Route 66 Trip, July 10
Another excellent day, spoilt a little only by a bike mishap.
We set off bright and early to return to Santa Fe, having liked it but not seen enough the day before.
a park in Los Alamos.
Soon the road took us through scenic country.
In Santa Fe we parked up and then took a couple of hours exploring the central area.
In the central square there is a monument to the fallen on Pete's right. In the photo below, the word subsequently scratched out is savage.
The reason is explained here:
We also saw the cathedral
and noticed how nearly all the figures in this painting right in front of all worshippers feature a prominent priest or nun.
We also saw the Loretto chapel which features a very handsome staircase up to the choir:
Saw this notice in the Governor's Palace Historical Museum:
They've found ruins below floor level in this building:
I was told off for taking that picture -- hadn't noticed that you can't take photos in that museum (in most we have been able to).
After Santa Fe we rode off south-west, reaching the Coronado Monument about 15 miles west of Albuquerque. To reach the monument (which we never really got to see properly) you had to pass over three narrow traffic calming bumps. When we got to the car park, Pete noticed that a whole lot of liquid had spurted out of his motorcycle; near his right foot a cylinder looked as if it was leaking. We called EagleRiders in Chicago; they said we'd have to go to Albuquerque to get the problem fixed.
We got to the Harley-Davidson dealership riding very s-l-o-w-l-y.
There we found scenes like these:
This guy was a veteran of the Vietnam war and expressed sympathy for the soldiers having to do more tours of duty than he had had to (one year).
Inside the showroom there was this sign.
About four hours later, we were able to get away with Pete's bike fixed. Luckily. It is Saturday and there'd be no chance of a repair on a Sunday.
Meanwhile the car party had been to a rattlesnake museum in Albuquerque.
The ride to Grants was spectacular. At times R66 simply gives you a dead end:
sometimes going over the Interstate or a railroad:
With splendid rocky outcrops
Eventually (7pm) we pulled into Grants. Quite a long day because of the long repair job in Albuquerque. Again avoiding rain, by the skin of our teeth.