Route 66, Roswell, Santa Fe and Bandelier National Park, New Mexico

Oct 1 to Oct 6, 2010 :
This is where we are today :

We left Palo Duro Canyon first in direction of Amarillo. We were aware that this is where we would cross the Historic Route 66. First we saw Cadillac Ranch. Cadillac Ranch consists of 10 vintage Cadillacs buried up to their backseats in a wheatfield, rising out the earth at the same angle as the Cheops pyramid in Egypt. It’s interesting to see the reaction of people who go see the Cadillacs. They say it’s stupid, exentric, weird. It’s interactive in a way as you are welcome to leave your own mark with spray on them. I just found it was funny! You would not believe how many people stop and take pictures of them.


We also stopped in Adrian, Texas, the midpoint of Route 66, between Santa Barbara and Chicago. We enjoyed a Texas size Hamburger and moved on. See Pictures on Picassa.

Concerning the scenery we went from the Panhandle of Texas to the Great Plains of New Mexico. Between Santa Rosa and Vaughn and Vaughn to Roswell, there are milesand miles again of nothing , of almost nothing apart from tarentulas… From Vaughn to Roswell, there is a four lane highway stretching for 95 miles with nothing in between except for a Rest Area midway.

In our mind, we had pictured Roswell to be a village with a few ‘’weird’’ (not aliens, but just weird) inhabitants. In the end, it is a pretty large city. We visited the International Museum of UFOs. Apart from a few clippings on what happened on July 4th, 1947 and the seemingly cover-up from the US government, there is not much to see. When you talk to some inhabitants of Roswell, they are absolutely convinced that aliens exist, as they wonder how we can be all alone in the universe. Personally, I was not convinced one way or the other. I came with scepticism and left with scepticism.

The following day, we left Roswell to Santa Fe area. This was a long drive that finished with some tension between both of us, as we were wasting time looking for a campground and of course, in a case like this, it’s always the other’s fault. Another 500 kilometers or so in one day. An experience not to renew too often. We spent a day shopping, doing the laundry and some errands after this. Not very interesting, but you have to do these chores, from time to time. It’s hard to be on vacation! However, to lighten up our day, we did find some time to visit the Pecos National Park, an old Pueblos ( village), a little bit overated by the guide books in our opinion. You have to be really into archaeology to see the real value, otherwise just use your imagination. A nice walk in all cases!

What to tell you about Santa Fe : according to the guide books we had read, this was a must see. We absolutely agree and both Alain and I fell under the charm of this city. It’s gorgeous, all the architecture harmonizes itself with the surroundings colours of the rocks. This is our second ‘’coup de coeur’’ of our trip so far. There is so much art everywhere you turn around, it is truly amazing. We started by checking out the oldest house of the United States, followed by the oldest church. We then walked through the different streets, the historic plaza where there was a ton of animation, tourists of course, but also Indians selling their jewlery. Ladies, this is a place for you to go shopping ! There are dozens of jewelry stores and art galleries, which are truly beautiful and tasteful. This is a day when Alain is pleased that we are travelling with motorbikes… We think Mexico may look something like this, with this type of architecture, round forms and colours. We have tasted the carnitas with a coke at the same time, a spicy beef with peppers on a tortilla, really good and hot! We had an excellent day as in the morning we were also able to have the BMW dealer in Santa Fe take care of Alain’s motorbike service. The service there was excellent, Cameron in charge of the service department is absolutely to be commanded for his customer service skills. I had asked that, as a favour, they would take care of tightening my chain. When we came back in the evening to pick up Alain’s bike, he had not forgotten and took care of it without delay. I did not have to ask again. He listened. In the morning we were able to take care of one last vaccine. In the end, an expensive day, but really rewarding.

If Simon, our nephew, reads our blog, he will know why we posted the below picture !

Today, October 6, 2010, we have visited the Bandelier National Monument Park, another must see ! Located fairly close to Los Alamos, Bandelier National Park will take you back about 700 years in the past when the Anasazi settled into the Frijoles Canyon. The Canyon dates back to 10,000 years when volcans erupted and recovered the land with ashes. With the erosion, canyons have been created and caves were created.

Alain thought the Aliens were back! No, they are talking only about alien plants. Too bad !

By the way, we have just realized that our campsite is located at over 7100’ (2120 meters). No wonder we have had in the last 3 nights to take out the tuques and the socks and the blankets and the extra long underwear… Chilly in the morning : 45 degrees Fahrenheit, 7.2 degrees Celsius.

Tomorrow we head out to the Enchanted Circle close to Taos, a promising ride !