Time Warp!

Whether it was the mystical influence of the local lay line concentration or not I can't say, but we had a bit of an odd journey today. The day seemed quite normal to begin with, clear skies, warm, etc However, after breakfast (another 'musical chairs experience') we noticed the odd cloud on the horizon. Pretty soon the sky was grey and it got a good deal more so as we drove to Jerome, a small once abandoned mining town set high in the hills.

In fact, its regeneration owes much to the Hippie movement and now its a kind of lived-in museum piece. a tourist magnet.

Anyway, it started to rain and we took refuge in coffee / wine bar where we met and chatted with a couple of local guys who were bespoke furniture makers.Around 10:30, we returned to the car and I punched in the address for our next destination, in Page (AZ). I was expecting a three-hour journey, but the GPS advised that it would take at least one hour more. I rechecked and the GPS confirmed its prediction. We set off north on I17 and although traffic was light, the rain was heavy! We redirected onto I40E at Flagstaff and then headed north on Highway 89. Believe me, there is not much of interest on this highway and apart from the odd Navaho trading market, nothing else. By the time we hit Speedy Sams, a gas station in the middle of nowhere, we were ready for Speedy's restrooms and two of his burgers! Then it was off once again towards Page. We passed the Grand Canyon's northern rim and gradually inched closer to Page.

The GPS urged us to take some unpaved alternative routes to Highway 89, but we resisted the temptation to 'off-piste'! We arrived in Page (two hours prior to that predicted by the GPS!) alongside the rain. Our room wasn't quite ready, so we called-in for a coffee, to pass an hour away. Once finally checked-in to our almost new hotel, we soon acclimatised ...... and as for the rain? Well, it happens, sometimes!

Maybe an odd day deserves an odd piece of music, so how about 'Hearts of Stone' by Bill Black's Combo!