Sad to Leave Albuquerque but More Route 66 Ahead!

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After a rockin' fun night it's time to pack up and hit the road again. We have agreed to go a little off track and head toward Santa Fe and Las Vegas, New Mexico - the original Route 66 before a decision to straighten the route from Albuquerque directly to Santa Rosa.

We do a quick cruise through Old Town and both agree that we want to come back to this city for more exploration. It is gorgeous, colorful and really interesting to us both. The Old Town section is a plaza with shops and restaurants and beautiful architecture - it was two (2) blocks from Hotel Blue - we'll be back!

Central Avenue in Albuquerque is Route 66 so there are lots of cool signs and places to check out. We made one stop, The Monte Carlo. AHole was intriqued by it's offerings - check out the pic - and ran inside. He bought his bottle but also got to see huge Rib Eyes being cut right before his eyes. Sweetie is lucky he came back to the car! A couple more rounds and we're off to Santa Fe!

As we're driving, Sweetie's appetite came back so it was decided to head to lunch first thing! With a little help from Siri, Sweetie found El Parasol. El Parasol started as a taco wagon in 1958 and now has a couple of locations. It is a traditional taco stand - no tables inside or out. The menu was on a big board and included Tacos, Tamales, Burritos, Hamburgers, Soups and Combinations. We decided on a Pork Tamale and a Chicken Tamale while Sweetie ordered a Carne Guisada Burrito Smothered (Green Chiles, Cheese, Lettuce and Tomato). Guisado is marinated, shredded beef. AHole ordered a Taco Combo with Beef and Chicken which came with Rice and Refried Beans.

Since there are no tables, took a look at Google Maps and found a park down the street - good call! AHole was practicing his AHoleness (later discovered to be hunger) but we finally settled into a picnic table and the feast began! OMG! Amazing food and Sweetie is in love with Green Chiles. AHole's refried beans blew us away - not sure what they did to make them different but they normally taste like paste. Not in this case - AHole is working through the flavors and hopes to recreate - he thinks the beans may have been soaked in broth...

The park we chose was near the Santa Fe Railyard which has been converted to an Arts District. Lunch here made us decide that we need to come back here, too. The landscaping was natural with all types of walkways, climbing rocks, sculpture, etc. Driving away, we came across a "free" graffiti area - spaces for kids to come and spray paint away - very cool! The Railyard also is home to the weekend Farmers Market and Santa Fe Arts Market. Check out the pic of Yard Dog in the Park - remind you of anyone???

We hopped on Old Santa Fe Trail which took us through Old Santa Fe and up to Museum Hill. We caught ourselves talking about where we'd live if we lived in Santa Fe - it just crept up on us. Again, wish we had more time to explore but we'll be back!

It's time to go to Las Vegas - this town on Route 66 is where Doc Holliday and his girlfriend Kate landed and opened a saloon - we have high hopes! With Sweetie going on and on about other Route 66 options (after she promised on just Santa Fe and Las Vegas), AHole forgot to get gas and was reminded about this when the car started ringing to tell him he was low on gas. Although Sweetie believes you have a minimum of 20 miles left at this point, AHole, not so much. Sweetie finds a nearby gas station using her Gas Buddy app and what do you know - we have to go through Glorieta Pass and Pecos - both Route 66 towns!!! All is right with the world and we have a full tank of gas!

We make it to Las Vegas and are a little disappointed. A nice town square but couldn't really figure out the Wyatt Earp/Doc Holliday history. They have a beautiful University there so that was a nice discovery but other than that, it was time to hit the road one more time. AHole decided to surprise Sweetie with one more stop on Route 66 - Tucumcari. He was interested,too, because it's in a Little Feat song. Sweetie is excited because there is a cheese factory in town!

Tucumcari is kind of sad... very cool, old neon Route 66 signs but a community that seems like it's barely hanging on. We got some great photos and found the cheese factory but it was closed. Sweetie bummed - time to drive to Amarillo.

Pulled into Amarillo to the Ambassador Hotel. We're pretty sure this used to be an Embassy Suites. A little sketchy clientele and hardly any cars in the parking lot except for the limo that pulled up with Longhorns tied to the front grill. The room was large and comfortable and it was decided that Sweetie would lock down rooms for the rest of the trip and we'd order a Burger from room service to split. Called it a night so we could awake and head to Cadillac Ranch before making our way to Tulsa.

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Photos

The Monte Carlo
Home of Woodford Reserve and RibEye Steaks

Lam's Chinese
AHole's Chinese Name

The Yard Dog
The sculpture is made out of sheet metal and includes a swing under the belly. Sweetie is missing the Doodles something fierce!

Journey's End Sculpture
Located at the Entrance of Museum Hill which houses 5 different galleries

The Infamous Blue Swallow Inn
You rent a room for the night and get a garage!