Miami of Ohio - a bit bigger though with more business and a few more streets. The vibe is very hipster, punk, alternative cool. We really liked the students that we saw walking around, who I figured out attended Northern Arizona University, which just so happens to be in Flagstaff. Dustin and I walked all over the city and checked out almost all 20 some restaurants. Finally we picked a cute pub called altitude where we both were extremely satisfied with our meals and afterward, walked back to a creperie where we ate a delicious dessert, served up by one of the university's friendliest.

It was beginning to get late by the time we finished eating - 730ish, which would be 1030 Cleveland time. We realized we still didn't have a place to stay. I noted the charm of the city which reminded me so much of Oxford. Suddenly I remembered all those nights we walked drunkenly to the student center, slept on each others couches, lived in dorms... you can imagine the mischievous look that went onto my face when those gears started turning. I headed straight for NAU's campus.

We parked the car in a spot that we found to be safe and began to walk around, psuedo notebooks and backpacks to boot. We noted where the dorms were and decided they had potential for showers, which we were in desperate need of by this point. We found a building where a lot of students seemed to be traveling which we at first thought was the rec. We wanted to take showers and decided to check it out. When we walked in, we were overwhelmed by the smell of fried, baked, and steamed food. I knew we had found what we originally set out for: the student center, which had the potential to be 24 hours. Once we confirmed that it was, we headed back to the car to get what we would need for the night. On the way out, we noted a flyer on the wall that advertised the schools free afterdark program which on this night featured a chainsaw juggler, comedian, and mentalist from 9-1 AM. Cash money. We had free entertainment and a place to stay where our feet would be at the same level as our heads (after being in the car two nights in a row, we'll never take that for granted again.)

After we got what we needed from the car, I saw a group of girls headed towards a dorm. One held the door for me while I walked in with my bags and cha-ching. Shower. Amazing. I cannot tell you how grateful I was for student housing during that shower. It was one of the most gratifying showers I have ever taken in my life, which is truly saying something, coming from someone who used to actively engage in mud soccer on rainy Cleveland days. When I returned dripping wet but happy, we found Dustin a guys dorm and got some guy on the phone to let him in. We were having a very good night.

After our showers, we got to the student center just in time to catch the show. It was truly amazing. I've never been one to believe in mentalists but this guy was stunning. At one point he had everyone in the audience write down a question and personal information about themselves. Before he even touched the cards his eyes were double duct taped shut and he was blindfolded 6 times, then solved a rubics cube. An audience member collected to cards and set them on a table in front of them. He picked them up, called out personal information about audience members to them and identified them in the audience. HE picked Dustin's card and Dustin called back to tell him he was there. He got all the info right and at the very end, he said "By the way Dustin, are you wearing any underwear right now?" After his shower, Dustin didn't wear underwear. HOW DID HE KNOW???? Very cool. Oh yeah, We also saw someone juggle a chainsaw while balancing on a skateboard on a moving platform. : )

At the end of the show, we were sad to find out the student center was closing. Unsure of what to do, on the way out I asked a student if there was apartments for co-eds. He pointed in the opposite direction of our car so we got it and I drove over to two large tower like buildings. When we got out and approached them we realized they had to be freshmen dorms. The kids had young faces and we could just tell after spending 4 years a piece at universities. We snuck into the building (thanks to an RA) and we went to the student common area.

Four freshman were playing poker and invited me to join. They were some of the sweetest, warmest kids I've ever met. David was particularly outgoing and I liked him a lot - I could tell these were good people. I sat and played awhile, asking them about their roots and where they lived. When they asked me, I couldn't resist letting them in on our charade. David asked me if we had done this before and I said No. He also asked where we were planning on sleeping and I responded possibly in that room. He then kindly and graciously offered his own room and bed which we gladly excepted - the guy saved our asses. He reminded me so much of Ree (See Day 2.) Finally, after 2 nights in the car, we were going to be sleeping in a real bed.

There are good people in the world, you just have to know where to find them.

Goodnight world, We <3 NAU!!!!

All our Love,
La and Dus

Coming up, "Day 6: It's a Very Grand Canyon, Indeed."

---

Comments

[Kitty]

good people
Laura, It seems that good people find good people. You have your mom and grandmom's warm personality to help you connect. It's nice to see you putting it to good use. I'm so glad the trip went so well. Of course I'm worried about your future encounters with the California whackos. So keep your intuitions intact. Your blog reads like a novel. I'm sure Kathy won't mind if you become a writer, too.