A storm rolled in before I left Apple Valley.
One thing the West has that the East doesn't is independent drive-thru restaurants and beverage stands. Ever since New Mexico I've been seeing coffee trucks and smoothie wagons. I've also seen a good number of drive-thru Mexican restaurants. All of them independent. Before I left Utah I stopped by FiiZ's drinks in Hurricane. It was staffed by highschoolers who wore their masks like necklaces. The menu was bizarre. I'll share it here. Notice the "Monster smoothies".
When it came time to leave there was a layer of snow on my car, and I could barely clear the windshield before it was covered again.
I said goodbye to the property's cats and set my snow-clearing spatula against the door.
By chance the "Fredonia-Vermillion Cliffs Scenic Road" was on my way to Flagstaff. The roads were icy for the first half. Here's the new car in all its glory.
This lead out to the Vermillion Cliffs. This was an amazing view when I rounded the corner. It's a vast plane and the cliffs just go on and on.
Here's the Navajo bridges over the Colorado river. You can see the cliffs loom over the bridge here too.
There is a whole lot of nuthin' on this road. Maybe the occasional view point, but I had to drive out of my way to fill up the tank and grab a bite at McDonald's. I drove into Tuba City, part of the Navajo nation. I've driven through a couple Navajo towns and it's a bit uncomfortable. I stand out like a sore thumb, I can feel on my back as I fill my tank. Nothing comes of it, but it's awkward nonetheless.
The Navajo are serious about their Covid-19 response. Everything closes down from 9pm to 5am. Here's a collection of signs I found at one of the gas stations.
