Short Albuquerque Visit

We drove from Yuma to Deming in a day and then from Deming to Albuquerque on the next.  We bypassed Las Cruces and went from Deming to Hatch and then up I-25 to Albuquerque.

Leaving Deming and driving the Hatch highway was a very scenic experience.  I was quite surprise of the beauty on this road although Rand McNally had it labeled as a Scenic Highway.  The map was correctly labeled.

Kind of hard to tell on this photo but the vistas into the distance on both sides of the highway were great.  We will have to drive this way again.  It took about 3 1/2 hours to get to Albuquerque on a very pleasant highway.  We camped again at the military campground at Kirtland AFB which is about 15 minutes from Reid and Amy's house.

This was Easter Weekend and we carved out time to spend Reid and Amy. We were only going to spend a few days in Albuquerque and this time we couldn't see and do everything we wanted.  We were limited to:

• Seeing Reid and Amy and spending time with them
• Eating NM cuisine
• Working on their yard
• Spending one day in Santa Fe
• Extended family celebration on Easter

Reid and Amy were working on Wednesday afternoon, so the first thing we did after we got set up in the campground was find a Blakes Lotaburger and have a green chile cheeseburger for lunch.  It was great.

Later, that evening after work, we went to Padilla's Mexican Kitchen for dinner

The sopapilla's and the rest of dinner were great.  I know I have posted a picture of the same thing a time or two, but I love that food!  And it is hard to find a better restaurant in town.  Another one we like is Frontier Restaurant and we went there twice for breakfast, once on Friday and again on Sunday.  Hueveros rancheros and the hot cinnamon roll are always a safe choice there.

Reid took off Thursday and Friday and we worked on his yard.  He is in the middle of a big yard landscaping project that has take a few weeks.  Thursday was spent was moving dirt around, leveling it in places, adding yard trim to a walkway, and laying down some stones.

It is very nice and is looking better each day.  Their yard (both front and back) is going from one with a lot of grass (which requires watering) to one that has only a small area of grass.  He laid down a lot of mulch and planted a number of desert plants throughout the yard.  He also installed an extensive drip system to keep the plants and bushes healthy.

On Friday we went to Santa Fe by way of Cedar Crest on the back side of Sandia mountain.  He had a building to check out and we liked the drive on the back road to Santa Fe.

We passed through old towns that have become tourist stops. Madrid and Cerrillos were once important mining sites on the Turquoise Trail.  Now they are known for arts and crafts and unique little stores. The drive was interesting and I like the variety instead of traveling along the same routes all the time.  I think I've driven the Santa Fe/Albuquerque I-25 corrider a thousand times. (I grew up in Santa Fe.)

As we do nearly every time we visit, we drove by our old hangouts around some other places in Santa Fe.  Amy spent high school there and Pam grew up in Tennessee. Pam has heard the wind shield tour many times over the years but is a good sport about it.  

We drove out airport road to the old airport and had a look.  I remember then we stopped off at Santa Fe Country Club.  The Santa Fe Airport closed back when I was in high school.  At one time Continental Airlines and Frontier Airlines operated out of Santa Fe, now it is predominately smaller commuter type airplane travel.

We made our way downtown to the Plaza in Santa Fe and ended up having lunch at the famous La Fonda Hotel.  That is always a treat.

After we returned to Reid and Amy's I helped Reid with some yard work.  They converted their grass lawn into a low maintenance yard that saves a lot of water.

It turned out great and they ended up getting a rebate on their city water bill since they got rid of all the grass.  We enjoyed our time with Reid and Amy.  Never seems to be long enough.  We love spending time with them.

After a few short days in Albuquerque, we hit the Interstate early and headed for Oklahoma City with an overnight stop in Sayre Oklahoma.

Thanks for joining us on the Roadrunner Chronicles!

Wrapping Up Another Great Time in NM

A week in Albuquerque flew by quickly.  We lifted our jacks and hit the road about 7:30 AM heading east on I-40.  We made great time and got over 1 mpg more than we usually do.

 We are at a very nice overnight stop at Sayre, OK at their self-serve city campground.  What a great stop!  Might be our favorite city campground ever!

Level sites, long pull through, on a golf course, 50 amp and water.  And - $12!  After all the Mexican food we've been eating, I thought it would be a nice change to have a steak.  I looked around for some options and Yelp! had good things to say about Rodriguez' Steaks and More...

We split a juicy 10oz Ribeye that was cooked to perfection.  It was just what we needed after a long day on the road.

