Fall Road Trip – Day 2: Albuquerque City Lights, New Mexico

Posted on November 23, 2010 by Shannon

As we drove through Albuquerque, New Mexico in the evening, we were impressed with the colored lights that light up and decorate the bridges and interchange. But what really caught our attention is the city lights from a truck stop on a hill on the west side of Albuquerque. So much so we had to shoot this video so we could share it with you.

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Fall Road Trip – Day 2: Reaching Interstate 40, Santa Rosa, New Mexico

Posted on November 23, 2010 by Shannon

Well, for 753 miles we’ve driven the back roads and have enjoyed the seeing this glimpse of Texas and New Mexico, but now finally we are ready for the Interstate! To celebrate this milestone, we stopped for a hot meal at Denny’s in Santa Rosa, NM, right at the intersection of US-84 and I-40.

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After dinner, the kids went down to the lower parking area to run and play, and get some exercise in before we drive on. The landscape here in New Mexico isn’t what I was expecting.  As you can see from the photo above, the landscape is dotted with low shrubs and trees, with dry grass and plants along the ground. It’s like a tan tapestry with dots of green.

Greg took some quiet time in the restaurant, so the kids and Jazzy had about 30 minutes run, and play tag, and be rowdy. They finally collapsed and and spent some time sitting around joking and teasing each other before loaded u

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Fall Road Trip – Day 2: New Mexico Visitor’s Center, Clovis New Mexico

Posted on November 23, 2010 by Shannon

WooHoo! We finally made it through Texas and have reached New Mexico. So far we’ve driven 641 miles. Day2-NM-clovis-vistorscenter_300x169-r

Just into New Mexico along US-84 is the New Mexico Visitor’s Center. Visitor centers are great places to visit to learn more about the state you are driving through, for clean bathrooms, and just to stop, hang out, and talk with the staff of the visitors center.

This one was no different in that regard, the building and landscape of the visitor center was styled in a way you’d expect to see as New Mexico architecture. Zachary was thrilled to see cacti up close.

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Inside, were photos of Native American life and other images of New Mexico. Greg came out with a free map, tourism guide, and some other pamphlets. He was also able to verify the route we were planning on taking to get up to Interstate 40 with the gentleman who manned the visitor’s information desk.

Outside the Visitor’s Center is a picnic area that the kids enjoyed running through, and J took the opportunity to lay down flat on one of the benches. After hours in the car, the feeling of being horizontal feels really good :)

Next door to the New Mexico Visitor’s Center is a corral, with horses and a buffalo. Little E, being the horse fanatic she is, had to go watch the horses for a little bit. And Z and K joined her.

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A Guinea fowl roamed the landscape here, which was a new experience for both Little E and Jazzy. Unfortunately, Little E decided to chase after the bird and had to be reminded of appropriate behavior around animals that don’t know her.  We’re going to encounter lots of different animals and wildlife on this trip, and she needs to remember that for both safety and common courtesy not to going running up to unfamiliar animals. <sigh, another parenting moment>

Day2-NM-clovis-littleE-train_300x169-rAcross the road from the Visitor’s Center is an active railroad. While we were there, a two engine, mile long train came through, blowing it’s whistle as it came along. Little E was thrilled, yelling ‘It’s a Train, It’s a Train!”

 Another memory made. Now we’re on to Santa Rosa, New Mexico, and Interstate 40.

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Fall Road Trip – Day 2: Stopping for Breakfast and a Exercise Break

Posted on November 22, 2010 by Shannon

After driving all night, we stopped off at the McDonald’s in Post, TX for a hot meal, bathroom, and to make the transition from nighttime to day time. We don’t regret our choice to drive this route through Texas, but we are appreciating how big Texas really is.

It’ll be another four hours until we see the Texas-New Mexico border. So far we’ve seen a lot of little towns, and it’s a bit of  a game to guess how the people of each community make their living based on the stores and shops we see, and the industry that we see on the outskirts of town. 

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You can learn a lot about a town by the age of the buildings, their state of repair, and what businesses are open for business and which are deserted. Here in Post, TX, they’ve obviously reinvested into the historic downtown region. K and I both love architecture, and we had plenty to admire just here on the street down from McDonald’s.

  After a breakfast, the kids found a little hill, more of an grassy incline on the edge of the parking lot, edged with a brick wall. J played with a tennis ball against the wall for a little while (ala handball style), while the others played. Then someone got the idea of rolling down the grassy incline, and that took over the rest of the break.

I surprised them, by taking a roll down the hill myself. Little E’s comment, “how did it feel to be a child again mom?” :)  

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But poor Greg. While the kids were rolling down the hill and playing, he had to go digging through the roof bag for J’s clothes bag. Good thing I chose to color code the bags, otherwise it would have been difficult to find up there. But we did get to try out our power inverter for the first time – to re-shrink J’s Space Bag- and that worked great!

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Fall Road Trip Day 2: Driving the Backroads of Texas

Posted on November 22, 2010 by Shannon

Texas is the second largest state in the US, and now the kids know that for a fact! We left last night on our fall road trip around 10:30 and drove all through the night, through the back highways of Texas, specifically SR-36 and US-84. It was a clear, bright night, and so we got actually saw a great deal of the country side as we drove along. 

One of the major differences between driving the backroads instead of the interstate is that you get to see the real country, where people live, work, and make their way in the world. Along the interstate, we learn the landscape of area, but the focus is on getting from one place to another.  On the backroads, this is America. These are the local roads and businesses where people spend their lives.

image_ 019An interstate is geared for 24 hour travel, with truck stops, gas, and food choices available every so often just when you need them.

On the local highways and roads, it’s geared for normal day-to-day life. Finding a place to stop for the bathroom or gas in the middle of the night is a little more difficult, but well worth the time and education.

It’s here on the backroads of America that you’ll meet every day people, the people who raise our food, service our roads, and make every day life possible.

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