I have ticked off States 48 and 49. Just Hawaii 50 to visit. I had to fly to achieve the dream because the distances by road are just too great in one visit to America. I still had to fly into Austin and fortunately Delta offer a connection to Albuquerque via Salt Lake City.

Whilst in Austin the temperatures were 99 degrees (37 C) for the duration of our visit so it was a surprise to land in Salt Lake City just after a rain storm with the temperature at only 60 degrees (16 C).

Just as boarding commenced Salt Lake City Control Tower grounded all personnel from outside because of the threat of lightening strike within 25 miles of the runway. One side of the terminal had blue sky but the other there was at zero visibility. The delay was only ten minutes thankfully.

On arrival in Albuquerque the shuttle bus to the car rental facility was only five minutes and there wasn’t a wait at the Thrifty desk. I had booked a compact car and was blown away when they directed me a full sized Chevrolet Malibu with all the bells and whistles. The GPS took a while to find it’s location but eventually I was on my way. The sparkling white car was only spoilt by the back of the car being covered in sand.

There was a completely different vibe in Albuquerque with the architecture faithfully in a Pueblo revival design. The theme throughout the city and suburbs was distinct with dark brown and turquoise hues. The colour scheme was very evident at the Sunport Airport with the seating designed in an old western theme.

I drove along Central Avenue on Route 66 – Albuquerque ‘Musical Road’ NM but I just couldn’t find it. I am sure I was on the right road as it crossed I40 but gave up when I ended up following trucks onto a landfill site. 

Again Route 66 didn’t meet my expectations and the quaint motels of yesteryear were in need of a spruce up and Central Avenue where the neon 66 sign was pretty rundown. The blocks have 66 signage on their corners which smartened it up somewhat but generally it was disappointing. I was also concerned for my general safety in and around the city and that Walmart had banned bags being taken into the store was a first for me.

So my latest visit to America was a different kind of Road Trip but the target was met, petrol was cheaper but did rise by 20c a gallon and the exchange rate got better for us.