Our trip to Farmington, NM

A week and a half ago, Rebecca's Uncle Joe passed away, so we loaded into the mini-van on Wednesday night and headed to Farmington, NM. The trip down was pretty uneventful, other than my mother-in-law almost falling down an embankment in the dark.
We'd heard that the Motel 6 in town was cheap, but decent, so we booked two rooms there. The cheap part was true, but the place was a complete craphole. When we got there, there was no hot water, and after more than nine hours in the van, we all really wanted hot water. With that not being an option, we headed to lunch. On our way home, we were hit by a huge downpour. When we got back to the motel, my in-laws' room had flooded, and all of their funeral clothes had been drenched. The motel was more than happy to move them, so they moved them into a room with no air...and we still didn't have hot water.
The manager was gracious enough to offer us discount coupons for our next stay at Motel 6. I informed him that we would not be staying at Motel 6 any time in the future...so they refunded both of the rooms for the entire stay...I still feel like we got ripped off.
The funeral was a big affair, and I think most of the town was there. Joe had lived there most of his life, and he'd been a Navy veteran and a former Fire Captain, and he was very popular in the community.
Since he'd been in the fire department, the funeral procession was escorted by two fire trucks, and as we passed the main fire station, all of those left on duty were standing outside saluting the procession...a very touching gesture. I noticed a big difference about funerals in small towns as opposed to funerals in larger cities. For one thing, as the procession was passing through town, cars on the other side of the road were pulling over, and men were taking off their hats. In the "city," funeral processions seem to be seen as an impediment to traffic, and most people are quite rude in dealing with them. Also, the cemetery was right next to a park. As we passed the park, everyone stopped what they were doing and silently watched the procession...and it was a long procession.
Our return home was as uncomfortable as the trip down...you can only fit so many people into a mini-van. The highlight of the trip home was when were on I-25 just north of Walsenberg. Rebecca looked up a hillside, and started shouting "There's a bear." And sure enough, a small black bear was making his way down the hill. It was the first time I've ever actually seen a bear in the wild. I just hope he stayed off the highway.
We're now very exhausted, and we have to start back to work, with Rebecca going in very early today, and me going in very early tomorrow. I also have a lot of catching up to do as well.