New Mexico!

We actually got up early this morning; we had several places to visit and we had a seven-hour drive to accomplish today.

We left the hotel at around 9:45 a.m. and headed southwest toward Jerome, Arizona, to visit the Caduceus Wine Tasting Room, which is owned by Tool's Maynard Keenan. Jerome is actually known for being a former mining town. There were small shops everywhere - a very touristy place. When we walked in to the tasting room, we were greeted immediately by its very friendly wine connoisseurs. We had two options for tasting the wines so we chose both options, which totaled eight different wines that we got to sample. Whew! They were all very good but by the end of the tasting, I was a little woozy. Yes, I know they only give you a little sample and it shouldn't have any effect on a person but it definitely hit my system fast!

After the wine tasting, we needed something to eat pronto. The recommended place for lunch was the Mile High Restaurant. It was delicious! I had the Lilly's Aria, which consisted of tomato and pesto with chicken on a ciabatta bread and a side of french fries. Zac had the plate of fried goodness - buffalo wings, fried zucchini, and jalapeno poppers. Mmm......mmm......

Following lunch, I drove toward Albuquerque, New Mexico. Yes, I said I drove. This is the first time in three-and-a-half weeks/4,300 miles that I've driven! We went about 200 miles and stopped at the Petrified National Forest and the Painted Desert in Arizona. Wow! We even went to Newspaper Rock, which is a preserved site for petroglyphs dating back to prehistoric times. Incredible!

When we left the park, we got to drive down parts of the overlay of the Historic Route 66, which is one of America's original highways connecting Los Angeles to Chicago. Very cool! We also saw the Santa Fe Railroad, which is one of the world's longest railroad systems and parallels the Historic Route 66 (a.k.a. part of I-40 now). It also runs from L.A. to the Windy City. As we crossed over into New Mexico, we also passed through the Continental Divide, which is the hydrological divide of the Americas.

As we got closer to Albuquerque, we had to stop to get gas. We decided to grab a bite at the Iron Skillet Restaurant next to the gas station. Zac had the Southern Special, which contained two eggs, biscuits and gravy, sausages, and a side of bacon. I had the Shrimp Alfredo. Zac's dinner was good and mine was...... interesting, to say the least. Yeah, I know now NOT to order any type of Italian food in the middle of New Mexico at a trucker's stop!

We finally made it in to our hotel at 10:45 p.m. (Mountain Time). We were tired but not exhausted. I think it might be due to the fact that we BOTH shared the drive today. Looking forward to driving to Amarillo, Texas, tomorrow!