Stuart Day 8

Church in Taos

Scary!

Bridge over the Rio Grande

Love it!

50s Neon

Even a R66 chair!

The only fixed point today is the need to be in Tucumcari (88401) this evening, so over breakfast we made a snap decision to carry on north, away from R66, to Taos (87571)  in the north of the state (a place I have always wanted to visit). The drive there was terrific, running alongside the canyon of the Rio Grande for some of the way. Taos is a very fashionable ski and summer resort (and home to Julia Roberts which I think Steve may have mentioned!) but its main attraction is the Taos Pueblo, a 1000-year-old Indian settlement and World Heritage site.. A stunning place, even if the selling opportunities are rather overdone. You're not allowed to take a photo with an Indian in it without tipping. I even had to pay 6 bucks to take my camera in. I never realised that my travelling companion is such an inveterate shopper; not quite sure what he's going to do with a tomahawk. Fortunately, he managed to resist the bow and arrows! The Rio Grande Bridge was spectacular, though the river sadly seems to be not much more than a trickle, and burritos at Abe Cantina delicious. Long drive south to Tucumcari through several differing landscapes - snow-capped peaks, forested mountain slopes, rolling farmland, desert. Love New Mexico, town and country! We arrived in Tucumcari to find a very nice R66 sculpture, based on the tail-fin of a 1962 Cadillac. Our motel, the Blue Swallow, is a 50s throwback, with original neon, a garage alongside each room and 50s style rooms. Immaculately clean, but we were the only guests. The owner turned on the neon for us so that we could take photos. The only eating/drinking establishment was, we were told, a mile's walk away. Much further than that but when we arrived at the Lounge Lizard we found that it was Friday night dance, at $30 a pop. They very kindly ushered us into a side room for food and drink and we managed to smuggle ourselves into the dance at the end of the evening. They even ran us back to the motel! Tucumcari was 97 degrees today; it was still 78 when we got back to our room.
Today's interesting fact: American petrol pumps now spout adverts at you while you are filling up. Talking of which, we've encountered huge disparities in fuel prices - $4.89 a gallon in rural California down to $3.64 in New Mexico. The locals are dreading the average price reaching $4.