In the end, we were not sure what was harder: the ride, or carrying our bike up the stairs to the third floor of the casino hotel. The landscape remained vast and unpopulated, but pretty. No matter how poor the town, how remote the community, we’ve found people positive, accepting of others who aren’t exactly like them, and working to make their community a better place. We’ve been so impressed with the people we’ve met so far. Like its Albuquerque counterpart as Isleta, the Book at Route 66 offers full-service options for you to eat, plenty of options for betting and a comfortable setting to relax and watch the games. It is owned and operated by the Pueblo of Laguna. People frequently strike a conversation with us. The Route 66 Casino is home to the other of the two Albuquerque sportsbooks. Occasionally we would notice something tucked away in the landscape, like the church in the next picture. They were barely big enough for a pickup, but actively used. We noticed access roads under the interstate that allowed ranchers and coal or natural gas workers to cross. We passed through a lava field were desert plants struggled to take footing.
But it was actually 100 feet up, 200 down, repeat over and over. The 60 mile ride starting in Grants NM, another town that time has passed by, was a net downhill ride that lost 1300 feet of elevation. And what better one to stay in than the Route 66 Casino itself, which sits alone in the desert outside Albuquerque. Yes, after passing so many Indian casinos, we are staying in one. Route 66 Casino Hotel RV Resort near Albuquerque New Mexico is a new facility (opened 2016) offering full hookup RV sites with paved roads and concrete pads.
