Ramada Inn - Farmington

Today, we went to Mesa Verde National Park. There were alot of Pueblo Indian Cliff Dwellings. I got another Junior Ranger Badge. It was my 16th! We took a long hike up and down the mountain to get to go inside some cliff dwellings. We saw a big cloud of smoke from a fire on our way home. We drove to Aztec, New Mexico

Makes me want to be an archaeologist.

But our trip there included breaking the trailer General Lee style and picking up a stray puppy in the 100' weather. We spent the rest of that afternoon figuring out what to do with the poor thing. We named her ...

... again driving on a road where I barely saw anyone for over an hour. But this time, I was up in the mountains, snow and all, and I was a little worried about my car. The problem with taking non-highway roads is you have no idea what you will encounter, when the next town is, and if there is a better route. My car did just fine, but I was very atuned to ...

... wash board of shocking vibrations that created a shudder right through the Castle. Every cupboard and part in the Castle just rattled and shuddered, as well as the travellers were all shook up, and NOT by Elvis! After about 4-5 miles of dodging from side to side, in an attempt to find a smooth portion of road, the question was asked about turning back. The best speed we could achieve was 10-12 mph, and this was still jaw breaking at times. We figured we must be halfway ...

Day 172 Tucumcari - Bloomfield - New Mexico Today was set as a drive day with pick up groceries, our aim was to the North West corner of New Mexico. This being a place near the centre of the four corners (Four States meeting in a corner(New Mexico/Utah/Colorado/Arizona) this particular area has some magnificent natural wonders as well as contains some of the oldest Native cultures and ruins around the 800th century to 1500. The road through the ...

But getting between Zion and New Mexico was not uneventful. First, when we stopped in Kanab, UT for fuel (which had a lower diesel price), when pulling away from the pumps, the area was a little tight, and Terry turned about a foot too early, causing the left rear corner of the RV to swing out and hit the concrete post that was at the end of the pump area. It ripped off the bottom corner area below the tail lights ...

So here we are, Farmington, New Mexico. We found a Mexican restaurant to eat at that was supposedly the best in town; I hope for the town's sake that that was a false statement. We ate some taquitos, fajitas (con pollo), and carne asada. We were the only patrons in the place and the food was so-so, but then again, what did we expect. At least we are ...

... Archeologists are not sure why the people left this area - some speculate drought. Interesting multi-level homes surrounding the Kiva. You could walk thru some of the homes and inside the reconstructed Kiva. This is the only fully reconstructed Kiva. Outside the Visitor Center was an artist couple from the Acoma Pueblo near Albuquerque ...

... seem like the best idea (especially since we passed a motel to get to the campsite), but Drew and Ti perservered. They set up the tent in the wind and attempted to start a fire. It was too windy and all of the matches blew out before they could get the kindling to light. Finally, in the pitch dark, we decided to use the cigarette lighter in our car to light sparklers left over from ...

... While waiting I listened to a young female flower-child in the phone booth begging a parent to send money to repair an old Volkswagen van. She was traveling with another female and a long haired, bearded, dirty, hippie dude. I found myself wondering how either of the girls, who were clean and fairly attractive, could share a bed with the grungy,green toothed young man. They left and I called the ...