Day 30 – Albuquerque

Miles traveled: 350
Hours on Road: 7
States covered: 2 – Arizona, New Mexico

Last night I was awakened from a sound sleep by the loudest, longest clap of thunder I’ve ever heard. There must be some geologic reason for the intensity of the lightning out here, as opposed to New England, because it’s absolutely frightening how violent and powerful it is. It’s actually one of the few things that doesn’t scare me these days (unlike the road speeds, the heights, and the switchbacks), but I can see how people who aren’t fond of lightning could be terrified by it. Our room would light up like it was the middle of the day, then this resounding boom would pound so hard it felt like it was hammering directly on the roof, and then it would continue to pummel the world as it slowly drifted away. You’d think that thunder would echo more in a place filled with hills and valleys, but the resonance out here in the land of the flat goes on and on. Even when the storm moved miles away, because there are no hills to interrupt the light, the lightning was visible and the thunder audible.

Our room at the hostel was very cute and very small. It was a hostel, so most people roomed in a community setting with bunk beds and shared a bathroom. We got a private room, and to keep the cost down, the woman in charge gave us a room for three. We had one double bed and one single bed as well as a bathroom with a sink and a shower. We also had a fan and two lamps, and that was it. Parker and I shared the larger bed while Carmine and Trey slept with a head at each end of the single bed. It worked out well enough.

I was able to fall back asleep after the storm passed, only to be awakened at 6 a.m. by a whispered, “Mom, mom, mom. I can’t sleep.” Trey has managed to wake me up way too early every single morning, except the last morning at the Kaibab Camper Village, where I threatened him if he woke me up at all. I told him to turn on the computer and keep quiet. We still ended up getting up by 7, so we went and had the free breakfast offered by the hostel. The boys are used to the giant breakfasts served in large hotels, so they were a little taken aback by the sparse servings offered here: a basket of fruit, white bread that could be toasted, and instant oatmeal were it.

After breakfast, the Littles (as I refer to Cal and Trey) played more pool in the common room while Parker played on the computer in our sleeping room. This place is a worrier’s dream. From the couch in the common room I can work on my computer, watch the Littles, keep an eye on the van in the alley, and see the door to our room directly on the other side of the van. Everything is covered!

We left by 9:30 on what we knew would be a long drive.

Our first stop was in honor of Faja (that’s what the boys call Jeff – it’s from Austin Powers: Gold Member). When you look through the photos you’ll see three boys, “Standin’ on a corner in Winslow, Arizona, such a fine sight to see. There’s a girl, my Lord, in a flatbed Ford, slowin’ down to take a look at (them).”

Our next stop was the Petrified Forest National Park and the Painted Desert. We drove just the first six miles where we saw only the red desert. It would take another 22 miles (and back) to see the blue desert and some majorly petrified wood, and we didn’t feel like taking that much time. The driving we MUST do is enough at this point; any excess is most unwelcome.

I’m not too fond of New Mexico at the moment. It’s poured on us for the past three days. Just outside Zion we had hail followed by a monsoon that “occurs maybe once a summer” that flooded the souvenir shop in which we took shelter, but that passed quickly. We then had the wrath of God bear down on us in Flagstaff, flooding streets that are simply not prepared for such an onslaught. But that occurred while we slept, so no harm done. For that reason, I am not as angry with Arizona. Today, it rained the entire drive. Oh, it stopped for five minutes or so from time to time, but it was certain to start up quickly to ensure our dissatisfaction. This is a desert! Where the hell is the dry?!! And that wasn’t the worst of it. About 60 miles outside of Albuquerque, the gusts of wind got so harsh, I thought we would get blown straight to Oz. The wind would blow me slightly into the next lane, so I’d grip the wheel as hard as I could trying to counteract the push of the wind. Then it would suddenly stop blowing, but my counteraction on the wheel would continue for a second, and we’d veer off the right side of the road. I’d stop counteracting, and the wind would pick up again. Between the rain and the wind, I was near tears, and I squeezed the steering wheel so tightly, I got a pain in my shoulder.

We were unable to make our stop at the Sky City – the Acoma Pueblos. I really wanted to get that done today so we could relax tomorrow, but now we’ll have to retrace our steps going back 58 miles on Route 40. I swear, if it’s that windy again, I’m letting Parker drive. I just can’t take it!!

As we neared Albuquerque and the sun shone for a moment and the wind died down a little, we saw two waterfalls of mud and rock cascading off the cliff to the side of the road. The current state of weather here is obviously not the norm; it’s special weather, just for me – the Rain Queen.

The last part of our drive to the hotel cracked the boys up. We took a right off the highway, then we made another right, a quick left, a quick right, a quick left, a quick right, a quick left, another left, then a right. It was pretty comical.

The hotel offers not only a free breakfast but also a “social time” in the afternoon, where they supply soft drinks and chips and salsa. We arrived just in time for that. We still went out for dinner. Uncle Brian had said that New Mexico is the place to get some of the best Mexican food, and he was right. We went to El Modelo. It looked like a big warehouse and you could get only take out, but the food was amazing. It was a little too hot for the Littles, but Parker and I enjoyed it.

Now we’re just sitting in our room watching a movie. We love our relaxation time (especially when there’s a TV, because then they leave me alone).

For corresponding photos, go to:
http://www5.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=1931087027/a=2740108027_2740108027/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/