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more from the Land of Enchantment

The next morning, we woke up and it had finally stopped raining. One of my favorite (strange) things about a good rain storm in the summer is the way the earthworms come out of the ground and wind up in places far from the earth they've come out of like the middle of the driveway. Or between the tent and its footprint in this case. Gross.

Our first stop of the day was the Pueblo of Tesuque flea market. It was supposed to open at 8, but even when we got there, close to 9, there were not many vendors open yet. However, because we are two clearly non-native white girls, those who were open seemed to think that we were ripe for spending too much money on stuff we could not possibly need. There were a number of beautiful necklaces, original creations made by local artists, but, well, I just don't wear necklaces. Nor am I particularly prone to spending tons of money on things I could not possibly need. So we bought some green chile beef jerky and some pistachios.

From there we headed south to Albuquerque via the Turquoise Trail. We stopped first in Cerrillos, where there is a trading post, mining museum, and petting zoo. And no paved roads or even four-way stop signs. Not worth the stop. Next up was San Antonito, where there were more museums to not go into. There were also tons of art galleries, but they were way above our price range, so we didn't spend much time there either. Last stop on the Turquoise Trail was the Tijeras Pueblo. I was a little disappointed by that, because the pueblo is buried underground today, so you just read signs about what is buried and look at pictures of the way it used to be.

Next, to Albuquerque and the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, which came highly recommended. It presents the history of the 19 New Mexico Pueblos. We spent some time perusing exhibits and then sat down for the afternoon dance performance, by a group of Navajo dancers from Arizona. I've been to pow wows before, but this was totally different and really neat to watch.
After that, (wow, it's beginning to seem like this was a long day) we headed to downtown Albuquerque. It was same ol' same ol' as Santa Fe, but not as interesting. Laura didn't want to go to the Rattlesnake Museum (and I'm not sure exactly why I did...) so wound up, we got some ice cream and headed to Petroglyph National Monument on the edge of Albuquerque. We got there at 4:18 and walked in to the Visitor Center to ask the ranger what we should do. Never have I experienced such a jerk of an NPS employee. He looked at us like complete idiots for arriving at 4:18 and thinking we would be able to actually do anything and informed us that the Visitor Center and everything in that part of the park closed at 5, there was only one trail that was really open, it was a mile up the road with its trailhead was virtually impossible to find, and the trailhead closed at 4:30. Who ever heard of a National Park/ Monument closing at 5?! And when I told him that we did not know it closed at 5, he looked at me as if I were the stupidest visitor to ever enter and informed me that it has always been that way.

And since it was 4:30 and maybe going to rain and there was nothing else we wanted to do in Albuquerque, we went to see a movie. Salt. It was really good. And then after the movie, we ate dinner at the Blue Cactus Grille. Roadtripping with an iPhone is way different than any other roadtrip I've ever taken. But it sure makes finding things easier! The Blue Cactus was soooo good and had an amazing view. Laura had some sort of avocado burger and I had beef sopapillas. And then, since it's New Mexico, they brought us sopapillas and honey and they were to die for! Laura claimed it was the best meal she'd ever eaten.
We didn't finish dinner till close to 9 and had planned to camp in a state park about 100 miles west of there. We were a little unsure about what time the park gates might close and could not find any information on the iPhone, so instead we wound up at a KOA in Grants, NM. There, we got the second set of crazy stares of the day, from the brothers, in their 60s, I'd say, in the campsite next to us. "A little late to be setting up camp, huh?" one asked and continued to pepper us with questions as we pitched our tent. Om, no sir, I'm thinking to myself, it takes hardly 5 minutes to set up camp and head to bed, but thanks for your concern. I'm also thinking, is it really necessary for you and your brother to have separate 4 man tents? Really, are you in a position to judge me?

Labels: roadtrip '10, travel

posted by CP @ 7:54 PM 0 thoughts