Sunday, February 7, 2010

Take it on the Road

Although the snow is coming down hard this morning, yesterday was a beautiful day. I called my SIL and asked her if she wanted to go on an impromptu road trip. She readily agreed with my plan: go to the Bosque Del Apache bird refuge and then grab a world famous green chili cheeseburger at the Owl Bar and Grill on the way back. Round trip- about 240 miles.

I picked up both my SIL and my MIL in my little car and we headed south. We tricked my MIL into going by telling her we were taking a short trip down south, otherwise she never wants to go anywhere. The day was gorgeous, sunny and warm, typical February weather for New Mexico. The scenery on the way down was very pretty with the snowy mountains in the distance.

Before arriving at Bosque Del Apache, we drove through the little town of Socorro and explored the downtown plaza. I liked how the tiled information signs showed 'then' and you could see the 'now' buildings behind.

This sculpture was really neat, showing the history of Socorro.
Here's an old church of some sort, maybe Presbyterian?
This old bar must have been THE 'hopping' place in town at one time. I liked the punctuation on the sign; check out the crooked dash and the period behind 'BAR.' Their little town square has a beautiful gazebo. We scared away the goth teens when we walked up to take some photos. lol. Here's my SIL.
As with all small towns there is usually a little bit of military nostalgia in town square. I had to check it out. However, how many towns can boast this?
My SIL and I both agreed that we might have to venture to the Trinity Site some time in the future.
When we got back to the parking lot, I was surprised to find the only two cars in the parking lot were actually both cars I owned! I had driven my little Hyundai and left the Infiniti at home, but here it was! I actually had to walk around behind the car to check that it was an FX35 and not my FX45. LOL!! What are the odds of that? I mean, Infiniti FXs are not the most common cars and to see one, the color of mine, in a little hodunk town is amazing. Also the fact that the ONLY two cars in the area are a Hyundai (mine) and the Infiniti (like mine) is completely wild, isn't it? We stopped for some drinks and a pit stop and then headed on, further south. We saw trains and graineries.
We had just a few miles to go before we would reach the bird refuge, Bosque Del Apache.
To be continued...

Take it on the Road - song: Always Crashing in the Same Car, artist: David Bowie, album:

11 comments:

Unknown said...

You guys have such interesting places to go, even in winter.

Sherry Sikstrom said...

Great tour, what a neat little town! And the difference in the weather!Wow!

Dusty Devoe said...

SOunds like you had a great day. The pictures are great.

Mrs. Mom said...

Oh wow those are some really lovely pix. Love the mountain shots!! Thanks for sharing all of them!

Shirley said...

Thanks for the tour, due to yours, the 7MSN, and Lisa's photos I'm really appreciating the beauty of New Mexico.

Grey Horse Matters said...

What a great road trip. Beautiful scenery and great pictures too. Glad you had some fun before the snow hits again. A green chili cheeseburger, my stomach is doing flips just thinking about that combo.

Jo Castillo said...

Great photos and brought back many memories. Yes, the Capitol is an institution. If the walls could talk.... It was the hangout spot in the old days for my Dad and the cowboys in the area. Maybe it still is.

Dan and Betty said...

Socorro is a fun town. Betty and I had planned to visit the Bosque del Apache this winter until she came down with shingles. I like the chile cheeseburgers at the Owl, but my favorite is across the way at the Staghorn.

Looking forward to more.

Great pictures.

Dan

Tammy Vasa said...

And you had a picture taken without a coat!!! I long for no coat weather!!

Thanks for taking us on the trip!

Achieve1dream said...

Can't wait to see more. New Mexico is so beautiful. I want to move out west. :) I love the pictures of the snowy mountains in the distance. Beautiful.

The Wades said...

You are forever taking really cool road trips. I should take lessons from you.