Day 10 - Hot Dog, Jumping Frog, Albuquerque!

Oli and the rhino's head

With one cup of coffee and one cup of tea to go for breakfast, we headed straight to Monument Valley.  It's about 20 miles up from where we were staying.  MV is hundreds of square miles full of huge separated monoliths (basically, big rocks).  They've all been given names such as the Three Sisters, which is three long skinny rocks.  

Is this the rhino's willy?

Our favourite was the one that looked like a giant rhinoceros head.  He looked like he had been incarcerated as what looked like his willy had been separated from his body and placed on the opposite side of the road for him to stare at for eternity.  Harsh punishment - it must have been a serious crime!

Back in the car we headed off for another 5hr trek all the way through the Arizona desert, starting off with barren, reddish rocks and then eventually to lush, green landscape before hitting New Mexico.

Apart from a stopoff for a quick lunch in a roadside diner (two club sandwiches please!) we pretty much drove the whole day, listening to local radio and Michael Mcintyre's autobiography audio book to keep us company along the way.  I think today will be the last day we drive on Route 66, having been on and off it since LA.  We've seen various sights including a line of about 10 Harley Davidsons in a row burning up the highway.

We arrived in Albuquerque at about 6pm having entered a new time zone and a new state - New Mexico!  I must have drifted off asleep somewhere along the way as I jolted in a slight panic when an alarm on our dashboard went off (boy was that beeping loud!).  It told us we had to change the oil immediately.  This seemed an annoyance as it took us off the freeway onto a local street, but boy was I glad it did! The street is a traditional American Town with flashing motel signs and drive-throughs where the staff are on roller skates to bring you your meal.  It seemed charming if not slightly dated but had a real authentic feel to it.  

We found a garage who changed our oil and within half and hour we got back in the beast.  During the waiting time at the garage we looked in our USA guidebook to see what Albuquerque had to offer - the town is broken up into the new town and the old town, and the guide recommended a few hotels one of which caught my eye. A small place in the old town with only 21 rooms, Casas de Suenos (House of Dreams) was described as follows: "charming adobe-style casitas are hidden among the courtyards and gardens, each room is uniquely decorated" - sounded good.  We pulled up outside and from the side road it looked like a cross between a Hobbits house and a Mexican Telly Tubby land!  I got a good vibe straight away and as soon as we stepped in the reception I way praying they had availability.  The lady behind the counter (Pauline) was wearing the same Tiffany necklace and bracelet as I was, strange for downtown New Mexico, (turns out she was born in Liverpool but moved here when she was 12 so has no trace of a scouse accent). She was v sweet and said she only had one room available (please oh please be a king) and it's a king she said:-)  

The room is decorated in a traditional Native American style and is bursting with amazing features such as saltillo tiled floor, animal hide furniture and the best feature of all is a hand painted vibrant coloured wall mural.  We quickly showered and changed as it was now 8:40pm and made our way into the old town two blocks down.  

It was bustling with a fiesta, carnival rides, food stalls and live bands which filled the small square.  The smell was amazing and my stomach gave a lurch, the guide book plus the receptionist at the hotel recommended a cafe for dinner called The Church Street Cafe, said to occupy the oldest house in the city and serving New Mexican cuisine.  We dashed to it as Pauline told us it closes at 9pm, with only minutes to spare we made it just in time.  

Cheers to New Mexico!

We asked to be seated outside and were walked through the restaurant which featured antique Native American art and rugs on it's walls.  We asked to sit outside as it was such a lovely evening and were shown to a pretty courtyard where grapevines entwined with fairy lights decorated the beams, a guitar player gently strummed away while we dined - this was the real deal!  

We ordered strawberry and lime frozen Margaritas and had traditional Mexican food.  The service was fab and the staff were really friendly, asking us about our trip and giving suggestions of where to visit.  We were the last two people left in the restaurant but the staff were in no hurry to chuck us out.  We ordered our bill and Oli noticed that they had not included our drinks to which the waitress replied it's a gift to welcome us to New Mexico - seriously these people couldn't have been any kinder:-)

Now back in our fab room I think we've decided that if we can have the room again tomorrow night (reception now closed) we will stay on another day - fingers crossed!  If this is so we shall now detour to Santa Fe tomorrow and then explore the new and old town here the day after.

Lets see what tomorrow brings!

Oil changes 1, roadkill 18, good vibes 100:-) 

J&O