New Mexico

I left Forgan, OK at 8 am this morning and crossed into NM at 11am, or 10 am MDT, so I gained an hour.  I took a couple of pictures when the scenery began to get a little color, but wasn't in much of a picture taking mood today so this is it.

The wind was strong in Oklahoma, but I thought it would blow my car door off when I opened it at a gas station.  That is probably one of the reasons I didn't stop to take more pictures - didn't want to get picked up by the wind and deposited in the next county.

I did enjoy seeing the scenery go by as I drove, but it reminded me of the Blue Ridge Parkway in that it was one curve after another.  Fortunately there wasn't much traffic and I just tried to enjoy the drive.

Again I had to drive much longer than I would have liked to find a motel.  Looking at the map I thought Taos would be a good place to stop.  Wrong!  Bumper to bumper traffic in all the streets, and hordes of people on the sidewalks, crosswalks, and just about everywhere you could see.

Taos might be an interesting town when there aren't many visitors there, but it's way too touristy for my tastes.  The adobe buildings are attractive, but something about the town just doesn't look real.  It's too "fixed up" to be real, from the standpoint that a real town is where real people live and go about their lives.  I would like to find a little adobe town where folks live their daily lives and shop for their daily needs.  

I am probably being too judgmental and I apologize to those who like this kind of town and tourists hustling and bustling everywhere.  Different strokes for different folks.

I found the motel I'm staying in on the GPS.  I think I selected it because there weren't any other motels for this town, and just a few lodges.  Somehow "lodge" doesn't really appeal to me.  Motel is a place where I can sleep and drink a couple of beers, and maybe take a shower (although I won't be taking one in this motel).  "Lodge" has a different connotation to me although I would be hard pressed to explain it.  Tonight I should be staying at a lodge.  This motel is ok and I will get a good night's sleep here.  The shower is clean and the towels are big and fluffy, but somehow it just doesn't appeal to me, so it's just as well I took a shower this morning before leaving Oklahoma.

I talked to my daughter and one of my little granddaughters on the phone last night, and I am really homesick.  Tomorrow I will be in Utah, and then on to Nevada and California.  

I should have stopped to see the southwestern National Parks when I was traveling that way every year from NC to CA and back, but it was always winter.  Today has been chilly and windy, but now it is turning cold.  I doubt that I will ever drive this way again, but who knows.

I forgot to mention that I turned on the TV at the motel last night and in scrolling through the channels I hit a snag - several channels required subscriptions or pay per view, or the like.  Not being familiar with Dish Network I tried to go back and found I was locked on one screen - the channel for porn!  I was mortified thinking about the next person who turned on that TV thinking I was watching porn.  When I went to the restaurant also owned by the motel owner, I told her that I had messed it up.  She insisted I could reprogram it but I had my fill of TV by then.  Now I don't know whether to try the one at this motel or not.

I'll try to do better at taking photos tomorrow.