Well today we stayed in Albuquerque to see the sights around town. We were going to stop by Skip Maisel’s Indian Merchandise, but since it is Sunday, the store was closed. From the outside, it looked like quite the store. We decided to find ‘Old Town’ because the little brochure touted the fact that it has been refurbished and is much like it was 50 or 60 years ago. There are many shops with all kinds of Southwest type stuff. There are local Indians with their wares spread on blankets on the sidewalks. Some of it just beautiful and very skillfully made. We loved the architecture and just the whole feel of the place. It was nice and warm too! Humidity is very low (12%) and it felt real nice. We had some authentic local food and were treated to some live music and song by a Mexican troubadour. It was very cool. Then we drove north to Santa Fe to see the sights and also the miraculous staircase built in the Loretto church. The story goes that they built the church with only ladders to reach the choir loft and when the church became a girl’s school taught by nuns they wanted to build stairs for the ladies. The loft was 23 feet above the church floor and there was no room for a conventional set of stairs. The nuns prayed to St. Joseph to solve the problem. After a week, an old man arrived on a donkey with a tool chest containing only a saw, a hammer and a square. He offered to build the stairs for the nuns. It took him 8 months to complete and then he just disappeared. None of the local people supplied him with lumber and what he used was not native to New Mexico. The stairs were 2 full spirals and there is no center support. These stairs have been used for over 100 years and are as stout as when they were first built. Originally there was no hand rail, but one has been added for safety in recent years. It is amazing craftsmanship and the fact that this old man just showed up one day and then disappeared right after it was finished makes the people think that he was sent by God to help them out. Maybe so! We also went through Santa Fe’s ‘old town’. The shops were impressive, but so were the prices! I found a real nice custom hat, but I couldn’t rationalize $800, so I passed. So far, New Mexico is our favorite place. The adobe houses are wonderful and the climate is very nice. We can see ourselves living in such a place; at least part time.
We came down hiway 285 from Santa Fe to pick up I-40 (Route 66) and drive to Santa Rosa. The road is well maintained and some straight stretches as far as you can see. I think there were only 3 curves in 31 miles. There was almost no traffic so I let the Corvette roll out some. We went 110 for about 10 minutes and then let off a little for some hills ahead. I went by the Sheriff going the other way at 95 and he didn’t even tap his breaks! Even at that we averaged 28 mpg. I love that car! It snowed as recently as a week ago, but New Mexico is plagued by wild fires already. We could see the smoke for about 30 miles and drove into it for about 10. It has blown over mostly and it is not unpleasant at all. It made the sunset the reddest red I’ve ever seen! Beautiful! Tomorrow we are going to go south on State Route 84 to see the grave of Billy the Kid and then head east into Texas. Not sure how far we’ll get, but we’re hoping to be in Keller by Tuesday evening. P.S. Don’t forget that you can leave a comment on the bottom of the blog. Is anyone reading this?