Albuquerque

New Mexico in a word was GORGEOUS!  All I knew of Albuquerque before the trip was hot air balloons...because their marketing works, obviously.

It was just a short one night stay (stopover) at the KOA in Albuquerque.  Of course there was a lovely pool to greet the warm and weary and we made a b-line for it, at least Papa, Grandma and Aidan did.  We let the driver have a little nap while we enjoyed the water.

"map boy" doing his thing

Curious old me wanted to know why these mountains (mesas) are flat.  Thank you National Geographic for the lesson of the day:

"A mesa is a flat-topped mountain or hill. It is a wide, flat, elevated landform with steep sides.

Mesa is a Spanish word that means table. Spanish explorers of the American southwest, where many mesas are found, used the word because the tops of mesas look like the tops of tables.

Mesas are formed by erosion, when water washes smaller and softer types of rocks away from the top of a hill. The strong, durable rock that remains on top of a mesa is called caprock. A mesa is usually wider than it is tall.

Mesas are usually found in dry regions where rock layers are horizontal."

It must be all of those flash floods!  We've had alarms going off daily through these dry places.  Liz and Aidan got stuck in one on their way home from Antelope Canyon.  They are serious and nothing to mess with.

I'm daily struck with the amazing variety of landscapes and weather, all on the same big piece of land called North America.  I'm truly amazed.

We have a sleeper!  And this means he will need tuckering out in order to go to bed at a decent hour.

And the pool will provide that opportunity!

Good night from Albuquerque!  Tomorrow...TEXAS!

Mavis