Day Seven : Las Cruces, NM - Albuquerque, NM

The Gold Rush, Route 66 and Crystal Meth.....

I leave a little earlier than noon as I am no longer heading East but North. I can avoid the sun in my eyes and I had a night of sobriety so I'm well ready for another day on the road, also I am making up for lost time for my 3 nights in Tucson which was totally worth it. I ride through a town called Truth and Consequences on the way to Albuquerque. Ralph Edwards was a New Mexico DJ who said he would broadcast his radio show (of the same name) from the first town to change it's name to Truth or Consequences. Edward would visit the town every weekend for the next 50 years.

100% Original American made Ford truck

I got off the interstate (I25) and I see my first bit of old America, railroad track and wooden bridges. I take 187 North. This highway runs along the Rio Grande river and it is just spectacular. I also drive pass the site of Spaceport America, which is the first purpose built port for sub-orbital space travel to the paying public (Virgin Galactic Flights). I took Highway 1 north which was a real real blessing. The road runs over rolling hills surrounded by mixed desert and vegetation, shrub and sand. Highway 1 would sometimes run alongside the Intertate and I felt sorry for the people up there driving at 80mph with their A/C, too busy avoiding trucks to witness the beautiful country side going by. I was sucking up every smell that came with the open road. The taking in of all these smells and air was a constant treat. At this stage the air was pretty dry (0% humidity) and both my mouth and nose would dry up significantly on the road. At the end of a long day on the road in the desert my nose would be a cave of snotty stalligtites.



When I got to Albuquerque I went straight to find Walter Whites house (of Breaking Bad), I pulled into the entrance of a primary (elementary) school which was chained up for the summer. A motorcyclist pulled up beside me to see if I was ok, he was Randy Roth on a BMW GS1200 with all the bits and bobs, sturdy bike. He said he had free time and escorted me to the White residence following which he took me to the Octopus car wash also made famous by the tv show. 

Walter White's House

Days prior to my visit to Whites residence, Brad (of Tucson) and I had crushed up some of the blue glass crystals which were scattered around his garden. The purpose of this was to make blue crushed glass which would resemble the infamous crystal meth made by Walter and Jessie in the show. The house used for filming is owned by a cranky old lady who stands outside her home looking angry at people wanting to photograph the now famous house. She finally shuts her garage door and goes inside making it a more picturesque photo. Granted it's annoying owning a famous house but surely she had an idea what she was getting into when she allowed production to film there, maybe she didn't know how big the show would actually would be. Granted, the woman has been living there since the 70s and brought her kids up there. The house was merely rented for filming. 

When I was there, there was Randy and I on both our bikes, there were two SUVs at a respectful distance from the house. All of the registration plates are from out of state. 

When the other Breaking Bad fans showed up at the house I could see their envy as they admired my homemade crystal meth which I had prepared. I offered them to hold the bag of meth as the took their photos. We had chats and went our own ways. As it turns out, an old lady who owns a sweetshop in the Albeuquerque city made the meth for the show and must have provided them with quite a supply. It is simply coloured sugary crystals, she still sells it from her sweet shop in Albuquerque but unfortunately I didn't get any.


I asked Randy if there were any hostels in the area and he remembered one in the centre of the city on main street. I hadn't thought before now that my route change might get to intersect with Interstate 66 which is a must if you're on a motorbike driving across America, I figured if I was heading to the Rockies I would cross 66 (which runs from Los Angeles to Chicago) at some stage or another. Randy laughs and says that Route 66 runs straight through Albequerque and that it runs into Main St, where my hostel was located. I stayed a night in Route 66 Hostel, Albequerque, on Route 66. It was here, that a nice hippy lady told me about my meditating whilst riding. She also tought me how to hug, how to embrace with all sincerity with no 'social concern', she and her friend were on the way to a hugging convention in the desert, in a giant circus tent, I was tempted to join (it is featured in Karl Pilkington's 'Idiot Abroad'). I shared a hug with her friend as she talked us threw it (he was a better experienced hugger so he knew what he was doing). We embraced each other and without rubbing or patting or slapping we held each other firmly, but not causing any asphyxiation. The hug was slightly longer than a regular hug and the release was awkwardly drawn out but the sense of calm after was really amazing. Something to think about next time you hug someone. This traveling pair both had an energy about them, he was smiling and joked light-heartedly, she was serious but soft-spoken, she seemed in a way to have found ultimate great peace, but it seemed to have taken her smile away. I sat in the living room of the hostel that night and I realised that of the 8 other people in the room, I was the only non-American. This was refreshing to see so many Americans travelling their own country.

As a group we discussed all sorts of spirtualities, energies, healing etc. One guy produced a rock called Peiterzite. Apparently it connects with the third eye (hypothalmus) and what I discovered next was fascinating. As this fellow traveller explained, for some unknown reason this flat piece of stone will not stick anywhere on the body except the centre of the forehead. I tried it and it worked. The stone would not stay anywhere on my body despite me being greasy, sweaty and clammy. It did stick to my forehead and I felt a magnetic effect, it was very securely stuck to my head. Pieterzite is an awesome rock. There was a trucker's mother staying at the hostel with her son, in fact she worked there and her son who was a trucker was visiting her. She told me to take route 66 scenic route for about 16 miles and get on highway 14 up towards Santa Fe, she said that I'd enjoy highway 14. This was great advice! People's first question is, 'Did you do route 66?'.

Lessons;
-A real hug
-Motorcycling is meditation