Day 24: Flag Treasures

Day Twenty-Four: Flag Treasures

7/3/11:

On July third, Yelena, Noah, Joe, Quentin and I squeezed into Yelena’s little red car for a trip into Flagstaff. Somehow in the scramble, Quentin (5’8”) finagled his way into riding shotgun while Joe (6’5”) ended up in the back between Noah and me, his knees somewhere around his ears. It's pretty safe to say (ahem) that some of us enjoyed that ride more than others. (Side note: the Wild West origins of riding shotgun.)

Flag was a quick jaunt down the highway and we were all hungry for civilization. Not that historic Williams, “A Treasure in Our Own Cool Pines,” was mistreating us exactly, but with a population of 3,500 and a market catering primarily to Route 66-enthusiasts, it wasn’t really the place to sate our sartorial and culinary pangs.

And then there was Flag. Its downtown, bisected by an active Amtrak line, offered bookstores, thrift shops, restaurants, and more outdoorsy stores than I could shake a stick at.

Yelena, anxious to pick up some thrift finds, steered us into a Flag Goodwill. I picked up some shoes for two dollars. Quentin promptly told me they were ugly. Joe played with hats. And then Noah made a discovery: Dino-Riders.

A kids’ cartoon meant to promote the Dino-Rider toy line, we probably enjoyed it more than four twenty-somethings rightly should have. One way or another though, it was undoubtedly the best purchase Noah made all summer.

Our Goodwill hunting over, we hit up downtown Flag, sipping in bits of civilization, hitting on the staff at various outfitter's (Noah, Q, Joe), and trying on floral pink jumpsuits in Arizona’s biggest thrift store (Yelena, me).

The best was saved for last though, and the best was Fratelli Pizza. Hot slices of the “Route 66” and “Flagstaff” pizzas reached a higher plane of deliciousness, and I learned the delicate art of combativeness while eating with los hombres.

Sadly, pizza’s never been the same for me since. Not that I’m totally without hope: Neil has recently informed me that Fratelli’s now delivers.

What's 1,358.62 miles anyway?

Photos: 1. Quentin and Noah enjoying some Fratelli's 2. "Route 66" and "Flagstaff"