New Mexico - Part 2

Starting out in Santa Fe, after a quick stop at AAA for some maps we head on down to Albuquerque. Most of this trip is on Interstate 25 which apparently coincides with 66 as there is not a separate route this direction. We didn't make any stops as we headed South, we just looked at a lot of great scenery. In fact that is what we did the main part of the day.
In Albuquerque, we sought out Kelly's Brew Pub, another 66 landmark, located in the Old Jones Ford location, it was a very interesting stop for lunch. Also we walked around for an hour or so in the Nob Hill district of Albuquerque. It was very hot, up to 99 degrees at times on my car thermometer! From Albuquerque we drove on old

66 a lot today, the roads were much better, where there was road, but I will say we were very surprised how much of Route 66 were dirt roads around Albuquerque.
We stopped at an underground Mining Museum in Grant, we found it interesting and gained a new respect for the people that do that job. It was fascinating to see some of the equipment first hand that they used.
We took 66 to a dead end near the Continental Divide near the town of the same name. All of the rain, snow that fall east of this point drain toward the Atlantic Ocean via the Gulf of Mexico and the water that falls West of this point flows toward the Pacific Ocean. The divide is located on the West side of New Mexico aprox. 50 or so miles from the border of Arizona.
We headed to Gallup and stopped and checked out the El Rancho Hotel and Motel, an old Hotel that was visited by many Hollywood

celebrities in the past, the walls are lined with their pictures. and the décor very unique. Also in Gallup we had a Hot Rod Mustang try and lure me into a drag race with him, I really didn't want to embarrass him in front of his girlfriend in the car so we passed! He wanted it bad and rode beside me through 2 lights, that all I need is some punk hitting my car in New Mexico. I probably would have taught him a lesson though, if I was alone!!!! It's pretty funny how many people have revved their engines next to me. I am amazed how few cars seem to actually driving the old route, we see a lot of out of state plates at the attractions but very few other cars on the old road. We have seen a lot of groups of bikers on this route.
Lots and lots of beautiful scenery heading toward the border to Arizona, we stopped at Red Rock Park and saw some bright red Cliffs and behind those Red Cliffs was a high gray rock formation called the Church Rock. Also near here and visible from the Highway is Fort Wingate, you can see a lot of small white humps, we googled and

found out that there are 150 bunkers located there, that were use to store ammunition until 1993.
You will notice in a lot of our scenery pictures between Albuquerque and Arizona have what looks like a black line near the bottom of the picture, that is the Railroad Track that ran the complete distance. A lot of rail traffic in this area of the country.
We finally leave New Mexico and enter Arizona, the landscape immediately changes, gone are the majestic Mesa's that have dominated the view for the past 2 days, and gone is the Red colored ground. Replaced by vistas where you can see for miles, with and occasional Plateau in the background. We have never seen a more distinct change at almost the exact border. As we Approach Holbrook our stop for the night we are starting to see some canyons begin to develop.