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A few ghost towns and then you’re in Albuquerque.
Albuquerque’s history dates back 12,000 years when the first American Indians settled in the area. Ancient Puebloan Indians (Anasazi) were living in the area between 1000 and 1300, planting corn, beans and squash and constructing adobe and brick pit homes along the banks of the Rio Grande. They also established several communities throughout northeastern New Mexico, connecting them with sophisticated roads.
While in Albuquerque, you must see the Old Town, a preserved Spanish plaza, take a scenic train ride, and visit the New Mexico Museum of Natural History in order to get the entire Albuquerque experience.
In downtown Albuquerque there is an unassuming corner with a curious distinction. This is the place—the only place—where Route 66 intersects itself. Nowhere else along the Mother Road do two different alignments actually cross each other. You see, when Route 66 was first established in New Mexico in 1926, the logical thing to do was to send the road through the capital city—so off to Santa Fe it went, and then it curved southward to come into Albuquerque from the north. At that time, there was no straight-line route across New Mexico, so travellers coming to Albuquerque from the east had no choice but to take that winding, partial-dirt, mountainous road through the capital first. But then, quite suddenly, all that changed: just a few years later, a new 66 cut an arrow-straight path into Albuquerque from the east and bypassed Santa Fe entirely (and today many people have no idea that 66 ever went to Santa Fe at all).
Santa Fe, north of Albuquerque, is the USA’s highest state capital at 7,199 feet above sea level.
If you decide to do some sightseeing while in Albuquerque, go to the top of Capulin Volcano (at 8,000ft) for one seriously stunning view that takes in five different states: Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Colorado, in addition to New Mexico.
If you go nuts for good neon, a stop at Absolutely Neon store — owned by an industry icon — should be high on your list. Robert Randazzo has been handcrafting glowing neon signs and images since 1973, and he’s especially famous for his iconic neon masterpieces like the signs that now adorn businesses up and down Route 66.
The Petroglyphs just outside Albuquerque are worth a visit.
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I have copied and pasted the following text from Wikipedia for those of you that are not familiar with the magnificent Prefab Sprout.
Prefab Sprout are an English pop/rock band from Witton Gilbert, County Durham who rose to fame during the 1980s. Formed in 1978[5] by brothers Paddy and Martin McAloon and joined by vocalist, guitarist and keyboard player Wendy Smith in 1982, they released their debut album Swoon to critical acclaim in 1984. Their subsequent albums, including 1985’s Steve McQueen and 1990’s Jordan: The Comeback, have been described by Paul Lester of The Guardian as “some of the most beautiful and intelligent records of their era”.[6] Frontman Paddy McAloon is regarded as one of the great songwriters of his time and the band have been credited with producing some of the “most beloved” pop music of the 1980s and 1990s.[1]
Nine of their albums reached the top 40 on the UK Albums Chart and one of their singles, “The King of Rock ‘n’ Roll“, peaked at number seven on the UK Singles Chart. The band’s other popular songs include “When Love Breaks Down” and “Cars and Girls“.[5] The band has not played live since 2000.[7] Starting from 2003, Paddy McAloon has retained the Prefab Sprout name as a solo project.
