April 11, Saturday. Talk about a very long boring and tiring ride! We were on the road for 9 hours! We don’t like to drive like that but there was just nothing we wanted to do between Camp Verde, AZ, and Albuquerque, NM. It was a pretty drive up to Flagstaff, AZ, but after we turned East, the nice scenery disappeared. There was still just a bit of snow on top of Humphreys Peak so that was fun to see. Look at the reflection in the bottom of the rear view mirror.
It was a nice cool day as we headed out. We did go through Winslow, AZ, famous in the song “Take It Easy” with the verses “Standing on the corner in Winslow, AZ, such a fine site to see..There’s a girl in a flat bed Ford looking back at me…” The town is now old, dirty, and just about dried up. There is the Petrified Forest and the Painted Desert along the way, but we had been there several years ago so didn’t plan on stopping again.
We still considered the area desert because there was just brush and colored rock bluffs under big skies. Most of this route is through Indian reservation land. So sad, along the way you couldn’t help but notice the poverty. Not much better than shanty shacks, or homes not taking care of and falling apart were scattered across the desert. There were lots of closed buildings and businesses, Indian “stuff” sold in shacks along the road, even torn and dilapidated billboards. The small towns were very dirty and rough looking. It was very depressing. But yet there were several nice looking Casinos, and some offered camping. Other than that, we did not see any other campgrounds.
WOW! Such wide open spaces! The interstate seemed to go into the distance forever! We had never seen so many trains crossing the desert as we did that day. I love trains anyway.
We were finally greeted with a view of Albuquerque in the distance. The Sandia Mountains run along the eastern side of Albuquerque, and the Rio Grande flows through the city, north to south. It is generally believed that Albuquerque was named by the provincial governor in honor of Don Francisco de Cabrera, a viceroy of New Spain from 1653 to 1660. One of his titles was Duke of Albuquerque, referring to the Spanish Town of Albuquerque.
Albuquerque was founded in 1706 as the Spanish colonial outpost of Ranchos de Albuquerque. Albuquerque was a farming community and strategically located military outpost along the Camino Real. The town was also the sheep-herding center of the West. Spain established a military garrison in Albuquerque in 1706. After 1821, Mexico also had a military garrison there. The town of Albuquerque was built in the traditional Spanish village pattern: a central plaza surrounded by government buildings, homes, and a church. This central plaza area has been preserved and is open to the public. It is referred to as "Old Town." During the Civil War Albuquerque was occupied in February 1862 by Confederate Troops a battle was fought against a detachment of Union soldiers. The Atchison,Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad arrived in 1880. Many Anglo merchants, mountain men, and settlers slowly filtered into Albuquerque creating a major mercantile commercial center which is now Downtown Albuquerque. New Albuquerque was incorporated as a town in 1885, incorporated as a city in 1891.
We are staying at Kirtland Air Force Base. We stayed here several years ago and made the logical stopping point on our way East. We have a nice view of the mountains from our site.
Of course, the main reason I wanted to stop is because of an Indian/Western jewelry shop in Old Town. They have every color of stone in earrings, bracelets, and necklaces that you could imagine! I got in trouble there before and am sure my wallet and I will be in trouble this time! We are also going to Los Alamos to a cafe that has cinnamon buns to die for! Funny how we remember our favorite places by the food we get!! So we will stay a week to kill some time and revisit some nice areas.
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