We left Flagstaff after having a terrible breakfast served in the motel. Offered were scrambled eggs in a buffet server, the eggs were in clumps; waffles, which we didn't try and white or whole wheat toast. No fruit, juice, muffins, it was sad.

We left there and got on Highway 89 north, it is scenic for a few miles around the San Francisco Mountains, then it is desert for many miles. There are a few Indian settlements along the way, all very poor. We stopped in one area of strange mounds and John took pictures of them. We left 89 at the junction of Highway 160. Many scenic areas on this route, at the south of Monument Valley, mesa's, rock cliffs and views for miles across the landscape At Cow Springs we were parallel with the Black Mesa/Lake Powell RR, an electric line John said. At Black Mesa there was a huge pipe coming from the top of the mesa to a huge building which resembled a grain elevator, but wasn't. The pipe crossed the highway far above us. Later, I read in the map book it is a coal conveyor belt, apparently coming from the coal mines the coal is transported down to the railway. Interesting.

We were thinking a bit of having lunch, but there are no towns until Kayenta, and only fast food there, so we didn't stop. There were only Indian Trading Posts and 'Chapter Houses" along 160, so we drove on, stopping for picture taking only. John had not been to Four Corners, and since it was only 6 miles off the main road, we took the detour. It is such a tourist trap by the Indians, $3. per person to enter, there are no discounts for Golden Age passports, etc. We paid the $6 and walked around the marker, taking pictures, and also walked around the perimeter where the Indians are selling their wares, mostly silver jewelry. I did buy a note card from an artist that has his work in one of the stalls, he is represented in a gallery in Phoenix. Since we were by then very hungry, we decided to try the Indian Fry bread open face taco, it wasn't good, so we now had two meals that we were disappointed with today. The Fry Bread was tough, greasy and tasteless.

We left Four Corners and again turned onto Highway 64, heading for Chama, NM. We first passed by Shiprock, then in to Farmington. We had been watching huge storm clouds off to the east all day, they were now upon us - it began to rain just east of Farmington, around Bloomfield, and with only brief exceptions, it rained all the was, 100 miles or so, to Chama. That part of the drive is very scenic, pine and piñon covered hills rather than the desert landscape we had driven through all day. But, we arrived at last in Chama, and shortly after checking in to the Branding Iron motel, the skies broke up a bit and there were peeks of the sun. We went to the restaurant adjacent to the motel and had supper, we could see a bit of snow on the high peaks, the waitress said it was going to be a long, cold winter since it was snowing this early in the season.

We played a game of Upwords in the room, John won, and then to bed, it was a long day's drive, made longer due to the rains.