Left turn at Albuquerque

We were going from one extreme to another.

After Pie Town, we planned to stay in the metropolis of Albuquerque, then drive up to Bandelier National Park in the morning. Still aglow, we drove down Highway 60, past the giant white radio telescope dishes of the Very Large Array, all pointing to the same galactic spot. We wanted to check out the visitor center but missed the turn and didn't realize it until we were miles down the road.

Approaching Albuquerque on I-25, we asked Karen to direct us to a motel in the Comfort Inn family so we could collect reward points. She obliged. Her choice sat beside an off-ramp, next to warehouses and lots fenced off in barbed wire. Few cars were in the lot. Michele and I both had a bad feeling, suddenly picturing a smashed side window in the morning. We were tired, but should we stay?

No thanks. We learned our lesson outside the Petrified Forest.

We pulled out of the motel lot, turned left and cruised up to Santa Fe, a nice Comfort Inn on Cerillos Road and excellent green chile dishes and beer at the Blue Corn Brewery.