The WEST...we are here

And on the 15 th day, we saw it.....the West. Leaving Amarillo and crossing the New Mexico border on Sunday morning, we were all really excited to see the first signs of the West. Coming over a hill, we were amazed to see the vistas we had been expecting suddenly appear in our large windows.

The pink and grey mesas, the snow capped mountains, the grasslands, and the open sky all there in front of us. We were here at last here. all the driving, the traffic, the hookups, the gasoline fill ups, the campgrounds, the maps and directories, the planning, the anticipation.....now a reality.

We were so excited we started calling each other on the cell phones and walkie talkies and screaming "We made it...we are here".

Now, I know how the pioneers felt when after months of hardships they finally
reached their peaceful valley. We certainly haven't suffered in our expensive motor homes with their convection ovens and flat screen T V's as those brave people did, but we were every bit as excited.

We have another two wonderful months ahead of us to experience the whole West and it's wonders and we have just begun.

Each mile, we were getting more into the scenery, in the distance the mesas and mountains were all around us and way off to the right were majestic snow capped peaks, ringed in clouds.

It was all getting closer as we approached Albuquerque, we suddenly saw stretched before us a huge city and to the right of us Sandia Peak, 10,600 feet of rocky beauty reaching for the sky.

Our campground was on the west side of the city and on a high ridge, giving us a gorgeous view of the city below as we drove out each day for our adventures

When we pulled in and realized what there was to do here, we were thrilled to know we had planned a whole week here to explore this very exciting region.

The first realization when exploring the city is that everything is BROWN, all the houses, the public buildings,the overpasses, the rocks, the grass, the ground..... Brown.

The houses are mostly square adobe and with a flat roof. There are very few trees, lots of low bushes, and no flowers to speak of. Very few pools are visible, but most back yards are fenced in. It is totally different in every way.

It is very dry and we are all drinking bottles of water every day. There seems to be a constant wind and with that, blowing sand. No humidity.

Monday, we went up to the top of Sandia peak and there was snow and the most gorgeous view ever. We were two miles high and we could see 11,000 square miles and below us the Rio Grande valley.

The world's longest tramway offers a ride to the top, but none of us felt that brave, so we drove up. The ride up on a twisting curvy road was worth the view which you could really only duplicate in the cockpit of a plane.

On the next day, some of us went to the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, and then we had lunch and shopped in Old Town, a Spanish area of the city founded 300 years ago and hosting hundreds of art galleries, restaurants, and shops.

Wednesday, we all went to Santa Fe, the oldest state capitol in the nation, and a jewel of Spanish culture and Western art. A huge artist colony, it is home to some of the country's most famous painters and crafters.

We had a great day exploring the shops and watching the blossoms of the cotton wood trees gently float to the ground and cover every thing as snowflakes.

Both Santa Fe and Albuquerque have wonderful old town plazas which have preserved the Spanish architecture, historical old cathedrals, museums, and the atmosphere of the old West.

We have much to do in our last three days.....tours of museums, pueblos, and even a flea market, but the weather has turned awful and so we will find it difficult to drive in the high winds and the rain.

There was even a snow advisory west of us in Gallop. The strong winds have been up to 50 mph gusts and the RV has been rocking for three days. There is no relief in sight until Sunday when we leave, so these next three days might be spent playing cards and watching TV.

But it is a magical region of our country and one I will always remember with
awe. Durango/Cortez our next stops. The trip of a lifetime continues to be all we had hoped for.