2017 CROSS-COUNTRY ROAD TRIP - FRIDAY, APRIL 17TH, 2017

Hi Everyone, we have reached California and are staying with Gregg's sister for a while.  Thank you so much for all the lovely comments.  I may be later than usual reading and publishing them, even more so than usual.

Monday, April 17th, 2017

Leaving Lubbock, Texas.

Odometer: 50783

Time leaving the hotel: 9:38 a.m.

Heading for Santa Fe , New Mexico.  Should get there in about 5 hrs 8 minutes.

10:46 a.m. We are seeing thousands of cows, more than I ever remember seeing before. 

Saw a sign that in 20 miles there is a town called Muleshoe.  Population 5,158. 

10:52 a.m. went through a town called Sudan. I took a couple of photos. This is one of them.  Population is 958.

11:15 a.m. stopped at Muleshoe's McDonalds. It was a great Egg McMuffin and Egg, Bacon and Cheese Biscuit. Staff are real friendly and it has a five star rating on Trip Advisor.  

Crossed over into New Mexico 11:49 a.m. 

We have traveled 2703 miles.

1:00 pm followed signs to the Gravesite of Billy the Kid.  We were surprised to come across the sign and Gregg decided to turn left off Rt. 84 and check this place out.  We drove 3-1/2 miles and it was on the right.  My Dad, who loved his old black and white westerns, would have liked to have visited this place.  

There was a building nearby and on the outside walls were paintings of various people.  On the left is Raymond Naikai, Chairman of the Navaho Tribe Council. Billy the Kid is depicted in the center and I'm not sure who the person is on the right.  It would have been interesting to find out but the building was closed.  I don't think enough people stop by to warrant it staying open.  Maybe later on as the year progresses, more people will come through.

It was a very dusty little cemetery. 

His grave is surrounded by iron bars and....

Billy the Kid is still under lock and key.

This explains why.

There are actually three graves here.  Billy's is the one on the right.  The other two are his friends.  You can see where people have chipped pieces off the headstone for souvenirs, pre incarceration.  His grave is on the right of this picture.

Gregg is standing near the smaller headstone of Billy the Kid, and to protect it they have clamped it down and surrounded it in a heavy iron grid....

which you can see more clearly here.

People have thrown coins on his grave, as they have thrown coins on others throughout history.  It is thought that to do so is a precursor to leaving flowers.  Also that a penny you own is still a part of you in spirit, and it shows anyone who visits the grave that the departed is still loved by someone.

This man was a victim to Billy's gun.

And so we left this dusty little cemetery, wondering about the people who were buried here. 

On the road again.

1:34 p.m. driving through Ft  Sumner.  

2:00 p.m. In the middle of nowhere, driving along a road in New Mexico, miles from any towns, who would have thought that we could have received a FaceTime call from our niece in Germany.  We were also able to talk with and see our niece,  brother-in-law and extended family visiting her from Ireland, my niece's husband and his parents, and also a couple of other friends we have gotten to know through our visits over the years.  We exchanged several videos and photos.  Ten years ago, if you had told me this was even possible, I would have said not a chance. 

3:08 p.m. we just ate at this really neat little place called The Silver Moon in Santa Rosa.  It is on the historic Rt. 66 and is also on the historical register.  The first link in this paragraph will take you to their Facebook page.  I couldn't find their regular website for some reason.  

It serves Mexican and American Food. 

A dish I wanted to try while in the southwest, was Huevos rancheros. 

The lady asked me if I wanted Red, Green or Christmas. I didn't understand at first but what she was asking was what kind of chili sauce, red, green or red and green mixed.

It was hot physically as well as spicy.  It was good!  Gregg was laughing because I had a tear coming out of one eye.  I reached for my tissues many times. 

Yes it was hotter than I am used to but it was oh so good. I haven't had this dish in 35 years, and probably won't again for quite a while. 

Here's Gregg taking photos of his tacos.

 I hope we get back one day.

Filled up the car with its meal too, just down the road from the restaurant. Back on the road for Santa Fe and seeing interesting scenery along the way.

3:15 p.m. we are going over the Pecos River. 

At 5.16 p.m. we arrived at our hotel for a few days, the Hotel Santa Fe The Hacienda and Spa.  It was very southwestern in motif, and as it turned out, the only hotel in Santa Fe that is owned by Native Americans.

It is located in Historic Downtown Santa Fe and in the heart of the Santa Fe Railyard District, with museums, galleries, shops and restaurants all around.

It has its own shuttle service and we were told we could ask to be taken downtown, or to any of the places in the area that we wanted to see.  It looks like an old London cab, and in the front had a really neat license plate.

There is also a much larger vehicle for multiple guests, painted the same color.  We saw a couple of dozen people being transported one day.  I think they were part of an overseas convention.  It was a very popular hotel and true to our way of doing things, we did not book too far ahead.  When we knew we were going to be in Santa Fe that night, Gregg got on his phone a few hours before at one of our stops,  and booked our room.  Gregg chose this one because of its southwestern decor.  Fortunately there were still two rooms left.

There are some wonderful sculptures on the grounds.  I particularly loved the one below, which was on the wall near the entrance.  

Taken when we first arrived and later after our walk.

There was also this lovely painting in the foyer. There were more paintings I enjoyed all over the hotel.

We had half an hour in our hotel room and then walked into town.  It was longer than we anticipated, but still a lovely walk. The shop windows caught my eye, all kinds of artwork and clothing, jewelry. 

 I'm going to have to do one more post of our walk around Santa Fe another time.  Sculptures were everywhere.

They slowed my pace some but Gregg was also enjoying the sights and taking photos. We never seem to lose track of each other.  

More colorful paintings on the wall at Starbucks.  By this time we were ready for a sit-down, and we didn't feel that hungry.

The young man behind the counter told Gregg he was from Portland, Maine.  We took our time over our drinks, Gregg his iced lemonade black tea and me with my latte.  

It was very quiet downtown, hardly anyone around, but later we passed several several people and their friends heading to local restaurants, or just enjoying the walk like we were.  

We walked to a very pretty church at the end of the road. 

There are more bronze sculptures on the church grounds. 

While standing in the courtyard the bells told the time.  It sounded very pretty to listen to.  

We walked through the garden at the back of the church, and made our way to our hotel. 

We came across another courtyard full of incredible sculptures, and my camera came out again. It was a slower walk back, and not just because we were getting more tired.  

I loved this sign.

We went to bed early without bothering about dinner, we were so tired. It had been quite a day.