Archived Journal Entry: American Nomad - March 25-26 2014
The dry desert mountain air invigorated my spirit with hope as I stepped out into the warmth of the radiant sun - a fearless blue sky bursting to life out of the darkness of night. The anxiety of having our fender bust on Highway 89 has weighed heavy on my soul the past few days - in spite of the fear and anxiety I have turned in fervent trust in God's helping hand. I know this is part of the journey - our cross country exodus.
After feasting on a motel power breakfast of cereal (our room has a mini fridge) we received a phone call informing us that the car part needed to repair our Versa arrived from Phoenix and is at the Flagstaff dealership. Anxious and eager to get our car back and running we grabbed our purses and several hours worth of reading material and drove to the dealership (at this point our front fender liner is dragging - but can be driven in town - just barely)
I won't go into the details of our dealership as I fill in this blank space in my journal - it took roughly an hour to replace the part. I read Edward Abbey's Desert Solitaire - a must read when in Canyon Country and the American Southwest. His hauntingly beautiful prose, raw wit and at times curmudgeon backbone makes him a character of intense quality and unique perspective.
Suffice it to say we were thrilled when we found out that the dealer 'fixed' our car and it was safe to drive across country to NC. We left the dealership excited and hopeful for the rest of our sojourn in Arizona and cross country travel. My mom and I both hoped to explore Flagstaff and surrounding areas - unfortunately every hurricane storm has a hurricane eye and we were only in a temporary calm. I am writing this portion a year after the event and it still leaves me a bit bitter, but out of the bitterness I realize even in the chaos of being strangers on a desert road my mom and I were protected by God and HIS heavenly angels. Sometimes road trips like life are full of potholes and detours, but like life you have to keep moving mile by mile.
My mom and I enjoyed a long walk at Buffalo Park and exploring a portion of the Arizona Trail, a continuous 800 mile plus trail crossing diverse landscapes and cultures from Arizona's border with Mexico to the Utah border. Arizona is a fascinating landscape marked by desert sunrises, canyon sunsets, wide expanses, the Colorado River and Native American and Mexican American culture.
With the weather in flux - storm clouds gathering my mom and I drove around Flagstaff for twenty minutes exploring the Northern Arizona University campus and nearby neighborhoods.
We returned to our room at the Motel 6 - unfortunately this is when the eye of the hurricane crashes into a storm. I love Motel 6 - it is my favorite low-rate chain because it is always clean and safe - so I do not judge Motel 6 by this experience overall -
We paid for a week in advance at this Motel 6 expecting to be stuck in Flagstaff with car problems for the entire week - we liked the location and all seemed well. However when we returned to our room on Tuesday night we found out that half of the complex would be in serious construction and some demolition going on and the water and electricity would be cut off for twelve hours each day - I think it is a valid complaint when you won't have electricity and water half of the day and will hear lots of noise - especially when I was working out of the hotel room for two of the days - that is why we decided to stay there - for R&R not bulldozing. The staff were HORRIBLY rude to begin with even though we were calm and nice - our suggestion was a discount rate or perhaps we could move to another location (two other Motel 6's in the area) the desk clerk said - okay let me check and I'll let you know in twenty minutes - we waited and hour and no word - we called the main office and it turns out the person we spoke to forgot to call her manager and did not tell the other clerk about the issue. This clerk starting cursing my mom out and saying hateful things (unprovoked) and I said 'okay we're calling corporate' - we did and they thought it was deplorable behavior and said they would work on the complaint - I don't like to complain - I was tired and wanted to rest but this was extreme - even worse than I am describing in this blog - it was out of the Twilight Zone crazy behavior and it only gets worse. We arranged with corporate to spend the next night in another Motel 6 across town. Which was a pain moving for a number of reasons - namely we had to repack our car and we were in the midst of organizing it for the next 1600 miles of road - not a huge issue - but kind of annoying.
