From El Paso, TX, to Cortez, CO

I had an “here’s what we've done since El Paso” post planned in my head.  But when we saw an an RV on fire near Gallup, New Mexico, that draft was quickly replaced with RV fire photos.

So finally -- here’s some of what we've done since El Paso.  

---Stayed a couple of nights in Albuquerque at the Kirtland Air Force Base Military RV Fam Camp.  We can’t visit Albuquerque without seeing Anne, my (Bev’s) junior high/high school/Girl Scout friend from Wellington, Ohio. Anne moved from Wellington to Foxboro, MA, when we were sophomores, but we've kept in touch. My throat hurt the next day from talking and laughing so much.

---Visited the Albuquerque Museum of Art and History (thanks to Anne, who had extra tickets she won via a radio call-in contest because she knew Maria Callas was from Greece. Seriously.) The museum is near ABQ’s Old Town and Jim was sure we’d been before.  As for me, I had absolutely no recollection of ever going inside that building. No surprise there.  Either way, the museum has changing exhibits, so it worked for both of us.

--- Did our usual pub crawl (if one pub can be called a crawl) and visited ABQ’s Marble Brewery.  We’d stopped there last year but left because it was beyond standing room only.  This time we got a table and the beer was good (Jim had the Marble IPA; I had the Marble Oatmeal Stout). They had no food other than chips and dips, so we bought hot dogs topped with cream cheese from a nearby food truck.  I feel a diet coming on. 

--- Drove 140 miles to the USA Campground in Gallup, NM, (very nice private campground, by the way) where we chatted with fellow Lazy Daze owners Nancy and Terry of California who were parked across from our rig. Then we drove to town, bought wine, beer and chocolate and that was dinner.  As I said, I feel a diet coming on.  Or at least a vegetable. 

--- Drove another 140 miles to a campground in Cortez, Colorado, and are looking forward to visiting Mesa Verde National Park.

Bev and Anne -- friends from 40+ years ago in Wellington, Ohio -- at Monroe's restaurant in Albuquerque.  Anne is a retired grade school teacher who volunteers as a tutor and at a food bank.  She also takes lots of classes; the day after we met she was headed with a group for one of the Albuquerque area's Indian pueblos to see a tribal feast celebration. 

Jim (that's him at the left, not the guy at the right in case anyone is wondering) walks through the Albuquerque Museum of Art and History's exhibit of pieces done by New Mexican artists.  We also saw "Behind Closed Doors: Art in the Spanish American Home 1492-1898" that featured portraits commissioned to demonstrate a homeowners wealth, and African-American art done on paper.

Also at the ABQ Museum was a collection about Vivian Vantz called "Everybody's Neighbor."  Vance -- originally form Kansas but who had a home in Albuquerque and whose parents and siblings moved there -- was best known as Ethel Mertz from "I Love Lucy."  Apparently we just missed Vance's youngest sister Lou Anne, who often comes to the museum to talk with visitors.

Stainless Steel is the New Porcelain:  We don't usually run toilet photos, but Jim says he thinks the new restroom/showers at the Kirtland Air Force Base RV Fam Camp was built by the New Mexico Department of Corrections.  We don't usually talk a lot about toilets either, but this one sparked a couple conversations.

Conversation 1:  
Bev:  I'd hate to sit on that thing when the temperatures are below freezing.
Jim:  Don't stick your tongue on it, either, even if you get triple dog-dared.
Conversation 2:
Bev:  When I took a shower, I looked around and thought "This must be what it's like to be in prison."
Jim:  Were you taking a shower by yourself?
Bev:  Well, yeah.
Jim:  Then that's not what it's like in prison.

One of the "they-seem-to-spring-up-in-the-middle-of-nowhere" rock formations between Gallup, NM and Cortez, CO.