Tuesday August 19 2008
Showing posts with label New Mexico. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New Mexico. Show all posts
Albuquerque, NM
Sunday, August 17, 2008
We wake up this morning in Albuquerque NM and start the day by going down to Old Town to hang out. Of course for Thomas, the first order of business is to find coffee. We find a little bakery called “Rolling in Dough” in one of the alcoves around Old Town. It’s a cute little bakery that has green practices and a cute mo running it. On the outside patio is a biking group (pedals, not Harleys) taking a break from their ride. They range in age from about seven to 50 plus and are enjoying a nice respite. We wander over to the square in the middle of town and hang out watching children play, people talk and musicians practice. On one side of the square is Church San Filipe de Neri, a beautiful stucco church with an amazing courtyard. It is an amazingly peaceful way to start the morning.
The Gay Rodeo is in town and we had planned on going to check it out. The day was so beautiful outside it called for us to go adventuring. So we decide to drive around town and check out Central Ave/Route 66. Frank has been obsessed with old road side signs, and we stop every mile or so to get pictures. The Dog House, Launch Pad, Indian Jewelry and The Man’s Hat Shop, every sign is more entertaining than the last. Our personal favorite is Foxes: Booze n’ Cruise.
We decide to drive out to the upper edge of town to the Sandia Tramway. The tram runs about 3 miles up to the top of Sandia Peak, about 10,000 feet high and claims to be the longest aerial tram in the world. We decide against going up and wander around Cibola National Park where the tram starts instead.
We then head to Petroglyph National Monument and do a hike. We spend several hours wandering around some of the coolest images carved into the rocks we have ever seen. Most of the carvings date back 400 to 700 years ago and are still amazing to see. One of the ancient carvings looks just like Kid N Play from the 90’s; Thomas is certain the rapper was reincarnated. The monument is supposed to stay open until 5 pm, but at 4 a ranger tells us they have to close early due to a tornado warning. We look around it’s a little cloudy, but a tornado watch? We think mister cute young ranger might have a barbeque to attend and needs us to get out!
The rest of the day is spent relaxing and swimming at the hotel. We decided to go to the Chama River Brewing Company for dinner, thinking it will be a good choice for some pub grub. It turns out to be a swanky restaurant with an excellent menu and some nice eye candy (aka table full of military dudes) to boot. The evening is spent planning the east coast portion of the trip. Frank was in charge of everything up until New York; Thomas was in charge of New York and beyond. Frank’s half of the trip is meticulously planned and mapped out. Thomas’s half…not so much. DC, Savannah and Charleston are all quickly chosen as must see and a visit to Sue and Ty in Florida is a no brainer.
We wake up this morning in Albuquerque NM and start the day by going down to Old Town to hang out. Of course for Thomas, the first order of business is to find coffee. We find a little bakery called “Rolling in Dough” in one of the alcoves around Old Town. It’s a cute little bakery that has green practices and a cute mo running it. On the outside patio is a biking group (pedals, not Harleys) taking a break from their ride. They range in age from about seven to 50 plus and are enjoying a nice respite. We wander over to the square in the middle of town and hang out watching children play, people talk and musicians practice. On one side of the square is Church San Filipe de Neri, a beautiful stucco church with an amazing courtyard. It is an amazingly peaceful way to start the morning.
The Gay Rodeo is in town and we had planned on going to check it out. The day was so beautiful outside it called for us to go adventuring. So we decide to drive around town and check out Central Ave/Route 66. Frank has been obsessed with old road side signs, and we stop every mile or so to get pictures. The Dog House, Launch Pad, Indian Jewelry and The Man’s Hat Shop, every sign is more entertaining than the last. Our personal favorite is Foxes: Booze n’ Cruise.We decide to drive out to the upper edge of town to the Sandia Tramway. The tram runs about 3 miles up to the top of Sandia Peak, about 10,000 feet high and claims to be the longest aerial tram in the world. We decide against going up and wander around Cibola National Park where the tram starts instead.