We left in the a.m. and enjoyed several hours running errands until we could check into the other motel - it was raining so we decided to go to B&N instead of a day trip - wanted to test out our car in town - I had a gut feeling our car was not 100% but trusted the dealership - we'll get to that soon -
About 3 pm we went to the other Motel 6 location and went to check in - we were polite, calm and friendly - it turns out that the nasty clerk from the night before had put us on a 'DO NOT SERVE' list for Flagstaff Motel 6's. He did it in the Central Computer misusing his manager's password (Who was by the way in Utah on a conference and was apologetic about the drama and the way we were treated later on) - the other location refused to serve us - even when we explained the situation though sympathetic they said that they had no jurisdiction because their manager was out of state - essentially our clerk was annoyed we reported his cruel behavior (unprovoked I swear on the Bible) to corporate and worked with another worker at the other two locations (Motel 6) that are locally owned and not corporate locations to ensure we could not be served as guests. He made up hateful things that are NOT TRUE and even the other staff felt terrible at the way we were treated.
So we call corporate for recourse and they of course apologized and booked us in another area Motel 6. However we encountered the same 'Do Not Serve' issue there and the clerk (who turned out to be roommates with the original clerk who bullied and harangued us) sinisterly said - I don't give an 'f' about corporate - I make the rules here! Corporate called him and told him that we were to be served and he refused to follow orders.
The story is a lot worse than this entry and I only relay it because it is at the best of the worst an adventure - It is a Twilight Zone episode truly. I am a debutante sweet kind and always polite lady and my mom is the same way - in fact people say I'm too nice and forgiving of people sometimes and soft spoken - so it is ironic that they kick us out for daring to complain about a legit issue. They cursed us out and called us vicious things. It took a week to get Motel 6 to give us a refund because it turns out the Flagstaff locations are not directly under the oversight of Motel 6 corporate and the franchisee has to make decisions and he was out of town. It was eventually solved, but that malicious hateful spiteful behavior makes me wary of returning to Flagstaff and it is a shame because it is a wonderful town with great people
I see this experience as beyond of the veil of how those who are persecuted because of race or gender or other issues must feel - it made me have such empathy for those who are denied service based on any of these things - sow love and love blossoms - I think being inhospitable is one of the worst things you can do because we are all aliens at some point in our lives and deserve kindness and service - especially when we are paying for a service.
My mom and I felt like we were being assaulted emotionally between the car issue and this CRAZY INSANE hotel situation we decided to make a beeline for New Mexico - we made a decision to leave Flagstaff and drive all night until we got tired. It is sad because there were so many things I wanted to explore in the area and would have spent $$ with local businesses but rude service leaves you out in the cold.
Unfortunately the 'curse' of Flagstaff isn't over - still God is faithful and removes all 'curses' for HIS good.
We drove into the great desert land by twilight - the Painted Desert cloaked by starlight. A huge windstorm tunneling dust whipped across the highway and left us anxious for a new start - a new day.
We blared the radio 'Taking it Easy' for a gas stop in Winslow Arizona. I hit the head of my car as we crossed the New Mexico state line - The Land of Enchantment by night.
There is nothing but quiet lost, lonely beauty in dark scattered wild and I shudder to think what would have happened if this hurricane storm had pulled its final assault in the wilderness of lonesome desolate highway.
My mom and I saw signs for Gallup just after nine o'clock p.m. Hungry for food (we had not eaten since lunch) we pulled off at Exit 20 to eat at a Cracker Barrel. That is when it happened.
Bam, Crack, Thud, eeerrrrrrrekkkkkkkkkkkeer screech. The fender liner fell off of our car and completely dented the front bumper - the dealer in Flagstaff did not install it correctly.
There is nothing like having your fender fall off in New Mexico in the Cracker Barrel parking lot to leave you screaming at the sky and demanding God - please help us - why God, why? Let's face it we should stay calm in these situations - but the human discipline is to panic.
