Susan's Travels

Retrospective entry for 11th July: Vegas airport. Car drop off. Sad farwells with Norjie leaving for her flight home directly from car drop off. I guess the question has to be whether we will ever see each other again. The odds are definitely getting longer. It’s been a long time knowing each other, so a sad moment.

Then I got to the airport for a long wait to get home. Anxiety about the seeming impossibility of making the connection in LA with only a 40 minute turn around. So I head for the United counter to see if there is any possibility of getting an earlier flight to LA. Staff were extremely rude and refused to find anyone to talk to. When I asked why I couldn’t talk to anyone I was told it was because machines were cheaper than humans. I asked were they kidding and it became very clear that they weren’t. So I whiled away the day in the airport. No shops this side of security. One Starbucks and nothing else! Couldn’t check in until 4 hours before the flight i.e. 4.30pm.

Ho hum. I eventually went to check in and got a really helpful man who seemed in control. He said he would have got me on an earlier flight if I’d come earlier. I ground my teeth and told him I had come earlier. Well, he said you didn’t speak to me…Grrrrr!! Anyway he got me organised. Insisted i get wheel-chaired to the terminal which I did and which worked a treat. He also organised a wheelchair for the other end in LA, for me to get to my flight. All set. I now only have to wait for my flight with fingers crossed that it is on time.

Well of course it isn’t. The plane in front of mine is delayed and then mine is delayed by 30minutes (in the first instance). So, I’m on my feet immediately. I find, very fortunately, an extremely competent and helpful man (Harry I think) who immediately sees I’m not going to make my flight. Sees my distress and my insistance that I have to get to Australia. He quickly looks up his options, sees that there is a flight to Melbourne from San Francisco a bit later, looks to see if he can get me there. A flight leaving in half an hour for SF so he quickly reroutes me, gets me boarding passes, stops my luggage and reroutes it (at this stage my luggage isn’t my first priority). I go straight to the flight for SF, board and off.

In SF a wheelchair awaits to take me to my connecting flight. Thanks God, cos it’s miles to the next terminal. Long story short, flight to Melbourne leaves 11.30pm…about 2 hrs later than previous flight. Full, full flight but I’m on, aisle seat, but in the middle. 15hrs in the air and we arrive only 45 minutes later than I would have arrived. Miracles do happen, And the final miracle, my luggage appears on the carousel. Phew. Home at 8am. Angus picked me up.

The end: A most fabulous and amazing trip over.

Last day on the road as we moved to position ourselves to get to Kingman and finally, the airport, for Norjies morning flight tomorrow. It was a better day than expected as we traversed Route 66. Firstly the best coffee all trip this morning in Flagstaff. Quite accidentally we found a place with the best croissants and the best coffee in the USA. That made me happy. We then walked around Flagstaff to get the ‘vibe’ but there was no fucking vibe. We were wandering around at 10am but nothing opened until 12 noon. Seriously???? So Flagstaff failed to impress despite some lovely buildings and a great coffee.

We moved on to stay on Route 66 which was a longer trip through Seligman, and stopped for all the kitsch along the way. Only the photos can go some way to explaining this. The tourists choofing along Route 66 are the obvious and possibly only source of income for the towns. But if you’re on the route, the kitsch has to be embraced.

Finally to Kingman. We checked in to our basic hotel which has everything we need. Then we set out to get the car washed in a car wash monster, then off to find our final Margarita for the trip, a wander around town then something to eat. This time we shunned Mexican and went for the Italians. A nice meal and then home to polish off any remaining wine and start the process of getting our cases organised for the return home. Truly the last hurrah, and a great success I would say!!

Firstly, I saw a coyote last night. At least I saw it’s arse end. Norjie was looking out the window and saw it. By the time I got to the window I saw it disappearing. And no amount of standing outside in the heat could bring it back. But I’ve seen lots of RoadRunners and Woodpeckers.

Anyway enough of this. We’re flipping along now to get ourselves back to Vegas to fly out in 48 hrs. Today was a drive, drive, scenic route, drive sort of day. Firstly Norjie has a buggered back and is hobbling along in pain. That’s a bummer. So it was me behind the wheel again (8 hours pretty much) with a short lunch break where we had Margaritas made with Prickly Pear Juice. But mine was a ‘Virgin, i.e. without the Tequila. But back to driving. Can I tell you that when I get home I’ll be getting in the wrong side of the car, pulling out onto the wrong side of the road and putting on the windscreen wipers every time I turn a corner. On the other hand if there is any question about whether I’m able to renew my license, I reckon I’ve acquitted myself way beyond expectations. I’m in the busy traffic negotiating my way into large cities with massive overpasses criss-crossing all around me. Roads in, roads out…God, it’s creepy. But on I go!!

