New Mexico and Albuquerque

From: Santa Rosa Lake State Park, NM
To: Albuquerque, NM
Mileage: About 284kms :(

I didn't get too far today.  I stopped a few times and lost an hour when I crossed the state line.  I also quit early because I found that I'd have a cheaper room in Albuquerque than if I'd pushed on.  I also didn't see any campsites worth getting further down the road. 

I woke up this morning, and headed to the restroom to wash up.  I was freezing cold because it gets cold at night in the desert.  I asked Jim (the 69 year old fisherman) where the rest room is, and he saw that I was cold.  He offered me a cup of coffee, and we sat around talking for quite a while about various things.  Eventually, I said thanks and headed off.

I started breaking camp when I realized I hadn't taken any photos.  Here they are:

Here's the view from the lookout/restrooms:

I went to the Santa Rosa post office in town to ask about my options for having the Relax Inn send my knife to me.  They were closed, so I took a few pictures of the town.

I carried on toward Albuquerque.  I stopped a number of times on the way to see if I could find interesting souvenirs from the places along the way.  I didn't find anything, but I ended up in a Wal-Mart and bought a bag of Twizzlers bites.  They were on sale.... I had no choice.

Before long, I started to notice something very strange about the horizon.  It had this weird, wavy, black outline, rather than the flat nothing that is the plains.  See for yourself:

As I got closer, I realized it wasn't an illusion.  I've reached the start of the Rocky Mountains!  That was a good feeling.  No more boring straight lines, something to look at, terrain to cover, etc.  My tires are happy too - I've got some pretty gnarly flat spots going.  I should have just sprung for the square model and saved the time.

I had planned on meeting a friend/former supervisor named Robin who lives in New Mexico.  Unfortunately, fate conspired against us, and we couldn't connect today.  Plus he broke his leg recently.  Get well soon, Robin!

I ended up in Albuquerque, NM and I visited the Petroglyph National Monument.  There are carvings on the rocks in the area made by ancient Pueblo people and Spanish settlers.  The carvings were made hundreds or thousands of years ago. 

I kind of doubt the authenticity of this one.

The area was nice on it's own, nevermind the ancient stuff

Albuquerque in front of the mountain

From there I went to downtown Albuquerque to see what it was all about.  From what I saw, not much!  I must have been in the wrong area.  But the signs said "Downtown Albuquerque"....

From here I evaluated my options and decided to just find a place.  I checked into the Super 8 Albuquerque.

If the weather holds up, I can be in LA in three days.  If I really push for the next two (and don't really see any of Arizona), I can be there in two.  But those are two looong days of interstate riding.