First of all-Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there. Hope you all had a great day.
We had a long day-lots of driving. Took us 8-1/2 hrs. to go 278 miles, didn’t get to the campground in Taos until almost 7PM.
Started out with 2 prairie dogs running in front of us on Route 66, I swear they had a death wish. And then 2 more on I-40 tried the same thing. Cute little things, but dumb.
We passed the Continental Divide again in NM, and I had this explained to me by two people who both said if you took a leak on the Continental Divide, half would end up in the Pacific Ocean and half in the Atlantic. Now I know.
We drove through desert, lava beds and more desert. At a rest stop I noticed a leak underneath the truck coming from the fuel tank so we called a mechanic (who actually met us on a Sunday) who figured out it was coming from a faulty filler hose. Because the tank has to be dropped and we just filled it he suggested we use the fuel and get the tank down low and then have it repaired to save money from not having to have it emptied. So we’re gonna wait ‘til we get home to get it fixed. While we were there the wind really kicked up and the dust storms started. The mechanic said they have only had ½ of rain this year and 5” is normal. Even the gift shops are hurting from the drought because they can’t sell fireworks. Spent an hour there but it could have been much worse. Got back on I-40 toward Albuquerque and the dust storms were really bad, could hardly see where we were going. Everything is gritty inside and outside the truck. Drove through lots of Indian reservations, Navajo and tribes we’ve never heard of, Lacuna, Santa Ana, Isleta, Acoma, Zia, Zuni to name a few. Casinos everywhere. Stopped at a Camping World in Santa Fe to get some parts and then headed north on I-25. We were going to stop around here for the night but the dust was so bad we decided to keep going ‘til it stopped. It died down as we went north but then we saw a big fire in the distance. Seems it started a few days ago in a canyon but the locals aren’t worried about it, they say it’s normal.
When we got off I-25 onto 285/84/68 we started going through stop and go traffic for about 80 miles into Taos. The last 30 miles the scenery got better, the Rio Grande gorge on the left and beautiful mountains on the right. In the distance is the Sangre de Cristo mountain range with snow on top, very pretty but we’re SO DONE with mountains. Quaint little shops along the way (one shop had about 100 old, rusty gas pumps), white-water rafters down in the gorge, at least 8 wineries which was surprising, Mexican junque, little farms and homesteads here and there. Found a campground right on the outskirts of Taos, hooked up and drove into town for dinner. Guess what we had? We ate at the Guadalajara Grille if that gives you any help. I learned that the difference between red sauce and green sauce is when the chilies are picked and if you want both you ask for “Christmas”. I also learned to ask for it on the side because sometimes it’s HOT! We then drove through Taos, lots of artsy places, southwestern pottery, jewelry, etc. but there’s more fine art and sculpture here. The town square is built around a big statue of Taos, and the town spreads out from there. There’s a pueblo house you can tour and Kit Carson’s homestead and a lot of history. Of course, we were too late for any of it but at least we know what Taos is like.
Oh, and the new camera broke again. Same problem, lens error. (I know, Bob B., it’s not the camera, it’s the user). This time I called Nikon direct and got nowhere. After speaking to a supervisor who was worthless I threatened to write a letter to corporate, we all know where that’ll get me. So I’m using the old one again, with the spot that comes and goes. When we get settled someplace we’ll decide what to do.