Left at Albuquerque

We got into Albuquerque pretty late last night after a great time in Sedona and decided to lay low and just grab a quick bite to eat. Much to my chagrin, the only restaurants that seemed to be open in the area were Chili's and Shoney's. I chose the former. We had the bellboy unload the car completely, gave him a hefty tip for carting 37 bags, and went to grab a bite. Then I fell into the most blissful sleep in weeks. I guess the Sheraton Sweet Sleeper/Westin Heavenly Bed had something to do with it.

Today, we had a pretty busy day. After enjoying breakfast in the lounge, we set off to take a look around. The guy at the front desk recommended that we stay in Albuquerque and check out Nob Hill and a couple other neighborhoods. We ignored him and trekked out to Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument, Bandalier National Monument, and Santa Fe.

First, we went to Tent Rocks, which was pretty cool. The drive in was very interesting to say the least. Directions to this National Monument were sketchy, to say the least. Here is a picture of the road into the National Monument. And here were the directions: Drive through the Cochiti Indian Reservation. Take a right at the big water tank shaped like a drum. Drive on dirt road for about 5 miles. Park your car and enjoy the view. Once you got there, the rock formations were very cool.


After we left the Tent Rocks, we made a stop in Santa Fe to grab some lunch at a great restaurant named Tomasita's. The food was amazing. Afterwards, we walked around the plaza and bought a couple gifts for friends and a couple new pieces for our condo.

We then made the short drive over the the Bandelier National Monument. This place was pretty cool. We saw the dwellings of the Anasazi Indians in Frijole Canyon near Los Alamos. It's amazing to think that an entire group of Native Americans could build their homes in the side of a cliff. The final stretch of the climb went up 140 feet on rickety ladders and stone steps. The alcove at the top was huge and the view was amazing. They even had a huge Kiva built into the stone at 140 feet above the canyon floor. To think that they climbed up and down every day is pretty amazing. I would post some pictures, but what fun would that be? Take a trip to New Mexico and make the climb yourself!