On the Road Again...

So, here we go again.

Headed out in September, 2012, for the 

Grand Canyon

and

Palm Springs.

It was really a Rock Tour.

Driving down I-10, through the Texas Hill Country.

We're on our way.

It's a long road.

Heading west, toward El Paso.  We saw many, many trains.

It's rugged, but beautiful country.

We crossed the state line, and stopped at the New Mexico Welcome Station.

Seems they like you to stay on the sidewalks.

We headed up I-25.  This is north of Las Cruces.  We're seeing more mountains in the distance.

At Los Lunas (yep..it's spelled that way...Os & As don't seem right) we turned up Hwy. 6.
This let us miss the traffic in Albuquerque.

And, to see some pretty terrific red hills.

Look at the two very different types of soil and rocks.

Hwy. 6 meets up with I-40, east of Grants, NM.

It gets a little steeper there.

This sign seems perfect for our trip.

We watched a rather spectacular sunset, and kept on going toward Gallup.

We didn't know that the town would be full.  Something going on at the local refinery.

We stopped at every motel (& there are quite a few), and were told they were booked up.

But, as luck would have it, there were a few rooms at this historic hotel.

The El Rancho Hotel was built in the 1930s.
Lots of old time screen stars stayed here, while they were filming
Westerns out in those red hills.
It's located on the old historic Route 66.

It's old and small, but very interesting.
We got what they call a 'single room'....that would be a room with one double bed.
At least we weren't sleeping in the car, for the night.

Each room is named after a movie star.
Ours was Zachary Scott.  Talk about a name from the past.

There is the old hotel and a newer motel.  We got a room in the historic hotel.

The room was small...the bathroom tiny.  
But, we were tired and slept pretty well.

When was the last time you saw one of these on a hotel toilet?
Historic, indeed.

The end of Day 1.