Sorry guys, due to lack of wifi in our hotel in Las Vegas, we won't be able to upload new pictures or new posts. Tomorrow, we'll go to Los Angeles, where we expect to update the blog with stuff from the past days.
Keep tuned!
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Work in progress...
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Day 8: From Albuquerque, NM to Holbrook, AZ
2140 miles driven so far.
After all the excitement from yesterday's journey, we were expecting today's trip to be a bit more dull. And it was so for the most part of it, although an almost magical place was awaiting for us at the end of the journey...
We got on the road early in the morning as we had over 250 miles to go into yet another state: Arizona. The first part of the trip was really nothing to write home about, just miles after miles of semi-desertic plains.
We were entering Indian Nation territory, and the most notable sign of this was the proliferation of Indian Casinos and jewelry and gift shops.
One of the geographical features of this trip was arriving at what is known as the "Continental
Divide": a point that separates rainfall making its way to either the Pacific Ocean or the Atlantic Ocean.
Soon after that, we stopped for lunch at Virgie's Mexican Restaurant, a very local Mexican-Native restaurant where we had a very good beef steak and its signature dish Chico Steak, with chile sauce and cheese.
Just at the end of the trip, we reached the Petrified Forest National Park, a geological marvel that features fossilized trees and millions years old mountains showing the different mineral strata that constitutes them.
One of the first sights in this park was the "Painted Desert", small prominences from the Triassic era showing layers of different colors according to the minerals that form them.
At this point we also started to see some of the fauna in the park: lots of huge crows and... another snake!
The following sight was even more spectacular. It's called "Blue Mesa", another series of cone-shaped formations featuring layered blues, purples and grays, created by iron, carbon, manganese and other minerals. The pictures probably don't reflect how impressive this landscape is, but we'll give it a try : )
Finally, another of the attractions was the "Crystal Fores", a landscape with lots of petrified logs that were previously buried in deeper rock layers and now uncovered by erosion of the upper ground layers. These remains of antique trees look just like fallen trees from far away, but they are now fully petrified and constituted by glassy rocks and quartz crystals.
After witnessing such breathtaking landscape, we headed to our hotel in Holbrook, in time to learn that we had changed our time zone again, as apparently Arizona does not abide to Daylight saving time in summer! Live and learn...
Time now to rest as tomorrow we have a long journey, where we'll visit the famous Monument Valley before heading to the Grand Canyon of Colorado river. But more on that tomorrow...
After all the excitement from yesterday's journey, we were expecting today's trip to be a bit more dull. And it was so for the most part of it, although an almost magical place was awaiting for us at the end of the journey...
We got on the road early in the morning as we had over 250 miles to go into yet another state: Arizona. The first part of the trip was really nothing to write home about, just miles after miles of semi-desertic plains.
Divide": a point that separates rainfall making its way to either the Pacific Ocean or the Atlantic Ocean.
Just at the end of the trip, we reached the Petrified Forest National Park, a geological marvel that features fossilized trees and millions years old mountains showing the different mineral strata that constitutes them.
One of the first sights in this park was the "Painted Desert", small prominences from the Triassic era showing layers of different colors according to the minerals that form them.
After witnessing such breathtaking landscape, we headed to our hotel in Holbrook, in time to learn that we had changed our time zone again, as apparently Arizona does not abide to Daylight saving time in summer! Live and learn...
Time now to rest as tomorrow we have a long journey, where we'll visit the famous Monument Valley before heading to the Grand Canyon of Colorado river. But more on that tomorrow...
Day 7: From Las Vegas, NM to Albuquerque, NM
1840 miles driven so far.
When we woke up this morning, little did we know that today's journey was going to be the most enjoyable one since we left Chicago, with dramatic changes of scenery, beautiful towns, unexpected events and our first contact with the wilderness.
After an energising breakfast where we successfully made our own waffles :-) , we hit the road as usual, this time following the Santa Fe trail that ovelaps with Route 66. This is a route specially filled with history, as it saw some of the oldest Native American settlers, the earliest Spanish missions and towns, a busy history of smuggling, contraband and outlaws during the Western era and a large tourist activity nowadays.This area has also been the background for many Western films, and the landscape seemed very familiar due to this.
