Off The Beaten Path

Interstate 40 is one of the main highway arteries crossing the US from East to West. I-40 starts in Wilmington, North Carolina on the Atlantic coast and ends in Barstow, California. From Oklahoma City, Oklahoma westward, it is practically built on top or besides Old Route 66. Since we got on I-40 in Eastern Tennessee, we've made good progress on our journey westwards as far as distance covered.

Today was our first foray off the Interstate for the first time since the Blue Ridge Parkway. Just past Santa Rosa, New Mexico, we took Highway 85 north towards Las Vegas (no, another Las Vegas), then down Interstate 25 toward Santa Fe, where we are staying tonight. The route we took follows the Old Route 66 before they made a shorter Route 66 in 1937 that cut straight from Santa Rosa to Albuquerque, cutting the journey west by over 100 miles. The ride was beautiful, just long lonely stretches of road, really isolated. You can see for miles in all directions and beautiful mountains are in the distance. We took some pics from the drive.

In Santa Fe, the buildings are all uniquely built, short and brown, I guess made from clay or something. Added some bright colors for windows and doors and you have some pretty houses.

You never realize it, but by the time you reach Santa Fe, you're over 7000 ft (2000 m) above sea level. It was really cold this morning when we left Amarillo, Texas. As we passed Las Vegas, we saw a few snow flurries. By the time we got to the RV park in Santa Fe, it was coming down hard. Here's a little video clip: