Travel : New Mexico

Well I spent most of yesterday driving across New Mexico. The day started off with rain and mountians which our poor little car had to battle. Loaded to within an inch of its life and hauling ass at 85mph I will say I was impressed with its performance. Once we hit NM, the land flattened out and all one could see were miles and miles of dry grass, with the occasional impala looking animals. O and the occasional cattle ranch. We stopped in Albuquerque for about 2 hours and walked around. If you ever find yourself in Albuq, I highly recommend the Garcia Cafe for a meal. For $3.50 I had the heartiest helping of a chicken burritto. I am talking flavorful, moist, and toasted just right. While driving we blew out a tire an hour from Tucson. Sad part was we could practically see our final destination. Anyway below are some photos from the road - Downtown Albuq, the lone gas station that appeared when our tank was almost empty, the Rio Grande river, our tire mishap etc.

Now I have the following to say about the state before we hit the photos:

• Who is the genius who took it upon themselves to paint the bridges pink and blue?
• Were it not for the rock outcrops and mountains in the distance it would be one monotonous drive.
• The sand is pink in color ... I guess it might explain the bridge colors
• I have never seen this many variations of cactii. Some looked like they were not sure if they wanted to be cactii or shrubs.
• The 6pm sun is hard on the eyes if you are driving west.
• NM has one of the most interesting drunk driving campaigns. I swear every 5 miles they have a sign up on it ranging from the margarita glass to the batman symbol. As I was driving, I was unable to take photos of the sign but if you are ever in the area keep an eye out for them
• I saw Mexico - no I didn't cross the border. We are just that close to it and you can see it in the distance. I didn't think to bring my passport or else we'd have gone there sometime today for the afternoon.