A cowboy vest, jeans wrapped around a round and firm buttocks, a pair of cowboy boots, a scarf tied around the neck, a stubborn and confident smile on the corner of the mouth, the feeling is super good, this steak house is the most famous Texas big farm steak house in Amarillo, whoever eats 72 ounces (about two kilograms) of steak within the specified time. ％

Yunluo was not interested in steak, and the two friends did not think of challenging it. They just ordered 24 ounces as a symbolic taste. A young man next to Yunluo and Yan Chenyu completed the challenge. He stood up and accepted the salute from all the diners!

This place has also become a pilgrimage site for road raiders and a landmark that cannot be missed by anyone who walks Route 66. Many passing cars parked on the roadside. The weather was cold, windy and rainy, but there were still tourists who brought paint spray to improvise. For the origin of this row of cars, you can refer to the travel guide. Yunluo can only say that having money means being willful!

In addition to Amarillo, there is another landmark in Texas called Adrian, which is exactly at the midpoint of Route 66, 1,139 miles away from Los Angeles and 1,139 miles away from Chicago. That means that by the afternoon of the fourth day, Yunluo and Yan Chenyu had already driven halfway, and the remaining 8 days were because they reached the western part of Route 66.

Many times we will leave Route 66 and go to some nearby scenic spots, such as the Grand Canyon, Death Valley, Monument Valley, etc.

After saying goodbye to Adrian, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Because Texas does not recognize Chinese driver's licenses, Yunluo and Yan Chenyu have been "driving illegally" all the time, so they drive very carefully, for fear of being stopped by a police car for speeding or other violations, which would be a tragedy. That's why they break the law knowingly. In fact, I still think Cadillac Farm is a must-see.

When we arrived in New Mexico, we switched to mountain time and it seemed like we had an extra hour. Our first stop was Tucumcari, which was very run-down. Blue Sel was a famous motel. Some of the murals in the parking garage inside the motel were very bright and beautiful. There was a large supermarket nearby, and there was also a large mural on the side of the supermarket.

When I arrived in New Mexico City, I really felt that although these towns were not small, they had a small population, many dilapidated houses, and very few cars and people on the streets. It seemed to be gradually declining. Santa Rosa was also a small town in the desert area. It was more famous for a natural spring in the city, the blue hole!

I heard it's suitable for diving. But the temperature is low and it's cloudy. So when Yunluo and Yan Chenyu went there, they didn't see anyone diving. The surface of the spring is not big, but it seems very deep below. People with claustrophobia or abyss phobia would be a little scared. For example, Yunluo has dived in another blue hole.

Located in Dahab, Egypt, the water quality of the Red Sea is so clear that it is outrageous!

Next, they could go south to the alien town of Roswell. But the round trip of more than 570 kilometers would take a lot of time, so Yunluo and Yan Chenyu chose to give up and did not continue along Highway 66. Instead, they went north to Santa Fe first, aiming to go to Taos the next day. Then they went to Albuquerque.

Back to Route 66. The road to Santa Fe is also full of mountainous desert scenery, with a majestic atmosphere. As the altitude rises, you can see the mountain city of Santa Fe shrouded in fog from afar, like a fairyland. On Friday night, the accommodation here is almost full. Yunluo and Yan Chenyu looked for a long time before they found a motel.

At night, I ate instant rice from Walmart. It was delicious and affordable. In fact, I didn't realize until the next day that Santa Fe is really beautiful. No wonder many people come here to travel on weekends. Another reason is to catch the Albuquerque Hot Air Balloon Festival.

After getting up, I first walked around downtown Santa Fe. There were two churches and a city square that were worth seeing. The buildings were a mixture of Indian and Spanish styles, and the traditional adobe houses had rounded corners instead of edges. It was quite fairy-tale-like. The governors here are the oldest public buildings in the United States.

The wet grass in the downtown street garden was covered with fallen leaves, pigeons were strolling aimlessly, and idle tourists were sitting on the street drinking coffee. Yunluo thought that feeding the pigeons here was quite classy.

Quoting a description from the Internet, "Santa Fe is the earliest administrative capital of the United States, a center of trade and religion, and a place of music, architecture, art and leisure. The winding paths, gardens with local flowers and plants, and the surrounding mountain scenery are all refreshing.

No other city in the United States protects its culture and is so proud of it as Santa Fe. Its natural beauty and humanistic traditions have won sacred praise. Santa Fe is located at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. Every night at sunset, it turns bright red, which people call the "Blood of Christ". This city is a world tourist destination and the third largest distribution center for fine arts in the United States.

