Went to breakfast at the Downtown Diner on Aspen Street in downtown Flagstaff across from the town square and I ordered the eggs and pancakes that were each the size of a large dinner plate. We always seem to forget how large the food servings are here in the lovely US of A. Anyway, it gave us a good start to the day, as we headed out along the old historic “Route 66” to Albuquerque, New Mexico. So what makes Route 66 famous you ask? Well there was the TV show called “Route 66” in the 60’s but more importantly it was the main highway that connected Los Angeles to Chicago. From 1926 to 1985 many businesses were built along the route and thrived on the traffic that it brought over the years but eventually faster interstate highway systems were built and people stopped driving on the slower routes. All along the route you can see the relics of business that once were someones dream!
New Mexico, is relatively flat and has a dry desert landscape but every now and then a beautiful row of red mountain appears and then it is flat again for miles. But nothing is flatter than the northern part of Texas (see tomorrows blog).
From Albuquerque, we decided to take my friend Ann’s advice and take a short detour north to the city of Santa Fe, the capital of New Mexico. Santa Fe has the oldest house and church in all of the United States and most of the buildings and homes in the city are built in the old Pueblo Spanish style of construction. Over Sante Fe’s history dating back to 1912, the government wanted the city to look different from “anywhere USA” and attract tourism, so they passed an ordinance that all buildings were to be built in the Pueblo or Territorial style with flat roofs and traditional adobe construction. Needless to say this created a beautiful and unique city unlike anywhere in the USA.
We walked up and down the historical streets filled with shops, street vendors, artists and live entertainment. Then we enjoyed dinner at La Casa Sena in a quiet outdoor courtyard in the center of town. I had a sesame crusted halibut and Mark enjoyed pulled pork and beans that were both delicious and cooked to perfection.
As you can see from our pictures that we are still wearing our winter coats in New Mexico. When in the sun and out of the wind, the temperature was nice but there was a cool breeze that meant a warm coat was a must.
Thanks Ann for recommending the visit to Santa Fe, New Mexico as it was well worth the extra miles off Route 66. Also, we met a couple from San Diego yesterday in Lafayette, Louisiana and they were headed to Arizona and we told them not to miss Santa Fe !
After Sante Fe, New Mexico we drove to the small town of Tucumcari, New Mexico completing our longest daily driving distance of 900 km.