Albuquerque Day 1

We arrived at the home of Sandi’s friends, Dawn and Bob Dalton.

The journey from our home to ABQ took 12 hours. 

Here are some highlights of a 12-hour trip from Plano to ABQ:

• The restrooms anywhere  between Wichita Falls, TX, and Amarillo are the nastiest in the world.  This is from my experience over many years!  If you make this trip, we recommend you hold it until you get to Amarillo.  I you cannot hold it, Childress, TX, is your best bet.
• At the same time, we enjoy the gradually changing the landscape between the above two points.  The landscape gradually changes from rolling prairies to desert plains.
• Towns along I-40 in New Mexico enjoy keeping their retro-Route 66 look.  Years ago, I-40 bypassed these towns, leaving their downtown areas frozen in time.  These areas flourished when travelers along the old U.S. Highway 66 flowed through the area.  These towns are Tucumcari, NM, and Santa Rosa, NM.
• We always love to stop at Clines Corners, NM.  Why?  We don’t know, but it is still a nice connection with Route 66. :-) Clines Corners is a combination gasoline station, restaurant, and curio shop in the middle of the desert.  It sits in the same spot miles from nowhere.  Along this stretch, I-40 follows the exact route as Route 66. 

Dawn and Bob live in a lovely  home in the suburban city of Rio Rancho, NM.  The architecture of most homes is wood frames with a stucco siding.  They are learning to adapt to the desert environment.  Water is very precious.  Their yard consists of stone pebbles.   A few desert shrubs they own are watered by drip irrigation.  Color of the landscape is a  beautiful desert pastel.  off in the distance is the beautiful Sandia Peak. 

The weather was rainy as can be the case in a desert.  Rain came in short showers.  Temperatures were coldish in the evenings and warming up during the day when the sun came out.  The relative humidity normally is in the low teens.