Jazz Fest Trip - Day 24

After topping-off the propane at the RV park in Lubbock, we left for Santa Fe, NM about 8:15 am this morning.  As we traveled up the Texas panhandle and northwest through eastern New Mexico, we again saw a lot of open space, range land, some farm land, and cattle (no cowboy sightings).  We even saw a few antelope playing and the skies were not cloudy - although it was a little overcast when we left Lubbock.  As we have experienced on most of the trip while driving, it was a little windy, especially as we approached the Santa Fe area and the altitude increased. 

Another observation we have experienced throughout our trip, both in the west and south, is the proliferation of used automobile tire stores, most based at old gas stations.  They usually have large piles of used tires stacked (sometimes) in the front and sides of the buildings.  There also doesn't seem to much separation of the tires by type (i.e. truck, auto, tractor, etc.), let alone by size.  I don't recall ever seeing any similar kind of thing anywhere in California.

We arrived in Santa Fe about 2:30 pm and are staying at the Trailer Ranch RV park about 3 miles from the center of town.  The park is a combination RV park and 55+ retirement community.  The park is O.K., not too fancy, but the people are nice and it is convenient to everything in town.  The weather is clear and cool - about 65 degrees in mid afternoon.  The city is at 7,000 ft elevation so it will be cool tonight (maybe even cold).  The forecast is more of the same the next few days, so it looks our luck with the weather is still holding.

We will be here for three nights and the plan for tomorrow is a day trip in the VW to Taos, about an hour and a half north of here and a little further up in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. We will tour the Santa Fe attractions on Tuesday, then go on to Sedona, AZ on Wednesday. 

After resting awhile and realizing we gained an hour by moving west into the Mountain Time Zone, we went out to dinner. The Mexican restaurant recommended by the RV owner was closed, so we decided to drive into town and look around for an alternative.  After taking a short drive around the downtown plaza (very nice), we found another Mexican restaurant that looked O.K.  It turned out to be a lucky choice; the food was excellent.  It is hard to imagine how the other restaurant that was closed could have been any better.
Sunday Pictures - Lubbock, TX - Santa Fe, NM