“Kilometers are shorter than miles. Save gas, take your next trip in kilometers.”

                                                                                                                            George Carlin

Day 1 Jan 12, 2017 – Longmont to Santa Fe

Started early to try and avoid the cluster funk on I-25, decided to pay the piper on E-470. Lowered our heart rates and redeemed our opinions of our fellow human beings. Smooth sailing through Pueblo. Made it just outside of Trinidad, no sightings of Caitlyn Jenner or Corporal Klinger from MASH.  We continued down Raton Pass. Interesting name, did some road crew worker back in the day see a rodent on the road and announce “look at that Rat on the road”? And did Rat-On stick?  From Raton to Las Vegas, NM you’ve got miles and miles of nothing. Perfect spot for a UFO sighting or abduction. Why does this always happen in remote areas and the people abducted make Roscoe P. Coltrane on The Dukes of Hazzard sound like a Rhodes Scholar?  Making the last miles towards Santa Fe and this really happened. No good radio to listen to, so I asked my wife to plug in the iPod and play some Van Morrison. Just out of Santa Fe near Glorietta, NM, Van Morrison began signing his Gloria song. I kid you not.  We were driving through Glorietta with Van yelling, GLORIA, Gloria, GLORIA, Gloria. Is that freaky? I am now awaiting my encounter and probe with alien abductors. Stay tuned…..

Day 2 & 3 January 13 – 14 Santa Fe

Set up in Santa Fe, which translated from Spanish to English means, “Increase Credit Card Spending Limit.” The ladies decided to spend the first day shopping, my brother-in-law and me decided to head to Los Alamos where the first atomic bomb was developed in WWII. Very scenic drive with buttes and mountain vistas about 35 miles with the last few up a winding road. The town is very clean and has a modern feel to it, must be the Fed funds. We had a “blast” at the Bradbury Science Museum that explains everything you’d ever need to know about atomic bombs and what makes them tick. We could have used a 12 year old science nerd to explain what we were seeing. Headed back to Santa Fe to meet up with the ladies (didn’t have to rent a U-Haul for their purchases) for dinner at “The Shed” which is an affordable great Mexican food place. Next day was sightseeing day in Santa Fe. Went to the Loretta Chapel that has a famous spiral staircase built in the 19th century by an unknown carpenter, using no nails or glue and not central support to a choir loft. Visited other galleries and shops during the day, then ate at a fantastic restaurant called “Sazon.” Very creative New Mexican cuisine. I tried the roasted grasshopper appetizer, tastes not like chicken but popcorn. Wonder who collects the grasshoppers for them? Hope they were “free range.” More to come…….

Day 4 January 15 – Santa Fe to Roswell to Las Cruces

Got up early, made sure our Boston Terrier pooch (Domino) had unloaded prior to being loaded into the car for our drive to Roswell, NM. For those of you not familiar with Roswell, here are the 3 main things you need to know: 1. In 1947 a supposed UFO crashed outside of town strewing debris, including alien life forms. They probably were having yucks diving their spacecraft at the many sheep and cattle in the area after consuming some “Andromeda Ale.” This reinforces the warning to don’t drink and drive even for aliens. 2. The military arrived to cart away the evidence, claiming it was just a weather balloon that had crashed. People were skeptical having seen several empty bottles of “Andromeda Ale” falling out of the transport trucks. 3. A lucrative tourist industry developed attracting curious people from around the world. We visited the UFO Museum and Research Center in Roswell. It had newspaper articles detailing the entire mystery along with some artifacts and mock ups of the aliens. Kind of corny, but we bought T-Shirts, would have liked to have bought a six pack of “Andromeda Ale,” if it had been available. We blasted off for Las Cruces via Alamogordo/White Sands National Park (think of “bleached” Sand Dunes down near Alamos, CO. Hope all your trips are out of this world!

