“Get your kicks”
“Flagstaff, Arizona/Don’t forget Winona/Kingman, Barstow, San Bernadino”
This past weekend I kicked off a four week tour of assignments throughout the Southwest; two in Arizona and two in Texas. The first brought me 7,000 feet high in the mountains of Northern Arizona to lovely Flagstaff.
Flagstaff is an awesome town; a college town, a ski town, incredibly diverse for its size and it packs some seriously tasty food. It’s definitely got a crunchy groove going along with an irreverently humorous vibe and is certainly very scruffy duffy compared to LA.
There is something spiritually invigorating about walking out into the clean, fresh early morning air, seeing the San Francisco peaks and pine trees and the crisp light. Although I have to be honest: At 7,000 feet, I often found myself out of breath, especially hauling photo gear!
Some highlights:
The best ham and eggs I've ever had in the U.S. So what, you say? Try 'em!
Louie the Lumberjack, mascot of Northern Arizona University, sinister axe wielder and all around man about town.
Local foliage in the mountain morning light
The hotel I stayed at features an interstellar reservation policy
The San Francisco peaks, referred to by locals as "the mountain".
I have to admit something at this point: I have a train fetish. No, not like the girl in “Risky Business”. Being from the Bronx, NY, seeing a train snaking its way through the desert or between the mountains validates certain romantic notions that I have about the West. I caught a freight as I was driving out of town:
A freight glides through the Ponderosa Pines alongside historic Route 66
Next stop: Waco, Texas!!
