Mile 3,000 - Jiffy Lube

I have never been on a trip so long that you had to change the oil.  If we take many excursions off the path on the way home we may have to rotate the tires.  

Mile 3,000 was a reminder that no matter how far you go, you still have to do life.  While our oil was being changed we walked across the street to a post office where we mailed some post cards along with some bills; one of which was our taxes.  Uncle Sam is inescapable.  

Before we left Phoenix we ate at the Over Easy Cafe in Scottsdale.  If you have been following our trip you know that unique places to eat have been a theme.  Blame that on Guy Fierri and the Food Channel.  When you are a foreigner you have no idea where to eat.  I can eat at Applebees at home, but I rarely do.  I can eat at McDonald’s in Moscow (and I have).  When I am on a road trip I want to eat at a dive, a good one, with some local flair.  So all along the way I have been searching for local cafes that have been featured on the Food Channel.  According to the video online Guy Fierri had the Caramelized Banana and Pecan French Toast.  So did I.  Muy bueno!

Growing up my mom had a cactus that was about 4 inches tall.  It bloomed about 4 purple petals a year and she got all excited.  That cactus didn’t do much for me.  Growing up watching Bugs Bunny and Yosemite Sam makes you want to see a real cactus; one of those tall ones that looks like it has arms.  Driving through Northern Arizona we were looking everywhere for one.  They are not there.  The mega cacti are in Southern Arizona, around Phoenix, and they are huge.  

Apparently there is a bird that nests inside the huge desert cacti.  They bore little holes in the trunk making each huge cactus look like a tacky bird house you would buy at Wal-Mart.  Nesting in a cactus must be a tiny bird’s way of putting all the slithering, egg eating lizards of Arizona on a diet.  

After this trip I’m going to need a cactus right in front of the fridge.

On to Sedona . . .