2021 New Mexico Adventure--Trip Report

Leaving home.  A kiss for luck and we're on our way!

Years ago we used to write trips reports after we got back from TDY trips.  This time I am writing my trip report to help me remember.  As hard as it is to admit, memory fails from time to time.

We left a week ago Monday on an impromptu trip to New Mexico.  We had to stop for gas in Elk City (Love's which was horrible to maneuver for gas but extremely nice restrooms--IMPORTANT) and turned NW toward Clayton, NM.  We stayed the night in Clayton at the Best Western.  When we checked in, there were seven gang cops checking in also.  We felt safe for sure.  I would not hesitate to stay at this Best Western again nor would I hesitate to recommend it to others.  Actually, there are very few hotels in this area so your choices are few, nonetheless, I would chose this over other hotels had they been available.  It's that good.  Breakfast was complimentary and delicious.  All the ingredients were there to make yourself a breakfast burrito.  (That was the last time we were served breakfast even though the hotels were double the price of the one in Clayton.)

The next morning we decided to stay a couple of nights in Taos.  We often change our route on the spur of the moment.  If we see a road on the map that we hadn't traveled, we would just go down that road to see what's there.  We traveled to Taos via Red River and stopped on I25 to get gas.  Johnny got himself a black Route 66 t-shirt with a 1960s Corvette on it.  We stopped at two places, the Mercantile and the Fudge Shop.  Didn't buy a thing at the Mercantile, but bought a pound of fudge.  If you buy a pound, you get a quarter pound free so it is a MUST that we buy a pound.

We got to Taos early afternoon and stopped at the Overland Sheepskin Company.  I got a bowl of soup at a little restaurant there and Johnny got key lime pie and cup of cocoa.  We stayed the night at Don Fernando Hotel which is a Hilton Tapestry hotel.  I cannot say it was worth the $200+ a night, but it was a very quiet, comfortable place to stay.  It was almost like condos with 8 or 10 rooms in a building.  Next time, if there is one, we might try the El Pueblo.  We walked around the town square the next morning.  We had planned on going to the Indian pueblo but they were closed due to Covid.  Of course, we had to eat Mexican food twice and both were delicious.  Orlando's on the outskirts of Taos.  The best!

Thursday, after getting gas, we headed to Santa Fe.  We stayed at the Santa Fe Motel and Inn which was .6 miles from the town center.  We headed straight there and walked and walked.  We are so blessed to be able to walk.  We split a BLT and avocado and sat on a picnic bench outside.  Delightful time.  We bought nothing except a t-shirt for me.  (Had to keep up with Johnny.)

We were tired after walking downtown, so we ordered a pizza and walked to pick it up (a couple of blocks).  We ate outside our room on a beautiful evening and had one of the biggest and best pizzas we have ever had.  

The motel where we stayed in Santa Fe deserves its own paragraph.  It was the cutest place and we DEFINITELY would stay there again.  I had read their reviews which were phenomenal and a short walk so we wouldn't have to move our car (which didn't move while we were there).  It was a quaint, quiet place that had all the New Mexico vibes.  They didn't have breakfast, but had biscochito cookies and coffee in the lobby along with apples, cuties, and bananas.  Hibicus tea and biscochito cookies were in the lobby at checkin.  I just can't explain how enchanting this place is.  Love!  

Next morning (after checking out the caution light--nothing wrong) we headed for home with the option to stop somewhere along the way if we got tired.  Neither one of us were tired so we drove straight through to Oklahoma City.  Got gas and and ice cream at McDonald's.  We got home around 7:30.  NO PLACE LIKE HOME.

ANOTHER TRIP IN THE BOOKS.  

I love you.

Road Trip Talk

Last week we took a road trip.  We drove for about 1500 miles and only had the radio on for no more than 5 minutes one time!  Did that mean rode in silence??????  Oh no!  We talked and talked and talked as if we had just met and were falling in love.  

And  we observed.  We observed all wind turbines along our route, discussed them, counted them (by the way, there are too many to count).  We always look forward to a Route 66 icon, Lucille's.  Sure enough people were stopped to take pictures.  We wondered who they were and about where they were going.  (By the way, we often make up scenarios of people we see on a trip.  Are they married?  Have kids?  Grandkids?  How they make their living.....we make up our on fun.)

We discussed the lack of restrooms along I40 in Texas and New Mexico.  We pointed out every interesting thing in both those states because, well...........there are relatively few interesting things in some areas.  Cows, now and then.  A few antelope.  A few cars...a very few.  We had long conversations about how the residents make a living in those remote areas and how far their children have to ride the bus to school.  What are those kids doing on a Friday night, who they date, and how are they going to meet someone to marry?  And the all important question:  Where is the Amazon based and how many miles do they drive in a day.  

We discussed and resolved ALL the world issues.  That took some time, but we figured out.  You can rest easy tonight.  

We talked about you.  YOU!!!  Yes, if you are reading this, your name came up along the way.  It is easy to become a psychologist when you have time to think things through.  So if your ears were burning last week we were probably wondering and talking about you.  

Kids, we talked about you, too.  Grandchildren, too.  We went down memory lane the whole trip and what a lane.  What a life!

So many things to talk about.  It feels so good to know that after 49 years together, we still find things to talk about.  On the way home, I looked over at Johnny and my heart overflowed with sappy, sentimental love.  We've had such a blessed life and the fact that we can just chat comfortably for hours at a time is icing on the cake.  We still have a lot in common (we discussed this).  

So rest easy my pretties!  Johnny and I have everything figured out.  Turn off the radio and talk.  What a life!

I love you.