We then head to Petroglyph National Monument and do a hike. We spend several hours wandering around some of the coolest images carved into the rocks we have ever seen. Most of the carvings date back 400 to 700 years ago and are still amazing to see. One of the ancient carvings looks just like Kid N Play from the 90’s; Thomas is certain the rapper was reincarnated. The monument is supposed to stay open until 5 pm, but at 4 a ranger tells us they have to close early due to a tornado warning. We look around it’s a little cloudy, but a tornado watch? We think mister cute young ranger might have a barbeque to attend and needs us to get out!The rest of the day is spent relaxing and swimming at the hotel. We decided to go to the Chama River Brewing Company for dinner, thinking it will be a good choice for some pub grub. It turns out to be a swanky restaurant with an excellent menu and some nice eye candy (aka table full of military dudes) to boot. The evening is spent planning the east coast portion of the trip. Frank was in charge of everything up until New York; Thomas was in charge of New York and beyond. Frank’s half of the trip is meticulously planned and mapped out. Thomas’s half…not so much. DC, Savannah and Charleston are all quickly chosen as must see and a visit to Sue and Ty in Florida is a no brainer.
El Malpais to Grants, NM
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Rising early, we broke camp and made our way to El Malpais Information Center where we were pleasantly surprised to run into Gayle, our informative ranger from yesterday. She was preparing to take a small group out exploring the area including some spelunking (which we confirmed was exploring caves, you dirty minds you). She thought we were there to join them but we had to pass as it was going to be an all day event and we had already planned to spend the morning in El Malpais (“badlands” in English) and then head to Albuquerque. She introduced us to another ranger, Maryann, who was so excited about telling us about the area and its various hiking trails that it was a joy just to listen to her. She advised us to start at El Calderon Area as there were some great trails that wouldn’t take too much time yet offered some amazing views of the area. El Calderon is the result of an ancient volcano so the area contains numerous lava tubes and caves most of which require spelunking experience and a knowledgeable guide. Maryann directed us to Junction Cave which is an easy one to explore as you can see light at either end. She advised to ensure we headed to the right as exploring to the left would leave us in total darkness. Maryann was very detailed about explaining the trails and soon we were on our way.
Arriving at El Calderon, there was no one in the parking area, a good sign for some peaceful exploring. Junction Cave was close by so we headed down the path, climbed down the rocks and went spelunking, well at least the lazy man’s version. It was fun to be walking in the lava tube watching our footing on the rocks as there was no clear trail. Maryann had advised us to be sure to start on the left side of the cave as it was an easier descent and that they had seen the result (broken legs and ankles) of people starting on the right side as it had appeared to them to be easier.
Making our way through Junction Cave unscathed, we continued down the trail to Double Sinks and on to the Bat Cave (no sign of Christian Bale must be saving someone, somewhere). The Bat Cave is closed for human exploration (isn’t it always) and there are warnings not to mess with the bat guano (as if! guano is poop if you didn’t know) as it contains an element dangerous to humans (uh, yeah).
The trail continued to the Lava Trench and up to El Calderon Cinder Cone. Cinders are pea-sized rocks that are formed when lava hardens as it is shot from the volcano and exposed to air. The ground around the cone is made up of two different colored cinders, black and red. The red cinders contain higher amounts of iron so it is believed that the different cinders are the result of two different volcanic explosions. These cinders provide a good place for seeds to take and root and also help to retain water deep below the surface. There are some plants in El Morro that only grow on cinders.
We made our way back to the parking area just in time to see a family heading down Junction Cave of course on the wrong side. Oh well, hope they didn’t ruin their vacation. From here, we drove on Hwy 53 around El Malpais National Conservation Area up to Grants located off the I-40. Our first impression of Grants was that it was a smaller version of Gallup, more like a trot if you will. We drove down Route 66 through Grants and took a few snaps of some dilapidated landmarks.