Later in Istanbul, I met a girl who lived in Chicago, USA. She also mentioned her obsession and love for the small town of Santa Fe. It seems that Yunluo, who did not make any travel plans, accidentally found the right place. The road to Taos began to rise, and there were canyon terrains along the way. The ticket to the Indian village in Taos was 16 US dollars.

It was a bit disappointing. It felt like it was built for tourists to visit. It was no longer a village with real life significance. However, the surrounding mountain scenery was beautiful, with golden deciduous forests all the way. I also found a Chinese restaurant here and had fried rice. The portion was very large. The waiter went to school nearby.

Then I came here to visit and work during the holidays. It was not easy to meet Chinese companions in such a remote mountain town.

After leaving Taos, we headed straight to Albuquerque, without stopping in Santa Fe. Tomorrow is the last day of the annual Hot Air Balloon Festival in Albuquerque. Yunluo and Yan Chenyu are so lucky (the next day they realized what hope and disappointment coexisted), but the problem is that accommodation is also quite tight, and they finally found a room in Motel 6.

I asked about the arrangements for tomorrow's hot air balloon festival, and then went out for a walk. The hot air balloon festival only launches balloons in the morning, and there is basically nothing going on in the afternoon, so Yunluo and Yan Chenyu went for a walk in Albuquerque in the afternoon. They didn't see many weird Mexican symbols (but we did meet a lot of skeleton beauties in San Diego on the last day).

The colorful houses here are quite eye-catching, and there are few pedestrians on the road.

When we arrived at Sandia Peak in the evening, we realized that all the tourists had come here. It was the first time I saw such a large group of people in all these days in the United States. The mountains here rise from the ground, desolate but majestic, with a vertical height of 1,100 meters. It is said that you can see Mexico from the top of the mountain. There is also the world's longest cable car here.

The cable car ticket costs $20, and the queue lasted nearly two hours. Yunluo did not take the cable car, but waited at the starting point of the cable car to watch the sunset. In fact, this place is already in a commanding position, which is very suitable for watching the sunset. Moreover, today's sunset is quite special, with the golden afterglow of the setting sun on one side and the thunder and lightning of a tornado on the other.

In order to capture the lightning at sunset, Yunluo held the camera and pressed the shutter button continuously. He took more than 100 photos before he captured a few lightning shots, which were not very obvious.

The frequency of lightning is not high, so you can only press the shutter when you see it with your eyes and pray that the lightning lasts longer than your reaction time = =. It is difficult because it is not night and there is no gray filter, so the long exposure method is not feasible. One hour after dark, my companions finally came down from the cable car.

Their unanimous feeling was that it was so cold on the top of the mountain! It was freezing! There was a bit of traffic on the way back. During the traffic jam, we saw giant fireworks lighting up over the city center. Setting off fireworks every night is also one of the regular programs of the Albuquerque Hot Air Balloon Festival. We had to go to bed early when we got back that night because we had to get up at 5 o'clock the next day.

There is no mistake in the poem, post, content, and read the book on 6, 9, and bar!

The hot air balloon launch site is not far from the hotel, about half an hour's walk. You can only choose to walk because driving there may be slower due to traffic jams and it will be difficult to find a parking space.

They woke up at around 5 o'clock, ate some bread, picked up their camera and ran to the hot air balloon launch site, which was nearly 3 kilometers away. The ticket seemed to be 10 US dollars. Yunluo and Yan Chenyu were considered early, but when they arrived at the large square of the hot air balloon festival, it was still crowded and bustling. At this time, the sky in the east was gradually getting cooler.

Many people came out of their tents and started preparing breakfast. The venue was large, and Yunluo agreed with his friends to return at 8:30, and then go shopping. Some pickup trucks began to pull in trailers and took their positions. The sound of hot air balloon engine nozzles was everywhere, and the flames heated the air. There were many refracted scenes.

Some hot air balloons also began to inflate slowly, from lying flat to standing up full, and many spectators gathered around to cheer. At most, there were 8 or 9 hot air balloons standing up at the same time, eager to fly, with all kinds of shapes, such as a fat pig-shaped Spider-Man and a puppy with xx eyes. But. But.

In the end, none of the hot air balloons took off because the weather was not suitable and the wind was too strong. My mood rose as the hot air balloons inflated, and then fell as they slowly deflated. I thought I was lucky to catch the hot air balloon festival, but the sky was not kind.

This year's gap year trip seems to be out of the question for hot air balloons. I originally planned to take a hot air balloon in Bagan, Myanmar, but the sky-high price of $330 made me give up! Cappadocia, Turkey, was very beautiful after the first clear day after the snow, but because of the strong wind in winter, I waited there for three days but didn't have the chance to take a hot air balloon. Traveling always brings all kinds of regrets. (To be continued...)