As we approached Albuquerque, we noticed it was very hazy. It quickly became so thick it completely obscured the mountains. We were concerned this might be smoke from the Colorado fires we had heard about on the news, especially since we had both been fighting allergies for the last month, and didn't need to be breathing smoke. A consultation with Google revealed the forest service was doing a controlled burn just north of the city. Great, just what we needed, un...

Santa Fe is known, as an arts community but wasn't particularly high on our list of desired destinations. However, it was along our route to Albuquerque and the Balloon Fiesta so we made the stop. As we were driving in, I read in our Good Sam guidebook that Santa Fe had decreed that all buildings must be harmonious with the Spanish Pueblo Revival style (low-slung, earth-colored buildings made of adobe bricks, which consist of a mixture of sun-dried earth and stra...

We got a late start as we left Dallas, as Dessa had predicted. I'm glad I listened to her (for many reasons) and booked an overnight stop in Abilene on our way to Carlsbad Caverns. The 500 miles to Carlsbad wouldn’t have been that bad in my G37 (with a little speeding) but when we tow the trailer I only drive 65 mph (and still get less than 10 mpg) so it was going to take us longer and for the most part we weren’t in a big hurry. The drive across Te...