Gallup

I got my Cracker Barrel fix this morning. I had my usual: hash brown casserole, fried apples and a biscuit. That should hold me for another year or so. After breakfast we got on the road to Gallup for a day of shopping. It takes 2 hrs. and 3 minutes to get to Gallup from Albuquerque. We got there at around 12:30 p.m. and made our first stop the Indian Touch of Gallup, recommended by my friend, Betsy. They had some nice jewelry but we wanted to visit some other stores. Our next stop was the Silver Dust Trading Co. I had been there before years ago and bought some beads. This is a store where locals come to buy their beads. We looked around then went on to Richardson's, one of the oldest Pawn stores in Gallup. This is where the Indians come to pawn their jewelry for spending money. If they pay $1 a month, they keep their pawn "alive," and it can't be sold. Only "dead" pawn can be sold. I just couldn't find anything that I really wanted, so we went back to the bead store and I bought a bunch of bead strands and fetishes. Now I can make my own jewelry.

Just for fun, we went to Earl's, a restaurant where Indians come to sell their wares. They sit outside and display their jewelry on tables in front of the store. I bought two pair of earrings before we got back on the road again. Our destination was Lotta Burger. Dennis has been wanting to go to Lotta Burger our whole trip. They're everywhere. Actually they have very good burgers, made with Angus beef. They put hot chiles on the hamburgers and our mouths were burning so we HAD to get ice cream. We went to Dairy Queen and each got a small blizzard. I love blizzards. We ate the ice cream driving back to Albuquerque. Two hours later, we arrived back at our hotel for a little rest. Around 7 we went out for pie. Dennis found a Marie Callendar's about 11 miles away. When we got there we found that the restaurant was closed (permanently), so we went back to the hotel and found a Village Inn about a block away. Huh. They have good pie there. I had triple berry and Dennis had caramel apple.

Finally we went back to the hotel and stayed there. Tomorrow we are flying back to San Diego. I think we are both ready to go home. It will take me about a month to lose the weight I've gained this week.

I Survived the Longest Tram Ride in the World

Thursday evening we rode the Sandia Tram. It was very windy--30-40 mph. The tram swayed a little with the wind. It took 15 minutes to get from about 6500 ft. to 10,000 ft. at the top of the mountain. I didn't like it.

However, the dinner at the High Finance restaurant at the top was very good and romantic. As the sun set and the lights of the city came into view, it was really breathtaking. The only drawback was the forthcoming trip down the mountain. I didn't like it.

I'm glad we went because Dennis really wanted to ride the tram, but it isn't something I would repeat--ever.