USA Road Trip - Day 27 (Santa Fe, New Mexico to Las Vegas, Nevada)

---

---

Well we had three distinct options on how to start our day. We could either stay in Santa Fe and do either a walking tour (not going to happen !) or an open air trolley tour with narration of the area. Alternatively I had found out about a scenic byway (it is what the Americans call their scenic roads) that we could drive on as we head towards Albuquerque. We decided to discuss over breakfast where we had freshly made waffles laced with maple syrup (very healthy indeed !) along with the best orange juice we have had on this trip to date. We had to walk across the driveway from our unit to the breakfast room and it was chilly at around 10 degrees. Hence option 1 out as we are too tired to keep walking, option 2 is out because it’s too damn cold and so option 3 it is. The drive I had chosen is called the Jemez Mountain Trail Scenic Byway. Before we left Santa Fe we went into a couple of local souvenir shops to look for a New Mexico licence plate but nothing around. So we headed north on 285 and were fascinated by the interesting way they decorated all of their bridge overpasses in this area. Very cool idea of how to beautify concrete. We turned off onto highway 502 and the scenery became more impressive. We crossed the famous Rio Grande River which flows south and becomes the USA / Mexico border all the way to the gulf of Mexico. We then came across a Visitors Information Centre where a lady who spoke like she had just arrived from Eastern Europe (such was her accent) kindly pointed out some key points of interest on the route. She said first go to Bandelier National Monument, then go to across the mountain to James Springs to have lunch. OK off we go. It costs $20-00 to go to the monument and this place was amazing. I had no idea this was even here (but I would not dare tell Kerry that because she thinks I am a genius!). The first thing I saw was this weird looking squirrel with really long ears like Bugs Bunny ! The area was occupied by the Puebloan people 10,000 years ago and we saw where they lived as they had built homes in the rock faces, as well as on the flat areas. It was pretty tough climbing around to look at everything as the altitude made the air really thin here. We walked along the trail for about 30 minutes and then headed back down to the river and when we crossed it I heard a knocking sound up in the tree. I asked Kerry if she heard it and she did. What was it ? I looked up for a few minutes but could see nothing at all. Not that I have ever seen one but it sounded like a woodpecker. We kept on walking along the track on the other side of the river which created a full loop back to the entrance, and soon we came across a few signs which indicated some of the wildlife here. I now realise there is such a thing as Abert Squirrel That’s the one with big ears), and we did indeed hear a Flicker which is the prettiest of all woodpeckers (shame we did not see it). The next few signs would be cause for concern for us. We have walked around here for an hour and we are not far from returning to the entrance when the sign warns us of some other species that call this place home. Rattlesnakes are here (yes I did climb into the wall formations without looking inside first !), there are Mountain Lions roaming here, and they also have Black Bears ! Lucky we didn’t see a sign about these when we started or I doubt we would have walked here on our own. The weather was starting to look a bit dodgy so we got back into the car and headed up the mountain. The landscape soon changed from large canyons to heavily forested areas and it started raining although not heavily. We started seeing signs about icy roads, and since it was raining I was driving very cautiously (as usual !). Kerry started freaking out as I drove up this big hill where she was on the cliff edge side of the road and there was only a foot high rock retaining wall separating us from a fast way down ! Soon enough we started seeing snow on the roadside. I had no idea how much elevation we had climbed, but we were now in the Valles Caldera area where a massive volcanic explosion occurred over a million years ago. We came across this vast open plateau of grass called Valle Grande where they have a lot of Elks grazing although we did not spot any. Further down the road the landscapes returned to canyon like structures and we realized that yesterday’s drive into Santa Fe which I likened to driving inside the Grand Canyon was nothing compared to today’s journey. We stopped at Jemez Springs for lunch. What a weird little restaurant we pulled into called Jemez Stage Stop Cafe. A lady called Shannon was our waitress and there was a couple of locals here. Kerry ordered an asparagus