Thu, January 19, 2006
Highlights from Day 5—8:44 AM
Just a few of the things that happened on today's part of the cross-country trek:
Waking up in Sleepy Bear's Den. There's just no way not to think of an animated teddy bear in a nightie.
An early start. That wasn't easy! But make-em-yourself Belgian waffles in the motel lobby sure helped.
NW New Mexico Visitor Center. It always feels good to check one off the life list, even if it isn't your life list. Also, we saw cute jackrabbit bunnies doing their morning chores.
Visiting the National Radio Astronomy Observatory's Very Large Array (VLA), west of Socorro. This site was heavily featured in the beginning of Contact, one of my favorite movies, so Laney and I could run through the (frigidly windy) walking tour shouting "W9GF0!" at the top of our lungs. I was really impressed that the VLA people – who have actual science to be doing – took the time to set up a nice walking tour and share a look at their facilities with the public.
Old Town Albuquerque. Exactly what you'd expect, complete with sassy, greying little ladies with creative haircuts minding curio shops and chatting exhaustively with their customers. Delicious Navajo Taco Plates!
Duke: 81; N.C. State: 68 – still undefeated!
Running out of gas in the middle of the night just east of Cuervo, NM, because two gas stations noted on the AAA Trip-tik within 30 miles were closed for the night. After a chilly wait in the car (we passed the time loading pictures into the laptop), a nice man and his beflanneled little boy brought us some gas and sent us on our way. (It would've been so much more poetic to run aground in Truth or Consequences, but it wasn't on our route.)
"KOTC" — Sun, 1/22/06 12:03am
I actually had my transmission go out in "Truth or Consequences" (for those looking for another KOTC tidbit)