Picto Diary - 30, 31 October 2024 - Albuquerque
Above: Metropolitan Steak and Seafood, Amarillo, TX. 30 October 2024.
Better than expected restaurant found on Tripadvisor.
Above: Cadillac Ranch, Amarillo, TX. 31 October 2024.
Old Route 66 feature. Note my shadow and Freddie. It's about 8:00 AM. Cold. Amarillo in the Morning. TIMDT stayed in the car and avoided the 300-yard walk. George Strait no where in sight.
Above: I-40 between Amarillo, TX and Albuquerque, NM. 31 October 2024.
We've seen a lot of wind farms in north Texas. Wind farms will, not long from now, be seen as a failed experiment though no one will be held to account to take the blame. Windfarms harm birds, don't work when there is no wind, have a life span of only twenty years, don't work in freezing temperatures, require a massive carbon footprint to construct, are difficult to dispose of etc. Not to mention their marring of the landscape.
Above: I-40 WB between Amarillo, TX and Albuquerque, NM.
This group of bikes, mostly Harley Davidson cruisers, is moving in a tight cluster at 80 mph. Cluster formations at speed like this are highly dangerous. Ironically, motorcycle cops often ride in formation, setting a bad example for the motorcycle riding community. You have to be half crazy to ride a motorcycle any way, why show full insanity by riding without a helmet.... or riding in tightly clustered formations.
Above: Tiguex Park, Albuquerque, New Mexico. 31 October 2024.
School kids dote over Freddie. All the kids were Hispanic in appearance and native English speaking. Their thirty something female teacher was Anglo. Albuquerque is one of the most racially mixed cities in the US. The majority race in Albuquerque overall is Hispanic, making up 48.3% of residents. The next most-common racial group is white at 37.8%. Native Americans and blacks make up 6.7% and 2.1% of the population respectively.
Above: Albuquerque Museum. Albuquerque, NM. 31 October 2024.
WWII Navajo Code Talker Exhibit.
During World War II, a group of Navajo Marines had created a secret code based on their language to transmit telephone and radio messages in the Pacific. Japanese cryptographers had been breaking U.S. military codes — seemingly at will — and Navajo, a complex, little-known, tonal language, turned out to be a perfect solution to a dire problem.
The code was never broken, and on Iwo Jima alone, the code talkers, frequently referred to as America’s secret weapon during the war, sent more than 800 error-free messages in the fierce battle for the island. Before the end of the war, there were roughly 400 Navajo code talkers.
Above: Albuquerque Museum, Albuquerque, NM. 31 October 2024.
Map of New Mexico circa 1750. Santa Fe, New Mexico was established by Spanish settlers, America's first permanent European colonists, in 1598. The Mayflower docked at Plymouth Colony on 11 November 1620.
Above: Albuquerque Museum. Albuquerque, New Mexico. 31 October 2024.
The Albuquerque Museum is dedicated to preserving the art of the American Southwest and the history of Albuquerque and the Middle Rio Grande Valley of New Mexico. This art piece simulates tree rings of a 400-year-old tree with the Rio Grande River running through what is now Albuquerque at the center of the circle.
Above: Pappadeaux Restaurant. Albuquerque, NM. 31 October 2024.
Image: Bishop, Lubbock, Bling and TIMDT.
Bling and Lubbock, Albuquerque residents, told us about their attendance at a Trump Rally in Albuquerque that AM. We regretted missing the rally. As ardent Trump supporters, had we known about it, we might have altered our plans to be there. Trump surprised a lot of people by coming to ordinarily solid blue New Mexico. Pubs have high hopes for Hispanics, hardworking, and nuclear family oriented, moving red. Perhaps Trump knows something we don't.
TIMDT was au pair to Bling and his four brothers, Apple, Delhi Pajamas, Golf, and Stihl, when she was in college at BYU. We love staying in touch with Bling/Lubbock, and their interesting and highly successful extended family.
Above: Four Corners National Monument. Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico. 01 November 2024.
Image: Bishop stands in four states simultaneously.
From here, we drove 30 miles to Cortez, Colorado and lunched at La Casita De Cortez. I'd had lunch there before when riding motorcycles with Elk, who now lives in nearby Durango.
We hauled ass to Park City via Cave Creek, Monticello, Moab, Green River and Price altogether a 600-mile driving day. We took a break at the John Wesley Powell Green River Museum parking lot in Green River, to let Freddie run around for a while. The rest of the drive, after Green River, was in the dark. We arrived home about 9:30 PM. And so ends a very successful trip to Arkansas and back by Sprinter.
Addendum:
Long live the meritocracy!
Tony,
Park City, UT
Great shots great words thank you and by the way Monika Lewinsky’s mother was a lawyer and they would set Monika up with married rich guys then shake them down.
Mikesalcom,
Ventura, CA