Albuquerque, New Mexico

Today was a fun day in the city. We started off by having free pancakes at our campground (yummy) and then drove to the Petroglyphs National Monument. There were 1000s of petroglyphs dating from 1000 BC to 1700 AD. They were all etched into the black basalt from the lava flows from the 5 volcanos that had erupted here. The outside is all black and when they etched below the surface it exposed the white stone below. No one knows why the Ancestral Pueblos left these pictures. Some believe that the lava rocks were considered sacred, others believe that it was a trade route. But the pictures are not where they lived. Ken's opinion is that they were bored. Leave it to Ken to come up with such an observation! But there were a plethora of graphics and I am pleased to report that Danny Loves Ann Chavez (dully noted in a more recent etching!)



Once again it was very, very hot in the sun. After lunch we explored Old Albuquerque. It was very nice, but not as extensive as Santa Fe which was a favorite from last year's trip. But we did manage to find a nice watering hole and both experienced our first Frozen Margaritas, which were delicious. Ken says that he could have stayed there all evening. But I drove him home to our Casita.







Must add that the Pueblo style adobe homes are really nice and look so wonderful in this environment. Ken is especially fond of the pebble lawns. Some are even green pebbles (yucky looking) but when you see grass it is so out of place. Another observation is that the highway overpasses are nicely painted and often with a southwestern motif. Even the landscaping is very southwestern. All very attractive. Could get use to these places (but never in the summer heat!)


Tomorrow we will take a scenic drive between Albuquerque and Santa Fe and probably spend the night in Santa Fe before going to Taos on Sunday.

Hope you are all well. We are missing everyone but not quite ready to come home yet. We have even started talking about our next adventure.

j/k

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