Enough of that. Todays destination was Flagstaff, a motel on Route 66 to be precise and to be even more precise, “Elvis slept Here”!! Yes, true. But before Flagstaff we had scenic routes to traverse. Boring unscenic ones to start with, lots of traffic and lots of freeway. But we found the scenic route after negotiating the way around Phoenix and on up towards Sedona. Through really pretty towns such as Jerome, perched on the side of a cliff. We eventually got to Sedona and took the Red Rock Scenic Byway which included the Chapel of the Holy Cross perched into a cliff by some feat of engineering. It was a weird Chapel that had two feet on the floor that you were supposed to step in so that Jesus starred directly down at you. I didn’t step in the feet but I stood close by and that was enough starring for me. It was in a glorious position way up in the red rocks which meant trudging up a walkway in searing heat. Enough God to last a while.

There was nothing for it after that drive but to brave the traffic into Flagstaff which we did. The motel is not nearly as nice and atmospheric as the others we’ve stayed at such as the Monterey. There you got a hand-made cocktail as your welcome drink. Here you got a can of beer that Norjie pronounced worse than Budweiser. Mine went directly down the sink and bad back or no bad back I made Norjie come to find a liquor shop to buy some wine for the next two nights. We’ve got a snack from the motel ‘takeaway’ to share and we’ll sit in my room for a quick meal.

You’ll note that we aren’t taking in the towns, we’re moving on taking in only the highlights now. it’s that time when we’re just getting ourselves back to Vegas to get home. I think we are both in homeward bound mode. One more day on the road!

There’s one word to sum up today: Cacti. I just wish I had Ariane here with me with her photographic skills! It has been my mission on this trip to see the mighty canyons, to understand the Native American culture a little better and to see the deserts and the cacti. So tick, tick, tick. In this way it has been incredibly satisfying and utterly spectacular in every way. Touch wood as we have 3 days to go but the vision seems to have worked a treat.

The other word for this part of the world is Margaritas. I’ve got a taste for them and they may even take over from Espresso Martinis (Will????).Today we set of for the Saguaro NP (East). We got our fill of these majestic cacti that look so spectacular in the backdrop of mountains and deep blue skies. The only ‘incident’ on the drive through the national park was that I got totally and fullsomely abused by a mad cyclist who thought I was obstructing her. Who in their right mind would be cycling through a cactus forest in 40++C. It was the last thing I expected and I was practically stationary (which may have been her beef). We could still hear her yelling as she disappeared down a massive hill. Bloody cyclists, thinking they own the road!!

After we’d had our fill of cacti we decided we hadn’t seen anything of Tucson…and we were hungry. So off we went to see the Old Town, which in this case was quite an elusive entity. We found a restaurant in the ‘Historic Quarter’ which was delicious. A light lunch, and oh, I nearly forgot, a Margarita of course!!

After lunch we kept pursuing the older area and finally found the Barrio Viejo. It was really divine. The beautiful, simple adobe dwellings but this time adorned with…you guessed it…cacti. They just looked so lovely.

We came back home fairly early because we both have to put our minds to fitting everything into our cases, it’s that time already. Tomorrow we head to Flagstaff via Sedona which is known for it’s red rock. More red rocks to end our stay, fitting!

We stayed in a very quaint Inn in Las Cruces. A beautiful old home run by the daughters of the man who built it. They served an old fashioned brekky for their guests this morning in an ornate dining-room filled with pieces of art. It’s always awkward…the ‘where are you from’, ‘where have you been’ etc but we got through it and set off early on the long and, for the first time on this trip, I would say boring, drive between Las Cruces and firstly, Tombstone.4.5 hours of freeway.

I was even hoping to be pulled over by Border Force as LPG said I could be. Cameras up everywhere as yesterday and one point where everyone had to go through a check point. I wanted to be questioned but they took one look and waved me through.

We got to Tombstone. My idea, I really wanted to go there to get a bit of the wild west into me, but a bit of a lunatic idea really. it’s 105F again (over 40) in a dry, dusty town. Firstly the positives. It is a genuinely well preserved town with beautiful, old buildings that went way back. It does look as it would have looked in the days of Wyatt Earp and the OK Corral. The Saloons are bopping full of tourists as are the shops with all sorts of memorabilia. So all of that is OK, very touristy but reasonably tasteful.

