Nov 5 - 6 Nov 7 Nov 8 Nov 9 Nov 10 Nov 11 - 12 Nov 13 Nov 14 - 15	Tuesday, November 14 I woke up about 5 and couldn't get comfortable again. I finally gave up at 6:20 and got up... Breakfast was at the motel again. What a sucky breakfast area! There's the eager beaver man servicing the breakfast bar who is always in the way and wants to take your plate the instant you put the last bite in your mouth. And the fat broad front desk person who wants to talk and talk and talk to everybody. And they pass out little tickets that are supposed to be used to get into the room in the first place. The tables are way too close together and the chairs are very uncomfortable (seats are not very deep – felt like I was sitting on the edge of the chair). We soon went back to the room to pack up. It's time to move on. First stop of the day is the north entrance to the Petrified Forest. We went straight to the lookout point that we stopped on yesterday and finished the loop, stopping by the tiny Visitor's Center (southern one was better), and the independent gift shop. This was our first overlook of the day - the same one we ended with last night - Pintado Point. These two photos show different views from this overlook. . . . Our next stop was at the Painted Desert Inn. In days of yore, this was a favorite place to stop for lunch, dinner, ice cream, or a drink. None of those amenities are available any more. Instead, it's an open museum with many of the public rooms refurbished. The photo on the left shows the intricate carvings on the back of the dining room chairs (which looked extremely uncomfortable). The center photo shows one of the murals on the walls of the dining room. The photo on the right shows some of the architectural detail of the Inn. The photo on the left shows the restored soda fountain. The center photo shows the Tavern Bar (where some of the action for the old Humphrey Bogart movie "Painted Desert" took place). The photo on the right shows the skylight ceiling in one of the other public rooms of the Inn. A short walk from the Painted Desert Inn is Kachina Point. The photo on the left and the center photo show views from this overlook. The photo on the right shows what the Inn looks like when returning from Kachina Point. The photo on the left shows the stairs leading to two of the rooms at the Painted Desert Inn. These rooms were very small and usually housed two young women each - workers at the Inn. These were not guest rooms. From the Inn, we continued stopping at overlooks. The next one was Tawa Point. The photo on the right shows the Painted Desert Inn from this point. . These two photos show views from Tawa Point. . . . . . These two photos show views from Tiponi Point, the last overlook in the Park. . . Then it was back on the interstate, heading east. We stopped in Gallup at Cracker Barrel for lunch. Beef veggie soup for lunch. Bleeech. They seem to have discontinued our favorites nationwide. We continued on through Albuquerque with a more challenging route through the Big I. We continued on to Santa Fe for the night. Comfort Inn tonight. It's okay, as long as you remember to open the bathroom door before entering – if it's left open, it's in the way – booooo. Dinner was at The Ranch House. We both ordered the grilled salmon (yum) as one of the few items on the menu that wasn't a steak and wasn't smothered in red or green chili.... Well worth the stop and not far from the motel. We watched an old Navy comedy (Up Periscope?) with Kelsey Grammar. It's still good. Time for bed. Wednesday, November 15 I had a hard time staying asleep. Between movies on tv and thinking about what all needs to be done once we get home, deep sleep was elusive. I gave up a little after 6 and got up. Breakfast was at the motel – slim pickings... So, we soon packed up and hit the road. We stopped for lunch at the Cracker Barrel in Pueblo. I had the veggie plate. Carl had the lunch special – chicken pot pie. Traffic was heavy through Denver. We finally got home about 3:30.