We hope to find the Petrified Forest tonight

Well, we did it! Our continued fears that our RV would not take us safely through the mountains led us to trade in the 2001 for a new rig. It is really nice. Of course, consistent with our luck...all seemed to go well until this morning when we took possession. There were several problems that we hope have been remedied with the new vehicle. It is considerably nicer than the first purchase and with the full bumper to bumper warranty - if our luck (or lack thereof) continues, we will at least have coverage. Ken is telling me that it drives considerably better...so that is good. Wish us luck and please include a prayer.

With the exception of the last day, we enjoyed our stay in Albuquerque - there is much to see and do and we didn't even scratch the surface. We are passing exit after exit on I 40 with places of interest (Linda, even a wolf sanctuary - Ken decided not to stop because it was pretty far off I 40). We would like to one day just focus on this portion of the country (and be sure to call Tim and Kay in advance that we are coming). :-)

I will drop in more of the Mountain photos tomorrow or later tonight and I'm sure I will have a ton of shots to mull through after the Forest visit. BTW...we stopped in a small restaurant tonight for dinner and ... have you ever seen one of those movies where the family stop in a small town for gas and something to eat and they are never seen again? Well, that is how I felt as I walked in - while Ken was getting gas for the RV (something we do often) and stood at the counter. There were two people eating in a booth...two at the counter with a sign stating "ORDER HERE." This was an old hotel that has closed and the restaurant remained open. The gas station has no attendant - you pay with credit card only. Nobody came for my order for quite a while. Pretty creepy...but turned out to be very good food and we topped it off by sharing a delicious piece of homemade apple pie.

I thought the day was a goner re: meeting an extra miler until the end of our meal. A lady was ordering for her and her mother and we started chatting while we waited for refills. They are Ann and Jenny from Miami- they drove across country to San Diego to scatter a dead relative's ashes (much better than scattering a live relative's ...). They just left the Petrified Forest and are on their way home and gave us considerable advise on what to do and not do on the remainder of the southwestern leg of our trip. The daughter even left her food to run to her car to bring us back a park newsletter filled with information for the adventure tomorrow.

Can't wait to get some sleep and start through the Petrified Forest.
Nite ~ Carol and Ken