Our first stop came very quickly at the Pecos River National Park, site of an old Indian settlement: Pecos Pueblo. This is one of the oldest remains of this type in the country and it acquired a relatively high importance due to its control of the trading routes. It was later occupied by the Spaniards, who built a church and began building with adobe bricks. Before that, the Indians used to live in homes excavated in the ground. Remains of the site can still be seen as part of the national park, and it really makes for a nice sight.
We where now in the desert, as we were quickly remainded when we saw a huge snake crossing the path just in front of us! Fortunately, it wasn't a rattlesnake, but still it inspired some respect.
We then headed to the town of Santa Fe, which is considered the oldest town in the country, as well as one of its top tourist attractions. The town was built in the typical Spanish style and most buildings retain the old Mexican character, even the new ones. This town is really charming and we enjoyed having a stroll around the old center district.
The weather was very good and, being a Sunday, it was full of tourists. This was also the perfect spot to try a burrito for lunch.
We have really enjoyed visiting Santa Fe. It is completely different from the other cities and towns we've seen so far and has a unique character that takes you into a different world.
Leaving Santa Fe, we opted to leave Route 66, which would take us directly to Albuquerque and instead take a diversion through the Jemez mountains. So, we headed to Los Alamos, where the first atomic weapons were developed and also Hulk was born.
We soon reached the valley formed by the Rio Grande, which is not too big at this point but constitutes the second largest river in North America.
We saw a lot of volvanic rocks around, and a local explained us that this area was the result of nearby volcanic activity in the past. Actually, the road would take us to the border of the volcan's crater.
Back on the road, the scenery quickly changed to that of high mountains, as we were ascending up to almost 3000 meters, and there were still spots of snow remaining from the winter.
At the highest point of the Jemez Mountains, we reached the crater of the volcan named "Valles Caldera" a vast grass-filled area 13 miles across, and quite an impressive view amongst the trees and mountains.
The road then followed through the valley, with its alpine landscape on the way down to Albuquerque.
Another change of scenery awaited us, this time back to desert covered in red sand and rocks.
We stopped at Jemez Pueblo and experienced the mexican approach to fast food with small stands where they sell traditional home cooking meals that looked delicious.
Finally we were getting close to Albuquerque catching a first glimpse of the Sandia Mountains which lie next to the city. These mountains are called Sandia (watermelon) because of the reddish coloration they get at sunset.
We checked in our hotel, but this time contrary to other days the day was still not finished for us. A quick change of clothes and we were ready to go downtown to attend Paco de Lucía concert.
It was the perfect end to a day full of changes, sights and surprises (including being bitten by a red desert ant which is surprisingly quite painful...).
When we woke up this morning, little did we know that today's journey was going to be the most enjoyable one since we left Chicago, with dramatic changes of scenery, beautiful towns, unexpected events and our first contact with the wilderness.
After an energising breakfast where we successfully made our own waffles :-) , we hit the road as usual, this time following the Santa Fe trail that ovelaps with Route 66. This is a route specially filled with history, as it saw some of the oldest Native American settlers, the earliest Spanish missions and towns, a busy history of smuggling, contraband and outlaws during the Western era and a large tourist activity nowadays.This area has also been the background for many Western films, and the landscape seemed very familiar due to this.
Our first stop came very quickly at the Pecos River National Park, site of an old Indian settlement: Pecos Pueblo. This is one of the oldest remains of this type in the country and it acquired a relatively high importance due to its control of the trading routes. It was later occupied by the Spaniards, who built a church and began building with adobe bricks. Before that, the Indians used to live in homes excavated in the ground. Remains of the site can still be seen as part of the national park, and it really makes for a nice sight.
We then headed to the town of Santa Fe, which is considered the oldest town in the country, as well as one of its top tourist attractions. The town was built in the typical Spanish style and most buildings retain the old Mexican character, even the new ones. This town is really charming and we enjoyed having a stroll around the old center district.
