Travelodge Santa Rosa

A good night prepared me for a longer drive today (about 390 miles/625km). Fortunately, the winds that continued most of the morning died down in New Mexico. The beautiful New Mexico flat top rock formations are always a delight. New smooth roads also gave us a relief from yesterday's roads that my dad used to call "planches à laver ...

Late start this morning as I couldn't sleep last night. Left Santa Rosa about 10am and went down 84 to Fort Sumner, famous for the last days of Billy the Kid, shot by Sherrif Pat Garrett at the old fort then called Maxwell House after the family not the coffee about 5 miles out of Fort Sumner. Had half an hour at the gift shop/museum before proceeding to Clovis where we has lunch and soon crossed into Texas. Stayed on 84 all the way through ...

We started the day in Eagles territory checking out the "Corner in Winslow Arizona" before setting out for Alberquerque New Mexico, me thinking that will be a long way to drag the co-pilot!! Stopped of at the NM welcome centre for some maps and then at Gallup for breakfast at Cracker Barrel. That was about 10.30. By about 12 we could see we were approaching rain but kept going until we were getting ...

... today along I40 through the Texas panhandle. <br><br>Just a word of warning to anyone traveling along this route, stick close to the speed limit. 10 miles over will easily earn you a ticket. The state trooper was so overzealous, he even tried to wave over a light blue pick-up while in the process of soliciting my ticket. The truck did not stop. On the bright side, I did a favor for the van in front of me that I had been following.

... the day. Then it was to the route 66 museum which was (wait can you guess?)yup it was closed. There was also really werid mountains in New Mexico. They all have flat tops like some one just cut the tops right off of them. So tonight I am in Santa Rosa New Mexico. Tomorrow I am off to Clines Corners which is supposed to have a great gift shop and then off to Albuquerque. Hopefully some things will be open. Until tomorrow.

Leaving SR after a good night's sleep and breakfast. Hope to be in Amarillo later today. The room art coordinates with the rm colors and if you like dull, dead leaf skeletons, you are in for a treat. The Western on the other hand is across from the Tower Service Station and U-Drop Inn Cafe, a gem of Art Deco styling which has been turned into a museum. Its neon lighting at night takes you back to an era you never really knew, but wish you did!

... that I could ignore the rather large and dark clouds to the north that looked like rain for the territory under them. I stopped at the Flying C service area where weeks ago I'd met Gail and her husband from MA so fortuitously. Those clouds stayed far away until about half an hour out of SR a forerunner of them, dark but not raining covered the late afternoon sun and chilled us down.

We decided to stay at the site another night to allow Neil to do a few jobs on the bus. First job was to adjust the brakes a little, just routine maintenance. That done, the rest of the day was spent cleaning and fitting all the bits and bobs we had salvaged yesterday. And noticing yet more things that we had forgotten to get! And so the decision was made. We're going back to Albuquerque for a third time! <br><br>It's been a ...

... kinda freaked me out a bit... I mean, its bad enough we've got a stalker kitty at home [Krystal always walks us to our bus stops, and then waits until the bus comes. Then she goes home, sits on the porch and waits for the bus to pass her. Its creepy.. xP!! STALKER GUARD KITTYYYY], we don't need a stalker kitty here in New Mexico!! Thats just too weird...even for a freak like me. :] Anyways, off to bedbiddybye. Byee! -- Kali

- Nothing but blue skies as far as one can see!!! - almost. For the most part we drove through dryland farming areas interspersed by 'bad lands'. Cattle amongst oil wells, windmills surrounded by cotton fields, few buildings and many, many rural villages or towns vacated. Modern communication and travel, and intensive and specialized agricultural practices have further depleted the rural populations. We ...