Day 5---Fabric, Food and Flat

Kokopelli Quilting Company

Our morning in Alburquerque (I can still spell it!) started off with a visit to the Kokopelli Quilting Company.  Nothing much to look at from the outside, it was closest to our motel, so we went there first.   What a quilt store!  Definitely one of the best on the trip so far.  All kinds of southwest fabrics, plus tons of other types, Light, airy, with finished quilts hung everywhere and extremely helpful staff.  Left with burning credit cards, but what fabric!!  We decided that any other shop would be a let down, so did not go to any other shop in town.

Black eyed susan, very small

Unknown, but pretty orange

Driving east out of Alburquerque through a pass, we passed miles and miles of miles and miles.  Mostly small evergreens like pinon.  No parks, interesting geology, much in the way of towns...not even any cattle to look at, although there were some nice, very flat bottomed, cumulus clouds.  At a rest stop we realized that although there doesn't seem to be much, there is still a lot of wild flowers.

Only real mesa we saw, going into Tutumcari

We decided to stop for lunch in Tucumcari NM.  I have always liked the name, which in Comanche apparently means "lookout."  Tucumcari is on old 66, and as most towns on 66, is filled with closed motels, gas stations, and stores.  Actually a sad sight mostly.  There are a few open motels and restaurants, so we decided to eat in one.  Called Del's Restaurant, it served the most wonderful New Mexican food.  The tortilla chips were so thin and crispy, and the salsa a very nice NM red.

A stuffed (with ground beef) sopapilla
with green chili sauce 

Chicken quesadilla

 We had plain sopapillas with
honey for dessert.  A perfect
ending to our New Mexico
part of this road trip.

Good-bye New Mexico
Notice how far you can see.

The land soon after leveled out with a vengence, and suddenly we could see for miles.  

Hello, Texas

  We left New Mexico, the land of enchantment (their government slogan) and entered the smallest stretch of any state on our trip, the panhandle of Texas.  Only about 170 miles wide, we stopped for the night in the middle of it, in the city of Amarillo.  Did I mention that this is the flattest country I have ever seen?