Realizing we were going to be stuck for the night my mom and I went into The Hampton Inn which by God's grace happened to be in the parking lot of the Cracker Barrel. By a miracle - seriously - we got the very last room in all of Gallup - I kid you not = they had some conference or tournament and it caused every room to be booked except this one. The dilemma - the room cost $199 - yikes! I know I should have had gratitude at that point to be safe and with a hotel in a strange town - but I felt grief and anguish. My mom and I managed to grab a bite at Cracker Barrel before they closed at ten o'clock p.m. We called Progressive and found out it would be several days to get our car fixed. I panicked and I prayed.
God hears prayers. The next morning (Wednesday) - John, a Progressive agent from Albuquerque just happened to be in the area - John used to do mechanic work on the side and fixed our fender liner so we could drive again - safely to NC and beyond - the damage to our bumper would be $800 to replace - directly caused by a bad installation by the dealer who used the wrong parts.
This is a miracle - to have car problems and have your car die in from of a Cracker Barrel and hotel with the last room in the inn and a repair they thought would take a week to fix - repaired in an hour? God proved HIS mercy - we booked one more night at The Hampton Inn - which was AMAZING for the most part (although our fridge died causing us to lose $100 worth of groceries and the desk clerk was rude, but we did not get into it - there comes a point all you want is PEACE).
My main regret is we could not spend more time in Gallup learning about the Navajo and Mexican influences. I hope to return...
Why I wish the car troubles had not occurred - God was faithful in ways I did not even comprehend at the time and I must say I have an adventure story from the road - hopefully my next journey out west will be filled with less exciting chaos and more views of canyons and lessons about culture - God will guide me back to Canyon country again I am certain.
This was a picture from online but I thought it speaks to the roadside trials of driving on empty.
This saga really did set us back financially at the time, but God turned out to be faithful. My mom and I made the decision to drive for twenty-four hours straight from Gallup NM to Cookeville TN and to this day I am still shocked I managed the drive....that is a blog for another day...
I would love to return and learn more about the Native American culture in the area and visit the Red Rocks - we saw a lot of homelessness in the region - mostly of Natives - which broke my heart - but we also meet so many strong and kind Natives who loved the land and wanted it to prosper - we need to invest in community and remember the west is a place of the ancient alive in a world of wonder and hope - LOOK forward to returning - each person has a story and when you travel it is a gift to share yours - yes - but more importantly to learn about others through their lens on the world - the Navajo lens is full of color and light - as is the Hopi and other area tribes.
Music on the ROAD
I won't go into the details of our dealership as I fill in this blank space in my journal - it took roughly an hour to replace the part. I read Edward Abbey's Desert Solitaire - a must read when in Canyon Country and the American Southwest. His hauntingly beautiful prose, raw wit and at times curmudgeon backbone makes him a character of intense quality and unique perspective.
Suffice it to say we were thrilled when we found out that the dealer 'fixed' our car and it was safe to drive across country to NC. We left the dealership excited and hopeful for the rest of our sojourn in Arizona and cross country travel. My mom and I both hoped to explore Flagstaff and surrounding areas - unfortunately every hurricane storm has a hurricane eye and we were only in a temporary calm. I am writing this portion a year after the event and it still leaves me a bit bitter, but out of the bitterness I realize even in the chaos of being strangers on a desert road my mom and I were protected by God and HIS heavenly angels. Sometimes road trips like life are full of potholes and detours, but like life you have to keep moving mile by mile.
My mom and I enjoyed a long walk at Buffalo Park and exploring a portion of the Arizona Trail, a continuous 800 mile plus trail crossing diverse landscapes and cultures from Arizona's border with Mexico to the Utah border. Arizona is a fascinating landscape marked by desert sunrises, canyon sunsets, wide expanses, the Colorado River and Native American and Mexican American culture.
With the weather in flux - storm clouds gathering my mom and I drove around Flagstaff for twenty minutes exploring the Northern Arizona University campus and nearby neighborhoods.