Looking back over our week in NM, it seems like we ate a lot of Mexican (aka New Mexican) food.  We got to see some friends and family, and we also did some work with Reid (both at his office and house).

We hit the ground running with New Mexican food (which was known Mexican food when we grew up in the state) at:

• Thursday: dinner/ Padilla's Mexican Kitchen 
• Friday: breakfast/Frontier Restaurant 
• Friday: lunch/The Shed in Santa Fe
• Saturday: lunch /Lotaburger
• Saturday: dinner/El Pinto in Corrales
• Monday: lunch/ Frontier Restaurant
• Tuesday: dinner/ Padilla's Mexican Kitchen
• Wednesday: lunch/Lotaburger

If you are visiting Albuquerque or Santa Fe, there are some recommendations.
We never got a bad meal and somehow managed not over eat.  :) We could have, but exercised some restraint.  Yum.  We love the red and green chile and the enchiladas, beans, rice, sopapillas, huevos rancheros, burritos, the world's best green chile cheeseburger, tacos, tamales etc.
 You will not be disappointed!

There was just not enough time to see everyone we wanted to, so we did what we could. While in Santa Fe, we got to see Steve and Karen for our day trip there.  On Sunday, we saw some friends at church, then went out to cousin Linda's and saw husband Jim, their son and girlfriend (Seth and Amanda), and grand baby Carter.  (No pictures again??)
On Monday Reid and I were able to have lunch with junior high school friend Patty whom I hadn't seen in 20+ years.

 There are so many more people we would have loved to see but we ran out of time.

While in Albuquerque, we always try to work on a project or two at Reid and Amy's house.  This time we tackled repairs and painting to some fascia on his shed and house, stucco repairs and painting  on the soffit and put up a 28' gutter.

We like going over to his office and seeing the changes they have made since our last visit.  Their new signage on the outside looks great.  Inside, the new ceramic tile and carpeting through out the building really look great.
In one office, he wanted a cabinet shelf removed.

Then I got some OJT (on the job training) from Dan - their ace Operations Manager - on how to use the backpack vacuum cleaners the company uses.

The shelf removal turned out to be a smaller job than anticipated but I still needed to clean up the saw dust and wood chips.

That's a quick update on some memories of our NM visit this time and our overnight stay at a great little campground.

On to Oklahoma!  Thanks for checking in on the Roadrunner Chronicles!  BTW - love your comments!

How To Spend a Great Day in Santa Fe

We are staying in Albuquerque out at the Kirtland AFB FamCamp.  It is a great stop for us.  Very convenient getting into from the Eubank Gate and we like the big gravel sites.  We always try to go up to Santa Fe at least one time during our time here and yesterday was the day.

We started off the day with breakfast at Frontier Restaurant on Central.

Its right across from UNM and one of the premier places to eat and people watch in the city.  Not to mention we like the food.

You can't go wrong with a breakfast burrito with green chile or Huevos Lite with red chile sauce, coffee and one of those dietary sweet rolls (heated).

The drive to Santa Fe on I-25 took about 55 minutes.  The speed limit is 75 but we got passed frequently.  Before you know it you are on top of La Bajada Hill and looking down into Santa Fe against the backdrop of the Sangre de Christo mountains.

We took the exit for Cerrillos (suh-REE-yos) Road.  It is always amazing to me to see how this end of town has grown and changed so dramatically.

We were a little early to meet up with Steve and Karen, so we got picked up some tourist maps and info at the Santa Fe Outlet Stores.  We weren't sure if the stores were open (they weren't at 9:30) but they did have a self service tourism kiosk where we were able to pick up a couple of city maps and tourist info.

This was the inaugural effort of Roadrunner Tour: Santa Fe, so we wanted to do it right and have some handouts.  Santa Fe is known as "The City Different" for its blending of some many cultures,  and for its art, architecture and chiles.  It was founded in 1610 by Spanish colonists and the oldest church in the United States (San Miguel) still stands.  It continues to be a record setting city with attractive vistas and a popular tourist destination.

Besides that, it's my hometown and I love to come back for a visit when we can.  And yesterday it was fun to share it with good friends.

I always love a good map and find them useful to get oriented.  Here are some I found:

We still had some time and went to one of the many Car Washes on Cerrillos Rd.  First one cost $19.  Oops wrong one.  Next one was $9. Better (similar to the $3 car wash we go to in Virginia Beach, but hey-- you are in Santa Fe!)

