NOB HILL, ALBUQUERQUE—After spending much of the last two months on the road for “Off the Road”, I have been amazed by much of what I saw.. Here is a short list of what I thought were the very best or most interesting or funniest things I encountered. ❤ BEST CHEAP MOTEL. Although “cheap” is a relative term, I would have to say the title goes to Raton’s Budget Host Melody Lane Motel. ❤ BEST Read more…
ISLETA & BRIDGE SW, ALBUQUERQUE—Most of Albuquerque is laid out in a grid with main streets being about a mile apart. This is not really the case in Albuquerque’s South Valley. Oh, Bridge Blvd. runs east and west in a straight line all right. But Isleta Blvd. doesn’t follow those urban planning precepts. In fact, many of the north/south roads in the valley tend to wander a bit. The reason is that these roads have Read more…
PETE’S CAFE, BELEN—I met Rhona Espinoza, Belen’s Executive Director of its MainStreet Partnership, for lunch. There are two things I have to say about that: 1. Pete’s Cafe was packed, but Rhona knew absolutely everybody in the place…well, except one person and that person was me. 2. I have seen Bill Richardson work a crowd of people before, but he was nothing compared to Rhona Espinoza! I just sat there and smiled as she went Read more…
Let’s go back to Barelas. My friend Sam Pillsbury and I went down for breakfast at the legendary Barelas Coffee House. He, being vegetarian, had pancakes. I had the basic huevos rancheros. Apparently Barack Obama had the DeLuxe huevos rancheros when he ate here. That’s where they sneak a couple of corn tortillas under the eggs and sprinkle some cheese on the chile. It’s a dollar more. It was a good breakfast, and everybody around Read more…
ARTESIA PUBLIC LIBRARY—It was a two-part move for the mural. The first leg of the trip was to an airport hanger in Midland, Texas. There the mural would wait for about a year in a climate controlled setting until the Artesia library construction could be completed. However, there was a grass fire not too far from the airport as the Hurd fresco was being unloaded. It did no damage, but I imagine it reminded everyone Read more…
This is the story of how Artesia, New Mexico got a priceless mural done by Peter Hurd…how the mural came to be, its removal from a building slated for destruction, the multi-year journey from Houston to Artesia, and how this gigantic yet extremely fragile art piece was inserted into a library which had been built to receive it. In a state that is known for art and stories about artists, this may be the best Read more…
MAIN & CENTRAL, LOVINGTON—I gave Tabatha Lawson a questioning look. “Red Dirt Music?” “Yeah,” she said. “Red Dirt. Texas Country. That’s what they play.” She was talking about the band Reckless Kelly. I hated to display my ignorance, but I had not heard of Reckless Kelly, Texas Country or Red Dirt Music. I mentioned it to her. “They’re pretty famous.” Tabatha was the second person this morning to tell me that. The other was the Read more…
11TH ST. & MAIN, ROSWELL—Sometimes it’s hard to find a place to visit where there actually is something for everybody. Roswell is just such a place. What excites the kid inside all of us more than little green spacemen crash landing here on earth? Once, on a train from Chicago to Albuquerque, my wife and I were eating in the dining car with a middle-aged couple from New York. The man said, “Boy, I wish Read more…
4TH ST & BRIDGE BLVD SW, ALBUQUERQUE—The story of so many of our communities in New Mexico is the story of Ups and Downs: economic boosts followed by changing conditions and economic wash out. Many times the railroad is involved, and the Barelas community is no exception. Many times the coming of the freeways have left towns stranded, and no longer having access to the pocketbooks of the traveling public. This too is part of Read more…
RATON, NM—I rattled into Raton and immediately headed for the old downtown area looking for a hotel in the historic district. The historic district is not that big, and it quickly became obvious that there were no hotels in the area at all, so I did what a good many travelers do, headed for the McDonald’s for a cup of coffee and the free wifi. TripAdvisor has become the Go-To search engine for lodging and Read more…