From Grants, we stopped at the Northwest New Mexico Visitor Center which had a well-designed, modern display of the national and state parks. It also had a great view of El Malpais Area. From the I-40, we hopped on Hwy 117 to explore the eastern side of the monument. Our first stop was the Sandstone Bluffs Overlook which offered amazing views high above the lava flows. Continuing south to La Ventana Natural Arch, the drive was absolutely stunning. Frank thought it was more beautiful than the red cliffs of Sedona; we both agreed we liked the lack of cars everywhere, unlike Sedona. The views at the arch were stunning and affording a lot of great photo ops, some with LKC of course.
Our next destination was Albuquerque, so we headed back to the I-40 for the hour and a half drive.
Rising early, we broke camp and made our way to El Malpais Information Center where we were pleasantly surprised to run into Gayle, our informative ranger from yesterday. She was preparing to take a small group out exploring the area including some spelunking (which we confirmed was exploring caves, you dirty minds you). She thought we were there to join them but we had to pass as it was going to be an all day event and we had already planned to spend the morning in El Malpais (“badlands” in English) and then head to Albuquerque. She introduced us to another ranger, Maryann, who was so excited about telling us about the area and its various hiking trails that it was a joy just to listen to her. She advised us to start at El Calderon Area as there were some great trails that wouldn’t take too much time yet offered some amazing views of the area. El Calderon is the result of an ancient volcano so the area contains numerous lava tubes and caves most of which require spelunking experience and a knowledgeable guide. Maryann directed us to Junction Cave which is an easy one to explore as you can see light at either end. She advised to ensure we headed to the right as exploring to the left would leave us in total darkness. Maryann was very detailed about explaining the trails and soon we were on our way.
Arriving at El Calderon, there was no one in the parking area, a good sign for some peaceful exploring. Junction Cave was close by so we headed down the path, climbed down the rocks and went spelunking, well at least the lazy man’s version. It was fun to be walking in the lava tube watching our footing on the rocks as there was no clear trail. Maryann had advised us to be sure to start on the left side of the cave as it was an easier descent and that they had seen the result (broken legs and ankles) of people starting on the right side as it had appeared to them to be easier.Making our way through Junction Cave unscathed, we continued down the trail to Double Sinks and on to the Bat Cave (no sign of Christian Bale must be saving someone, somewhere). The Bat Cave is closed for human exploration (isn’t it always) and there are warnings not to mess with the bat guano (as if! guano is poop if you didn’t know) as it contains an element dangerous to humans (uh, yeah).
The trail continued to the Lava Trench and up to El Calderon Cinder Cone. Cinders are pea-sized rocks that are formed when lava hardens as it is shot from the volcano and exposed to air. The ground around the cone is made up of two different colored cinders, black and red. The red cinders contain higher amounts of iron so it is believed that the different cinders are the result of two different volcanic explosions. These cinders provide a good place for seeds to take and root and also help to retain water deep below the surface. There are some plants in El Morro that only grow on cinders.We made our way back to the parking area just in time to see a family heading down Junction Cave of course on the wrong side. Oh well, hope they didn’t ruin their vacation. From here, we drove on Hwy 53 around El Malpais National Conservation Area up to Grants located off the I-40. Our first impression of Grants was that it was a smaller version of Gallup, more like a trot if you will. We drove down Route 66 through Grants and took a few snaps of some dilapidated landmarks.
From Grants, we stopped at the Northwest New Mexico Visitor Center which had a well-designed, modern display of the national and state parks. It also had a great view of El Malpais Area. From the I-40, we hopped on Hwy 117 to explore the eastern side of the monument. Our first stop was the Sandstone Bluffs Overlook which offered amazing views high above the lava flows. Continuing south to La Ventana Natural Arch, the drive was absolutely stunning. Frank thought it was more beautiful than the red cliffs of Sedona; we both agreed we liked the lack of cars everywhere, unlike Sedona. The views at the arch were stunning and affording a lot of great photo ops, some with LKC of course.