After the tour limo (our Honda CRV) was cleaned and vacuumed, we went to the Santa Fe Skies RV park and met Steve and Karen.  I think the last time we saw them was over a year ago in Red Bay.  Good to see them again.

Off we went for the first stop which just off Cerrillos Road and a drive by of my old house where I grew up.  I keep hoping that the broken down appearance and cars (in the front yard) would be replaced by some owners with a sense of pride and orderliness.  Nope -- still in a needy condition and no where near the grass lawn and shade trees and flowers that we worked hard to bring about in the 1960's and 1970's.

Next, we continued on toward downtown past the old Kinney Shoe Store, St. Michael's College, El Rey Motel,

Ashbaugh Park, and the Indian School (owned by the 19 Pueblos of New Mexico and serving 700 Native American Indians in grades 7-12).

After the passing the School for the deaf and crossing St. Frances Drive, we continued on and turned left to go by the The Railyard District.

The Railroad Yard was established about 15 years ago and now is the terminus for the  Railrunner and host to a number of trendy cafes, art stores and the local Farmer's Market and Art Market.  The Farmer's Market is open daily and the Artist Market is open during the summer on Saturdays.  We recommended Tomasita's Restaurant.  We have eaten there and like it.

Moving through the area, we drove past the Old Capitol building (with the Territorial style buildings) on Don Gaspar, then turned on DeVargas and past the Oldest House and Oldest Church.  We continued on our windshield tour over to Canyon Road and up the art mecca area of the city.  100's of galleries along this famous road.  We continued on the back streets going around the city on Paseo de Peralta and found a city parking garage on Marcy Ave.

From the garage we went over to Sena Plaza and ate at The Shed.

That was a treat!  It never disappoints.  We all had chile with our meals.  Growing up there, I remember green chile being the hotter of the two.  Over the years though that seems to have changed.  Most places in where we eat, they said the red chile is the hottest.  Our waiter took a different approach and said, neither.  They are the same.

More correctly I think is the response, "It depends".  Sometimes the green is the hottest, sometimes its red.  Lately it seems to me that the red is the hottest.  Steve had the red, Karen had the green and Pam and I had red.  Karen and Steve grew up back east and thought the chile is spicey.  I thought it was flavorful.  No matter though -- it added to the burrito, combination plate and Carne Arvado plate that Pam and I shared.  It was simply excellent!

After lunch we stolled along the Plaza, looked at the jewelry from the Indian vendors under the portal of the Palace of the Governors.

Then we continued down Palace Ave past the Georgia O'Keefe Museum.  We walked up Burro Alley, saw the Lensic Theater and the rest of the shops along W. San Francisco Ave.  We went a few blocks to where I remember Woolworth's was and the famous frito pie.  Now the Five and Dime sells it.

Going on past the opposite side of the Palace of the Governor's I noticed how nice the Plaza is these days.  There a plenty of park benches and the green grass and those wonderful shade trees.  It is all a lot nicer than I remember years ago.  There was something was going on at the Bandstand but we kept walking and strolled through the lobby of the La Fonda Hotel.

La Fonda is such a landmark and interesting place.  We walked around for a few minutes then went back out onto San Francisco to the St. Francis Cathedral.  It was built by Bishop Lamy and completed in 1886. What a beautiful cathedral.

We looked around and took a few pictures and then went a couple of streets over to the Loretto Chapel and Miraculous Staircase.

The Staircase was a $3 entry fee but completely worth it. As the story goes when the chapel was being built, the nuns needed a way to get to the choir loft high above. They were at a standstill and there was not enough space in the small church to build a standard staircase.  So they prayed.  Later a mysterious man who was an expert carpenter showed up and figured it out.  Without nails or supports, he completed the task with a circular spiral staircase.  Without fanfare or formal notice he left and told no one.  He was never paid for his work.

On previous visits to the chapel, I don't remember a recording with speakers providing the history and story.  It was a nice way to accommodate the visitors while they wandered around the ornate chapel.  Some stood and looked at the staircase, others sat and listened to the story or gazed upon the beautiful  stained glass windows on one end and the white altar on the other.

That was the last stop on the Roadrunner Tour: Santa Fe and we walked to the Plaza toward our parked car.  As we were moving along we saw a few people gathered and went over to see country and western star Randy Travis enjoying his celebrity with some friends.  The person with him asked if anyone wanted a picture so I accommodated.

A fan was telling him how she won a talent contest in school by singing one of his hits:  "Forever and ever Amen!".  It was released in 1987 and became his third number one single.

