Why wait to start celebrating the New Year when you can get out and make an extended weekend of the holiday? That is just what we are doing. It was about 3:00 p.m. as we got underway. Flagstaff was our first stop for dinner at the Beaver Street Brewery – the fondue was pretty darn good, actually.

We had needed to get out of Phoenix early as the proprietor at the Wigwam Motel on old Route 66 in Holbrook prefers his guests to arrive prior to 9:00 p.m. Jutta is smiling because usually, she gets to share the same room with us when we travel, but tonight she got to sleep in her own teepee.