From LA to Albuquerque

In a week's time I will be back in Thailand. Cannot believe my time in the US has come to and end and the idea of being back in Asia is somewhat unreal.

Here are some pictures taken during our trip down to Albuquerque. It was an incredible trip and I am looking forward to doing another one. In a camper!

Our first stop was Las Vegas where we stayed at the Flamingo. I was a bit overwhelmed when we first arrived here. Sensory overload and so on. And huge people. So here is where the obesity problem was hanging out. In Vegas we played on the machines and ordered free margaritas, had crepes in Paris, cocktails for breakfast by the pool and a massive lunch buffet at the Luxor. Although I was somewhat relieved when we hit the road again Monday afternoon I would actually like to go again. Just for kicks.

We stopped in the Mojave desert by an abandoned corral on our way to Joshua Tree.

We drove through a forest of Joshua Tree on the way to the park and saw loads more in the park as well. They are unbelievably beautiful. And so were a lot of other plants we saw in the deserts. I was amazed at their size and shapes.

We stopped in the little town of Amboy for some water. This is the Post Office, which was closed when we arrived and something told me it was not going to open again soon.

Cholla (cho-ya) cactus in Joshua Tree. I'm in love with them.

On the way to Organ Pipe we drove past the Salton Sea in southern California. This motel used to have a pool, hot tub and views of the sea. I had the sensations some bums were camping out in parts of it now.

Saguaro cactus at sunset in Organ Pipe where we camped Tuesday night. It's right on the border with Mexico and was the highlight of the trip for me. While writing postcards at our camping table I started dreaming about coming back for longer.

Wednesday night we stayed at a motel in dull Scottsdale. The motel was pretty new and a sweet deal after two days of no showers. The next morning we drove further north to Grand Canyon.

On the way we stopped at a viewpoint and I spotted another pocket gopher feeding on little grasses. I saw one a couple weeks before at Griffith Park in LA. I want one! Scottsdale was still pretty dry and more desert like, but as we went further north the landscape changed a lot. We began entering greener country, seeing more pine trees and so on. On the way to Grand Canyon I saw some mule deer by the side of the road and just before we got to the park we saw pronghorn!

When we arrived at the park there it was pretty chilly and getting dark fast so we decided to set up camp and go to the rim the next morning (we stayed at the South Rim). I've seen lots of images and televised footage of Grand Canyon so I guess I came with some expectations and was worried about being disappointed. But I wasn't. You walk towards the rim and you can kind of see the other side, but not the canyon yet. And the all of a sudden it looms in front of you and it is just too much. It was amazing. We had coffee and beskuit (rusks) on the rim before we started our hike down. We walked for close to three miles before turning back.

We were pretty exhausted by the time we got out and we rested in the tent for the rest of the afternoon. The campground here had hot water showers ($1.75 for 5 little minutes!) but it was a worthwhile relief after the day. We spent another night at Grand Canyon and I prepared a peanut butter curry with noodles for dinner.

Saturday morning we left pretty early and drove further north to Monument Valley on the Utah border. Our plan was to overnight here, but we got here so early that we decide on moving onwards to our next stop. Some spring rain caused a lot of desert plants to flower so the valley had a tint of green among all the red.

We went on adrive through the valley. I could not stop staring at these 'monuments'. They looked almost unreal. There was a bit of wind that blew over the valley from time to time, stirring up red dust. Dark clouds were moving overhead giving everything a very bizarre feel.

We left Monument Valley and cut through a corner of Utah on our way to Pagosa Springs in Colorado. Alexander's brother in law's dad has a cabin here and we could stay here. We made a stop in Durango on the way for coffee and to pick up some groceries. We arrive at the cabin really late that night. We did not really eat much the whole day and I feel shaken and go to bed after a hot shower. Unfortunately I have a terrible time falling asleep. I'm beginning to realize that I need to eat all the time otherwise my moods become horrid and obviously it affects my sleep as well.

Bluff was one of the dead beat towns in Utah we passed on the way.

The cabin in Pagosa Springs. We got to watch the season finales of The Office and Desperate Housewives here. Some mule deer walked past the cabin when we came home on the second night.

The next morning after omelets for breakfast we backtrack a bit through Durango again to Mesa Verde.

Many years ago some Pueblo tribes moved here and built these houses into the cliffs. At some point they abandoned them, but the houses are still standing. Pretty awesome. The guy in the picture above was our guide. Like any good guide he was brimming with knowledge information, and way too many quirky sayings.

On the road between Mesa Verde and Pagosa we saw quite a lot of mule deer and elk. Lots of pretty old barns like this one too. If anybody feels like buying me a ranch in Colorado with a barn like this one I'd be very pleased.

We had steamed egg and tuna for breakfast at the cabin and then headed out. We saw snow on the mountain tops but was not expecting to pass right through it! From desert to snowy mountains. I was thrilled! We went over The Great Divide (I think this is what it's called) where the rivers and streams split and flow either east or west. Something like that.

Our plan was to camp at Great Sand Dunes the Monday night, but ominous looking clouds covered the area and there was some rainfall. The mountains nearby were still pretty white from recent late snow fall and the air was thin.

We entered the park and spent some time walking along the creek and admiring the dunes that seem to appear out of nowhere. The landscape was so bizarre. Snow capped mountains, sand dunes (it looked like Nambia), a creek and green shrubs.

We decided not to spend the night and rather just push through to Alexander's home in Albuquerque. We were not in the mood to be camping in possibly sub zero temperatures again (like our Lesotho trip last year). So goodbye Colorado and hello New Mexico. We arrived in Albuquerque between nine and ten and Alexander's dad grilled some chicken kebabs for us before we turned in.

We did not get up to too much while here. Mostly we've just been hanging out with the family and going for coffee again. We've also been getting ready for the next trip. I'm rather enjoying our last bit of domestica. We probably won't be calling any place 'home' again for a couple of months.

I realized after looking at my photos of the trip that I took lots of Alexander and his camera. His pictures can be seen at Primitive Cultures.