Today I saw an armadillo.

There is more road kill on I-40 between Arizona and Oklahoma than I've seen in all my nearly 25 years of life, combined. Several of these dead creatures were armadillos. Armadillos are not very pretty animals when they're alive and in one piece. Check this out if you don't believe me: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Nine-banded_Armadillo.jpg. Similarly, they are not very pretty when dead. I do have to say, however, that their armor shells must be pretty powerful, as they don't get flattened by tires the same way other small desert rodents do. Cheers to evolution.

Pops and I have made our way through Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and half of Oklahoma thus far. Of course, the miles go by much more quickly when I am driving, but we're sharing the driving duties pretty equally. Unfortunately for Otto, pops likes to snack (a lot) in the car and has managed to get chocolate all over the steering wheel and driver's seat. Otto will be in desperate need of a good wash once we get to NY. That aside, the trip has been really fun so far. It's only day three, and I've heard numerous stories about growing up in Brooklyn and Queens in the late 50s and 60s. I picture my dad as a kind of mix between Benny "the Jet" Rodriquez and Squints Palledorous- always super athletic but also pretty dorky. Pops' stories, paired with clips of Now and Then (which have become forever embedded in my mind after watching the movie upwards of 100 times), make me wish I had been born in a few decades earlier. But I guess if I had, I wouldn't be writing this for my millions of loyal followers to enjoy at their leisure. Ah well, the grass is always greener, I suppose.

So yesterday we hit up Sedona, Arizona, and felt the 90 degree heat beginning at 9am. The town is gorgeous, with red desert rock everywhere. The stores were all super touristy, though, so while it was a beautiful place to stop and take pictures, it wasn't the best stop we've made thus far. After Sedona, we made our way to Albuquerque for some Southwestern food and sleeping accommodations. The old part of town wasn't much to talk about, mostly some old buildings centered around the plaza. But it was cute and worth a brief stop. This morning we drove a bit north of I-40 to Santa Fe. This town was just great. It had the old part with "the oldest house in the U.S.," which the visitor's center lady told us was 800 years old, but whose sign said "circa 1646." I'm not sure whether her math was off or the sign was off, but I feel like there must be houses that were built before 1646 in New England. Anyhoo, the old part was fun, complete with a church that had a wooden spiral staircase with no central support, built entirely without nails! How cool is that? I am easily entertained by history, especially when seeing it firsthand, so I was pretty excited about Santa Fe. Then we made it over to the shops and cafes around the plaza, and it totally won me over. For those of you planning a brief jaunt through New Mexico, I definitely suggest stopping over in Santa Fe for a few hours. You won't be disappointed. Oh, also, remember that just because these states are in the southwest, this does not mean it will be hot. Today's temperature hovered just below 60, dropping to 50 at times. No one even got to see the Don't Mess with Texas t-shirt I sported just for the occasion, as it was covered by a sweatshirt all day. (PS- Shoutout to British Friend, for explaining the origin of that slogan and for making Texas a barely tolerable state. On that note, I look forward to it becoming much more tolerable during my ACL trip next fall.)

The rest of today was spent passing trucks and slow-moving cars, stopping for gas, and being very grateful to Tomtom. She (yes, my GPS is a she, despite the masculine - and redundant - name, because of her lady voice) is just wonderful. Good riddance, Mapquest!

Next worthwhile state on the agenda: Tennessee!