Sante Fe and beyond

The last couple of days have been a bit of a blur. We spent two days in Sante Fe walking around, in and out of shops. I was tempted to buy so many things but the only money I spent was on the admission to the Contemporary Indian Art Museum and lunch from a street cart. I can't remember exactly what it was but it was meat perfection wrapped in a tortilla and smothered in hot salsa. I could eat like this forever.

Contemporary Indian Art Museum

Sante Fe Market



Skulls at the Sante Fe market

 Until I started traveling in the Midwest, I had no idea I wanted cowboy boots or skulls (ok maybe the skulls). Okie and I drove to the top of the mountains above Sante Fe and watched the sunset. I took this shot of a truck going up the hill just as the sun disappeared.

Back down the mountain we were given a spot to park by a friend of a friend and I had the luxury of having wi-fi access from my van. In the morning we had to get new tires which took a good chunk of money but these things happen. I had already driven about 5000 KM on tires which were questionable to start with and the van was shaking quite a bit. Back on the road, we drove the Turquoise Trail from Sante Fe to Albequerque. If you ever get the chance to do it I would highly recommend it. The landscape is amazing and it takes you through small towns which give you more of an authentic experience than Sante Fe itself will. Don't get me wrong, it's a great place but it's VERY touristy. Madrid, pronounced MA-drid, not like the one in Spain, was a lovely little stop along the way. It's an old mining town turned into an unincorporated town so they have their own shops and rules. Unfortunately my computer is refusing to read my card from yesterday so I have no photos to show right now of this portion but hopefully they aren't lost forever.

We reconnected with Route 66 through Albequerque but I didn't give the city as much attention as maybe I should have. After window shopping around Sante Fe and Madrid I didn't have any desire to look at any more stores so we drove through, stopping to take photos of the neon signs of course. Last night we stayed in an RV park which is connected to a Route 66 Casino. It was only $10/night if you get a players card. So, for that price, which included power hook-up, dump station and shower I thought I would park and go to the casino to get the card. It was free and I figured maybe I'd play a machine for something different to do. After getting my card I walked the floor, found it a bit depressing, and left. I'm not a gambler.

Today we are off to Sky City, which is an ancient pueblo village atop a 367-foot sandstone bluff. I am sure to have photos of this up in the next couple of days....