----------------------------------photos by Elaine A. Russell

We did not get an early start... but we got the car checked at Jiffy Lube and were on the road around 1pm.

Today has been an interesting day. My dad had surgery this am... and according to my mom; is having a very rough post-op. The surgery took much longer than anticipated.. and frankly; I am not sure what all they did. I know it was focused on his hip joint... which was so full of cancer, that the bone had essentially deteriorated and was ready to crumble. But that is really all I know at this point.

I did not know that when we set out on our journey today. We ran into interesting weather before we even got out of ABQ. When we hit Tramway Blvd & the base of the Sandias... a huge storm was gathering and the wind was building. By the time we got heading up the mountains... we had snow. Snow and lots of wind. We traveled in and out of this storm for quite awhile.... experiencing snow, hail, rain, massive winds... and about 3 miles of calm in the middle of the eye of the storm before we went thru it all again.

The scenery is just gorgeous though.. and for awhile... it was really nice out. Windy... extremely windy... but nice. Awhile later, we ran into massive dust storms that pushed all kinds of red dirt everywhere. It was like driving in fog.
Kristin drove the rest of the way to the edge of Texas --- when we stopped at San Jon, NM. San Jon is a small town... very small. We stopped at "A Taste of India" cafe/truck stop/mini store.... really, expecting it to not be that great. We had seen signs along the highway for authentic Indian food... and we decided to check it out. We were very pleasantly surprised. While the outside is heavily under construction... and makes the place look a bit "questionable"... the inside has a wonderful little cafe. The owners are first generation Americans who serve awesome authentic Indian food. They were very friendly, very nice... and dang was the food good. According to the last census, about 300 people lived in the San Jon area... but the owner said now it is down to about 7o homes. Apparently, there just isn't a whole lot to do in ole San Jon....

Bellies full and very, very happy... we headed out again. Finally, we made it to Amarillo.... and considering the weather and such; we decided to just stop for the night. An early night; we thought. Take a long bath... watch a movie... we thought....

We got a room at Motel 6; then decided to go get a burger for Sabrina's dinner as a special treat. However, once we got the food... we couldn't find a way to get back to our hotel. Lots of one way streets... overpasses.... etc. We ended up taking a back alley-way that we thought we take us in the direction of our hotel. We ended up on a dirt road behind all the hotels on that strip, which was great... except that it was very muddy. Kristin decided to turn around when things started looking bleak... and we got stuck in the mud. Not just stuck. Really, really stuck. We tried for about an hour ... pushing, yanking... swearing... then we tried 411 to get a tow. After the 4th try of not being able to reach a business that was open... Kristin went to the nearest hotel and asked for help.
Fortunately, we got a tow from a great guy... and a chuckle from the local cops who came to check it out as well, and even a laugh from a passerby on a bicycle. "Angel" (yes, that's his real name)... the tow truck guy....was able to get our car un-stuck... and even drove ahead of us to our hotel so that we would be able to get there in one piece. And now... having had a warm shower... and snacks we got at from the "Taste of India" store.... we are safe... warm.... and in for the night.

I wish I would have thought to have taken a photo of the car stuck in the mud.... but a SmartCar up to it's bellybutton in mud is not a pretty sight....

Link to the Taste of India: http://tasteofindiaamerican.com/