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| Blue Swallow Motel, Tucumcari, NM |
www.dennismook.com
Greetings everyone! Sorry about not being able to post a day's end wrap up yesterday, but my computer just would not connect to the Internet. So, today you will get a double dose!
We arose early and proceeded to downtown Tucumcari to make some images of period buildings along Route 66. Downtown is a stretch as the town, unfortunately, is almost dead. I feel badly for the people who still live there as there is almost nothing there anymore. You could tell that the town was once vibrant, exciting and rich with history. No more. However, every one of the individuals we met there were really nice. I wish them well.
From Tucumcari, we drove west and then north to Santa Fe, the state capital of New Mexico. As many of you already know, Santa Fe is a mecca for artists. There are well over 200 art galleries. Vance and I decided to take the guided tour of the town via the tourist trolley. The trip lasted about an hour and fifteen minutes and was well worth it. We then walked around, visited the Native American artisans selling their jewelry across from the town square and ate a very good southwestern lunch.
Just a quick word on the Native American artisans. They have to be licensed to sell their wares across from the central square, have to have their name, initials or mark on each piece they sell and only the artist or one of their immediate family can sell the jewelry and other items. This, we were told, is to ensure authenticity. Interesting.
As neat as Santa Fe was, we just didn't find it interesting enough, after what we had seen and done, to spend a night there. We decided to take a side trip to Los Alamos, the "City That Never Was" and the place where the atomic bomb was developed.
After arriving, we checked into a hotel, found the Blue Window Bistro and had a very good dinner. We found the restaurant by accident since we were looking for another restaurant that had been recommended to us. Lucky us!
This morning we had an all fruit breakfast (I did have some Cheerios also) and we headed south to the Bandelier National Monument. This was a splendid place to visit. We arrived before 8 a.m. and the visitor's center opened at 9. Kindly, the rangers leave literature out for early birds and we set off on the main loop trail. And what an education it was. We had the entire place to ourselves, with the exception of a couple of rangers who were there early.
Bandelier National Monument is located in Frijoles Canyon and for hundreds of years was occupied by the Ancestral Pueblo people. We saw several areas of ruins, about 600 years old. We were able to view ruins of a village that once held as many as 500 people. We also saw many cliff dwellings in the form of caves where the inhabitants used to live. The reason they used caves is that the rock that makes up the cliffs is volcanic Tuff, which is soft enough to easily erode holes large enough to climb in as well as carve out for dwellings. Finally, we saw, what they call, The Long House, which was a series of rooms along the base of the cliffs. The Long House was where they lived, stored food, made petroglyphs and conducted ceremonies. I can highly recommend Bandelier if you have any interest in history, archaeology and Native American life.
From Bandelier, we traveled back north to Los Alamos to visit the Bradbury Museum. This museum is free and its exhibits are centered around the history, technology and science of the invention of the atomic bomb as well as what research is in progress at Los Alamos National Laboratory today. It is one of the best science museums I have visited. The title "The City That Never Was", was taken from one of the movies we saw, talking about how President Truman set up the Manhattan Project, based initially upon Albert Einstein's letter to him in reference to nuclear fission and the probability that the Nazis were working on developing a fission bomb. Scientists and support personnel boarded buses in Albuquerque and "disappeared." The Los Alamos complex now employs over 11,000 personnel. Again, if you are student of history, the Cold War, or science, this museum is well worth a visit.
Our next destination was to get back off the side trip and back to Route 66 in Albuquerque. Instead of taking the main roads to the city, we took NM 4, a wonderfully scenic road over the mountains and into a giant caldera, a volcano which spewed out over 900 ft. of volcanic tuff which formed the cliffs around Bandelier National Monument. The road was very scenic as we went through a couple of small towns, several Reservations and beautiful countryside. A very nice drive.
We drove to the east side of Albuquerque and wanted to enter the city on the Mother Road, which is Central Avenue. We saw many old hotels, restaurants, stores and theaters which were from the hay days of the old road west. One place we wanted to stop was the Route 66 Diner, and boy, were we glad we did. This place was magnificent. Once inside, if you didn't know better, you would have thought you were back 40 years! The food was good, the staff was great and the atmosphere was perfect! If you are in Albuquerque, please visit. You won't be sorry.
Instead of bedding down in Albuquerque, we decided to drive west for an hour or two and stopped in Grants, New Mexico for the night.
Again, I must say, that on this entire trip the people we have met have been so kind, very helpful, possess good senses of humor and were well versed in the Route 66 attractions in their areas. We are so lucky to have the time, ability and good fortune to make this trip and we are even more fortunate to have met some wonderful people along the way.
Yesterday we drove from Tucumcari to Los Alamos via Santa Fe--229 miles. Today, we drove from Los Alamos to Grants via Bandelier and Albuquerque--230 miles. Just right for sightseeing.
Tomorrow, heading west again on the Will Rogers Highway, as 66 is sometimes called. Enjoy!
Thanks for looking.
Dennis Mook
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