Hurray, we made it to Arizona! —-well, not until the evening and just past the State Border (ca. 20-30 miles in)

But first we visited the New Mexico Mining Museum in Grants. They even had a reconstructed Uranium Mine and a very knowledgable retired mining expert as guide.

Now we really booted it towards Arizona, or that’s what we thought. We stopped 10 minutes later for some pictures of breathtaking scenery which Martin captured in one of his panoramas.

The we reached the Continental Divide and no, we didn’t pour water on both sides to see that it runs to the Atlantic on the Eastern side and to the Pacific on the Western side.

But we started our shopping spree of Navajo arts and we couldn’t stop the shopping accidents for quite some time. Even during our lunch break at Earl’s Family Restaurant at Gallup, where local craftspeople offered their art right at the table. A lot of deciding was done and some pretty items purchased, but the delicious burritos were still enjoyed very much.

Gallup is an interesting town with theatre, city hall, etc. but most prominent are the many, many stores of native art and western accessories. And yes, we had to purchase some of these … a cowboy hat for Martin and boots for both of us.

After a quick stop at Walmart, our favourite “watering hole” we finally left the state and entered Arizona at a time when the Visiter Centre was closed already. Now we are sitting at a gas station/truck stop with the big boys but we don’t dare to wear our cowboy boots yet!