Tag: adventure

Albuquerque Part 1. The Mother Road episode 18

The campground selection for Albuquerque turned out to be a point of interest on the Rte 66 list. Enchanted Trails, I was just trying to pick something reasonably close to the highway and more to the west of the city…and really…Enchanted Trails….who could resist…. 😃

It’s maybe a bit close to the highway (nighttime road noise) but otherwise a pretty good pick. Lots of 66 memorabilia and some vintage trailers (rentable)

First order of business was to see if we could get a timely fix on the AC. After days of trying to arrange something with a couple of places by phone, the lady at the Enchanted Trails desk recommended Good Sense RV. Jeremy Hogan, the service manager was terrific….. ordered the unit on the spot as we stood there in his office on Friday and tentatively booked us to switch it out the following Wednesday……. So 4 extra days in Albuquerque….I’ll tell you there’s worse places to pass the time…. 😁

What a great city. There is a flavor of artistic pride here. The bridges have murals or friezes or at least some decorative element. The architecture embraces the Adobe rounded, earth coloured aesthetic which makes the buildings less imposing.

We stopped in to a new route 66 visitor centre just across the highway from the campground. There was only one other vehicle in the parking lot…we poked around a little and it was closed.

Just as we were about to leave a door opened and the guy asked if he could help. Turns out the centre had just and only just, been gifted to the city after its original planners/developers had run out of money. He let us come in and have a look around…… ( Thanks Dominic..!!)…..

….there was an impressive collection of Route 66 cars……

The upper floor of the centre is an event space….with the most amazing view from the balcony…..

He made some great recommendations for things to go see in the city………and also shared with us his ‘Breaking bad’ story……the guy with the crazy moustache is his dad…. 😁.

On Dominics recommendation we found a great parking spot downtown to walk the Old Town of Albuquerque. A touristy spot, but a quite lovely walk around the old original town…….and a big dose of Breaking Bad that came with it……!!

The Old Town was built on a grid, perfect for a bit of touristy traipsing around…..

It was hot that day…..but it seems like that terracotta colour of the stucco and concrete of the sidewalks does not reflect the heat in the same way as that regular stone/grey colour.

Or maybe there was just enough shade to keep it comfortable. There were lots of lovely little artisan stores, weavers, antiques, jewellery and more. Lovely for browsing.

The Breaking Bad store was a must stop too….

It was more like a museum of the series and spinoffs with a gift store attached. It was a cool little place…

Next task was to scope out the Kiva Centre and where the parking was in prep for Lyle Lovett in concert. (Did I mention that Scott had scored us tickets for this, the opening night of this years’ big band concert series……!!)

Lyle was awesome, as usual. Always worth the price of admission.

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The Petroglyph cliff. The Mother Road episode 17

Still in Santa Fe and still just loving it here. Another hike was in order, again not a particularly long or challenging one but still good to get out and stretch some limbs.

This selection from Alltrails was La Cienaguilla loop and from the reviews it was not a huge elevation but did promise some pretty decent petroglyphs on the cliff face of the mesa.

It was a short drive from the campground….almost convenient…. 😁.The trailhead parking lot was mostly empty when we arrived…… (we definitely appreciate having the trails to ourselves when it happens..!!)

Despite reviews that say this is a hard trail to follow……we found our way fairly easily…… a flat sandy path along the base of the mesa….and then pretty much straight up…..

It was steep and rocky, but not terribly far to reach the base of the cliff….

Once there at the base….not the top…..the petroglyphs were numerous… it put me very much in mind of the pictographs in Skaha, British Colombia.

The pictures were quite fascinating…..apparently they age between the 13th and 17th century. To view more of them we had to edge our way along a rocky ledge path….

….but the further up we went, the more glyphs there were…..

Eventually we made our way up onto the top of the mesa… not a huge elevation but the view is still pretty impressive….

Taking a bit of a break from the graphics, we followed the Alltrails path around the mesa and down the other side…….

and a couple of crows that were making me very nervous as I gingerly made my way across the slope….just waiting for one of them to clonk my head……they did not……but they did keep the blogtographer amused.

Then….as we made our way down we found even more petroglyphs….

They were all just so cool……!!! and for a site that is so open they are so unspoiled. We had expected to see some more recent graffiti….but if there was any we did not see it…..and were very pleased not to.

