Santa Rosa RV Park, Santa Rosa, NM, to Gallup, NM:  Up early this morning.  A beautiful sunrise, bathing everything in pinks and reds.  And no wind!  I suggested we get going ASAP since they were calling for high winds again this afternoon.  So we were on the road by 7:15.  Poor Mike is not a morning person.  I started out driving again.  The landscape between Santa Rosa and Albuquerque is desolate high plains with mostly light brown buffalo grass and a few scrubby bushes—cedars I think.  We stopped east of Albuquerque for fuel and some breakfast and Mike started driving.  The mountains around Albuquerque are very pretty.  West of Albuquerque though is even more desolate.  What a hardscrabble existence for the mostly poor people that live in this arid place.  As we got closer to Gallup we started seeing mountains in the distance—shrouded in smoke which had blown in from fires burning in Arizona.  We arrived at the KOA in Gallup by 12:30 and were set up by 1:00.  Staying two nights here to give ourselves and the truck a rest.  We’re right on historic Rt. 66 which runs through Gallup.  Decided to drive into the historic part of Gallup, parked and walked around.  I bought a turquoise and silver bracelet.  Stopped also at the historic El Rancho Hotel.  Lots of movies were made in this area, and this was the place where all the actors stayed.  Back to our site, got ensconced and relaxed the rest of this beautiful day.  Only 81 today.  Very dry.

Just west of Santa Rosa--we saw 5 prong horn antelope

Bleak landscape west of Albuquerque

Historic el Rancho Hotel--Rt. 66 Gallup, NM

Lobby of the historic el Rancho Hotel