2014 – 08 – 08: Day 17 - Road Trip Across the USA - Route 66 - From Santa Fe to Grants NM

Santa Fe NM – Grants NM

Distance traveled:  

141 Interstate miles 

+  unknown miles for route 66 byways

I started the day early writing my notes and watching for the birds at the back yard feeding station.  Then when Hope got up we had one last meal together before she headed out to fitness class with her son and I continued by road trip adventure.

By 9 am I was parked at the tourist information for Santa Fe and with the map they provided I headed into historic Santa Fe.  

Oldest house in USA - 1646 

This is a most unique town and I enjoyed myself very much exploring the streets and shops and historic buildings.  

The most amazing thing is that they have preserved the

Contemporary Native Arts Museum 

Adobe feeling of the city.  The new buildings blend in seamlessly with the old making for a very harmonious look!   I loved it!




I enjoyed looking at all the craft vendors, some of the jewelry items were exquisite!   I fell in love with one piece but it was way out of my budget so with a sigh and a thank you to the artist for allowing me to appreciate the beauty I moved on.  

Thunderbird pendant 

I continued looking and as luck would have it I was rewarded with spotting another beautiful piece.  This one happened to be on sale and that brought it just barely, within my budget.  So I now have a beautiful piece to commemorate my lovely time here in Santa Fe.

Modern Parking Garage blends right in. 

Leaving Santa Fe I headed south on I 25 making a few side trips.  First one was unsuccessful…as I did not find the location listed in the book.

Rio Grande 

The next exit to explore route 66 took me through a delightfully scenic drive all the way to the Rio Grande.  Crossing the river,  I spied the Coronado historical site and decided to stop there.  I was rewarded with an amazing history of the native peoples of the area and grand views of the Rio Grande.

Driving on I once again had no success with maintaining contact with route 66.  Instead I got stuck in modern day traffic.  Finally, in frustration I changed plans and headed for Petroglyphs Park with is now renamed Boca Negra (for more information see: http://www.desertusa.com/pnm/pnm.html)  

Petroglyphs 

This place is amazing!  Great chunks of black rock which are such a contrast to the pinks and rusts of the area!  Then I climbed up the hillside of these black rocks to see the wonderful art of the native peoples.   It was thrilling!   And the views from the top were spectacular too!

Having had enough of city traffic I elected to forgo entering the city of Albuquerque and instead turn west on I40.  

building remains blends in with the cliffs behind 

I took the exits that had “route 66” signage and thus passed through some wonderful pueblo communities.  I love the slower pace too because you have the opportunity to stop and take a photo instead of just quickly snapping a random picture while driving.  I am sure you will see the difference when you look at the accompanying photos.

It was getting close to 5PM when I arrived at Grants NM.  This seems to be a major stopping place with a selection of hotels.  I stopped first at the “Historic Route 66 Motel” however it looked extremely run down and not at all appealing so instead I selected Motel 6, and of course it doesn't hurt that it helps me to stay on budget for the trip.

I spent a good part of the evening editing pictures and getting work done on my blogs and so I feel that the day ended on a very positive note.

Sleepiness and heavy eyelids finally called me to my rest. 

Renate Dundys Marrello 

2014 – 08 – 08

Picture Link:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10154549834045341.1073741916.709160340&type=1&l=05dd31ff65