On December 28, I finished up work and packed. On December 29, I left. I left with precisely 80,000 miles on my car. I drove from San Jose down towards LA, out to Bakersfield, and onto I-40. I tried to get some barbecue in Bakersfield but one joint was converted into a church, and the other appeared to be erased from the map (and the world.) Pity. I drove on I-40 past Flagstaff (I had already been to the Grand Canyon recently), where it got to be around the coldest of anywhere on my trip (~15-20 F), and even had snow on the ground - which I had missed a little living in San Jose. I ended up sleeping near Grants, NM; just at a thousand miles for the day.
December 30 saw me through Albuquerque, which had hot air balloons and very many cars from Colorado (which seems to offer the same license plate in five or so colors?), then up to Santa Fe. I had taken a detour to drive to the corners of Oklahoma, Colorado, and Kansas, thereby crossing the latter two off my list without detouring more than a mile into them. I was surprised by how small Santa Fe is. It has a population of just under 70K according to the 2010 census. It's a city everyone has heard of, and only has a population of some 70K people... incredible. The entire county's population is just double that.
On my way along the detour, and after Santa Fe, I drove to Las Vegas, which happens to be the name of a small town on I-25 in New Mexico. I was definitely confused by the highway signs indicating I was going to Las Vegas... Eventually, I found myself going on US 56 East. It was a fun road. It had a speed limit of 65, one lane each way, and the ability to pass - nothing rare in this part of the country. However, what was rare was that people actually drove quite fast on it; the corn had been cut down, there was visibility for miles, the weather was perfect, and I was passed several times until I matched speed with traffic, flowing at a leisurely 90MPH. I have no complaints; it was a wonderful drive. However, I have never seen a road with so many crosses on the side.
I wonder if those two things are related.