The weather was very good and, being a Sunday, it was full of tourists. This was also the perfect spot to try a burrito for lunch.
We have really enjoyed visiting Santa Fe. It is completely different from the other cities and towns we've seen so far and has a unique character that takes you into a different world.
Leaving Santa Fe, we opted to leave Route 66, which would take us directly to Albuquerque and instead take a diversion through the Jemez mountains. So, we headed to Los Alamos, where the first atomic weapons were developed and also Hulk was born.
We soon reached the valley formed by the Rio Grande, which is not too big at this point but constitutes the second largest river in North America.
We saw a lot of volvanic rocks around, and a local explained us that this area was the result of nearby volcanic activity in the past. Actually, the road would take us to the border of the volcan's crater.
Back on the road, the scenery quickly changed to that of high mountains, as we were ascending up to almost 3000 meters, and there were still spots of snow remaining from the winter.
At the highest point of the Jemez Mountains, we reached the crater of the volcan named "Valles Caldera" a vast grass-filled area 13 miles across, and quite an impressive view amongst the trees and mountains.
The road then followed through the valley, with its alpine landscape on the way down to Albuquerque.
Another change of scenery awaited us, this time back to desert covered in red sand and rocks.
We stopped at Jemez Pueblo and experienced the mexican approach to fast food with small stands where they sell traditional home cooking meals that looked delicious.
Finally we were getting close to Albuquerque catching a first glimpse of the Sandia Mountains which lie next to the city. These mountains are called Sandia (watermelon) because of the reddish coloration they get at sunset.
We checked in our hotel, but this time contrary to other days the day was still not finished for us. A quick change of clothes and we were ready to go downtown to attend Paco de Lucía concert.
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Day 6: From Amarillo, TX to Las Vegas, NM
1620 miles driven so far
A new day, and we were quite looking forward to try some Texas-shaped waffles, as we had seen last night such as waffle maker in the breakfast room. However, several attempts were unsuccessful and we ended up messing with Texas.
After breakfast we spent a bit of time looking for things to do in Amarillo before hitting the road. Finally, we visited the Historic route 66 district: a street lined with antique shops, diners, restaurants, etc, with vintage decoration. Actually it was an empty street with closed businesses and not many people around even considering it was a Saturday.
Back on the road, our next stop was a very special one: We had reached the middle point of Route 66! We have actually made more miles than those shown on the sign, but that's due to our deviation from the Route. From now on it's a countdown to California.
A new day, and we were quite looking forward to try some Texas-shaped waffles, as we had seen last night such as waffle maker in the breakfast room. However, several attempts were unsuccessful and we ended up messing with Texas.
We then started the day's journey that would take us to another state an another time zone: Las Vegas in New Mexico (not the same Las Vegas you are thinking about).
Our first stop was very close to Amarillo and very unusual: the Cadillac Ranch. A public art installation consisting in several Cadillacs half-buried in the ground. They are covered in graffiti and actually people are encouraged to add their own contributions. We were lucky and found a discarded spray so we had some fun decorating the cars.
The landscape continued changing to become more deserted, and you could drive many many miles without seeing a house, an animal or a tree, just the endless road and the traffic on it and ranches at both sides.
Many of the few buildings and towns that we came across with were abandoned or in ruins, although there were still a few Route 66 related places.
Without realizing it the road had very slowly taken as higher and higher as we started to reach the mountains near Las Vegas. We are now at 2000m over sea level (from about 1000m in Amarillo).
We finally reached Las Vegas, which is a town built in the old Spanish colonial style, featuring a plaza an a few building that mix several styles: colonial, mexican, indian, western,...
Today we have gone from moving around stereotypical Texas cowboys to arriving at a completely Hispanic zone were you can hear more Spanish than English: quite a change!
This is all for today from New Mexico, folks.