We had read that they re-enacted the showdown each day and we of course got sucked into buying tickets for it and for a trolley tour of the town both of which were a ridiculous waste of money and embarrassingly amateurish. The showdown was in an area simulated to look like the wild west, and the show was a cringe., I couldn’t even raise a grin. The trolley trip also a waste of time and money. It was SO hot and sweaty. They only decent thing we did then was find a quieter ‘saloon’ and had a beer.

We were going to go to Bisbee but time was going by so we decided to head into Tucson, have an early meal and doggy bag half of it for tomorrow. More Mexican food, it’s going to be a while before I want to see Mexican food again, but it was/is delicious. Particularly swallowed with a lovely Margarita. Then we came on to our Airbnb. The most beautiful one yet. It is out of town in the hills surrounded by Saguaro Cacti. It is an adobe house in a most perfect setting. Here we have collapsed for the next two nights. Here I have to unpack and repack my luggage to see if I can fit everything in. An enterprise that isn’t looking all that encouraging. It has struck me rather forcefully that there are only 4 more sleeps in the US of A. Tomorrow is explore Tucson day in the boiling heat. Not sure how we’ll manage that. More tomorrow.

We set off early this morning with lots to do. First I have to say that this funny little bird-like dude ran across the road the other day. We looked at it and both said what was that. Now we know, it was a Road Runner. How’s that for thrilling.

Today it was heading for White Sands NP and then on to Las Cruces. 3.5 hrs to White Sands took us around the massive white sands missile testing area which includes Trinity where the ‘Bomb’ was tested in 1945. They apparently test every morning early and the whole area including White Sands NP is closed off for one whole day a month. Very high powered stuff. On the other side of the road is a massive Apache Reservation. It’s a bit weird being in Apache territory having been so immersed in the Navajo and the Pueblo people.

Anyway we got to White Sands. It is a large area of White Sand Dunes that are fairly spectacular. Its a 16 mile drive around the park where people go with their massive beach umbrellas and set up on the dunes or in picnic areas. They have plastic saucer things to slide down the dunes. Only problem is the ones we were watching couldn’t seem to get a slide going. It must have been very frustrating for them. There were some people with superior sandboards who got further but it still didn’t look too much fun. We drove around, dipped our toes in the sand and people watched. The white sand was actually very beautiful but it was also over 40C so not too enticing for wandering in dunes.

Next stop Las Cruces, but we were early to go to our accommodation so we went to the (very) old town Mesilla. Established in the 1840s with settlers from Mexico. Very, very Mexican with gorgeous adobe houses again and very lovely shops/galleries but filled with Mexican ;’stuff’. One of it’s claims to fame was that Billy The Kid was on trial here. We had lunch at the Double Eagle Restaurant which is in the oldest house in Mesilla. A most resplendent house. We sat in the courtyard for lunch and it really was a fabulous setting. We wandered around the plaza and poked in the lovely shops but it was well over 40 (105F), so we eventually gave up and came to our Inn where we have camped for the night and not left.

It is SO hot. And I forgot to mention that border control is out in force as we get closer to the Mexican Border. We haven’t been stopped but there are warnings about being stopped and areas with more cameras pointed at you than you can count. We are very close to the border here…watch out for ICE!!

Tomorrow is another day. Off to Tucson via Tombstone and Bisbee…really in the wild west now. Forget the Native American culture, it’s into cowboy territory now!!

Last night we did have our little swim which was very pleasant and refreshing. The only problem is that you then have wet bathers which never dry. So much so that I’m not inclined to go in again this afternoon because moving on with wet bathers is a pain. After the swim we sat out on the balcony and had a glass of wine, read a bit and waited to see if we could see any 4th July fireworks from the motel.

We could, so we watched them, and we watched them…and watched them. They went on and on and on. In the end we gave up on them and went to bed. The pop,pop,pop of fireworks went on for absolutely ages.

A much calmer day today now that the 4th is finally over. Firstly a quick word about the weather. It was much cooler and very pleasant in Taos and Santa Fe but as we have travelled South we are heating up big time. Today’s top was 95F i.e. 35 C, we are back in a sweat. And we are heading into the desert so expect to be boiling again.

Predictably this morning we set of in our usual manner to find a decent coffee. Moderate success in the US context. You can’t expect great but they try. This place had a chart on the wall explaining that a cappuccino had half milk and half froth. A Latte had 3/4 milk and 1/4 froth…ahhh, that’s where I’ve been going wrong. So I got a latte this morning and that was much better. Problem is that these definitions aren’t consistent.

