AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL, PART 5 January 29, 2004 February 15, 1952. When we awoke and looked out the window of our Flagstaff, Arizona, motel, we were astounded. Everything was covered with about six inches of the snow that had fallen overnight. AND it was zero degrees outside!! How could that happen in such a desert area? Obviously by the time we started eastwardly again, the Flagstaff snowplows had been called into service, the temperature had risen considerably and we were on our way again. At least in my Trip Journal I didn't report any difficulty. We crossed the Painted Desert and I was surprised that there wasn't all that much color to it. Of course it was still winter. After passing through Winslow, Arizona, we knew that we were on the southern edge of the Petrified Forest. We stopped at Chambers, Arizona, at a roadside stand where a piece of petrified wood was purchased for brother Johnny. We saw many Navajo Indian huts called hogans. They were round and built of mud and sticks or logs. All of the Indians were quite dark-skinned. Shortly after was crossed the Arizona border into New Mexico, we stopped for lunch outside of Gallup, New Mexico. We were fascinated by the Indians around there who we eventually realized were of the Chimayo tribe. We did a bit more shopping and Mother bought a pretty blue and gray hand woven wool Chimayo blanket for $37.75. Johnny bought himself a tomahawk and I'm certain that we gawked at the old Indian woman who came in with an Indian blanket around her shoulders. We were told that she was ninety-four years old! We continued on through Albuquerque and stopped for the night in Tucumcari, New Mexico, at the Blue Swallow Motel. Note: I've recently found out via the Internet that the Blue Swallow Motel is still in operation now in the year 2004! After eating supper, we settled down and went to bed. We were all so tired. February 16, 1952. We allowed ourselves to sleep in until the late hour of 8:00 and shortly after we got back on the road we crossed into Texas at around 9:30. Once again the scenery changed drastically. Ahead of us were flat plains with nothing but wheat fields! We also knew that we were in Texas because all of the men were wearing Levis and Stetson hats and cowboy boots! We stopped at Amarillo, Texas, for lunch where I saw a pair of longhorns for sale for $100.00. Cheap!! Since we were crossing the panhandle of Texas we didn't have all that much of a drive before we crossed over the line into Oklahoma and into Oklahoma City. As we drove through downtown Oklahoma City, I was totally amazed to see oil wells in the middle of town! That evening we stayed for the night at Bell's Cabins which certainly wasn't the nicest place we had stayed in during our trip. I guess we were just spoiled by then. February 17, 1952. The eighth and last day of our trip. After anoher wake up call at 5:45 A.M. we were on the road again. We stopped and had breakfast in a little general store in Choctah, Oklahoma, and traveled a while more before the sun came up. We drove over the border into Arkansas and after passing through Fort Smith, we stopped in the small town of Russellville, Arkansas for lunch. We noticed that there was still snow on the ground and on the trees. The last leg of the trip that day took us through Little Rock and the rest of the way across Arkansas east into Memphis, Tennessee. I wrote in my Trip Journal that I noticed a number of poor colored people living in rickety shacks and walking along the road. However, I also mentioned my delight in seeing the daffodils, redbud and forsythia in bloom! After crossing the boarder from West Memphis, Arkansas, into Memphis, Tennessee, we pulled right up in front of the elegant Peabody Hotel in downtown Memphis. The doorman helped us out of the car, the valet took care of parking our dusty car, and after our luggage and souvenirs had been carried into the hotel lobby, Daddy checked our family into our rooms. No doubt that the Desk Clerk behind the counter looked down his nose at us and viewed us as a bunch of inappropriately dressed Yankee vagabonds, but after seeing Daddy's name, and the company he was now working for, he all but bowed and scraped to ensure that we would be treated very well, very well indeed! The Desk Clerk knew that our family could stay at the hotel as guests of Montana Ferroalloys, Inc. as long as we wanted to. Which, in our case meant we could stay there until we were able to find suitable housing for ourselves. Oh my, what a glorious stay there and what glorious new sights we saw in Memphis! The whole trip was a magnificent experience to remember. vee