Rain Rain.... It Rains in New Mexico

Yesterday morning (that would be Monday, I think), we both slept in fairly late.  We had a light breakfast, then drove to downtown Albuquerque to do some shopping.  We found out that there are 4 spaces at the museum that are reserved for RV's.  That's where we head.  In a regular parking lot, like at WalMart, I need four spaces.  My vehicle is twice as long as a regular car, and about 1 1/2 times as wide.  That means I need four regular sized spots.  The ones marked in red that are reserved for RV's, are the same size as a regular spot, and the ones on either side and the ones behind it are the same.  Regular old sized spots.  I called the museum and ask, and she said as long as one piece of my RV is in a red spot, I  can use the other three needed if they are available at no additional cost.  Well, I guess I'm just dense.  Of course, I didn't discuss it with her, just said thanks, parked in the red and 3 adjacent spots, and enjoyed my day.  I still think it's sorta weird.  They'd be hard to find if you got there on a busy day.

Chloe and I both decided that Albuquerque has changed something fierce, or maybe I should say something awful.  We both agreed that in the gift shops, most of the stuff could be found at Walmart.  The original expensive shops are not there, nor were there any outdoor restaurants.  Chloe found nothing she wanted to buy. There were also lots of closed shops.... as in closed for remodeling, moved, etc..  We ended up going back to the RV spot early.   We ended up eating at a restaurant that had outdoor dining, but it is on the parking lot of the museum, not part of the official OLD part.  It was called Back Street Grill.  Food was great, but way more than we could eat.  We took home the left overs.  It rained, and Chloe got a picture of it from a distance, but it never rained while we were out.  She got this with her cell phone.  She used the noire filter on her iphone.  Makes it look really bad, doesn't it?

I will say one thing, it had rained in the Old part before we got there, and the streets were flooded.  Here are some pictures from the Old Square.

Yes, they were open, but only 2 of 10 shops were in business or open.

 Chloe, my travel buddy.

 I'm  not Catholic, but I guess it's Madonna in a tree?

Not wanting to shop any more, and not really wanting to do the museum, we decided to go to the theatre.  Chloe wanted to see Begin Again, but it started too late.  We opted for the sci-fi (sorta) show LUCY with Scarlet Johansson and Morgan Freeman.  We both really liked it.  Something weird though.... my brother-in-law retired from Cinemark, and now does contract work for them.  We were in a Cinemark theatre, but it is like nothing we've ever seen.  It is mostly self serve on everything, and it is sort of like a big buffet line.  They have one person working the Dryer's Ice Cream and StarBuck section, and the popcorn section, but slupree and other soda drinks are self serve.  Really progressive and cool.  People were in and out in no time.

We came home and both of us were sort of pooped.  Chloe read a book (like I had to tell you that) and I watched a little TV, then fell asleep.  It rained fairly hard in the middle of the night.  It only woke me briefly then I was right back asleep.

( NEWS FLASH... I am typing this on Tuesday at 7:50 pm Mountain time, and it just started raining here.  Check out the progression.  Note that it was all coming towards my RV spot.  It  was worrisome for only the first 30 minutes.  It's still sprinkling, but no water running around us like before.)

OK, traveling back to this morning....I got up early. I started cleaning up the RV and drinking coffee and when Chloe got up around 8, and we packed everything up, had a light breakfast in the RV, then we headed out for Madrid.  We do a little StarBucks stop before we left town.  It didn't take long to get here, and the route we took was hwy 14, the Scenic Trail, or something like that.  We stopped, and Chloe bought her first item..... a piece of turquoise in silver.  It is just a pendant.  We toured lots of other shops, but most of it was out of her price range.  We found one shop that had antiques, and of all things, a chili key chain made of beads.  Chloe was so excited.  Her Mom used to have one but wore it out.  She bought it for her Mom.  Her day was complete.  (Mine too, I was pooped.... think part of it was the sun and part of it is the altitude.) We both bought a CD from some man playing and singing.  Don't even go there on who he is.  We were just being nice.  Chloe and I stopped at a store in Madrid that was there about 20 years ago when Gary and I first stumbled on this little town.  It only had about 4 shops in it at the time.  Now, it had about 30.  We bought energy bars, then headed for the PHOTO center.  Had a ball there.