We took a drive around the Scottish Rite Temple and around what was Santa Fe Mid-High School.  Back in the day 9th and 10th grades were in the old high school and the new Santa Fe High was built on the edge of town on Yucca St. 

We drove past the old high school, the Government building and Post Office and then out past Rosario Cemetery and De Vargas Mall and took St Francis Drive down to Cerrillos Road and out to the Santa Fe bypass (Highway 599) to Santa Fe Skies RV park.

The few hours went quickly and it was a fun filled day with our good friends Steve and Karen.  Hopefully, you can see our approach to spending a few hours in a place where a week is really not enough to take it all in.  Still, there are some memorable and interesting things to do in only a few hours.

We never tire of seeing Santa Fe and spending some time there.  It was a beautiful day in a beautiful city with beautiful friends.

Thanks for joining us to day on the Roadrunner Chronicles.

Memories in Montana

We definitely did not spend enough time in Montana.  What a beautiful state! We love driving through the mountains and getting to see the spectacular mountains and buttes of Montana.  It is a wonderland.  We will definitely have to come back and spend more time here.

Six years ago we went to Glacier National Park and I decided then Montana was one of the most beautiful places I'd ever visited.  At that time we said we need to come back.  We did, but we need to spend a few weeks here rather than a few days.  There is too much to see.

We drove from Spokane to Missoula the first day (Jim and Mary's RV Park) and on to Columbus MT the second day.  I-90 has to go on our list of some of the most scenic drives in America!

Sadly, photos out of the windshield do not come close to convey the beauty of this place.

I thought I took a lot more photos but I didn't.  :(

The country goes forever through valley after beautiful valley.  I reminds me of the Shenandoah Valley except it is bigger and there are more of them in Montana.   And less people.  It is really something.

Santa Fe High School friend Donna and husband Paul live in Montana.  We didn't get a chance to see them our first time through Montana, but were able to do so this time.  She is a nurse and he does sales in the building industry.  They have a place on the river a few miles from where camped in Columbus, MT.

This is our campsite for our two night stay at the Mountain Ranger RV Campground in Columbus.  It was fine for a short visit and we were able to get some wash done.

We met Donna and Paul for dinner at the 307 in Columbus this first night which worked out great.  It was fun to meet Paul and hear of his days as a professional baseball player.  I think the last time I saw Donna was when she was a cheerleader for the University of Wyoming and they came to Arizona State for a football game in 1972.

We were able to spend the next afternoon/evening with them at their place on the river.  The summer has been especially hot this year and the river is pretty low.  But in normal times they can literally fish off their deck as the river goes right by.

Donna fixed a wonderful meal and we had a great time seeing them.

We can see why they love it here in their little slice of heaven!  It was a wonderful time, they were gracious hosts and it was another upside to this RV full-timing thing.

Thanks for joining us on the Roadrunner Chronicles!

Santa Fe and Tent Rocks

If you are in Albuquerque for a few days, you have to consider driving the 60 miles to Santa Fe.  "The City Different" is always a fun place to see, even if it is only for a few hours.  We arrived in time to walk around before finding some lunch.

The Plaza is always find to wander around and this time, we notice traffic was only allowed on one street.  The other three streets were closed off and it was to walk around.  We didn't have anything in particular in mind, but just took in the beautiful day.

In my mind, no visit to Santa Fe is complete without walking along the Palace of the Governors and checking out the beautiful Pueblo Indian jewelry.

And seeing the St. Francis of Assisi Basilica never gets old.

After lunch and a couple of hours in Santa Fe we headed back to Albuquerque toward the Cochiti Pueblo.  We specifically were interested in doing a short hike along the trail of the Tent Rocks National Monument.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) manages Tent Rocks (aka as Kasha-Katuwe "white cliffs" and has made a number of trail improvements since we last visited four years ago.

Tent.Rocks.

We started out on the Cave Loop Trail which was a not very elevated.  It was an easy hike along open trails.

This little cave was quite interesting and made me wonder how man hundreds (thousands?) of people had used it for a season in times past.  Definitely a curiosity.

Next, it was on to the Slot Canyon Trail which we picked up at the end of the Cave Loop Trail.

 It was a bit narrow a few times.  Glad we picked an off day.  Can't imagine how long it would be during peak season with lots of people waiting their turn.

 The kicker on this trail was the steep elevation at places including the 630 ft rise at toward the end of the trail.  It was getting a little late and we opted to cut short our hike after some very scenic photos.

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!