In Albuquerque we spent some time poking around Old Town, which is a touristy shopping area with lots of jewelry and kitsch. Marek loves to shop and we love to people watch. Old Town is perfect for that. We enjoyed – I enjoyed – a pretty tasty Mexican meal for lunch at a local diner called Garcia’s. It was tasty. Marcus wasn’t thrilled at all – his hamburger arrived with green chilies all over it. bleh. It was a beautiful day, although it was windy, so we decided to take a hike at Petroglyph National Monument. It was essentially a dessert with a big pile of volcanic rock tumbled across it. There are literally thousands of acres and petroglyphs in this National Monument. Petroglyph National Monument The Puebloan Indians (previously referred to as the Anasazi Indians) carved the petroglyphs into the volcanic rock many, many years ago. Mostly, it was a nice hike. It was warm and sunny, the only downside was the massive wind.
We had planned to end the day with a trip up the Sandia Peak in daylight to watch the sunset and see the night lights of Albuquerque however, the wind which had been so intense during the day was even worse on the peak so they closed the tram. So… we hit the hotel, the hot tub and ordered some pizza! The next day we were planning to drive to the Grand Canyon but we really wanted to go up the world’s largest tramway, 2.5 miles up a mountain sooooo we woke up and had a great breakfast then headed up the tramway! Sandia Peak
It was pretty cool. In fact, it was 20* cooler up top than down below so at the peak we found 28* weather and some serious wind. I can’t imagine how windy it would have been the day before when they closed. They reported that they closed when the gust were hitting 45 mph and they recorded them up to 60 mph! The view was amazing and the 15 minute tram ride was pretty awesome, although the 4-6 hour hike would have been interesting too. The ski season was over but there was stil some significant snow laying around and the weather was cold!
This is me with Squeezy Guy, our special friend on vacation. Marek has had a Squeezy Guy since he was about 3 years old. Squeezy Guy had some definite elevation sickness on this trip, his ears and eyes were popped out partially the entire time! Poor guy! Marek had a project of taking pictures of Squeezy Guy along the way of our trip. It was a fun thing to do along the way.
From here, we took off for the Grand Canyon! A mere 7.5 hours away!
The best thing was passed was essentially inexplicable. It was called Stewart’s.
Marek and I needed to go to the bathroom and there had been no stops and there was nothing ahead. We saw many signs for Stewart’s then we saw the dinosaurs with mannequins! Oh. My. It was very deliverance, very Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (Johnny Dep movie) Marek and I said we didn’t want to get out of the car… as we pulled up and found more mannequins and a lady in a rattle trap car pulled up to open the shop. If you’ve seen the movie, The Beasts of the Southern Wild, this woman was Hush Puppy all grown up. If you haven’t seen it, well, you probably should. Weird, special, very individual. So… she was very nice to us and gave Marek a piece of petrified wood. She also let me use the bathroom, where I saw this! She explained that all the newspapers on the floor were because one man peed all over the floor when he saw the mannequin! Ummm, I chose NOT to touch anything!! Although, I did manage to pee! HAHAHA! Marcus believes that my bathroom visit is on tape and is being reviewed with joy daily!
Hush puppy lady showed us pieces of polished petrified wood valued at several hundred dollars. She also told us about how the truck drivers steal the mannequins, which explains the chains! The whole place was amazing. Marek purchased an ostrich egg and was/is very proud of it!
We were very entertained by the entire stop. Happily we didn’t get bitten by an ostrich! Onward ho!! We drove on to Tusayan, Arizona – the gateway to the Grand Canyon!!
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