Jonas and I are trying out a new idea of sharing the evening's blog post, so I'll pick up where he left off at the "safety stop"/museum/tornado shelter (seriously) somewhere deep in the dry flat nothingness that is North Texas along I-40. I think something about the heat and emptiness of the interstate's surroundings brought me to a state of delirium I hadn't felt before today. I'm pretty sure that in a moment of barely resisting the urge to lie down on a bench outside of the rest stop to fade into the abyss, I said to Ali, "I am going to die." But all drama aside, of course, we made it out alive, and plugged along into New Mexico, where we were immediately filled with renewed energy and some exciting new license plates.
Today's drive brought us to the realization that we've unequivocally crossed two distinct borders: that of the South, and that of the West. The "free" 72 ounce steak (or maybe, earlier, the grits at the Waffle House) assured us of the first, and the clay and plateaus and warm, dry wind and rhythmic, multisyllabic names of towns assured us of the second. I like it here, maybe more than any other state we've gone through. It's probably due in part to the fact that the slightest change in elevation or hint of plantlife feels like a tropical oasis after Texas, but I know it's also that this place seems to really have its own flavor, more than anywhere else we've driven through so far (at least along the interstate; Sleeper, MO certainly had character). I feel willing to overlook the abundance of casino billboards because of how really lovely the landscape has been otherwise ever since we crossed the border. The vegetation looks so different than anything else we've driven through--it's definitely dry-weather life out here--but actually looks curiously reminiscent (to me and Ali) of so many bus rides through South American landscapes. Whenever we pull off at a rest stop, I half expect a small round woman in a pollera skirt and long black braids to walk up to the car window with bottles of Coca Cola and baggies of chicharrón for sale. It hasn't happened yet, but I don't think I'd really be that surprised. It just feels so familiar here.
We got to Albuquerque around 8:30 (thanks for the extra hour, time zones!) and attempted at first to follow Bonnie the GPS in her instructions to the "city centre". Well, apparently it was located in some perpetually shifting spot right in the middle of I-40, because after four cute "Take the exit right. Turn around when possible. Turn right, then, take the highway," tricks (I kid you not), we turned her off and followed our own senses of direction. They brought us to the Holiday Inn Express, where we stopped by for a bathroom and a hint on where we could get some good Mexican food. The concierge was really friendly and helped us not only by giving us a good place nearby but by printing out a map from the hotel to the place. We asked if it was pricey, and he said, "I'm a student, and I can afford it." So we went, and were not disappointed! [The next would-be 4 paragraphs about our gastronomical experience will be censored because of recent criticism that this is too much of a food blog. Suffice to say that enchiladas de carne adovada do not disappoint at Sadie's in Albuquerque.]
Well, after such a great restaurant suggestion--not to mention offers of lower and lower prices--we trusted that Holiday Inn Express concierge, so here we are in an absolutely luxurious hotel room (yes, that's right, hotel with an H, not an M!) getting America's Second Best Value. We have a functional fridge (crammed with leftover [New] Mexican food) and complimentary toothpaste, and a mere 5-hour drive to Flagstaff tomorrow. Life can't get much better than this. Tomorrow we're hoping to do some kitschy roadside stops along the interstate--World's Largest Frankfurter? Fuzziest Yak in the Great Southwest?? Coldest Beer in Northeastern Arizona??? Only time (and our twitter account) will tell!
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