Life is a Highway

On the Road Again

Yesterday was mostly a travel day. We ate another great breakfast at Cinnamon Morning B&B, where we met an Australian family who moved to the states on assignment for 4 years. And they live in Chevy Chase, MD. Go figure! We checked out, but left our luggage behind so we could go to the Albuquerque Flea Market. Now, we're not really flea market folks, but we've found the ones out here in the Southwest to be very interesting with some high quality stuff sold by folks without a storefront. This was true in Gallup and Santa Fe, NM. It was NOT true in ABQ. This was truly a flea market with lots of used stuff (I'm being kind here). So, we hightailed it back to Cinnamon Morning, gave Sue one last hug and headed off for the five hour drive to Cortez, CO. (Parting was not the usual sweet sorrow since we've pretty much decided to come back to ABQ and Cinnamon Morning in early October for the Balloon Fiesta, when hundreds of hot air balloons rise in a Mass Ascension each weekend morning. Mass Ascension - sounds religious, and we hear it's that kind of experience to see so many balloons in the air at one time.)

The trip here was notable on only two counts: the single, straight line on our GPS and the alway impressive sight of Ship Rock in northern New Mexico as it appears to glide across the desert. (The photos are from last year - sorry, but it was too dark to take new ones.) So, now we're ensconced in our cabin here at Kelly Place B&B, looking forward to a relaxing day.

What a Day!

Boy, did we have a full day yesterday. First, after a delicious breakfast at Cinnamon Morning, we went to Petroglyph National Monument, which is just on the outskirts of Albuquerque. There, amid the boulder strewn lava fields, are thousands of petroglyphs, or pictures carved into the rocks. These particular petroglyphs are anywhere from 200 to 800 years old. As we were walking along the trail with our eyes on the rocks, we came upon a couple of women our age - turned out they were cousins from Colorado and Montana. Just as one of them was about to take a picture, her camera batteries died. Her camera took four batteries, mine two, but I had a couple of extras; so, we spent the next 30 minutes swapping batteries back and forth. Now that we were joined at the hip, we got to know each other and discovered we had a mutual love of the Southwest. Turned out our Colorado friend knew quite a bit about the area and gave us several tips about places to see. We soon got tired of swapping batteries, so i became the group photographer and we downloaded the pictures into their laptop when we got back to the parking lot.

Next, we realized that we both planned to go to the Gathering of Nations, a huge Pow Wow of North American tribes held every year in ABQ. So, off we went together. The Grand Entry of hundreds of Native Americans in full regalia to drumming and singing was truly amazing. This event is usually held indoors at "The Pit", the University of New Mexico's infamous basketball arena. Since The Pit is being refurbished this year, they held it outdoors at UNM's football field. Unfortunately, this put us a ways away from the action, so my photos below aren't the best. On the other hand, Marie and I got our first (on this trip) taste of Fry Bread in the form of an Indian Taco. Full of lard and not good for you, but delicious.

Later today we'll be heading for Cortez, CO and our favorite place on Earth, Kelly Place B&B.

Arrive Alive

Well, we arrived in Albuquerque yesterday evening after an eventful flight - one of the bumpiest rides we've ever had. It included one of those sheer drops where everyone gasps and then laughs in relief that we're still airborne. Southwest Airlines, the LAST humane U.S. carrier, always keeps things light with humor. A couple of examples from our pre-flight instructions. "For those of you traveling with children ........ what were you thinking?" And, "Please ask one of our uniformed flight crew if you have any questions. .... NOT the naked co-pilot, but that's another story." BA DUM DUM. Anyway, we had a little surprise when we arrived at ABQ - IT"S COLD AND RAINY! Where are our bluebird skies and warm temps? Today it's 56 and windy. Expected to warm up tomorrow.

(As an aside, you know you've packed too much when ... you have to sit on the suitcase to zip it and notice that something is vibrating inside. No, not THAT! Our electric toothbrush triggered (the bad news) but Marie felt it and turned it off (the good news.))

We're staying at a new (for us) place - a B&B called Cinammon Morning. What a cool place! Bright Southwestern colors, a hostess who's a hoot (an absolute must for us) and M&M's in every room. I've included a few pics below (including the M&M's) - I highly recommend Cinammon Morning for a stay in ABQ - close to the airport, Old Town and Petroglyph National Monument (where we're off to today), and for not much more cash than a chain hotel. AND you get a delicious full breakfast and all the M&M's you can eat (did I mention the M&M's)?