Old Town Albuquerque

We were to leave for Gallup, NM on this Monday but after a drive through the old part of Albuquerque yesterday we decided to stay another day and explore.

It was a short trip down Central Avenue/Route 66 to get to Old Town, parking spots big enough for Big Gulp were a little hard to come by but we found a spot where we had to feed a meter $3.00 for a couple of hours of parking.

Like many old town and cities there is a square.  It is a very nice park and surrounded with adobe buildings and courtyards that date back to 1706.

Along the front of one of the long buildings bordering the park were mostly Navaho artists selling their creations.  Silver and turquoise were in prominence.  A couple of these folks were making their jewelry on the spot. 

A beautiful Catholic Church and Convent along the square.  Our time on the parking meter was running short so we did not get to investigate the inside.

Having this extra day we also took the opportunity to check out the Triple D diner that had first caught our eye on Saturday.  Sophia's Place was tiny, ten tables in all and most would only seat two people.  As best we could gather, this place was best known for the whopper breakfasts they serve.  We got a couple of grilled chicken taco salads for lunch but there were a couple of ladies, they seemed local to us, that got breakfast plates.  Wow, we saw a pile of really good looking food come to them.  If we had got that we would have been eating on that for a week.

It was worth the extra day in Albuquerque, this being able to change your plans on a whim is a pretty good deal.  To continue the change theme, instead of Gallup were are going to go further, get a little closer to Flagstaff.  We could easily go all the way to Flagstaff but that would put us there for more than a week at campground prices that are a little too rich for my blood.  So we found a state park just outside Winslow, AZ called Homolovi Ruins.  There is one site in the whole campground that has a sewer hook up and I was able to snag it for a week.  We're gonna camp in the high desert.