We returned to our room at the Motel 6 - unfortunately this is when the eye of the hurricane crashes into a storm. I love Motel 6 - it is my favorite low-rate chain because it is always clean and safe - so I do not judge Motel 6 by this experience overall -
We paid for a week in advance at this Motel 6 expecting to be stuck in Flagstaff with car problems for the entire week - we liked the location and all seemed well. However when we returned to our room on Tuesday night we found out that half of the complex would be in serious construction and some demolition going on and the water and electricity would be cut off for twelve hours each day - I think it is a valid complaint when you won't have electricity and water half of the day and will hear lots of noise - especially when I was working out of the hotel room for two of the days - that is why we decided to stay there - for R&R not bulldozing. The staff were HORRIBLY rude to begin with even though we were calm and nice - our suggestion was a discount rate or perhaps we could move to another location (two other Motel 6's in the area) the desk clerk said - okay let me check and I'll let you know in twenty minutes - we waited and hour and no word - we called the main office and it turns out the person we spoke to forgot to call her manager and did not tell the other clerk about the issue. This clerk starting cursing my mom out and saying hateful things (unprovoked) and I said 'okay we're calling corporate' - we did and they thought it was deplorable behavior and said they would work on the complaint - I don't like to complain - I was tired and wanted to rest but this was extreme - even worse than I am describing in this blog - it was out of the Twilight Zone crazy behavior and it only gets worse. We arranged with corporate to spend the next night in another Motel 6 across town. Which was a pain moving for a number of reasons - namely we had to repack our car and we were in the midst of organizing it for the next 1600 miles of road - not a huge issue - but kind of annoying.
We left in the a.m. and enjoyed several hours running errands until we could check into the other motel - it was raining so we decided to go to B&N instead of a day trip - wanted to test out our car in town - I had a gut feeling our car was not 100% but trusted the dealership - we'll get to that soon -
About 3 pm we went to the other Motel 6 location and went to check in - we were polite, calm and friendly - it turns out that the nasty clerk from the night before had put us on a 'DO NOT SERVE' list for Flagstaff Motel 6's. He did it in the Central Computer misusing his manager's password (Who was by the way in Utah on a conference and was apologetic about the drama and the way we were treated later on) - the other location refused to serve us - even when we explained the situation though sympathetic they said that they had no jurisdiction because their manager was out of state - essentially our clerk was annoyed we reported his cruel behavior (unprovoked I swear on the Bible) to corporate and worked with another worker at the other two locations (Motel 6) that are locally owned and not corporate locations to ensure we could not be served as guests. He made up hateful things that are NOT TRUE and even the other staff felt terrible at the way we were treated.
So we call corporate for recourse and they of course apologized and booked us in another area Motel 6. However we encountered the same 'Do Not Serve' issue there and the clerk (who turned out to be roommates with the original clerk who bullied and harangued us) sinisterly said - I don't give an 'f' about corporate - I make the rules here! Corporate called him and told him that we were to be served and he refused to follow orders.
The story is a lot worse than this entry and I only relay it because it is at the best of the worst an adventure - It is a Twilight Zone episode truly. I am a debutante sweet kind and always polite lady and my mom is the same way - in fact people say I'm too nice and forgiving of people sometimes and soft spoken - so it is ironic that they kick us out for daring to complain about a legit issue. They cursed us out and called us vicious things. It took a week to get Motel 6 to give us a refund because it turns out the Flagstaff locations are not directly under the oversight of Motel 6 corporate and the franchisee has to make decisions and he was out of town. It was eventually solved, but that malicious hateful spiteful behavior makes me wary of returning to Flagstaff and it is a shame because it is a wonderful town with great people
I see this experience as beyond of the veil of how those who are persecuted because of race or gender or other issues must feel - it made me have such empathy for those who are denied service based on any of these things - sow love and love blossoms - I think being inhospitable is one of the worst things you can do because we are all aliens at some point in our lives and deserve kindness and service - especially when we are paying for a service.
