5/11/09 - Route 66

At Ashlee’s request, we sold our souls and ate lunch at McDonalds. While I’ll admit the food is tasty, I couldn’t quite shake the feeling that the place represents pretty much everything that I hate about Western culture. It’s heavily commercialized, artificial, and standardized…but it tastes good. Damn.

We’re driving east along Historic Route 66 at the moment heading towards the Grand Canyon Caverns. Cruising along in our nice air-conditioned sportster…er…sedan knowing that we are just passing through, I’m struck by the natural beauty of the landscape. Nothing but rocky ridges, boulders, shrubs, and Yucca plants. The road is a little windy as it hugs the railroad and we pass little settlements every few miles. Every time we pass a house, I can’t help but wonder about the people who live there. Are they natives or perhaps retirees? Where do they work? What do they do for fun? And Ashlee’s million-dollar question, where is the nearest Trader Joe’s?

We have also passed numerous white crosses along the road indicating past road fatalities. As a result, there seems to be a nascent anti-drunk driving campaign that we have witnessed in the form of sporadically placed road signs posted every quarter mile or so. Each individual sign is just one piece of a larger message – you read the full message as you drive along. However, it appears that quite a few of the signs are missing – ironically maybe some of them have been knocked over in drunk-driving accidents. As a result, drivers are left with incomplete messages:

Sign 1: No matter the cost
Sign 2: No matter how new
Sign 3: The best safety device
*Missing Sign

And

Sign 1: Violets are Blue
Sign 2: Roses are Pink
*Missing Sign

Then again, maybe it’s just a bit of creativity on the part of the local towns to encourage the travelers to exercise their imaginations a bit to complete the messages themselves. If so, Ashlee is happy to indulge them. Here’s one of her little diddies to complete that last one: “Violets are blue, roses are pink, and farts from your butt always stink.” Ah, I’m so proud.

Grand Canyon Caverns, here we come!