I arrive into the town of Holbrook like a champagne bubble floating along a pink cotton candy sky. Along old Route 66, I have driven through this town more times than I care to remember over the last sixteen years, yet this is the first time that I have gone off the interstate and into the neighborhood homes of this quiet high desert oasis.
Still soaking wet from the downpour I was caught in while hiking in the Painted Desert, I enter the Birds Nest, my accommodations for the night. This Homeaway rental is a basement apartment of the local area radio personality, and it is full of history about Holbrook and the surrounding area.
I usually have a much richer experience while traveling by staying in home rentals vs. hotels. The Birds nest is comfortable and warm, with beautiful artwork adorning the walls.
I settle in nicely with a cup of tea, and watch another rainstorm roll across the high desert plain. I sleep well, and am ready to get back to the Petrified Forest in the morning.