May 24 – 30, 2019
With our roof repair complete (see prior post for details) we had a few days before the next reservation on our original route. Where should we go in the mean time? We needed a location within a day’s drive of Elk City that would align reasonably well with the next destination. So what’s a day’s drive west of Elk City along I-40? How about Albuquerque, New Mexico? Sounded good to us so we made the climb from about 1900 feet in Elk City to 5300 feet elevation just outside of Albuquerque.
American RV Park
We secured reservations at American RV Park a bit west of Albuquerque off of I-40. The site we reserved was in the older section of the park but was a bit small for our rig so we asked to move to a more spacious site in the newer section.
Old Town
The next morning we drove into Old Town Albuquerque to wander through the various tourist shops – yea shopping! For lunch we went back to one of our favorite restaurants – High Noon Restaurant and Saloon – for some great Mexican food and margaritas. (If you go there, be sure to try the Prickly Pear Margarita!)
The building itself is quite interesting.
When High Noon opened its doors in July of 1974, they added to the building’s colorful history. Originally constructed as a home sometime between 1750 and 1785, legend has it that the structure has been both a gambling parlor and a brothel. With the addition of two rooms in the late 1960’s, it became home to a Spanish furniture maker as well as his retail storefront. The original building remained an apartment until High Noon took over–its last tenant being a Catholic nun. — High Noon Restaurant History
Extending our Stay
Our plans called for us to leave Albuquerque on Memorial Day, May 27, but Bill was concerned about the weather at our next destination. Looking ahead, he discovered that the forecast there was for cold (below freezing at night), wet, and windy conditions for the next several days. We also had a sick puppy dog that we were concerned about. (We had taken her to a vet on Sunday and thought it would be a good idea to wait for the medicine to take effect before moving on.) Consequently, we elected to stay put for a few more days. Unfortunately in order to extend our stay, we had to move to a back-in site along the back row of the new section.
The Museum of Nuclear Science and History
One of the places that we didn’t visit when we were last in Albuquerque, was the Museum of Nuclear Science and History. The Museum is the nation’s only congressionally chartered museum in its field. It contains exhibits spanning the early research of nuclear development through today’s peaceful uses of nuclear technology.
Inside the Museum
“Critical Assembly, the Secrets of Los Alamos 1944: An Installation by American Sculptor Jim Sanborn,” is now on permanent display at the National Museum of Nuclear Science & History. This special exhibit, created by world renowned sculptor Jim Sanborn invites visitors to explore and study the artist’s rendition of the super secret experiments from the Manhattan Project’s atomic bomb program.
This “Critical Assembly” installation includes original electronic instruments, hardware, furniture, tools and materials used by Los Alamos National Laboratory during the 1940s. These objects were acquired by Sanborn during a six-year period from a variety of sources, including former laboratory employees. Any materials Sanborn was unable to collect in Los Alamos, he machined and fabricated himself. — nuclear museum.org
The 1966 Palomares incident, occurred on 17 January 1966, when a B-52G bomber of the United States Air Force’s Strategic Air Command collided with a KC-135 tanker during mid-air refueling at 31,000 feet (9,450 m) over the Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of Spain. The KC-135 was completely destroyed when its fuel load ignited, killing all four crew members. The B-52G broke apart, killing three of the seven crew members aboard.
Of the four Mk28-type hydrogen bombs the B-52G carried, three were found on land near the small fishing village of Palomares in the municipality of Cuevas del Almanzora, Almería, Spain. The non-nuclear explosives in two of the weapons detonated upon impact with the ground, resulting in the contamination of a 0.77-square-mile (2 km2) area by plutonium. The fourth, which fell into the Mediterranean Sea, was recovered intact after a 2 1/2 month long search. — wikipedia.org
Heritage Park
Outside the museum building is Heritage Park, a 9-acre outdoor exhibit complete with planes, rockets, missiles, cannons, and a nuclear submarine sail. These aircraft caught Bill’s eye.
Dirty Dogs
While in Albuquerque we decided it was time for some dog grooming. We managed to snag a last minute appointment at Barking Bad grooming salon. When we dropped off the dogs, the owner spent a lot of time asking us what we wanted done to the dogs and also explaining her grooming process.
We spotted a breakfast spot a short distance down the street from Barking Bad and decided to give it a try. This proved to be a tasty decision as The Farmacy had excellent food – especially big, fluffy waffles.
Later in the afternoon we returned to Barking Bad to retrieve the dogs. After inspecting our two pups, we both agreed they looked better after this grooming than they ever had. Do you think we could talk the owner into opening a satellite grooming salon in Ft. Myers?
Getting Back on Schedule
Once again we had a great time visiting Albuquerque, but our extended stay came to an end and it was time we move on to our next destination. Once there, we’ll finally be back on our originally planned route. See you there.
