Amazing Race Part 6

We headed straight to Wal Mart for a quick re-stock of groceries and then to our hotel. A hotel was a nice option as we had been camping for 3 solid days at that point, We did our laundry there too...which was great since most of our stuff was nasty from the storm in Palo Duro and we wanted to wear our Team Harvell shirts again! While I did laundry the kids and Adam went to the pool but were quickly scared by a homeless man who jumped the fence to jump into the gated pool. We had no idea but we were not in the nicest part of Albuquerque, (after being home and looking up crime rates I am not sure there is a nice part).

However the kids were very excited over our suite which allowed them to sleep in one room and us in another. The boys opted to sleep in the living room on the pull out couch and watched a "make your own weapons" show while Ribbit joined us in our room to watch Food Network.....no one lasted long after dinner and showers though...we were out!

We were quite smitten with the changes in the landscape as we drove.

CACTUS EVERYWHERE

Our first hike up those mountains!

I woke up early the next morning after a great nights sleep and went down to the fitness center...it too was very neglected and so instead of my long run that I was sooo looking forward to I did a strength routine and 100 burpees scattered in between it to get my heart rate up. Everyone was still conked out when I finished but I was too scared to leave to go on a run as there was SEVERAL homeless people hanging around our hotel. So, I put on some music and ran the stairs right beside our room for 20 minutes until I heard familiar voices :). I only mentinon my workout because I tend to love a challenge and this was it. I love that you can do something every day even if you don't have access to a gym!

We sang " This is the day" as we watched the city wake up!

I saw this cut out in the cactus and had to get a little artistic with my camera!

When we had finished breakfast we headed back upstairs and found our next clue in the toiletry bag--thsoe race folks--they are sneaky!! Our next clue sent us to the Candy Lady in downtown Albuquerque but she didn't open until 10. With plenty of time to kill we headed off to the TRAM to get some scenic views of the mountains all around us. We spotted a great hiking trail right beside the tram station with some boulders that looked very appealing to the kiddos! We immediately read signs that said watch for cougars and snakes....and since we were the only ones on the mountain we took it very seriously.....and good thing, because coming back down I spotted a snake!!! During the hike we found a great rock for us all to fit on...we sat there and sang some praise songs and talked about everything we could see. Then we went into the tram station to look around and got headed back into town to the Candy Lady.

WOAH

They love each other....even if its not always obvious. 

Some teenager tricks.

We wanted to visit (or should I say the Race wanted us to visit) the Candy Lady for 2 reasons..I read rave reviews about this shop all over Trip Advisor AND she makes the blue candy drugs from Breaking Bad. Adam and I watched the first couple of seasons and were hooked so this sounded fun. We had no idea just how awesome it would be. From the moment we walked in until we left we were treated like stars!!..Our kids showed the nice lady behind the counter the clue that said they had to try a Red Chili Truffle and so she started whipping them out....they were kind of big so I told them to share and she said "no, they don't need to share!!". From there she said we all needed somthing to cleanse our pallet from the spicy chile so she got some orange creamsicle fudge out. Well then we needed to try her peanut butter snack......AND then she took us to the back to pose with the blue candy drugs and her cutouts of Walt and Jesse from the show. THEN she brought people out from the back who were owners and bakers and introduced us and told them about our race. She was a HOOT. We finally convinced her to let us buy something (even though at that point we were in a sugar coma) and so she told us all about their candies and treats. All three kids chose chocolate covered caramel coated marshmallows. Adam chose a white chocolate coffee bar and I got a dark chocolate coconut bon bon. We also bought 10 bags of the famed candy drugs for souvenirs for our friends who also watched the show. EVERYTHING was heavenly and we thought were done but she followed us outside and made several recommendations for more stops and took several pictures of us. THEN, Little man had to go poop so she took him back to the staff bathroom and 20 minutes later we were on our way with FULL BELLIES and happy hearts as she blessed us while we were getting in the van.

Just hanging out with Jesse and Walt!

They were quite happy with their choices...I think they got the marshmellows because were the biggest single serving :).

One of many pictutes she took of us out front!

