Albuquerque & beyond!

Thoughts and decisions

One of the hardest things is figuring out where to stay. You can only read so many reviews without losing your mind! I had a nice time in Santa Fe, but I chose to stay at a place that lauded itself as an up-and-coming new retro kind of hotel. Actually it was a pretty shitty motel. I keep pondering the decisions I’ve been making. After arriving I regretted the decision; thinking I should’ve spent the extra money to stay in town and have the experience that I wanted. Though it all worked out in the end!

It’s funny, I told Madeleine I was sad because I don’t have anyone to talk with on this adventure. Then I met such lovely people at the Sage ‘Hotel’. Maybe we are destined for what we say aloud.

Another funny thing… I actually met two people prior to ALBQ that told me there was a lot of theft there. One woman I met at the Sand Dune Recreation (see previous blog). She lived there for a few years and was giving me a friendly warning. She was a bit concerned that I was staying in a van and told me to stay at a gated RV park….hmmmm. In Santa Fe I met a woman at the Sage ‘Hotel’ and she said to be wary of theft. She currently lives in ALBQ, on Nob Hill. She recommended that I visit that area, as it is the nicer area of the city. I headed their suggestions and booked a gated park with good ratings.

On the way to ALBQ!

On the way to ALBQ we stopped at the Petroglyphs National Monument, where Lambert received a National Park Pup Tag (so cute)! From there we headed to Piedras Marcadas Canyon, a 1.5 mile round trip to see 400 petroglyphs. Unfortunately we went to the wrong parking area, so we did the loop backwards. I kept wondering why the audio tour was not lining up. Finally I ran into a young couple that had come from the other direction. I was thankful that I wasn’t losing my mind!! It was a really interesting area, but the day was hot and I worried about Lambert (which is a daily issue for me).

Some of the petroglyphs outside of Albuquerque

The park was okay. It was clean and gated, but close to the highway, which is always a bit weird, but it seems like a normal thing with these parks. I felt safe. One thing I have noticed, I am usually placed very close to the office. I am not sure if it’s because I am a single woman or if it’s a coincidence, either way it is a bit comforting!

Another Bucket List check for me!

Albuquerque was also a bucket list item for me because of Richard Rohr. If you aren’t familiar with him, he’s a Franciscan priest and he’s awesome! He’s a great author and a very down to earth priest, quite frankly I am surprised the Catholic Church never kicked him out. He is extremely real. He founded The Center of Action and Contemplation in 1987 and I have always wanted to visit! I have enjoyed reading many of his books and get his daily meditations emailed (though I don’t always get to them). Anyway, I could go on and on about him, just ask my kids…. haha!!

The first day we went to Old Town and wandered, it was a quaint area with lots of shops and restaurants. Lambert was welcome everywhere! I bought some local honey! The next day was memorial day and the RV park hosts made breakfast. I thought, why not! I went and had a waffle and no one talked to me! They didn’t really ignore me, they all sat together and chatted. It was pretty interesting, families talking about brownie troops and work, so they live here. I am well aware that many people chose to live in RV parks, for various reasons; it was interesting to hear the conversations. They were also offering hot dogs, ice cream and some kid activities later. I knew I would be passing that up!

Center of Action and Contemplation Visit

The last day we are off to The Center of Action and Contemplation. I knew deep down I will not see Fr Richard, I still had hope. You never know!! The building is on Five Points Road. I’ve heard about the different homes they have bought and what I imagined was quite different from what was there.

I drove past the main office, it was very nondescript. When I got there I was the only one inside, they showed me around to all the spaces (Lambert was welcome too). There was the book store, a meditation area with some marbles and a video of Fr. Richard talking about his newest book and an awesome painting by a local artist that was circular and on a wheel so you could turn it to see the different aspects. There was another meditation room where you could watch a video and it prompted you to sit and reflect at each pause. Both of these were kind of difficult with the pup!

My favorite thing was The Trinity Tree. It ‘s the oldest cottonwood tree in the area and it has a mutation that makes the branches curve in weird directions. There’s a bench under the tree where you can sit and meditate. This was a time when Lambert allowed me some peace and it was amazing!

Another Labyrinth Attempt

One of the other buildings on Five Points Road held a labyrinth. (I guess I will try again!) We decided to walk there. As I mentioned, it is not a compound as I pictured it in my head. It’s a regular street with houses. They assured me walking was not an issue; maybe without a dog!

We’re walking along and a guy was whipping down the street, kind of riding a wheelchair. He saw me, smiled and say hello but the commotion rilled the dogs. One in the yard he was zooming by was going crazy, which made every dog go crazy! A dog at the house we were walking by looked huge and mean. The wall that was keeping him in had cut outs in the stucco and I thought for sure he was going to jump out and attack us. Not a fun walk! We arrived, safe and the labyrinth was beautiful. BUT there were dogs on BOTH sides of us going looney, so needless to say, I did not complete the labyrinth! Lambert was losing it the whole time!

Nob Hill (ALBQ)

It was still early in the day so we drove to see Nob Hill. The woman I met said it was the ‘sister’ to Nob Hill of San Francisco. I was looking forward to checking it out.

It was not what I expected. I pulled over to make sure I was in the right area. I am not saying it was totally icky. There were plenty of nice looking homes. Then one next door with a yard full of stuff and a chain link fence, not what I recall from SF’s Nob Hill. I found a little tapas bar on google and headed over. This will explain it.There was a grocery shop next door, someone came running out and throwing food on the ground, an employee following her. Thankfully he just let her go. The another ruckus with a young man and an older lady. I didn’t hear what happened, just heard them telling each other to Fuck Off a number of times. The food wasn’t bad, so I ate and headed back to the RV park!

Summing it up and moving on…

A couple of lovely things about ALBQ. Lambert had play time with two Scottie dogs at the dog park. I found a Trader Joe’s, (a huge score) and there were a lot of hummingbirds! A weird thing about the area, it seemed like there were no land use codes. There would be a nice shopping area and neighborhood, then next door a bunch of old vehicles with a fire in a metal bin. I noticed this throughout the area, very unusual, but I did not have any issue with theft and people were friendly.

Now it’s time to take care of the van! I am on my way to Dallas to stay with Piper. I have an appointment with Car Toys and one with Camping World and a lovely home to stay in with my friend! Lambert will have a yard with dogs, we are both looking forward to the change! It’s a nine hour drive to Flower Mound, Texas, so it will be two days of long drives. Reservation at a Harvest Host around the halfway point and I am looking forward to being away from the desert, the dirt and dust are driving me crazy! I guess I am truly a PNW girl!

Also, my family (Kelly especially) is very relieved that I won’t be alone on my birthday! I kept reminding her that I will be 60 all year. Good Lord 60! It’s actually crazy to think about. Gotta love having a sister!!

Just an FYI – here’s a couple of pictures of my cooking area and a meal, not bad!!