Road Trip, Day 11, Albuquerque and Rt. 66, NM

Would you believe it, we survived eating SouthWestern cuisine!  After breakfast burritos, we hit the road yet again to leave Santa Fe and head to Albuquerque.  Albuquerque, the largest city in New Mexico, plays host to an historic square: 

an old Mission Church: 

a rattlesnake museum: 

and a Natural History Museum! 

Look, they just found this mammoth skull, like, 2 months ago!   Epic!  

WATCH OUT, T-REX ATTACK!!

Whew, that was close.  Glad we made it out alive!  We need a rest.  Let's head down Rt. 66, shall we?  

Look, it's the historic Blue Swallow Motel in Tucumcari!  Welcoming travelers since long before I was born. 

Looking down Rt. 66 at night, it's easy to picture what Tucumcari would have looked like in its glory days, lined with neon signs and traveling travelers.  

Oh, and Cars.  

That's it for today.  What will tomorrow bring?  A drive through Texas and Oklahoma?  I'm guessing lots of ranches, some cows, and maybe a few thousand more bugs on the windshield.  Check back to see if I'm right!  (Spoiler alert: I'm always right.) 

Road Trip, Day 10, Santa Fe, NM

Farewell to Denver, and hello to the dry heat of New Mexico!  

But first, as always, a nice drive along some long roads.  

Art.  

Yeah, that's the Santa Fe Trail we traveled down.  History slam.  

What a better way to get introduced to the southwest than by having some authentic cuisine?  None that we know of.  And what better way to find a good hole-in-the-wall than Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives!  And find it we did.  Delicious papusa and mole (the sauce, not the rodent) burrito at Tune-Up Cafe.  

And an after diner stroll through the historic square of Santa Fe.  

And topping it all off with a relaxing evening by the fireplace.  Hell yeah, I said fireplace.  

Tomorrow, we wake up and hit the road for Route 66!  Come and join us!  Or don't, if you're unfun like that.  Up to you...

Road Trip, Day 7-9, Denver, CO

OK, enough with these one night stands.  Denver took us in for a few days.  We ate good food, we saw good friends, we showered, we slept.  And we slept.  And ate some more.  Got the hint?  You sure did, and it was great.  

Speaking of food, ever have a s'mores brownie?  We have.  (Thanks Yardhouse Denver!)

Ever seen a $10,000 note?  We have.  (Thanks Denver Fed Money Museum!) 

Ever have a bird defecate on your leg?  I have.  (Screw you bird!)  

Ever go on a light hike up to 6,850 feet with a super cute mass murderer?  We have.  (Thanks Nietos!)

But it wasn't all fun and games.  We got to see the golden dome of the Colorado State House: 

And the lights of Union Station: 

And even got stuck in a random downpour.  

So there you have it folks.  A mile high and tons of fun, we left Denver and slowly descended back down to sea level, but not before a couple more stops.  Oh, by where did we go?  Oh, you don't know already?  Well, then you better check back later and find out!  There's going to be a quiz.  

Road Trip, Day 6, Mount Rushmore, SD

Here we are again, having survived the night in the wilds of the KOA at Mt. Rushmore.  

Today, we saw, wait for it.  Wait.  For.  It.  

Mount Rushmore!  

Tomorrow (or whenever I get online again and aren't dog tired) you'll get to experience Denver from the comfort of your very own computer.  Mazel tov.

Road Trip, Day 5, Black Hills, SD

Oh Heavens, after yesterday's excursion, I don't know how much more of this I can take!  Fear not, for today, we venture into previously uncharted territory: the Badlands.

But first, more of this:

And, a stop at the Corn Palace.  What's a Corn Palace?  Just a building made of corn.  No, I don't make this up.  

And now, the moment you've all been waiting for, Badlands National Park: 

That's proof right there.  We couldn't take a "leaving" photo without having been there.  Further proof here:

We also took a hike.  It was 95 degrees, blazing hot sun, and this ladder:

After hiking, we needed a break, so we went to Wall Drug, in Wall, SD.  I will not include a photo, because it wouldn't do it any justice.  You, yes you, need to get to Wall.  What's around Wall?  Rapid City is.  We were there, ate dinner and drink Honey Badger beer.  

But we didn't sleep in Rapid City.  Oh, no, not at all.  We thought it would be a good idea to go camping.  At 9:30 at night.  Then it started to rain.  

But I made fire, so run and tell that, homeboy.  

Tomorrow, we'll visit Mount Rushmore.  OK, kids, who's faces are on Mt. Rushmore?  Find out next time, same bat time, same bat web address.