I had intended to drive to Colorado today, but when I considered that I had spent 15+ hours in a car in two days, I wanted a day off.  My couch surfing host Codie said I could spend another night, meaning I didn't have to drive today.  For this, as well as her hospitality, I was grateful.

So instead I went into Albuquerque, first to a lecture at the University of New Mexico, and then to the Petroglyphs National Monument.  I also had the oil changed in my car for $24 (12 pounds), as I have now covered 3300 miles.

The lecture was on global warming, part of the 'blue earth' series in the 'science' minor for non-science majors.  Codie is a third year art major.   It's not fair to compare this lecture with anything.  It was well presented but incredibly basic.

The petroglyphs ('stone carving', from the Greek) are a series of small drawings carved into rocks just outside the city, created by Pueblo natives in the last 1000 years.  I say 'just outside', which is really true:  on one side of the road are houses, the other a national park. 

We saw a range of drawings, created by scraping the outer oxidised layer from the local igneous rocks:  people, animals, spirals, geometric shapes.  Some of these symbols still have meaning to Pueblos today, while many meanings have been lost.

In the evening I helped my couch surfing host Codie and her friend prepare some art exhibits.  I stitched goat skin over plaster body parts, and was quite pleased with the neat results.  Quite a different activity to the average Friday night, I'm sure. 

Tomorrow I will go to the Four Corners (where one can have a limb in each of CO, NM, AZ and UT), and then to Mesa Verde national park in Colorado.  There I will be camping.