Here is Chloe's purchases.

 The scenery on  the way to Madrid.

This car is typical of Madrid.  When Gary and I first went there, we decided it was hippies from the early 70's that moved here, and never changed.... even with time.  Now, it is different, mainly arts. This car is probably owned by a 70 year old hippie.

This is the store that Gary and I visited (on the right).  It is a house that was converted to a grocery store way back when.  It is still a store...selling veggies, bread, frozen food, etc.  Not much variety, but it will do in a pinch.

These were taken at an outdoor Photo Stop.  Just asks for donations.  You can rent costumes and do other themed sittings, but we just donated and did the quickie photos.

Off we head for Santa Fe.  We got here and really enjoyed the lady behind the desk.  We are staying at the Villas de Santa Fe, and RV resort, but they have 3 cabins they rent out.  $130 per night, if you stay 3 or more nights, the price drops to $100 per night.  They are miniature mobile homes.  All are 1 1/2 story.  On the upper 1/2 story, they have beds, but you have to walk around bent over.  One of them had a king and two twins upstairs, and a king down with full kitchen and bath and living area.  We enjoyed looking at them.
We scouted out the arroyo behind the RV park.  ( I think arroyo is Spanish for drainage ditch with rocks and sand... but I'm not sure.) We found an embankment that "think" we can get down with out bikes, where we'll then cross to the other side of the arroyo and hop on a bike path.  Now, that was before the downpour this evening.  We are going to attempt it first thing in the morning, if it isn't too very muddy.  It is really sandy, and rocky, so just maybe we can pull it off.

Chloe actually grilled burgers tonight.... the easy way.  She used my Cuisinart pani  / grill  / griddle combo.  She cooked outside and it went really well.  I washed up, but that was a breeze.  She then made ANOTHER batch of her special hot sauce.  OK, I am going to print the recipe.  If you make it, you MUST call it Chloe's Hot Sauce Recipe, because she created it.  Two really, REALLY great things about it... everything is easy to have ready in your pantry, with the exception of the onion, and it is not such a large batch.  This is the perfect size for one meal for 2 if Chloe is there, or for 4 adults if Chloe is not there.

Here goes.

CHLOE'S HOT SAUCE RECIPE

1 14.5 oz CAN DICED TOMATOES - JUICE INCLUDED

1  10 oz CAN TOMATOES AND GREEN CHILIS (LIKE ROTEL)

4 oz CAN OF JALAPENOS ****

1/4 CUP ROUGHLY CHOPPED ONION

1/4 TSP. DRIED CILANTRO

1/4 TSP. SUGAR 

1/2 TO 3/4 TSP. GARLIC SALT (WE USED A ROUNDED 1/2 TSP)

1/2 TSP. POWDERED CUMIN

Place everything in a blender and blend well.  Now, the real secret... you can taste it and adjust the hotness, but we suggest waiting.  This recipe is not complete until it sits in a refrigerator for at least 3 hours.  The flavor changes dramatically if the ingredients are allowed to meld.

**** NOT PICKLED! THESE CAN BE FOUND AT MEXICAN FOOD STORES AND WALMART - NEXT TO THE CANS OF DICED GREEN CHILIS.  WE EXPERIMENTED AND FOUND THAT 3 oz IS PRETTY SPICEY, BUT BETTER FOR OUR TASTE BUDS.  WE SUGGEST YOU START OUT WITH 1/2 A CAN... 2 oz.)


One final thing about the hot sauce.  We are actually going to attempt to make it with dehydrated diced onions.  We've decided that it may work out okay.  If not.... well, she'll just have to keep fresh onions on hand all the time.

That's it for today.  We are still having fun.

BUT WAIT.  I enjoy blogging, and I post pictures of all of us that are unflattering (well, I do try to keep mine as good as possible), and have never asked anyone if they mind.  Chloe doesn't mind that I blog and put her pictures on here, but she refuses to let me put pictures of her on facebook.  Please do not EVER repost any pictures of anyone other than yourself if you're in a picture.  ESPECIALLY  if they're of Chloe.  She is 15 and she would die if she ever saw one of her that I'd put on my blog on facebook or anything like that.  Thanks for understanding.