We then went to the Old Town, found a 2 hr park, and wandered around the shops and galleries in this very pretty part of town. We’d read about this Trolley Car that does a 100 minute tour of Alb. with a guy commentating. We saw the trolley and decided we’d take it. Expensive tickets but it would give us a good overview in an efficient way. And it did. Lot’s of Breaking Bad sites and sights. Among many others, Alb seems to attract film crews. We knew we were taking a measured risk with our park, it being 2 hrs and we were doubling that.

When we got back our 2 hr park was well and truly overdue but Norjie assured me it wasn’t going to be policed…given my propensity to take the odd such risk, we decided to look around some more in this lovely part of town. So more walking, more heat and more money (a bit!).

Our next visit was to the Indian Pueblo Cultural Centre which is owned by 19 tribes of Pueblan Indians (self called Indians). It has a Museum, a Pueblan restaurant (although very heavily borrowed from the Spanish/Mexican), and is a Cultural centre for the Pueblan crafts.
We had a drink, a bite to eat, wandered around and then watched some Pueblan dancing exibitions, outdoors under the scorching sun. I thought they would faint in the heat, but no…on they went, again for ages.

That was it. It was very hot so we came back to our lovely Motel which is cool and has a bar. A Margarita later made by the lovely barman, Alonso, and we set out for a meal at a cafe (Church St cafe). Mexican again. It was a fine meal but I think I may never want to eat Mexican again. I had a Sangria Rita. A mixture of Sangria and Margarita.

Back now for the night. Off to White Sands National Park tomorrow, spending the night at Las Cruces. Right down on the Mexican border. That will be interesting.

What was going to be an ‘avoid July 4th Day’ turned into a fairly full on July 4th day. But it really was fun. We set off from the mad lady’s house, happy to say good riddance. Not to Santa Fe, a most lovely town, but definitely to the nutty woman, particularly after we’d been deluged by texts and emails about check out in the previous 24 hours. All in capitals and exclamation marks.

We went to the lovely French cafe for coffee and a treat. It was buzzing with “Happy 4th’s”. Everyone says ‘Happy 4th’ to each other. Strange lot this lot. Then we set off on the Torquoise Route to Albuquerque. The first port of call was Los Cerillos. An old adobe village that reeked of the wild west. It’s hard to explain but it really did have “that” feel to it. It is an old Torquoise mining town.

We found the old Trading Post and Museum. A dusty cluttered place with a really rather nasty, extremely grumpy man behind the counter. But on the wall was a photo of Joe Leaphorn saying that Dark Winds was filmed here. So I asked about that and yes, they have just finished filming Series 4. The whole crew comes into town and Grumpy man gets $18,000 day for every day they film. His kitchen is Joe’s Father’s house. I asked if I could take a photo and he said only if you buy something. OK…I’ll put my mind to that!! His shop was full of torquoise ‘stuff’. Norjie was looking at it and he was really so rude to her that I had to say hang on mate. Anyway we looked around his museum where some of the filming is done. Suffice to say I did buy something (I’ll probably never be able to pack it properly) and I got to go into his kitchen and take photos of where some of Dark Winds was filmed. My own form of a thrill!!

We headed out of Los Cerillos, and on to the next town, Madrid, just as a 4th July parade was starting. By some miracle we were able to park the car and head down the main street. Again, luckily, a little group of women had put seats out and they invited us to join them. They gave us a flag and an american fan and there we were, part of the crowd. It was a dinky little parade but very local and full of fun. Lots of “Happy 4ths” going down there. After the parade we headed down the main street to soak up the vibe, had an iced coffee, and headed back to the car and onward to Alb. A lovely town is Madrid. It was also a mining town that has turned into a bit of an artists colony with lots of galleries etc. Hard to explore with the streets filled with merrymakers.

I drove into Alb. A bit nerve-wracking when we hit the big highways with roads going everywhere. Anyway, we made it to the Monterey Motel on Route 66. An achievement.

The Motel is heaven. It is a renovated old Route 66 Motel. It has everything you want including a free drink on arrival. A Margarita each, of course, what else do you drink in this part of the world. It’s hotter once again down here but it was lovely sitting outside sipping on a lovely Margarita. I had a second which was very greedy. The check in guy, Alonso, is a total treat and he sent us off to the Sawmill Market for dinner. It is a large, upmarket food hall where you can get all sorts of food. I had a pasta…I was looking for comfort food and Pasta it was.

We’ve really only got tomorrow here but it looks like a great town with lots to do tomorrow.  Happy 4th everyone. Hopefully that’s over for another year!!  We’re debating whether to go for a swim now or not. The pool has had gorgeous (with red, white and blue cowboy hats) bodies in it until now when it is free and looks inviting.