From there we saw two cute stores that we really wanted to shop in so in we went....Old downtown Albuequerque is quite cute and if we ever go back that is where we will stay. Ribbit found a small carved stone animal that she wanted and after asking the owner to show her every single one he owned (a good 30 minutes) she wore him down in price ....hehe...he was ready for her to make a decision.......it sooo reminded me of the first time she saw the buffet choices on our cruise and about had a meltdown when given sooo many choices. I found a nice souvenir for a family member there as well and off we went to our next location which was waiting for us in the clue in Ribbit's booster seat when we got back from shopping!

TOO MANY CHOICES!!

Amazing Race Part 5

After ice cream and finding out we were in 2nd place we read Pete the Cat and played the question game again....which quickly got silly after some sugar!!

What is the one breakfast item you could eat everyday?
Ribbit-beef
Little Man-random underwear
Goober-Pork

So, the next morning we were back on schedule, after finally getting to sleep in our tent through the night at Palo Duro and I woke up to run 2 beautiful miles around the canyon. Then I found a spot of new asphalt...the kind that is still a little sticky and did 10 sprints up and down that really got me going....nothing like pushing yourself outside!

Running early is always rewarded by a beautiful sunrise!

The kiddos woke up and found their next clue hanging on the clothesline! We packed up everything (rather quickly as we saw people who we thought might be other teams...hehe...who were also packing up early) and  headed to the Tx Steak Ranch house in Amarillo. Ribbit spied on our neighbors some while we were packing to see if she could see their clues or team name.

We got to the restaurant and had plenty of time to explore at breakfast is not its busiest time. My kids had a love/hate relationship with these pictures of really scary people with horrific eyes that followed you. When you looked at them one way they were simple portraits but take one step and they were super scary. They stood there and would freak themselves out for a good 10 minutes. Then we played some shooting games with big ole western shotguns and then we explored the pictures of all the people who have eaten a 72 oz steak there-...that is what makes this place famous. The steak honestly didn't look that good and imagine our surprise when we found out that the current record holder was a lady who ate not 1, not 2 but 3 of those 72 oz steaks in under 20 minutes....BARF!!!

Yup, that much meat looks GROSS

Shooting dead western zombie guys????

I need one of these for the front porch!

In the slammer!

You can't miss the large yellow building and BIG OLE COW!!

Our food showed up and the kids were super impressed with their big ole breakfast sandwiches....Adam didn't even order anything because he knew he would be finishing theirs....and he did, and we still had leftovers! Our waitress handed Goober the next clue and off we went to Cadillac Ranch right down the road.

Cadillac Ranch is a place where 9 Cadillac were buried nose down into the dirt several years ago. People are allowed to pull over off the service road and invited to come spray paint on these cars. Due to the recent storms there was mud all around the cars instead of dirt....but who cared? We had to do what the race said and the race said to "graffiti those cars!!!". So 4 of us (not Adam) took off our shoes and waded in. It was gross but awesome at the same time. The kids loved being able to spray paint on the cars and we also picked up a bag of trash while we were out there. Many people leave their empty spray paint bottles lying around and its just unnecessary.

Minus the mud, this was a neat little stop!

Hi Dad!...see the orange Harvell?

Another big Harvell painted in green down the side!

She would spin the tires and then spray paint the snot out of them!

Following me into the sludge...wait, you mean you want us to get dirty?

A really next experience!

Our next clue was on the windshield wipers when we got back to our van (after a good 10 minute stop to clean off with baby wipes and coconut oil!!!) and off we were to Tucumcari, NM. The landscape changed dramatically as we left Texas. We began to see buttes, mesas and plains and thus began the conversation between the differences. Our first stop in NM was at Tee Pee Curios, a definite stop on the historical Hwy 66. We all marveled at the outside decor, the old cars and the history of this place. Inside we looked at trinkets, petted the dog and found a Christmas ornament for our tree to remind us of our trip. Little Man, not having a clue as to what he was doing, ran across the store asking if he could "buy a Grow a Girlfriend" doll. We said no and quickly paid for our items. The owner of the store handed us our next clue with the receipt and off we went to the Mesalands Dinosaur Museum.

