Movin' East - Day 61

Monday, November 3, Day 61 - Albuquerque, New Mexico (and the start of month #3 "on the road"!). We left Gallup at 10AM, destination Albuquerque, about two hours east on I-40. We did take some photos on the road to Albuquerque, so be sure to check the web album.

The above photo was taken as we crested a rather long uphill grade on I-40 East. We are about 7 miles outside of the downtown area of Albuquerque, but you can see how the city sprawls out in the valley below us. Just above and to the right of the highway, you can see the tall buildings of the downtown area.

Our first stop is at Enchanted Trails RV park, on Route 66, about 7 miles west of the city. After we got settled and had lunch, we drove into the city to visit the Museum of Natural History. This was a very good take. There is a fee to go into the museum, but it was well worth the money, as the exhibits are fascinating. We took pictures of some of the exhibits (mostly for Aaron, as he is "into" dinosaurs) in the museum, so check the web album.

Next, we drove to "Old Town" to walk around and take in the "local culture". The photo, above, was taken at Old Town Plaza, right across the street from San Filipe de Neri Church. There are photos of the church in the web album, as well.

From here, we went to see about taking a hot air balloon ride in the morning. I had made a couple of calls to different places, but one did not answer the phone, and the other one wanted $199/person for the balloon ride! We had one other brochure, for a business right there off the Plaza, so we walked over to inquire about balloon rides there. The girl behind the counter phoned the "pilot", but they would only take up a group of 6 people, since the balloon basket was a 6-passenger basket, and the balloon was extra large. Their fee, though, was $160/person. So, I guess we won't be taking a hot air balloon ride this time around.

As we walked around the Plaza area, we noticed that the shops were beginning to close for the day, as it was about 5PM. We decided to return tomorrow and spend the day. Next, we both felt like having a Margarita here, since the restaurants were all Mexican. We went into the bar at Casa de Fiesta (see pictures in web album), and ordered their "Fiesta Original" margarita - delicioso! We were informed that, in order to have just drinks, we HAD to order at least one appetizer, so we ordered the Chili con Queso, which was also delicious.

Tomorrow, back to Old Town, and whatever! Check back for the exciting details!

Here's the link to today's album:

http://picasaweb.google.com/cbenoitiii/TheTripDay61AlbuquerqueNM?authkey=oKvVSxnE57I#