Skip to main content

Cross Country Roadtrip - Day 3 - 04/19/2010

Day 3 included sites in and around Albuquerque and Santa Fe.

For the entire day set - head to flickr - over 200 photos!

The first stop was Sandia Peak.  I took a journey to the top of the mountain in October 2007, and was excited to take the trip to over 10,000 feet again.  Unfortunately, this time the skies were overcast and gloomy but it was still home to many great views!

IMG_5161

The tram ride is about 15 minutes to the top and costs $17 to ride.  You begin at the base of the mountain at around 6500 feet and the journey ends at an elevation of 10,378 feet!  Usually the surrounding mountains and valley below are in clearer view, but the Albuquerque skyline can be seen rather clearly from here.

IMG_5178

Here I am at Sandia Peak. It's pretty much the top location for out-of-towners to visit while in Albuquerque.

IMG_5191

Next, we headed down to Central Ave. towards Downtown Albuquerque.  Central Ave. was the main drag through town during the Route 66 era.  Though it's now bypass by I-40 to the North, there are many remnants of the highway's heyday to be found.  Mostly in the form of neon signs of old motor lodges, restaurants, liquor stores, and night clubs.

IMG_5201

IMG_5205

IMG_5206

IMG_5217

From Central Ave. was a visit to Old Town Albuquerque.  I also had visited their previously in 2007.  Sadly, the overcast conditions took away from photographing the exterior of the beautiful San Felipe de Neri Catholic Church.  But with a better camera, I was able to take better photos of the interior.

IMG_5237

IMG_5239

IMG_5234

Lunch was in Old Town at the Quesadilla Grille.  I don't take a lot of food photography, but had to take a shot of the colorful chips and salsa.

IMG_5258

There always seems to be live music playing somewhere in Old Town during the day, and this day was no exception.

IMG_5266

From Old Town, it was back on Central Ave. towards the Rio Puerco Bridge.  However, what wouldn't be a ride on Old 66 without seeing a classic car!   This is what we believe is a 1953 Ford Customline four door sedan.

IMG_5271

I was hoping to come across this sign that I found in 2007.

central ave west end - Old US 66

Unfortunately, an entire rebuild of the western end of Central Ave. interchange (Exit 149) cause the button copy classic to be removed.   Now it was on to the Rio Puerco bridge which is located a few miles west of here at Exit 140.

Rio Puerco Bridge

The Rio Puerco Bridge is a Parker Through Truss that was built in 1933.  It remained in service until 1999.  Since then, it has been preserved as part of Route 66 heritage by NMDOT.  Nearby rain and storms gave a great backdrop for this historic bridge.

IMG_5292

From there it was on to Santa Fe via the Big I and I-25.

IMG_5320

The highlight of Santa Fe - which was more overcast and a lot chillier than Sandia or Albuquerque - was the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi.

IMG_5347

The inside is absolutely amazing.

IMG_5357

IMG_5362

IMG_5368

IMG_5373

Also worth checking out in Santa Fe is the Native American vendors at the Palace of Governors.

IMG_5386

IMG_5387

The cool and overcast afternoon took away from Santa Fe.  I've heard great things about it, and I would have to go back again and spend more time there to really decide on it.

From there it was I-25 North for a few miles to US 285 South and eventually NM 41 towards Moriarty.  The nearby storms and heavy rain made for impressive open road shots.

IMG_5403

IMG_5414

NM 41 runs to Moriarty where I picked up old US 66.  Moriarty has a few goodies - from an old button copy sign.

IMG_5420

- to an old Whiting Brothers service station.

IMG_5423

Took NM 333 back towards Albuquerque in hopes to find more goodies, but nothing really caught my eye.  The other hope was to get sunset photos, but the cloud cover was too thick and no luck there either.

So Day 4 is west into Arizona...will better skies appear?  The day will be broken into two parts - Old 66 in Arizona and Painted Desert/Petrified Forest National Park.  Til next time!

Enjoy!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The 1915-era Teilman Bridge (the only known Concrete Pony Truss Bridge in California)

The Teilman Bridge is a semi-abandoned structure over Fresno Slough west of Burrell siding near the intersection of Elkhorn Avenue and Elkhorn Grade.  This structure is the only known Concrete Pony Truss Bridge constructed in California and was designed by Ingvart Teilman.  Teilman's Bridge would open in late 1915 when the Elkhorn Grade was the primary road between Fresno and Coalinga.  The structure would be replaced in 1991 but was left standing as it carries pipelines over Fresno Slough.  Part 1; the history of the Teilman Bridge In the early Twentieth Century the most direct highway between Fresno and Coalinga followed the Elkhorn Grade.  The Elkhorn Grade began at Fresno Slough a short distance west of Burrell siding.  From Fresno Slough the Elkhorn Grade followed a generally southwestern course through San Joaquin Valley into the Kettleman Hills towards Coalinga.   The Elkhorn Grade can be seen on the  1914 C.F. Weber map of Fresno Coun...

The Dummy Lights of New York

  A relic of the early days of motoring, dummy lights were traffic lights  that  were  placed  in the middle of a street intersection. In those early days, traffic shuffled through busy intersections with the help of a police officer who stood on top of a pedestal. As technology improved and electric traffic signals became commonplace, they were also  originally  positioned on a platform at the center of the intersection. Those traffic signals became known as  " dummy lights "  and were common until  traffic lights were moved  onto wires and poles that crossed above the intersection.  In New York State, only a handful of these dummy lights exist. The dummy lights  are found  in the Hudson Valley towns of Beacon and Croton-on-Hudson, plus there is an ongoing tug of war in Canajoharie in the Mohawk Valley, where their dummy light has been knocked down and replaced a few times. The dummy light in Canajoharie is currently...

Prunedale Road (Monterey County)

Prunedale Road is a short 2.6-mile-long frontage corridor of US Route 101 in the namesake Monterey County community of Prunedale.  Prior to 1932 US Route 101 bypassed Prunedale in favor of the San Juan Grade to the east.  Prunedale Road along with nearby Moro Road served as an alternative connecting highway between Salinas and San Juan Bautista.  Following the realignment of US Route 101 onto the Prunedale Cutoff the former through route along Prunedale Road would be rendered as a western frontage.   Part 1; the history of Prunedale Road Prunedale Road is located in and is named after the Monterey County community of Prunedale.  Said community was founded near the junction of San Migeul Canyon, Langley Canyon and Echo Valley.  Watsonville settler Charles Langley (namesake of Langley Canyon) was one of the prominent early community settlers.  The Prunedale Post Office would open for the first time in 1894 but would close by 1908.  Early agricu...