Road Trip 2009: Day 3 Gallup NM to Vega TX

Ever since Flagstaff, the weather has been fair and much cooler.  I don’t know if it’s the altitude or what.  New Mexico seems to be working on all their roads.  Probably those stimulus funds.

Our extra for today was the Sandia Peak Tram in Albuquerque.  The distance is 2.7 miles and it rises to over 10,000 feet.  I’m usually leery of heights but this didn’t bother me a bit

We took our jackets because 56 degrees is pretty cool.  But when we reached the top either the temperature had  gone up or the altitude made a difference because we didn’t need the jackets at all.  It was mild and not at all windy.  The Albuquerque area was very hazy, so our view wasn’t as spectacular as it could have been.  But amazing even with the haze.

 

  The base station as seen from our tram.  The ride was smooth and not at all scary.  Might have been a different story if there had been any wind.

We had lunch at the High Finance Restaurant on the peak.  Despite the name, the prices were reasonable.  And the food was quite good. 

At Exit 47 on Interstate 40 in New Mexico we cross the Continental Divide.  From now on all rivers we cross will ultimately flow into the Atlantic Ocean instead of the Pacific. Now I really feel as if I’m away from home.

We had planned to stay the night in Amarillo TX but were a bit behind schedule, so decided to stay in Vega, TX -  just a bit short of Amarillo.

Dinner at Boot Hill in Vega TX.  Old West theme with the servers dressed as dance hall girls.  Our server however was dressed as a gunslinger.   But she was good.  Since we are now in Texas, I have to order Chicken Fried Steak. 

  Yummy, but the portion was so large I could only eat about half of it.  Notice the lack of veggies, other than parsley.  To be fair, they did serve me a salad before this.

There was a table with several Texans who were talking football and going on about how good  the Cowboys are and how badly the 49ers are going to get beaten in their pre-season game this coming Saturday night.  As we were leaving, the Husband walked by their table and said, “I don’t want to spoil your fun, but………………. Go Niners!”  You should have heard them scream as we got out of there fast.

For the last couple of days we have been seeing signs advertizing Dairy Queen’s Blizzard.  The husband has been salivating but I convinced him that this treat would be best saved for when he actually was in Texas.  Wouldn’t you know that this tiny little town would have a DQ!