Monday: October 22, 2012 Grants to Chinle

This morning we left our lodging in Grants, New Mexico.  We had stayed at an old Route 66 motel called THE SANDS MOTEL.  It was a bit run down, but clean and cheap.  Before leaving Grants we explored Route 66 a bit.  We were able to do some urban exploring of the Desert Sun Motel, which is empty and abandoned.   Then we headed towards Gallup, New Mexico.  Along the way we were able to see many remnants of the Old Route 66 including Paradise Acres.  which also offered

RATTLESNAKES!!!!!  Some of the scenery along 40/66 was spectacular!!!

Once we arrived in Grants, it was lunchtime and we had lunch at at SONIC.  I had never eaten at a Sonic before and I wanted to try it, but I decided I do not really like being served in my car.  The food was fine, though, as far as I recall.

In Grants, we went to the EL RANCHO HOTEL, THUNDERBIRD BEAD STORE and geocached a bit before heading west towards the Arizona border.  There were more opportunities for seeing "ghosts of Route 66" (we explored an abandoned trading post near Thoreau)as well as some very colorful Indian shops and beautiful rock formations close to the Arizona border.  We did some geocaching in Arizona, just across the border and then headed north towards Chinle, Arizona for our lodging.  

Before Chinle, we stopped in Ganado to find a geocache hidden on an old fire truck.  We were too late to go to the Hubbell Trading Post, it had just closed when we arrived, and the driveway was barricaded shut, so we didn't even get to see the outside of it.  

Once in Chinle, we checked into the Best Western and then had supper down the road at Garcia's.  The food there is VERY good and we had enough leftovers for lunch the next day.  It was a very good day!!!