As I drove west from Albuquerque, I drove through some beautiful countryside with red rocks. There is a huge rock called Owl Rock, which, sure enouugh, resembles an owl, but there was no place for me to stop and take a photo. I came across a tiny village named Mesita, where the church and stone building is located. Many of the small homes were made out of the same stone. It was hard to tell where the road was in this village. The ground is hard and red, and there wasn't any clear road defined. I just tried not to be in someone's front yard! I felt like an intruder in this village--it was definitely not a tourist stop.
I drove through Budville, named for Bud Rice, who started this business in 1935. Today they were having a moving sale. Don't know if the business is closing, or someone is moving to a different home.
This longhorn was walking down the side of the road in Cubero.
A bit west of Thoreau--yes, named for the author--is the continental divide, the point at which rainwater to the west flows to the Pacific, and to the east goes toward the Atlantic via the Gulf of Mexico. I also starting seeing many tourist shops selling jewelry and other native crafts.
I also drove across country that has very old lava fields as part of the landscape. See the black in the middle.
East of Gallop is Red Rock Park. I thought it would be a huge area, but it's a contained spot primarily used for conferences and rodeos. The following photos are from the area.
Last stop in New Mexico is Gallup, and the place I most wanted to visit is the El Rancho Hotel and Motel, a place that many stars used to stay. The place is old glamor, decorated with many photos of stars.
And finally I've enjoyed watching the very long trains cross the wide open spaces.
So onward to Arizona.
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