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Day 5: From Olkahoma City, OK to Amarillo, TX
1350 miles driven so far
After last night's storm, the day has awoken cloudy, windy and cold, in quite a notable weather shift. The journey today was relatively short, so we drove into Oklahoma City to have a look around. Following the pattern we are seeing lately, downtown was not tourist friendly, it consists of government and offices buildings lined along wide avenues, with no walking area or sights of significance.
One of the few attractions is a memorial place built after a bomb attack that killed over 160 people in 1995. The building was demolished and the place is now a garden with chair-like structures for each of the victims, containing a lamp that lights up at night. There were several schools visiting it at the same time.
After this, we visited the Oklahoma State Capitol building, which houses the state's government. It is relatively large, but nothing too remarkable.
Finally, before leaving Oklahoma City, we went to the Bricktown district, a former area filled with red brick warehouses that is now being redeveloped into a pubs and restaurants zone, with a feeling quite similar to that of Canal Street in Manchester.
There, we visited a true American attraction: the American Banjo Museum. This is a museum devoted to the history of the banjo, explaining is evolution from an instrument for black slaves to a mainstream instrument in jazz and blues. Their collection of banjos is really impressive.
Right after noon, we finally got on the road on our way to Amarillo, in Texas, but we didn't need to ask any of the locals which was the way to Amarillo : )
After last night's storm, the day has awoken cloudy, windy and cold, in quite a notable weather shift. The journey today was relatively short, so we drove into Oklahoma City to have a look around. Following the pattern we are seeing lately, downtown was not tourist friendly, it consists of government and offices buildings lined along wide avenues, with no walking area or sights of significance.
One of the few attractions is a memorial place built after a bomb attack that killed over 160 people in 1995. The building was demolished and the place is now a garden with chair-like structures for each of the victims, containing a lamp that lights up at night. There were several schools visiting it at the same time.
After this, we visited the Oklahoma State Capitol building, which houses the state's government. It is relatively large, but nothing too remarkable.
Finally, before leaving Oklahoma City, we went to the Bricktown district, a former area filled with red brick warehouses that is now being redeveloped into a pubs and restaurants zone, with a feeling quite similar to that of Canal Street in Manchester.
There, we visited a true American attraction: the American Banjo Museum. This is a museum devoted to the history of the banjo, explaining is evolution from an instrument for black slaves to a mainstream instrument in jazz and blues. Their collection of banjos is really impressive.
Right after noon, we finally got on the road on our way to Amarillo, in Texas, but we didn't need to ask any of the locals which was the way to Amarillo : )
The road didn't present many features on this occasion, we drove mainly on the interstate with a few incursions in the towns nearby, but actually nothing too remarkable. As we were getting nearer to Texas, the landscape slowly evolved from the green meadows in Oklahoma to tree-less, extensive plains showing more and more brown.
Before arriving to Texas, we stopped at the Bar-B-Que Shed, where we had some of the best charcoal-grilled ribs we've ever tried, in a place with real character.
Back on the road, just after entering Texas, we witnessed a road accident (an overturn lorry) and the subsequent arrival of the medical support helicopter, which is necessary in these parts due to the long distances to everything.
We had the chance to visit a couple of Route 66 roadside attractions before arriving to our destination, which give an idea of the kind of things that are officially considered attractions on this route. The first one is called "the leaning tower of Groom", and it basically is a water tower that is, well, leaning.
Secondly, The Big Texan a restaurant near Amarillo which is completely decorated as a western saloon, even with a piano player, and which is famous for offering a 72 oz. (approx. 2 kg) steak that is free if you are able to eat it (together with four side dishes) in an hour. We didn't attempt it, but we spoke with a guy that was about to have a go at it and was really nervous. At this time, we don't know what's happened with him.
Our short time in Texas has confirmed us that most of what you see in movies is quite accurate, people with mustaches and cowboy hats driving huge trucks and wearing old Wrangler jeans.You can also find the Texas state shape almost everywhere: tiles, barbecues, pies ... Indeed, tomorrow we'll have our pancakes made in a Texas-shaped pancake maker!
But more on Texas tomorrow...
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