My mom and I felt like we were being assaulted emotionally between the car issue and this CRAZY INSANE hotel situation we decided to make a beeline for New Mexico - we made a decision to leave Flagstaff and drive all night until we got tired. It is sad because there were so many things I wanted to explore in the area and would have spent $$ with local businesses but rude service leaves you out in the cold.
Unfortunately the 'curse' of Flagstaff isn't over - still God is faithful and removes all 'curses' for HIS good.
We drove into the great desert land by twilight - the Painted Desert cloaked by starlight. A huge windstorm tunneling dust whipped across the highway and left us anxious for a new start - a new day.
We blared the radio 'Taking it Easy' for a gas stop in Winslow Arizona. I hit the head of my car as we crossed the New Mexico state line - The Land of Enchantment by night.
There is nothing but quiet lost, lonely beauty in dark scattered wild and I shudder to think what would have happened if this hurricane storm had pulled its final assault in the wilderness of lonesome desolate highway.
My mom and I saw signs for Gallup just after nine o'clock p.m. Hungry for food (we had not eaten since lunch) we pulled off at Exit 20 to eat at a Cracker Barrel. That is when it happened.
Bam, Crack, Thud, eeerrrrrrrekkkkkkkkkkkeer screech. The fender liner fell off of our car and completely dented the front bumper - the dealer in Flagstaff did not install it correctly.
There is nothing like having your fender fall off in New Mexico in the Cracker Barrel parking lot to leave you screaming at the sky and demanding God - please help us - why God, why? Let's face it we should stay calm in these situations - but the human discipline is to panic.
Realizing we were going to be stuck for the night my mom and I went into The Hampton Inn which by God's grace happened to be in the parking lot of the Cracker Barrel. By a miracle - seriously - we got the very last room in all of Gallup - I kid you not = they had some conference or tournament and it caused every room to be booked except this one. The dilemma - the room cost $199 - yikes! I know I should have had gratitude at that point to be safe and with a hotel in a strange town - but I felt grief and anguish. My mom and I managed to grab a bite at Cracker Barrel before they closed at ten o'clock p.m. We called Progressive and found out it would be several days to get our car fixed. I panicked and I prayed.
God hears prayers. The next morning (Wednesday) - John, a Progressive agent from Albuquerque just happened to be in the area - John used to do mechanic work on the side and fixed our fender liner so we could drive again - safely to NC and beyond - the damage to our bumper would be $800 to replace - directly caused by a bad installation by the dealer who used the wrong parts.
This is a miracle - to have car problems and have your car die in from of a Cracker Barrel and hotel with the last room in the inn and a repair they thought would take a week to fix - repaired in an hour? God proved HIS mercy - we booked one more night at The Hampton Inn - which was AMAZING for the most part (although our fridge died causing us to lose $100 worth of groceries and the desk clerk was rude, but we did not get into it - there comes a point all you want is PEACE).
My main regret is we could not spend more time in Gallup learning about the Navajo and Mexican influences. I hope to return...
Why I wish the car troubles had not occurred - God was faithful in ways I did not even comprehend at the time and I must say I have an adventure story from the road - hopefully my next journey out west will be filled with less exciting chaos and more views of canyons and lessons about culture - God will guide me back to Canyon country again I am certain.
This was a picture from online but I thought it speaks to the roadside trials of driving on empty. This saga really did set us back financially at the time, but God turned out to be faithful. My mom and I made the decision to drive for twenty-four hours straight from Gallup NM to Cookeville TN and to this day I am still shocked I managed the drive....that is a blog for another day...
I would love to return and learn more about the Native American culture in the area and visit the Red Rocks - we saw a lot of homelessness in the region - mostly of Natives - which broke my heart - but we also meet so many strong and kind Natives who loved the land and wanted it to prosper - we need to invest in community and remember the west is a place of the ancient alive in a world of wonder and hope - LOOK forward to returning - each person has a story and when you travel it is a gift to share yours - yes - but more importantly to learn about others through their lens on the world - the Navajo lens is full of color and light - as is the Hopi and other area tribes.
Music on the ROAD
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