Lovin' New Mexico
I really do love that state... could seriously live there. I experienced a lot of it today. The theme for today was cultural variety. I began the day with a stop at a farmer's market in Albuquerque, with a jazz band playing and local artisans alongside the food merchants. Somehow I managed to restrain myself and buy only some organic raspberry red chili pepper jam. Yum... it really tasted good when I sampled it.
Moving on, I found a roadside artisan with both pottery and jewelry. Her explanation of the symbolism on her pot, and her obvious pride in her work convinced me to buy a pot from her. I knew I'd be buying one somewhere in the southwest, because I have a hard time resisting pottery. Further down the road was a music and arts fair on the reservation, but I saved my money there - was very happy with the pot I already bought.
New Mexico was filled with a variety of cultures... urban, Native American, Latino... and all co-mingled everywhere I went. Combine that with the absolutely gorgeous scenery, and I was one happy traveler.
Late afternoon I crossed the border into Arizona and there was an immediate change. Driving Route 66 in this part of Arizona really felt like I was cheating a whole lot. The Route seldom strays from I-40, so most of the time I was freeway driving. I didn't mind too much, because I really wanted to get to Flagstaff for the night. Still felt like I was cheating though.
Because the Mother Road is so much on the freeway here, a lot of the Route 66 kitsch has been usurped by hokey Indian villages and teepee merchandising. FYI - hokey is a step below kitsch. When I got off the freeway to follow the Route through the towns, I saw more of the kitsch again, but it was pretty restricted to those short stretches.
Tomorrow should be different again. The Mother Road ventures far off I-40 to head up to the Grand Canyon. So we'll see how that varies. Hopefully I'll get some sleep tonight. Unfortunately, as I was tired from 400 miles on the road I decided to be nostalgic and stay at Howard Johnson so I could get off the road. Seems appropriate for a nostalgic trip through history, right? I remember HoJo's from my youth.... this one hasn't been updated since then though (except that they have WiFi.) And I didn't notice the train tracks across the road. Busy train tracks. Loud horn train tracks. The construction guys hangin' in the parking lot are no longer there though. Some of them have gone to the bar next door where the band just started playing a half hour ago. At least it sounds like a good band....
Moving on, I found a roadside artisan with both pottery and jewelry. Her explanation of the symbolism on her pot, and her obvious pride in her work convinced me to buy a pot from her. I knew I'd be buying one somewhere in the southwest, because I have a hard time resisting pottery. Further down the road was a music and arts fair on the reservation, but I saved my money there - was very happy with the pot I already bought.
New Mexico was filled with a variety of cultures... urban, Native American, Latino... and all co-mingled everywhere I went. Combine that with the absolutely gorgeous scenery, and I was one happy traveler.
Late afternoon I crossed the border into Arizona and there was an immediate change. Driving Route 66 in this part of Arizona really felt like I was cheating a whole lot. The Route seldom strays from I-40, so most of the time I was freeway driving. I didn't mind too much, because I really wanted to get to Flagstaff for the night. Still felt like I was cheating though.
Because the Mother Road is so much on the freeway here, a lot of the Route 66 kitsch has been usurped by hokey Indian villages and teepee merchandising. FYI - hokey is a step below kitsch. When I got off the freeway to follow the Route through the towns, I saw more of the kitsch again, but it was pretty restricted to those short stretches.
Tomorrow should be different again. The Mother Road ventures far off I-40 to head up to the Grand Canyon. So we'll see how that varies. Hopefully I'll get some sleep tonight. Unfortunately, as I was tired from 400 miles on the road I decided to be nostalgic and stay at Howard Johnson so I could get off the road. Seems appropriate for a nostalgic trip through history, right? I remember HoJo's from my youth.... this one hasn't been updated since then though (except that they have WiFi.) And I didn't notice the train tracks across the road. Busy train tracks. Loud horn train tracks. The construction guys hangin' in the parking lot are no longer there though. Some of them have gone to the bar next door where the band just started playing a half hour ago. At least it sounds like a good band....
posted by Kris at 6/20/2009 11:15:00 PM
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