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!

An Afternoon at the 2016 Corrales Garden Tour

Posted from Bakersfield CA.

Last Sunday, Reid, Amy, Pam and I attended the Corrales Garden Tour.  Cousin Linda lives in the village was again on this year's Garden Tour Committee.  She was at one of the six home on display.   We got our tickets near the Produce Market in town and then followed our map to visit each of homes.

Corrales Valley is next to the Rio Grande and has a good water supply for farming and gardening in the area.

The color of the flowers and Mexican Tile caught my eye at the first house.

 But the noteworthy aspect of the garden was the two very large fish ponds that are kept stocked with sizable ones.

 Many times the gardens are not dependant on lots of water, but rather those that need very little.

 I am about as good at naming plants as I am birds so I'm not much help identifying these fragrant yellow bushes.

These are like most gardens and take a lot of TLC and work.  But they were gorgeous.

 Many of the homes had artists who were set up and painting scenes from a shaded vantage point.

 This might have been my favorite home where the homeowner, in blue, gave us a guided tour.

Her mom, in the red top, has been visiting for weeks and did a lot of the work getting the gardens on the property in shape for all the visitors.

This was a typical check in point at a home on the tour.  It is set on the mountainside near Rio Rancho.

 Inside, we found these three authors who also are RVers and were selling their latest books.  I know it would be helpful it I had taken a card and gotten their names and website correct.

Maybe they will see this and add a comment.  Stranger things have happened.

Some of the homes had lots of garden area, others had a few plants along a wall or near the house.  All were beautifully done and many with grass which surprised me.  I figured most would be yards requiring minimum irrigation.

 Some had beautiful porches of this variety.  I like the separated beams with the mesh fabric over top.

 Then the highlight of the tour -- we got to see cousin Linda!  She is very active on the committee and was filling in as a parking director.

 She took time out to chat with us and catch up on grandkids and such.  Priorities.

 This is the last home of the tour and looks across the mesa and Rio Grande and downtown Albuquerque and the Sandias in the distance.

 Each home had a volunteer or two from the Sandoval County Master Gardener group and they answered all our questions.  But here at this back porch view, we mostly enjoyed the breathtaking view.

It was a fun way to spend the afternoon and we topped it off with some dinner at the world famous El Pinto Restaurant.

 It was a great way to wind up our stay in the Albuquerque area!

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!

Lots of Info at the Nuclear Museum

The Kirtland AFB FamCamp (where we parked the Roadrunner while in Albuquerque) is located near the Eubank Gate not far from the National Museum of Nuclear Science and History.  

 New Mexico and other key states have long been involved in the nuclear industry beginning during World War II.

At that time, the U.S. and many scientists from Germany who left the Nazi regime -- developed the atom bomb. Much of that research took place in New York (the Manhattan Project), New Mexico, Tennessee, California and Washington.

 Interesting that Pam grew up in Clinton TN not far from Oak Ridge and I grew up new Los Alamos.  In Oak Ridge, the plans are still identified by their letter and number designator and we hear of people who still work there.

Not being that interested science or nuclear stuff, the real draw for us was the Route 66 museum and artifacts that are temporarily housed in the building.  Really?  Guess they want to get something that appeals to everyone?

The owner of this Mustang drove the entire way and documented his travels, then loaned it to the museum.

 It was fun to see all the towns it went through in New Mexico including Santa Fe and Albuquerque.

Can't tell you how many times we've seen friends and family and fail to get a picture so we did that.

Next, we had lunch over at the unique restaurant and shops built with transportation containers.

 Green Jeans is newly up and running and appears to have a booming business.

That is a quick recap of our Saturday sights in Albuquerque last weekend.  Always fun to hang out and do stuff with Reid and Amy.