July 23, 2012 - Albuquerque, NM - Motel

The weather was good when we left Flagstaff.  We ate a good breakfast and headed out.  Our goal was to make Albuquerque, or beyond.  I fixed the cruise control issue and rearranged some things in the camper to put more weight to the front.  After we hit the interstate, the camper tracked much better and we could maintain a good 65 MPH with no issues. 

We stopped at the Petrified Forest, got a stamp for Don and walked around.  We met a couple of motorcyclists from Connecticut, who were heading to San Diego then up California and Nevada, Utah and on to Sturgis.  We chatted for maybe 10 minutes about our adventure.  They were nice people and we always enjoy talking to other riders.

Entrance To Petrified Forest

We saw rain on the horizon and about 10 miles west of Gallup, we suited up.  Not 5 minutes later it came down.  It was a combination of heavy rain and pea-size hail.  We kept going and felt it better to endure and get out of it.  It only lasted for 10 minutes, but seemed longer.  There were severe warnings out for the area.  We continued on to Albuquerque, and went to the Petroglyphs NM.  It was different small and on the main road.   Don got a stamp there, so he now has a stamp in NM.

Sign Adjacent To Parking Lot
Low-Budget Attraction Here

We know there aren’t much choices in the way of camping in Albuquerque, so we considered a motel.  As we talked about it in the petroglyphs parking lot, we could see another storm forming.  We found a motel down the road.  We pulled into the lot and two police cars were next door.  Don brought that to my attention.  I walked over the to one officer, and asked him if we should stay here tonight.  He said “No, you don’t want to stay in this area”.  Whoa…good news for us.  He said to go east for about 10 miles and stay at any motel there.  It would be much safer.

We no sooner pulled into the parking space, and the skies opened up.  It came down in buckets, and more hail was falling.  We stood outside our room and watched the rain go into a drainage swale, and commented that you could surf off the wave.

Deluge In Albuquerque
Wave In Drainage Swale Is On Other Side Of Fence

We will head out early and dodge the rain probably all day tomorrow.  It is either the rain or heat that is our nemesis.  We’ll see how far we can get tomorrow.  There isn’t much between Albuquerque and Oklahoma City.