As the day wore on the temperature began to climb….and time to call it and head home to the brave little air conditioner that could…. 😂….and a shower…!!!

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On the Road again…..2024 travels kick off.

First stop, a quick farewell trip to the neighbours…..

……..off we go again……

After receiving an invitation from friends which inspired a three day ‘shake-down’ trip to Aspen Crossing 45 minutes south east of Calgary, the 2024 travels adventures were underway.

It turned out to be a good move, as we awoke the first morning to find the bathroom floor swimming in water and an enormous puddle under the trailer. 😮

At first it was a bit of a horror………but turned out to be three different ironically simultaneous issues. The inlet valve for the toilet ( now 11 years old) had cracked and leaked water onto the bathroom floor (CLEAN water..!!!)….the water heater that we had just de-winterised and cleaned needed another couple of turns of plumbers tape on the valve……and the third one………we remembered a ‘BANG’ in Lethbridge…….something had kicked up off the road and hit the underbelly of the trailer leaving a dent right beside the edge of one of the inspection hatches on the black tank (the water in there was also clean from drawing water through the system to de-winterise)

All three issues solved relatively easily (said the person who didn’t have to crawl around under the trailer in the muck…..!!!)

While in Aspen Crossing we also managed to do a side trip to Vulcan (really…who could resist.) The town had the name before Star Trek became a ‘thing’……but the town has embraced the connection quite tastefully !!!

I especially loved the little Enterprises on all of the lamp posts in town….

Scott found some aesthetically broken down barns on the way home….( 😂 )

After saying our goodbyes to some old friends and some new ones (Hi Mike and Leslie…!!) off we set for next stop…a Harvest Host at Cypress Hills Winery just off the Trans Canada in Sasketchewan

Cypress Hills make a variety of fruit wines and as overnight guests (in the windswept and completely exposed parking lot) we were obliged to taste test their product. The rhubarb honey wine was quite acceptable…!! 😋

Next stop, after crossing possibly the smallest Canada/US border port (it was a bit like going through a Tim Hortons drive thru to be honest..LOL)…..was another Harvest Host ...The Teachers Lounge in Fortuna, North Dakota (we have since discovered that even people elsewhere in North Dakota don’t know where Fortuna is…LOL….Their loss….. it was a tiny town (popn 30) but the Teachers Lounge bar was one of the most interesting and ‘atmospheric’ bars we have been in. Super friendly……. a little gem that is totally worth the stop…even if it is a little out of your (really anyone’s) way.

The bar….

The town…..

Fortuna is a surprisingly well-put-together little town for its small size….but it is on the edge of the oil fields.

It was a delightful stop and gave us great hope for the entertainment which awaits us down the road.

Spectating at Writing on Stone

With one of our host of visitors still with us (good friend Bev as part of her Solo at 70 tour) and looking around for an event to visit, we spotted a small rodeo event at Writing-on-Stone advertised on their Facebook page. The weather was making promises of being warm and sunny, so we took advantage and headed down there with cameras at the ready.

As we pulled down into the valley where the rodeo grounds are located, we were approached by a lady coming to inquire if we were lost (LOL). Turns out that it was a very small event, mostly a practice run for some of the smaller kids barrel racing, and some team ropers trying out technique and horses who had not run with live calves before.

We three were the only spectators…!!!

We gladly made some donations adding to the prize pot for the kids barrel racing and sat ourselves on the bleachers for some entertainment. …and we were duly entertained.

We were told that the kids riding today had not had great results at the official WOS rodeo as nerves got the better of them with a full crowd. So just the three of us were considerably less intimidating.

It was an informal but still highly competitive little gathering.

The riders ranged from seriously skilled (and fast)

To determined and learning the skill.

To little tiny people being introduced to something I am sure they will come to love……

After the morning session of barrel racing, the team ropers showed up. These guys were mostly adults, from young to….well….experienced….!!!

…and I have to say…this whole idea of team roping…….it looks completely impossible…….

…but every so often……there is a team that cracks it….

Amazing stuff……..

The photographers were both doing their bit, laying in the dirt mostly…taking the action shots. I stayed mostly in the bleachers watching the trainers work with riders on skills. (mostly fine communication with some incredibly talented horses…….subtle body hand and foot movements to ask these big four-legged critters to do the dance). I do love watching skill happen….. 😁

What an entirely unexpected day out, terrific people and animals and all so handily close to home.

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