Road Trippin' With The Niemeyers: Cross Country Road Trip, 2019

Blue Hole at Santa Rosa, NM

A friend of mine recently told me I should watch the medical drama Grey’s Anatomy. The long-running tv show is going into its 16^th season, yet I had never seen a single episode. About 2 weeks ago, I binge-watched the first 3 seasons and learned everything there is to know about the medical profession. My new-found knowledge came in handy this morning when I decided Chad needed to see a doctor.

Yesterday, Chad began experiencing symptoms that he determined were signs of low blood sugar. When he woke up this morning and didn’t feel better, I convinced him to go to the walk-in clinic located next to our hotel in Tucumcari. He went begrudgingly because he knew what they were going to say, but he also knew how worried I was.

As we walked through the clinic doors my medical training kicked in, and I yelled for the staff to prepare the OR and start a central line because the patient was in V-fib. I pointed to a person in the waiting area and told her to scrub in because she was going to assist me in the operation.

What actually happened is the doctor performed a battery of tests and determined Chad is perfectly healthy and probably dealing with low blood sugar. Just like Chad thought. We decided to take it easy and just drive west, stopping every now and then for the occasional roadside attraction. As we drove, he felt better and better until he was back to my normal, happy Chad.

Despite the setback and getting a late start, we had a great day of travel. Our first stop was Santa Rosa, New Mexico, to visit the Blue Hole. Blue Hole is an artesian well, 81-feet-deep, that is so brilliant blue and pristine, it seems otherworldly in the midst of the desert-like landscape of Santa Rosa. We watched swimmers dive off the rocks for awhile and then started the drive toward Albuquerque.

Driving west on I-40 we began seeing dozens of huge billboards advertising the Flying C Ranch. An entire billboard advertising bolo ties? Yes please! We stopped at the massive souvenir shop and spent an hour inspecting shelves stuffed with splendidly ludicrous knickknacks. I fell in love with a kitschy purse, and when I learned it was a concealed carry purse I wanted it even more. I don’t have a gun, but the secret compartment would have been perfect for all kinds of snacks. Chad wanted to buy a huge pack of M-150’s for Jackson, but decided he didn’t want to be responsible for Jackson blowing his fingers off. After an hour, we left empty-handed. Looking at the picture below, I’m sure you’re wondering how that was possible.

So many treasures

We made it to Albuquerque and we had only 2 stops to make. First, we drove to the tv home of Walter and Skylar White from Breaking Bad. The house is not as famous as the Goonies house in Astoria, Oregon, but it’s a popular photo op nonetheless. We drove by the house, took a picture, and sent it to our kids via our family chat. I told them about the gate and security cameras and the sign that says, “Take your picture from across the street. Do Not Disturb Us.” Ali replied, “Don’t live in the Breaking Bad house then. Bye.”

Warning: If you live in a famous house, this is going to happen

I don't even know

We then drove to Old Town to visit The Candy Lady, the candy shop that became famous after the owner made the prop meth (known as “Blue Sky”) for Breaking Bad. The shop sells clear bags of the blue rock crystal candy, and, while we frown on using meth, we don’t frown on buying pretend meth when it’s sold at cheesy tourist traps. We also don’t frown on dressing up like Heisenberg and pretending to cook meth, apparently.

For dinner, we ate Mexican food at Little Anita’s and mapped out where to stay for the night. We both felt great and decided to drive for 2 more hours and spend the night in Gallup, “the most patriotic small town in America.”

Our hotel lobby

We reserved a room at El Rancho Hotel and enjoyed one of the most gorgeous drives we’ve experienced on this trip. El Rancho is a historic hotel along Route 66 that has welcomed some of the most famous western movie actors of all time. The second-floor gallery boasts hundreds of framed autographed pictures dating back to the 40s. Chad and I wandered the hotel grounds until a drunk man in a cowboy hat who was missing several teeth approached us in the parking lot and asked for money. That sent us scurrying back into the hotel where we stayed for the rest of the night.