Left turn in Albuquerque

It’s been fun to see the landscape change as we’ve driven from Missouri, through Kansas, Oklahoma and on to New Mexico.  We all agree it’s not quite what we expected.  So far in NM, our drive has been kind of bleak. It’s amazing how spread out everything is!  Don’t miss your exit on the interstate or forget to fill up your gas tank for goodness sake!  

Our first night near Albuquerque, we planned to camp right on the edge of the Cibola National Forest at a private campground in a little mountain town called Cedar Crest.  We arrived and were disappointed to find we were camping in something just short of a trailer park with communal token-fed showers (limited to 5 minutes).  Maintaining a positive outlook, we found the best spot to weather the reportedly incoming storms tucked away in a little grove of trees.  Our sunny outlook began to fade as the campers behind us began to heatedly argue, threatening one another and using colorful language to do so.  We decided to give them some space and went for a pizza and a beautiful drive through the mountain forest. 

The views were stunning!  When we returned to our campsite, Jack pointed out an infected spot on his finger that had gotten worse and we realized there was a red streak going up his arm.  It was late and we spent two hours trying to find an after hours Urgent Care before giving up, packing up our campsite (the couple STILL arguing behind us) and heading to downtown Albuquerque.  I dropped the kids off at the Hyatt Regency (thank you Hotwire.com) and took Jack to the ER.  They prescribed antibiotics and sent us on our way.  Our heads finally hit the pillow at 2:00 am.  We took advantage of late checkout at noon the next day and looked forward to visiting the Petroglyph National Monument the next day.  The kids participated in the Junior Ranger Program at the Petroglyphs Ranger station and received a badge for exploring, researching and filling out the Junior/Senior Ranger booklets.  They shared what they learned with the Park Ranger who shared even more interesting facts with them and then swore them in (They agree to take care of our National Parks and Monuments and to tell their friends about them). 

The petroglyphs were fascinating (https://www.nps.gov/petr/index.htm) and the top of the rock hill that we hiked sported views of 5 volcanoes that were responsible for the black, basalt that the petroglyphs were carved into.

Some of the carvings were as many as 700 years old. 

The hike to the top of the crater was intense!

Eventually we hit the road to a campsite at “Quaking Aspen” just outside Gallup, NM. Our campsite was lovely and secluded, nestled in the tall Ponderosa Pines of the Cibola National Forest. 

The kids had plenty of room to run around without any neighbors to disturb and we experienced our first vault toilet (a step up from digging your own pit)!

We all fell asleep giddy about picking up Craig the next evening in Phoenix.  

We decided to do some laundry the next day in Gallup. The town had a large American Indian presence and many arts and gift shops available to purchase items made by the different tribes.  We didn’t stop anywhere but the laundromat, but even that was a hoppin’ place.  Vendors came through selling drinks, tacos, churros, popcorn and cotton candy.  Gallup is also home to the famous “El Rancho” hotel on Rt 66 (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Rancho_Hotel_%26_Motel), where notables such as John Wayne, Ronald Reagan, Humphrey Bogart, Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Joan Crawford, Kirk Douglas, Doris Day, Gregory Peck, and Burt Lancaster have all stayed (often while filming in the desert just outside of Gallup).  At one time, the town was actually named “Most patriotic small town in America.   

After laundry was done, we were Phoenix-bound…and VERY excited to pick up Craig! We booked another room near the airport (via Hotwire) for the sake of convenience. 

We snagged Craig from the airport, got a good night’s sleep and visited Papago Park (https://www.phoenix.gov/parks/trails/locations/papago-park) the next morning.  Papago is home to a desert botanical garden (beautiful flora in the desert),  the Phoenix zoo, the “Hole in the Rock” geological landmark, and lots of cute prairie dogs!

Check out this cool tree with green trunk and branches…I thought it was so pretty. 

It’s called Palo Verde.  We didn’t stay long in Phoenix because we were anxious to get on the road to the Grand Canyon!