Look what we found parked outside of Tee Pee Curios!

A very cute exterior!

This quaint little museum is a part of the college there and at first glance we wondered if it would be worth our money. However, once we were inside we found a lot to discover. Of course, we did a lot of disagreeing with their time line and some of their theories but our kids are very used to it...especially with their archaeological daddy. They had some really neat displays of unordinary fossils and some great interactive stuff for the kids. We easily spent 1.5 hours there and probably could have taken longer if our kids were a little older and wanted to stop and read everything. Little Man decided to use some of his souvenir money from CC and Papa to buy a dinosaur egg that you excavate to find the glow in the dark dinosaur inside. He was very proud of himself for using his own money. Our next clue was on a huge fossil outside and it sent us to a hotel in Albuquerque for the night.

Lots of diaromas. 

Digging up bones

Running for their life!!

Parents have all the fun!!

Goober likes to get the last laugh!

The poor triceratops had kids in his mouth and nostrils!

We found this great Route 66 mural on the side of a building in Tucumcari!

Amazing Race Post 4

After we got back from brushing our teeth in Palo Duro Canyon there was a clue at our campsite with trail maps for us. We hiked the Rojo Grande Trail (only b/c the lighthouse one was closed due to the bad storm-we were honestly grateful for any trail to be open at that point). It was 2.2 miles and perfect for the kids to lead us through. We saw painted rocks, a huge black widow, lots of layers in the rocks (white and red and gypsum---all of which Adam taught us about). We saw several roadrunners and each kiddo took a turn leading us which they loved. Ribbit had to lead us to get her hiking badge and we also had to follow the "leave no trace" rule in order to qualify for the Junior Ranger Badge. Ribbit had so bought into the game and was covering up our tracks incase another team was trying to follow us!!!

Mr. Man is ready to hike!

The storm the night before left us with beautiful hiking weather!

1/2 way through the hike!

We loved all the layers of red rock!

We then headed up to the Visitor Center to complete our Jr. Ranger badge. While there we looked through their telescopes to find the Lighthouse, our camping spot and some other fun formations...Ribbit also messed with the knobs on the telescope so other teams could not easily find the formations!

A panoramic picture from the top of our hike...Little Man is of course off to the side peeing!

At the tippy top looking down into the Canyon

The found their own little niche.

BLACK WIDOW!!! OH MY!!

Receiving their Jr. Ranger badges

On our way back to our tent site we stopped at an old chimney that was part of the CCC rec building and we also hiked a short nature trail where we saw more roadrunners.

The lighthouse through the telescope!

Hanging out with my kiddos on top of a boulder.

Conquerors...and then Ribbit sneezed mid-picture ...HAHAH

At the Trading Post we found our next clue. We went back to the tent and due to cramped sleeping quarters in the van the night before we all stretched out in the hammocks and (very hot) tent and slept some while others read. Little Man had the coolest spot on me...right on top of me as I poured sweat in the hot tent.....he slept like a rock though!

We are hammock people for sure!

As Adam says " they love like sisters and fight like brothers!"

When we got up I felt like I needed to run, I had way too much energy. So I put on a podcast and explored our campground. Only 2 short miles and lots of sweat later and we were ready to start dinner. We made campfire pancakes with Peanut Butter and I had some Tuna with mustard and relish (YUM!!).

We took showers and though we were on our way to see the musical TX like the clue said but unfortunately it wasn't playing that night and we had tickets for a Shakespeare play....the manager was so kind and told us that our kids would be bored to tears so she completely refunded us. The Race understood and allowed us to run into town to eat Ice Cream instead. We had the best time while we were eating ice cream. We laughed and wondered what place we were in that day. We got back and our pit stop clue was in our sleeping bags...we had come in at Team #2...probably because we didn't stay for the show :)....but as Ribbit said " at least we weren't eliminated!

Someone loves his Braums birthday cake ice cream ...hehe. The two littles and I opted for frozen yogurt at Braums while Daddy and Goober went straight for the Sonic shakes across the street.