Crossing over into the Mountain Time Zone...

I’m in a hotel in Albuquerque that has a very “Santa Fe” kind of décor, and which, strangely, smells a bit like cumin. At least the hallways smell like cumin… the room seems to be fragrance-free. Which is good – because while I enjoy the occasional Tex-Mex meal now and then, I’m not sure I’d want to be greeted by the scent of tacos in the morning. I'm trying to figure out if the spice smell is some kind of purposeful effort by the hotel to create a "New Mexico" ambience, or if it's all in my imagination...

We spent most of the day driving through the northwestern part of Texas -- the magnificent, picturesque beauty of which is undeniably evident in the following photograph:

Wow. That’s all I can say.

I usually make it a point to buy car snacks before I leave for a road trip – “car snacks,” of course, being snacks that I buy for the express purpose of eating on a road trip, and nowhere else. For instance, if I were to buy a package of Oreos and put them in my pantry at home, there would be a fairly decent chance that those cookies wouldn’t survive a week, and I’d end up feeling responsible for their untimely demise. Whereas if the Oreos are designated as “car snacks,” and eaten only in the confines of my car, it’s perfectly acceptable for me to eat them at any point during the trip. And what’s more, I’m pretty sure they lose all caloric content, as well. Something about the molecular structure of air trapped within a moving car combining with the fat content of an Oreo… well, I’m sure you’re all highly intelligent and I don’t need to explain it. Anyway, the point I was trying to make is that I forgot to buy my car snacks this time, so I’ve had to make do with convenience store staples like bottled water and M&Ms.

So tomorrow we’ll be in Las Vegas – actually, we’re staying in Henderson, which is just outside of Las Vegas. But on the way back to Austin, we’re planning on staying in Vegas for two days so we can dispose of any money we might have left over. But I don’t plan on having too much left – I just read an article about how San Francisco is considered the chocolate capital of the U.S., and I plan to explore this claim further. Some serious research may be required.

Let’s just say my “car snacks” should be taken care of on the way home…

Sunset tonight in Albuquerque...