Our next destination was Albuquerque, so we headed back to the I-40 for the hour and a half drive.
El Morro, NM
Friday, August 15, 2008
Newly crowned, we depart Gallup on Hwy 602 which takes us through the Zuni Reservation. This will connect us to the 53, on our way to El Morro National Park. Research advised this is one of the most beautiful drives in all of New Mexico and it was spot on.
We planned to camp at El Morro RV and Campground which was listed on a gay camping website as it is owned by two lesbians. The link to the campground’s actual site gave no indication at all that it was gay so we figured it was just a family property that happened to be gay-owned; oh well, we’ll support our sisters. As we arrived, we were happy to see the entrance lined with rainbow flags, hmm, maybe this was gayer than we thought. There was no formal admittance office but we saw a sign advising to settle up in the café after you’ve found a space. We drove around the small grounds checking out the spaces and then parked at the Ancient Ways Café.
How refreshing to walk into the café and be greeted by a man with drop earrings and hair pulled up in barrettes. He said to pick any site we wanted even the rv sites with electricity as they had a lot of sites available that day. Choosing one tucked away with an awesome view of the mountains, we had the tent set up in a snap so we made our way back to the café for some lunch. The rustic café had a table-lined porch which was completely packed with local park workers so we chose a table inside. The gentleman we spoke to earlier came over and we talked about the park and the area. We noted that we were pleasantly surprised to see such gayness in the middle of a national park and he told us how the campground attracts a lot of the fairy community and in fact there was a huge week-long gathering nearby and we were certainly welcome to attend. He said that the couple just bought the property five years ago and they have slowly been making improvements.
Later that afternoon, we drove over to the El Morro National Monument. We talked to the ranger, Gayle and told her that we had bought the National Parks pass for our trip around the states. She said she had always wanted to do that and we said we wanted to do it now while we could still enjoy our great resources rather than wait until we get much older and could only enjoy the parks from their visitor centers.
The two-mile hike around the monument was fantastic. The first half mile is around the perimeter of Inscription Rock. There is a natural pool there that has served as a respite for traveling natives and Spaniards throughout time. These visitors have carved their signatures and petroglyphs into the bluff and these are now protected for our enjoyment. We decided to do the entire Headland Trail that took us to the top of the bluff, up to Atsinna, the Puebloan ruins. The trail to the top was definitely worth it, affording beautiful views of the area.
After the hike, we went to a small, local grocer and bought some Indian bread and supplies for dinner. We hit bed after the sun went down as it had been a long day.
Newly crowned, we depart Gallup on Hwy 602 which takes us through the Zuni Reservation. This will connect us to the 53, on our way to El Morro National Park. Research advised this is one of the most beautiful drives in all of New Mexico and it was spot on.
We planned to camp at El Morro RV and Campground which was listed on a gay camping website as it is owned by two lesbians. The link to the campground’s actual site gave no indication at all that it was gay so we figured it was just a family property that happened to be gay-owned; oh well, we’ll support our sisters. As we arrived, we were happy to see the entrance lined with rainbow flags, hmm, maybe this was gayer than we thought. There was no formal admittance office but we saw a sign advising to settle up in the café after you’ve found a space. We drove around the small grounds checking out the spaces and then parked at the Ancient Ways Café.
How refreshing to walk into the café and be greeted by a man with drop earrings and hair pulled up in barrettes. He said to pick any site we wanted even the rv sites with electricity as they had a lot of sites available that day. Choosing one tucked away with an awesome view of the mountains, we had the tent set up in a snap so we made our way back to the café for some lunch. The rustic café had a table-lined porch which was completely packed with local park workers so we chose a table inside. The gentleman we spoke to earlier came over and we talked about the park and the area. We noted that we were pleasantly surprised to see such gayness in the middle of a national park and he told us how the campground attracts a lot of the fairy community and in fact there was a huge week-long gathering nearby and we were certainly welcome to attend. He said that the couple just bought the property five years ago and they have slowly been making improvements.