Day 5 January 16 – Las Cruces to Tombstone to Sierra Vista, AZ

Hit I-10 west from Las Cruces heading to AZ and some Old West nostalgia at Tombstone. Arrived at Tombstone after passing “Boot Hill Graveyard and Jewish Memorial?” Parked the car and walked where Wyatt, Doc and the Clantons dared to tread. The OK Corral cost $10 to view, we passed. Saw the Bird Cage Theatre where the Cowboys peppered the ceiling with bullets, saw the saloon where Morgan Earp met his demise and the Oriental where Wyatt hung. One of my favorite movies of all time is “Tombstone” with Kurt Russell as Wyatt and Val Kilmer as Doc Holiday. For my money Kilmer’s portrayal as Doc is legendary! Got the T-Shirts stained with red dirt that say, “Tombstone, The Town to Tough to Die.” Famous lines by Wyatt and Doc from the movie “Tombstone.” Wyatt: “You tell him I’m comin’….and Hell’s comin’ with me!” “Doc Holliday: “I’m your Huckleberry, that’s just my game.” Took a very scenic road to Sierra Vista and our hotel. More to follow….

Day 6 January 17 – Sierra Vista to Bisbee, AZ

Bisbee is a quirky hill town established in the 1800’s as a copper, gold and silver mining outpost. Tours are still available at the Copper Queen Mine. My wife and I walked around the mining museum but passed on the underground tour. The town is walkable, with narrow streets lined with Victorian era buildings. Our Fitbits were crying for mercy as we ascended hundreds of steps to see the upper levels of the town. The steps and the view take your breath away. After a stop at the oxygen bar (just kidding, good business idea though), we visited many art galleries and antique shops (after a few, the antique shops got old to me, ha). Imagine if you combined Central City, CO (before the casinos), Leadville, CO and Haight-Ashbury in San Francisco, CA in a blender, you’d have a close facsimile of Bisbee. As we drove back to our hotel in Sierra Vista, we stopped at the San Pedro Riparian (Habitat Adjacent to a River) National Conservation Area. One of the most important riparian areas in the United States, the San Pedro River runs through the Chihuahuan and Sonoran Desert transition zone in southeastern Arizona and is home to many species of mammals, fish, reptiles and amphibians, and breeding birds. It also provides habitat for hundreds of species of migrant and wintering birds and contains archaeological sites that show human occupation from 13,000 years ago. We leashed up “Domino” and were ready to hit the many dirt trails and see the flora and fauna, when we both stopped and looked at the trail map and information kiosk. Ok, we’re just about to walk, when both of us read the last line on the kiosk: Warning! Don’t Leave the Paths and Keep Your Eyes on the Path. Rattlesnake Habitat! We looked at each other, then at Domino tugging on the leash, checked the time (it was 12:30pm), first nice sunny day, temp above 60 degrees, if I was a rattlesnake, where would I be today? Right! Out sunning myself! Sorry Riparians, we tenderfoots are heading to town for lunch. More to follow……

Day 7 January 18 – Sierra Vista, AZ to Longmont, CO

Our travel plans changed after checking the weather forecast for the West Coast. There was a song by Albert Hammond in the 70’s called “It Never Rains in Southern California” A line in the song goes, “It never rains in California, but girl don’t warn you, it pours, man, it pours.” Rather than risk being stuck in a La Quinta for days watching reruns of Jerry Springer, we decided to head for home and finish our trip when the weather cooperates. We decided to stop at the Petrified Forest (What’s It Scared Of?) and the Painted Desert National Parks right off I-40 near Holbrook, AZ. Our expectations were low driving into the PF, but were amazed at the many miles of the 215 million year old logs and fabulous vistas. The Painted Desert also caught us by surprise with the many shades of pink and the deep canyon, almost a smaller Grand Canyon, probably a “Vente” Canyon using a Starbucks term. Decided to “canter” from Gallup, NM to Shiprock, NM and were treated to scenic, out of this world buttes and solitary rock formations that spring from the desert floor. Stayed in Farmington, NM, then experienced another beautiful drive from Farmington, NM to Antonitio, CO via Chama, NM. The landscape evolves from high desert with buttes and canyons to alpine mountain. The road from Chama to Antonito parallels the Cumbres and Toltec railroad, one of the most scenic train rides in the West. Alas, we arrived home. Disappointed in not being able to continue our trek at this time, but stoked that we got to see many interesting and beautiful sites. What were some lessons learned along the way?

Dining in Santa Fe, grasshoppers crunchy and light.

Aliens in Roswell, they crashed, should have hung a right.

Wyatt and Doc in Tombstone, were OK after the fight.

Mining and galleries in Bisbee, Riparian Park, snakes cause for fright.

Petrified Forest and Painted Desert, surprising delight.

Farmington to Antonito, don’t miss driving at night.