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12/7/2020 New Mexico

Most of the places I wanted to visit were closed. The COVID thing has really taken a toll on most of the small towns I drove through and my trip started to get depressing. That being said, I decided just to stay on Hwy 40 except to visit certain spots. And it’s cold!

Santa Fe – Gorgeous city and old. I visited the San Miguel Chapel, the oldest church in the US. Build in 1646, it stands as it did in old times. There was also “the oldest house” that was across from the church. You can see the hay that was used to build the walls. Neat! Driving on the Sante Fe trail was cool, and Santa Fe Square and Palace of the Governors featured shops that were divine! I bought a silver serpentine chain to replace the broken one I had. It was very difficult not to buy the earrings. The artisan work is high quality, but too pricy for me. I’m sure I got stung on the chain.

Alburqueque – This is a city nestled in the mountains and had a lot to offer. However, I had some errands to run and really didn’t spend that much time there, though I did spend the night. The most notable thing was the smog that hovers low in the city. It looks like fog and you can’t see the beauty of the mountains behind it. I believe that because it’s in a valley there is not much air movement to disperse it. I don’t know, but that was my impression. The cool part was that I saw two air balloons in the morning. What a sight!

Gallup – This was the first time that I spent a night in a hotel since I left Illinois. I didn’t really want to do this, but since I didn’t plan ahead and I needed a break, I stayed at Days Inn on Rt. 66. It worked out fine, in spite of being across the street from the train tracks (as most of the hotels were), and the guy making floor noises in the middle of the night.

Geez, I think I deleted some of the best pictures from New Mexico. There are a few and if I find them I will add them to this post. 😦