Later that afternoon, we drove over to the El Morro National Monument. We talked to the ranger, Gayle and told her that we had bought the National Parks pass for our trip around the states. She said she had always wanted to do that and we said we wanted to do it now while we could still enjoy our great resources rather than wait until we get much older and could only enjoy the parks from their visitor centers.
The two-mile hike around the monument was fantastic. The first half mile is around the perimeter of Inscription Rock. There is a natural pool there that has served as a respite for traveling natives and Spaniards throughout time. These visitors have carved their signatures and petroglyphs into the bluff and these are now protected for our enjoyment. We decided to do the entire Headland Trail that took us to the top of the bluff, up to Atsinna, the Puebloan ruins. The trail to the top was definitely worth it, affording beautiful views of the area.
After the hike, we went to a small, local grocer and bought some Indian bread and supplies for dinner. We hit bed after the sun went down as it had been a long day.
Gallup, NM
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Yesterday, we had pulled into Gallup just before sunset to spend the night at the El Rancho Hotel, another Route 66 landmark. The property was designed by the brother of movie director DW Griffith and all the rooms are named after famous stars. We had reserved a room en route and when we arrived, found that we had been booked into the Rita Hayworth room, go figure. The lobby looks like a national park lodge but with signed black and white celebrity photos densely displayed all over its two floors; it was quite lovely and transported us back to a more glamorous time. We were expecting a little of that glamour in our room but despite its namesake, the furnishings had little to do with her highness. It leaned more toward the park lodge aspects of the hotel, tidy yet compact.
We felt like Mexican for dinner so we drove the boulevard looking for a restaurant that attracted locals rather than tourists. We were not disappointed with our choice especially when they brought out the sopaipillas (that’s how they spelled it there) with honey. On the way back to El Rancho, the sun had already set so we stopped to take pictures of some of the neon signs around Gallup.
The next morning, we checked out of the hotel and were on our way to find the Burger King on Highway 666. We had been advised by our friend, Mr. Johnson that we needed to get a crown and play the King game. Apparently, whoever was wearing the crown was in charge and got to make all the decisions (some people don’t need said crown for that). After a few miscues, we found the former Hwy 666, now 491, got the crown (which had all of the rules of this King game) and some snaps. There was a family restaurant called Furr’s also located there and we took a photo of their sign in honor of our friend Lisa.
Yesterday, we had pulled into Gallup just before sunset to spend the night at the El Rancho Hotel, another Route 66 landmark. The property was designed by the brother of movie director DW Griffith and all the rooms are named after famous stars. We had reserved a room en route and when we arrived, found that we had been booked into the Rita Hayworth room, go figure. The lobby looks like a national park lodge but with signed black and white celebrity photos densely displayed all over its two floors; it was quite lovely and transported us back to a more glamorous time. We were expecting a little of that glamour in our room but despite its namesake, the furnishings had little to do with her highness. It leaned more toward the park lodge aspects of the hotel, tidy yet compact.
We felt like Mexican for dinner so we drove the boulevard looking for a restaurant that attracted locals rather than tourists. We were not disappointed with our choice especially when they brought out the sopaipillas (that’s how they spelled it there) with honey. On the way back to El Rancho, the sun had already set so we stopped to take pictures of some of the neon signs around Gallup.
The next morning, we checked out of the hotel and were on our way to find the Burger King on Highway 666. We had been advised by our friend, Mr. Johnson that we needed to get a crown and play the King game. Apparently, whoever was wearing the crown was in charge and got to make all the decisions (some people don’t need said crown for that). After a few miscues, we found the former Hwy 666, now 491, got the crown (which had all of the rules of this King game) and some snaps. There was a family restaurant called Furr’s also located there and we took a photo of their sign in honor of our friend Lisa.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)