Alburquerque

We woke at a decent time on Sunday, Aug 9th, losing track of days, as we had to check out. We went to the Publeo museum of local peoples. The Publeos are a group of Native Americans that migrated to New Mexico from Mexico proper. The lived on high mesas, plateaus, out in the desert and to a certain extent still do. They don't have a written language, the stories are passed down orally,mother to daughter,father to son etc..As a result of this lot of the museum was dedicated to more recent history which was documented by the white settlers in New Mexico. Needless to say, it is not a nice story, as it never is when people with guns meet those without. And when the gunfighting was done religion was used. I more impressed by the displays of art from the local children and the arts and crafts of the Publeo people. But I guess you have to have the whole story and these things should be remembered so they don't happen again.
Then it was to the mammoth drive back to L.A.. Jessie started the drive and took us out of New Mexico and into Arizona to the Painted Desert and the Petrified forest. The desert is beautiful in a harsh and unforgiving way.It was once all covered with water and you can see the edges of the "lake". The stone changes colours through different layers. A few miles away is the Petrified forest, this was originally a rain forest, that turned into a swamp and then was covered in sediment as the water withdrew. Crystals inside the trees and solidified, the wood eventually disintegrating, leaving the crystals in a log like shape. Lots of these "trees" were discovered when the sediment was eroded away. A lot of it has been carried off as souvenirs over the years, but there is still plenty to see. It is pretty cool to see what nature can do over time.
After the forest Jessie let me take over the driving until we got to California. I was a few miles shy of the Arizona / California state border when I was pulled over by an Arizona State trooper. He surprised both Jessie and I by appearing on the passenger side of the car, which was just as well as I was freaking out as it was, wondering what I had done wrong. I knew he hadn't got me for speeding because I had been doing the speed limit. He asked for the usual, licence, registration and insurance, it took me a few minutes to dig out my paperwork. Jessie was a having a problem finding the car paperwork.He had stopped us for a faulty licence plate light, I felt like asking why he hadn't stopped those people with no licence plates, but was too terrified. I am still not used to cops having guns. But now Jessie tells me that some security guards have guns, I am officially freaked. The trooper eventually let us go with a warning and we went to Lake Havaus City to see London Bridge. It's a pretty bridge, we drove over it twice and then it was time to get the hell out of Arizona, Jessie said that the Cali police are a lot nicer. I hope so.
We arrived home around 4am and it was straight to bed. Thank God I didn't have to get up the next day.