It was a nice day today just getting to know Santa Fe a little better. We set off to find our coffee and to explore Canyon Road, a long road full of galleries and, of course, adobe shops, galleries and houses. Definitely the high end of town. We are always worrying about parking. It is so difficult, so we headed off early. Found a lovely place to have our coffee and scone (prononced scohn) under a lovely tree. We were early so we took our time. Then we set off walking up and down the street but still there was little open so it wasn’t too long until we decided to head for downtown. We paid an absolute fortune for the carpark on Canyon Road so didn’t really get our moneys worth.

Back in the old town area and the same problem, trolling for a park. But luck was with us and we got a 4 hr meter. We went to look at St Francesco Cathedral. Some nice primitive art work but the top drawcard, the statue of the top lady had gone on a procession and was somewhere else. We certainly weren’t going to chase her so we headed for the Loretto Chapel that has an unsupported spiral staircase claimed to be the biggest anywhere and also claimed to be a miracle. Well that was nice but I swear I’ve seen spiral staircases like it before. But maybe I’m wrong and who am I to deny a miracle?

We went to the very posh hotel in town, La Fonda, which is quite beautiful inside with gorgeous art work etc. It is apparently where the spies used to gather during the Manhattan Project (Oppenheimer). Los Alamos is very close by.

We went and sat in the sun in the Plaza and watched as they set up for the 4th July. It is already completely shut off to traffic. Tomorrow is going to be a nightmare. We went back to a few shops, wandered around the Native American stalls under the portico of the Old Government Building. Then headed for the New Mexico Museum of Art. We wandered around in very relaxed mode until it suddenly dawned on us that our 4 hr park was up and we had to abort and head posthaste to the car.

Our next problem was where to eat our combined lunch/dinner. We were both over the Mexico vibe so LPG suggested a Jamaican/ African restaurant that sounded fine to us. We ate a yummy dinner and headed back here. It’s pack up night! Although Santa Fe is just amazing and lovely, this house isn’t. It’s nerve wracking so we’ll be glad to leave it.

The thing I love most about Santa Fe (and Taos) is the strong Native American presence, arts and crafts mixed with the Spanish/ Mexican culture, language, food, peoples, arts and crafts. A fabulous little, manageable city.

On the road again tomorrow. Albuquerque here we come but we’re going to take it slowly making the most of the trip and staying away from 4th July festivities.

Oh I forgot to say that the dirt that was going to cure my arthritis spilled in the car, all over the gear shift and brake column. I was terrified it was going to gum up the works so have just been out using sticky tape to try and get it out of the tracks. Maybe the car will have extra zing tomorrow but that’s it for my cure!!

Today we set off to go to Chimayo, a small village in the hills outside Santa Fe where there are a number of families that weave the traditional blankets and rugs of the region. But first we have to satisfy the early morning need for a coffee so we went to this French Cafe recommended and fell immediately into the lifelong trap of not being able to refuse so much deliciousness. They had it all, pastries, crepes, croques male and female. So, yes, I had a crepe ! and a cappuccino.

Then we hit the road. And spent the next 4 hours getting weaved out. Such beautiful rugs that, had I been able to transport them home, I would have gone heywire. Everyone wants to talk about their knowledge, their traditions, who has done the weaving, where they have come from etc etc. Again everyone is friendly beyond my experience.

We drove up through some more villages. There are pueblos all around these villages. We went to an old church, the Santuario de Chimayo. There are world famous pilgrimages to this legendary church for the healing dirt there (seriously). The Indigenous people swore this dirt healed people and some legend confirmed that it miraculously healed someone. I went to the church but refused to go and get my portion of healing dirt. Norjie did and reported crutches all around the walls that had been left behind and many photos of the healed. She returned with a little packet of dirt for me. Obviously that can’t come back to Australia with me!!

Time for lunch. We’d been told about the fabulous Rancheros de Chimayo Restaurant and off we went to find that. I couldn’t take another mouthful of Mexican food, so I had a delightful trout. And yes, half of it came home with me for dinner. Good tactic this. The restaurant and, indeed the US of A, is decked out in the red, white and blues at the moment with 4th July looming.

Back to Santa Fe after lunch and got back here earlier than usual so we are able to sit outside on a beautiful afternoon with a glass of wine and do whatever we need to get done. The rain seems to have disappeared and the weather is back to being perfect.

I’ve been sitting here trying to compare petrol prices…not easy because you have to convert from gallons to litres. But petrol is a good deal cheaper here than at home. It is around $3.20 – $3.40 per gallon. Now check my maths, but I think that is about 88c/litre.

That’s it for now. One more day in Santa Fe, then on to Albuquerque. Time is rolling along. I’ll be home before I can blink.