soup and I had the $8.99 daily special which was quesadillas with chilli con carne (very spicy indeed and beautiful). Kerry told Shannon it was the best soup she had ever had in her life. It was such a great lunch and so unexpected. The showers turned into a downpour as we finished up which is pretty rare event here apparently. As we walked out we saw a sign on the door that read “ Guitar player needed. Must have knowledge of waiting tables”. Now that is multi-tasking ! We headed off and the rain soon cleared as we headed further down the mountain. We found some amazing sights with rock formations that looked like they had sharp daggers as peaks, and bright red rock walls, and strangely we came across a high school football field with views to die for. We eventually joined up with Highway 550 at San Ysidro, and we are back on a main highway heading towards Albuquerque. Soon enough we see this massive mountain right in front of us and surely there is no way we are driving over that ! It is Sandia Peak and at 3,163 metres high an impressive sight. The road eventually wings away from the mountain and we notice a road leading to the famous Tramway which goes all the way to the peak. It is actually closed today for maintenance for 2 weeks (which we knew before we left home so we are not too disappointed) but thought I would check a few souvenir shops here that were still open but still no licence plate. It’s now about 5.30pm and we aim to be at the airport by 6pm so I decide to head on Route 66 instead of the Interstate in search of more souvenir shops but I find nothing at all. I fill up the tank with petrol and see we have driven 725 kilometres with the Chrysler over the last 2 days. When we get inside there is hardly anyone around. Dropped our bags and saw a souvenir shop. Yes they have licence plate here but unfortunately not style I was looking for so I concede I might just have to search on ebay when I get home. We go through security and there is actually more staff than passengers here ! Get through quickly and plan is to have some dinner here before we fly out. I see another souvenir shop and to my absolute delight and amazement they have what I am looking for. A beautiful yellow New Mexico plate with the words Albuquerque across the front. That now completes my collection with all 7 new states captured. Bali Hut will look like a treat. We had about 30minutes to spare before boarding so we grabbed a focaccia roll to share on the 95 minute fight. We are on Southwest again and as per usual they are perfectly on time. Our boarding allocation this time was A22/A23 and we end up in Row 4 Seats A & C. That’s right a seat in between so we can relax. We are on our way to Las Vegas and no more driving for 5 days. Yippee ! Enjoyed complimentary coffee onboard an their famous peanuts. They also have wi-fi onboard to watch live TV for free but I did not pack my headphones in carry-on luggage so just chilled on the plane flight. It was 8.35pm when we arrived local time and I joked to Kerry we might get lucky with luggage coming out early again, and as soon as we got to the Baggage Claim area ours were the very first two bags that came down the shute. Amazing ! We literally waited about 5 seconds before they came out. Out to grab a Taxi to our Hotel on the strip called The Linq which is in middle of the strip (we have stayed on southern end on previous visits here). Check in was easy, I tried the idea of wrapping a $20- bill around my Credit Card and politely asking for a complimentary upgrade as I had read about on trip advisor and was immediately offered a strip view room with noise or views of the High Roller Ferris wheel. I politely asked for a room with more space and she says best option is a suite, double the room size, views of the strip, quiet at the end of the hallway, not complimentary but $20- per night extra. I said that will do us and off to room 21502 we go. It is a modern looking place here, more details tomorrow. We decide to head out straight away as it was only around 9.30pm here and grabbed a drink on the strip watching the world go by. I decide to head inside the Flamingo Casino to use their rest rooms around 10pm, and it would prove my undoing as we did not get to bed until after 2am (which was 3am New Mexico time). I will explain more tomorrow. For now it is time for bed !

---

Comments

[Michelle]

Look out Vegas .... Here come the Spanners!
I really like Santa Fe. I hope you did too. And now on to Vegas. Suggestion: In New York, New York, at the 'city street end', there is the best NY-style deli! It's on a corner, and they have the BEST pastrami or corned beef on rye sandwiches!!! We go there every time we visit and one time we got sandwiches to go for the airport! We were the envy!!!