Lobos, Aliens & Nuclear Bombs

Today started out bright and early with a free continental breakfast at the motel. (They even had a waffle maker!) We knew we had to hit the road, so we quickly packed up the room and got in the car to head for Albuquerque. We started the car and the engine made a noise that no one should ever hear when they are on a trip like this. My theory was that the gas we received the day before while leaving the Grand Canyon probably wasn’t “pure”, as it was the only station for many miles. We quickly got new gas and didn’t have any similar problems. We have vowed only to get gas at major brand stations to avoid this problem again.

As I left you last time we hadn’t yet decided whether we were going north to Colorado or south to Roswell. The reason for this decision was to arrive in San Antonio when Six Flags is open, so I can indulge myself by riding roller coasters. I found out yesterday that Six Flags Fiesta Texas in San Antonio is only open on Friday, Saturday and Sunday so that threw a wrench in our plans and forced us to rearrange a couple of things. We decided to push forward through New Mexico in order to arrive in San Antonio on Tuesday. We will then stay there until Friday before moving on.

Our first stop today in New Mexico would be Albuquerque. I was interested in seeing the National Atomic Museum so we headed there first. I have to say it was enjoyable for me, however getting Shawn Reece interested in the subject proved to be a bit difficult. We did, however, learn a few different things and they had some cool science exhibits that he enjoyed. Who wouldn’t love getting there picture taken next to a huge nuclear missile?

After the museum we decided to take in some Authentic New Mexican food and headed to a local restaurant serving it up. We left very impressed with the New Mexican variations on typical Mexican food. I would definitely eat there again. They seem to love to add green chilies to everything (I am not complaining). I looked for laundromats in Albuquerque but didn’t see any. I guess that is just a Gallup thing. Jasmine wanted to go to the Hispanic Cultural Center which was mentioned in a guide book so we headed there after lunch. Unfortunately, we couldn’t find it so we decided to start our journey to Roswell. When I punched it into the GPS, the machine was guiding me a way that looked longer on the map, so I decided to make my own way. Unfortunately that decision cost us an additional 40 miles.

We did, however, truly enjoy the drive. Most of the drive was through the mountains with grasslands and trees on both sides. Cows and horses could be seen everywhere feeding and we even saw an occasional deer. It sure beats the Mojave Desert. Due to my slip up the UFO Museum in Roswell was already closed when we arrived, so we decided to stay here for the night and see that tomorrow morning. After a quick trip to the store to purchase things we forgot, we headed back to the motel for sleep.

Tomorrow will bring the UFO museum, Carlsbad Caverns National Park and from what I hear some long boring stretches of Texas. Our arrival in San Antonio on Tuesday will be welcomed as I don’t think Shawn Reece can handle much more of six and seven hour a day driving without a break. We need to find more out of car activities to expend some of his energy. He has been running around the hotel rooms so much to release his energy once we are done for the day. He is, after all a boy and is continuing his passion for basketball by throwing his socks on the chair in the room, pretending it is a basket! Our plan has always been to go at a slow pace, and this first leg will be the only one we have to rush a little. In case you are now keeping track with us we saw 5 McDonalds today, including one that was abducted by aliens!

Best regards,

The Coomer Family