Rainy days and Sundays

We went to the Spanish market in the Santa Fe plaza area. This was just a short visit. We partook of the famous Carnitas (grilled meat, peppers, onions in a flour tortilla) that are served there. Hopped in the car to head west and got gas at a truck stop just out of town. Quite a mess with all the pickup trucks hauling various trailers. Waited in line to get gas. Ugh.

Got a little down the road and we both decided a combat nap was needed, so we found the next rest stop and got some much needed shut eye for about an hour. Hit the road and stopped in Gallop for a brief visit to the El Rancho Motel, a historic landmark.It's located on a strip of the old Route 66 along with other smaller motels and lodges advertising "steam heat" in neon.

Exterior view of the landmark


Lobby views


The interior looks something like an old ski lodge. There are many photos on the wall of movie stars that have stayed at the hotel: John Wayne, Jimmy Stewart, Lucille Ball, Henry and Jane Fonda, among many others. Quite an impressive list of celebrities this place has hosted during its heyday. Then we decided that a stop at the Meteor Crater outside Winslow was something to do.

Unfortunately, it was raining quite heavily and getting late, so a trip to the Crater was taken off the schedule. We decided to stop in Winslow for the night instead of Flagstaff due the weather, driving conditions and fatigue.

The terrain and weather has been quite a break from the Texas summer. East of Albuquerque, the desert was actually greener than the yards in the suburbs around Dallas.
I’ve never seen the desert so green in all my visits here. Looks like Texas has donated its share of rain to its neighbors New Mexico and Arizona.
This is the desert?!?