Gallup Field Trip

At the end of the week, we made a stop over in Gallup before heading home.  We passed by the continental divide from Albuquerque to Gallup.

In our little red hot wheel.

At the end of the day, we shopped for blankets.

And ate at Applebees for dinner.

We shared the appetizer combo of meatballs and buffalo wings and I had salmon on spinach.

New Mexican Cuisine

While in New Mexico, we had to try some local fare.  Genaro's came highly recommended and it was mainly mexican food.

I had tamales with red chile which was not too spicy.  I tried the green chile which was spicier, but still not as spicy as the salsa.

The best thing was the sopapillas that we ate with honey.  I can eat these all day!

The decor in the town reflected the culture as these huge vases dotted the road at intervals.

We saw this dye sample in one of the shop windows.

Navajo rugs are prevalent here but talking with a shop keeper revealed that the natives who weave are slowly dying and new weavers are not taking their place.

We also tried Ed's Cafe where he served mutton stew in various forms.

I had the fresh corn with squash mutton with the fry bread.

I liked the sopapillas better.

Last view of the scenery before heading back to Albuquerque and the hotel.

Our last meal of the trip was at the Japanese Kitchen.

Where we gorged on sushi.

New Mexico Field Trip

Had the opportunity to visit some of the Indian reservations in New Mexico and see some of the state I had not previously visited.

After landing in Albuquerque (still surprising how small this airport is), we stopped for a bite to eat at Applebees where we shared a taco appetizer and I ate fish.

After some meeting and scheduling, we checked into the hotel and ate at the hotel restaurant.  The shrimp sandwich was a bit greasy but the salad was good.

The next morning, we awoke to snow and cold.  The car was frozen over and we did not receive a ice scrapper so we had to impose on a kindly hotel worker for her personal one.

The scenery was white and pretty on the way to Arizona and the famous Window Rock.

We worked till dark and stopped at the Sizzler for dinner.  I haven't been to one of these in so long, but now you order up front and then they deliver to your table.  I had a cup of soup and the surf and turf.

New Mexico Food

Dining was fun in New Mexico.

Dinner on the first night was at St. Claire Winery and Bistro.  A cheese plate appetizer followed by 

Pasta New Mexico which featured the Hatch green chile.

It was bit too much cheese overall, but a filling meal.

The second night was a late work day so a stop at the Olive Garden sufficed.  The drinks came out in a timely manner - I had this strawberry lemonade but the food was way late.  The manager came out and comped the food since the wait was so long.

The last night for dinner was to a sushi place, but the one we wanted to go to - Kokoro ended up being closed.  So we found the next place which was Sushi Xian which was good but not spectacular.  I had a seaweed salad which was huge and we shared some rolls.

This was the ceviche roll.

Some kind of spicy tuna with wasabi infused fish eggs on the top.  This was way spicy.

 This was a salmon roll with crunchy bits and was spicy as well.

This was a mild roll with different kinds of fish.

The last meal we had in town was a local cop hangout called Cocina Azul.

Chips and two different salsas came with.  I liked the green chile one.

I ordered the steak taco plate.

Very tasty but too much food.  The vegetable side dish was zucchini and corn and was a bit sweet and the spaghetti tasted a bit like spanish rice.

Field Trip - New Mexico

The last field trip I took before the end of summer was to New Mexico.  It has been quite a while since I have been there and I was greeted with southwest flair when I landed at the Albuquerque airport.

Since it was close to lunch time, lunch consisted of green chile chicken soup with half of a new mexico sandwich at Comida Buena at the airport.

The weather was warm - in the 90s as the day time high but unseasonably cool as it usually is in the 100s.  There was afternoon rain as seen in the distance.

But only one day where it impacted travel through the state.  Travel was on the famous Route 66 as seen in a mural at the McDonalds where pit stops occurred.

It was nice to see the pueblo style homes as well.

Cool bricks were seen on buildings which felt like marble.

And the view of the mesas.

It was a productive trip but I'm glad to be home for a bit.