Big push West!

The Cottonwood trees were aglow!

After leaving beautiful and amazing Arkansas, we drove directly to New Mexico. It was about a 12-hour day and by the time we got to Albuquerque we were very ready for a rest. We had spent the previous night in a Days Inn somewhere near where we were crystal mining in Mount Ida, and decided to get another hotel in Albuquerque. We choose to stay at Days Inn because they are dog friendly. The amenities are pretty much the same, but there are big differences in things like the cleanliness of the place, the newness of the furniture, and the surrounding environs.

By the time we got to Albuquerque we needed to do some laundry, and shopping for other necessities which we found nearby. We also got much needed haircuts! The Days Inn we stayed at had a really great hot tub and laundry and the breakfast was very good.

We then drove to Taos, New Mexico. We were hoping to meet up with a virtual friend I made on Facebook, Faith, who is the aunt of one of my sweet friends HeidiHeidi. Unfortunately, Faith was heading out that day to the East Coast, so we just missed her (I admit my timing in connecting with friends along the way was totally haphazard, which resulted in not seeing people I really wanted to see/meet, but oh well...practice makes perfect!). We opted to stay at the Sagebrush Inn, which I had read mixed reviews about, but was willing to give it a shot. We wound up having a wonderful stay there! The rooms and the hotel were very rustic and very much in the theme of old new Mexican style.

I met a nice couple from Australia in the lounge, who took some fun pics of me on an old saddle! Ropin and ridin cowboy!

We had a great rest, and in the morning they had a full breakfast with a plate cooked to our preference like eggs, sausage, potatoes etc. It had snowed earlier in the morning so the cottonwoods, which glow bright yellow and are extremely beautiful for foliage, had a light dusting of snow on them and the whole place was like a picture perfect postcard of the Old West.

After gathering our belongings and packing the car, we then headed off for Chaco Canyon. We were very excited to check out the ruins of the Anasazi Indians who used to inhabit the place over a thousand years ago.

I plotted our course on Google Maps and realized that we could not get to Chaco Canyon from Taos without doing a bunch of extra maneuvering. Either we had to drive north then west then south, or south, west then north hahaha. Either way, it was a beautiful drive through the New Mexican wilderness, and lots of wide open spaces.

Thank you for reading and stay tuned for the next blog, Chaco Canyon. Be sure to enter your e-mail address in the box provided to be notified of when I make new posts. Bye-bye

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