Day 59-61 - New Mexico

Guilt is a powerful thing...we both couldn't sleep after our decision to junk the Jeep.  So, in the middle of the night, we left a message for them not to junk it but to put in a new transmission.  We will head back to Flagstaff in a week or so to pick it up.  Hopefully nothing else is wrong with it!  

On route to Sante Fe, New Mexico is the largest Indian Reservation in the country.  We went through some not so pretty country...desert landscape (albeit it was cold and rainy...go figure), with mostly run down houses and at least a billion billboards begging you to turn off to buy some great handicrafts or go to a casino (which I resisted...probably because I'm not driving).  

Mostly the route was part of the old Route 66, with some campgrounds actually having dinner you could order and brought to your RV...we had to try it out with some beef and beans and some fruit pie!  Quite tasty - however, we are used to my cooking which could have had some bearing on our opinions.

In Albuquerque, there wasn't much to be seen so we spent a very nice relaxing day at the zoo.  Jack enjoyed it and we did as well...a few animals like zebras, rhinos and polar bears to make it a bit different than home.

We enjoyed the downtown Plaza in Santa Fe...lots of people, music, street vendors, shops.  Lots of people with their blankets out on the sidewalk selling jewelry and crafts.  Everything about Santa Fe is about art or food.  John and Jack hung out in the park/plaza while I did a bit of shopping.   We snacked at the food vendors (Jack loves corn on the cob!) and then ate once again at a great Mexican restaurant with Coronas & Margaritas of course!   

We then made our way to Los Alamos and took in a science museum (it was actually quite interesting).  Los Alamos is the place where the US compiled all its brain power in one remote location and built the atomic bomb.  It was chosen because it was remote (the Beast had to climb to high altitudes on this journey), had good weather all year around, and had services/utilities.  It is still a working laboratory for super secret national security stuff,  energy, environment, scientific discovery and who knows what else - and not a small one!  It employs 15,000 people (I was surprised that the town has that many people) and has an annual budget of $2.2 billion!!  We had to go through crazy security gates in the middle of town to get to the road to our campground...we turned around a few times thinking we were not on the highway at all but in the end, we were on the correct road, and the security guards must have got a good laugh watching us turn the Beast around a few times before finally asking them where the heck we were.  

The landscape changed significantly for the better.  It is pine forest and felt somewhat like home.  After hiking to some falls near the campground, we went to an ancient 13th century village of the Pueblo people - their homes were in the cliffs of a Canyon.  You can climb the ladders and see the caves where they lived.  

We continued north to Taos which is where we are now...a small town surrounded by mountains and just east of the Rio Grande.  The gorge carved by the Rio Grande is quite incredible - flat flat ground all around and then this incredibly deep gorge.  Very cool...we went and saw the second largest suspension bridge in the US that crosses it and it reminded me of the scene in Thelma and Louise...there was even a smashed up jeep at half way down to complete the scene.  

All the buildings here are the adobe style...sand colored with flat roofs -and I mean all the buildings...gas stations, grocery stores, McDonalds, all of them!  Very pretty.  This town has everything from river rafting to tons of skiing and lots of galleries.  We also visited an ancient pueblo village (they came to these villages after the cliffs - there are about 19 of them in New Mexico) where some people still live - without electricity or water.  We ate Fry bread cooked in their outdoor ovens (basically fried dough - yuck) and wandered the shops where they sell their handicrafts.

Tomorrow, we are heading to Lubbock, Texas to visit friends...this is as far East as we will go as we are over 2/3 finished our trip already!