Day Twenty-four – October 2, 2018
Today – a totally different day with sunshine and blue skies! We grab a quick bite and load the car; we are off on Route 66 and hope to do some of the earlier road. Right out of the hotel is the 66 and we are in Red Rock – a bit different than Red Rock in Las Vegas.
We are looking for a Post Office along the way, to mail Kaeden’s birthday card. We thought this would be easy but the first two places we stop are not open until 3:00 pm. We hang onto the card for now – and keep looking.
The plan is to get to Santa Fe for the evening. Just out of Gallop we are crossing the Continental Divide and hope for photo opportunities. We keep climbing in elevation and see all kinds of signs for this highly anticipated moment, but not really a place to pull over and take pictures. Still cool though. This is the highest point on the 66 and separates the water flowing west to the Pacific and east to the Atlantic.
We are approaching the Los Lunas Loop, which is supposed to be part of the 1926 alignment.
You can see for miles and miles on this stretch of road; there is not a lot of civilization out here but it’s very peaceful and pretty.
There are a couple of places the road has been washed out recently and we wonder how Arizona and western New Mexico are faring with Tropical Storm Rosa (she’s been down-graded, but still intense).
Los Lunas is a much larger city than we expected.
As we now make our way north to Albuquerque we cross the Rio Grande. It looks like we might cross this river more than once as we keep checking our maps for the old 66.
Somehow, this river was wider, grander, and larger than life in the old westerns!
We drive around Albuquerque for a bit and remember that we spent a few days here last year on another trip.
The AAA map shows a 66 Diner but we remember our tour guide (last year) told us the diner was not on the 66 in the 1950’s. We have photos of that from before so we forge on.
We grab a fast lunch, not our usual, but we’ve been told a good western classic. How can we pass up a fried twinkie? We manage to do just that – pass up a fried twinkie and opt for a little healthier fare.
We manage to find a Post Office that is open and mail the birthday card! Hooray!
And off to Santa Fe! As we check into the hotel, we overhear another guest say “Phoenix is flooded; quite a mess.” We got out of Arizona in time!
Later, Dale goes for the fresh cookies in the lobby as asks about dining options. The guy at the desk says “this is a foodie town – don’t bother with the national chains – go to…” and he gives Dale three nearby options.
The Ranch House is the one he highly recommended, so we are off – in the rain – to find the Ranch House. It is really dark and dreary but we find the restaurant and are anxious to try their smoked meat options.
We are not disappointed – the food is good and plentiful, ribs and a half chicken smoked to perfection. Very tasty. The rain has stopped! Time to call it a day!
