New Mexico Travel Commentary by Url Ratz

ELK LODGE	ROBIN/DOG
LODGE DOG	ELK LODGE
GUARD DOG	BIG DOG
TERRY/MOM	MTN STREAM
CUBA, NM
	EL BRUNO

 

Going to Chaco Canyon sounded simple enough at first. That was before I realized there are no Interstate Highways between Santa Fe, our departure point, and Chaco Canyon. I could probably make a pretty good argument that, at some points along the way, there are no roads between Santa Fe and Chaco Canyon. But I mean that in a good way.

On the way to Chaco we spent the night at Elk Lodge in La Cueva, a small bend in the road in the Jemez Mountains near Los Alamos, (birthplace of the atom bomb and home of the Los Alamos National Laboratory). Elk Lodge is supposedly owned and operated by Terry and his mother Joann Dolk, but it looked to me like the three dogs were really calling the shots.

Nearby are lush valleys, cold mountain springs, waterfalls, diving holes, natural hot springs, quaint little mountain towns, Indian ruins, blah-blah. You know, typical New Mexico mountain stuff.

The next day we took highway 129 through the Jemez Mountains to Cuba, NM. The state highway department in New Mexico obviously has a fabulous sense of humor, as evidenced by the fact that they refer to this dirt trail as a "highway." (Snicker) You guys... Knock it off! What a bunch of lovable clowns!

When we arrived in Cuba, we stopped for lunch at El Bruno's, as recommended by Terry and Joann back at the Elk Lodge. If you're anywhere within a hundred miles of Cuba, this is the place to eat. OK, yeah, it's one of the only places to eat within a hundred miles but it's still pretty darn good. It gets the Cafe rating of 450 Stars (out of a possible 500).

We said buenas dias to Cuba and continued north, anxious to see Chaco.