So, I got my AC recharged, just in case I really need it. Thank you Nick and crew at Car Diego! He said, “don’t worry mr. jon, it makes a lot of noise, but she works, no problem.” I wasn’t going to use it because it drags on the engine and I don’t want anything to kill Zippy. But after about two hours of 109, I caved in and turned it on and kept it on until I had climbed up into northern Arizona, which is freaking gorgeous and downright chilly at 85 degrees. I had planned to stop and camp up there, near Payson, but I just kept rolling, all the way to Gallup, New Mexico. Once up in the mountains, I went through lots of lightning and some serious hail. It was cool! Too long in San Diego.
Anyways, made it New Mexico at about 8pm and saw a very funny site as I crossed the state line. I’ve seen dogs do this, but never a horse.
I was going to camp at a Red Rock Park outside of Gallup, but a serious storm blew in, dust and sticks flying everywhere, crazy lightning and tons of hail. Found a good cheap hotel, Kayak is a good app. It hasn’t failed me yet.
Oh! and another great app I just got. It’s called DigiHUD. It’s a speedometer and odometer. Now, why would I need that? Well, you see, there is a cable that goes down into the transmission and runs up to the speedometer, mine was old, Nick told me it might break, it might not. Either way, won’t hurt the car, just made some noise. Well, right around the time I saw the horse, I saw the speedometer needle drop and I was going 0mph while traveling 70. It was a very zen moment. I’m serious. I think. Yes. Anyway, I’ve sufficiently geeked out with the device and now I know how fast I’m going just based on the gear I’m in and the RPMs. All good. Still Zen.
I’m stoked to be in New Mexico, it’s a really amazing place and I haven’t been back here in over 10 years. I lived in Albuquerque many, many moons ago. ( I played in a Goth Rock band called the Voodoo Electric. I remember almost suffocating standing next to the smoke machine on one gig. Our stage show was oh-so-spooky.)
Truth be told, I miss the food. It’s freaking awesome here, and I’m going to bed so morning come sooner and I go chow down at Frontier in ABQ!
Interesting day one.
