Acoma Pueblo, NM, to Tusayan, AZ

17 January 2016:  Today, I drove my last segment of I-40, a highway that I've been following since I joined it east of Knoxville, Tennessee four days ago.  Today's drive, across high desert bordered by reddish brown mesas in the distance, was starkly beautiful.  As I approached Flagstaff, Arizona, the San Francisco Peaks loomed dramatically on the horizon.  I turned off I-40 in Flagstaff around midday and drove north on secondary roads through the San Francisco Peaks to Grand Canyon.  I arrived in the National Park in time to admire the view from Mather Point and to take a short walk on the Rim Trail.  It's awesome, spectacular...  

I'm spending the night in Tusayan, a town just south of Grand Canyon that caters to tourists.  I'll return to the Rim Trail tomorrow for a longer walk (the trails that descend into the canyon are very icy -- something I'm not prepared for), and then drive in the afternoon to Utah and other canyons.

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Rugged terrain around I-40 in western New Mexico:

We are not alone... 

The San Francisco Peaks, seen from afar on I-40:

A good secondary road leads north from Flagstaff to Grand Canyon:

Grand Canyon:

There is apparently a regulation somewhere stipulating that all visitors to Mather Point, the outlook closest to the Grand Canyon Visitor Center, must take at least one selfie.  The use of selfie sticks, while highly recommended, is not obligatory.