Road Trip, Day 1

I'm on a road trip.  I left Phoenix about 2 p.m. and headed up the Beeline Highway (87) past the turnoff for my brother's house and on into the mountains.  Stopped at Payson to get gas.  It's pretty up there! 

Turned onto 260 and then on up into the mountains and then climbing up the Rim.  I don't think I had ever been this way before but it was stunning.  I was a little sad there wasn't a scenic overlook because I wanted to stop and take some pictures.  It was really amazing.  A little past that I saw a guy hitchhiking and stopped to give him a ride -- don't usually pick up hitchhikers but it was such a desolate spot I figured I would give him a ride.  He seemed nice enough.  Dropped him off in Heber as he was heading north, and gave him a couple of bottles of Diet Coke to tide him along.  Driving along through the area I could see the effects from the big Rodeo-Chediski_fire.  Wow.  Sad.

Got into Show Low and stopped at McD's for a snack, then on to Highway 60 toward Springerville.  Very desolate country and usually I was the only car in sight... passed through the Springerville volcanic field and that was REALLY trippy!  Grassland with all these extinct volcanic vents sticking up.  It's the 3rd largest such field in the country -- who knew?!

I pressed on through to New Mexico as the sun set and then on in the dark to Socorro, NM where I found the Rodeway Inn, my destination for the night.