The Hectic Life of the Traveler

I find I have less and less time for anything more than sleeping once we are done with the siteseeing for the day. If this is disjointed, I apologize, but it will be written in bits and pieces.

We are in Albuquerque, arriving a day before the kids, who arrive this evening within 5 minutes of each other on SWA.

The past two days were spent traveling to the 3 different missions which comprise the Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument. These Franciscan missions were built originally in the 1600 when the priests came to "save" the pueblo indians' souls. Fascinating history coupled with beautiful scenery. I took far too many pictures.

We spent one night in Mountainair, which is a very small mountain town near the missions. We were not going to stop here originally, but we weren't really keen on the extra driving involved if we chose to drive all the way to Albuquerque or one of the towns around it. One of the rangers suggested The Rock Motel, newly refurbished and completely redecorated. It was a real gem. Huge room that was spotlessly clean, pure mountain air, and a nice little local restaurant called Ancient Cities for dinner and breakfast.

It became obvious to me somewhere around here that I am allergic to something - probably the cottonwood pollen which is flying around everywhere. Luckily, I took Glen's Nasonex with us as well as a supply of Benadryl. I think I finally have it under control.

We arrived at the Best Western Rio Grande Inn in Albuquerque yesterday and were able to check into our room a day early with very little problem. Unfortunately, we found out they do not offer free breakfast anymore. Fortunately, we both got Starbuck's gift cards from people at the end of the school year, and there is a Starbuck's directly across the street.

This morning we visited the Albuquerque Museum of Art and History which was far far more spectacular than we could have hoped. We spent the whole morning there.

This afternoon we putzed around town, did some grocery shopping, researched what is and is not opened tomorrow and Saturday, and made sure both kids' flights are on time. They are. Their gates are adjacent, and their flights are due to land minutes apart. We should all have a great reunion and still have time to have dinner at Monica's El Portal, which is a small but wonderful Mexican restaurant about 1/2 mile from the hotel. We discovered it last time we were here, and the great food and freindly atmosphere captivated us completely.

Tomorrow we will do whatever the kids want. The Tramway? A museum? Lounge by the pool? Lunch at the 66 Diner? Up to them. There is a big celebration at the Balloon Fiesta Park starting at 4 p.m. with fireworks after dark. I'm thinking that may be our ultimate destination. Yes, I will have the camera, and it will give me an opportunity to practice using yet another setting on my new Canon. Yay!

Greetings from Socorro

I know I've been negiligent here, but we've been bushed. It is a good tired though.

Yesterday, as my pictures above will attest, was a great day. The Gila National Forest is incredibly beautiful. The Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument was a very special place. The walk up and back was about one mile. While we were up there, we were fortunate enough to catch a tour with a volunteer for the park service who really knew her stuff. Thank you, Gene!

We tried going back into Pinos Altos to take some pictures of the historical buildings before heading up to the forest, but THREE pitbulls were loose on the main street. Yikes! I couldn't get back in the car fast enough. Alpha Dog chased the car a good 1/4 mile, biting at the tires the whole time.

I also took some video which I will try to upload here at some point in time. The visitor's center has quite a hummingbired population, and they are unafraid of humans. I could have spent a lifetime watching those little beauties.

The bulk of our tourist bucks were spent on books. They had a great selection, and we kept our purchase to a conservative $60. I'm kind of sorry I didn't push for one more book, though. It was a collection of essays on Native American spiritual thought on a variety of subjects.

We left Silver City this morning and drove to Truth or Consequences, which was a neat little town. I liked it very much.

From there we drove to the Camino Real cultural center, which was a very interesting hour learning about the history of the road. The architecture of the place was very interesting as well.

Tonight we are in Socorro, which is another nice little town. We just had dinner at the Socorro Springs Brewing Company. We both had local brews and sandwiches, and everything was great.

Tomorrow we head to Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument. It will be another full day.

Someone is getting annoyed with me spending so much time here. I've still got stuff to do to prepare for the morning.