In the southwest and other places with little rain, like our sweet home here in Albuquerque, Christmas trees tend to be replaced with Christmas cacti and succulents. But just because we don’t have the traditional Christmas tree doesn’t mean we can’t decorate our cactus like a champ! What a lot of people don’t realize is there are a lot of different types of cacti, and there are different techniques for doing so. So we thought what better way to get in the holiday spirit than with a quick DIY cactus decoration. So, if you’re apartment is too small for a big tree or you just want to do something different this year, check out our tips for decorating your Christmas cactus! Illuminating Desert Plants for the Holidays: It's a bit more time consuming and a specialized task to adorn cacti, succulents, yucca, and unusually-shaped desert plants with string lights. Here are a few tips and tricks: Invest in a good pair of gloves, ones that won't allow spines and needles to penetrate. For taller cactus or hard-to-reach branches, consider getting a reaching, grabbing, or pick-up tool. Net lights draped over a cactus are much easier than wrapping with string lights, although they have a different effect and don't outline the shape as much. Use a light hand while decorating--don't stretch the light strand or wrap it tightly around a cactus. Barrel Cactus Decorated With Lights: Barrel cactus looks best wrapped with one color of string lights, like red or white, so that they sound out. Size: up to 5 feet high by 2 feet wide which can really give the Christmas tree effect. Flowers bloom on old growth, and are up to 3 inches wide and grow in a ring around the top. So it gives the effect of ornaments. Go For The Cactus Garden Look: This is pretty simple if you’re not into getting a large cactus. Twist lights throughout the garden, be sure not to tangle them too much for simple removal. Now that you have a couple of solid ideas for decorating your cacti, choose which one would be fit your living lifestyle! If you’re looking for a new ride that can fit your cactus we invite you to check out our inventory and schedule a test drive today! Happy holidays! Find The Perfect Ride For All Of Your Holiday Needs!

If you’re looking to hit the road and tap into your adventurous side, we have some pretty cool places that you might want to check off your bucket list if you've never been before! And since the weather has cooled down, this might be the best time to hit the road and take on those harder adventures you wouldn’t be able to handle in the summer heat! So whether you visiting or taking some time to hit up some of the beautiful places this state has to offer, check out our list below! If you’re from the surrounding area and you need to service your vehicle before hitting the open road, stop into Galles Chevrolet and let our trained professional get your vehicle into tip-top shape! El Malpais National Monument: New Mexico is home to 11 national monuments, and several are an easy drive from Albuquerque Best known for its lava tubes and lava flows created millions of years ago There are three exits off of I-40 that take you to different parts of the park Highway 53 out of Grants takes you to lava tubes and park headquarters, where you can obtain a mandatory, but free, cave permit. Admission is $12, $6 for children 6-12. Tours are seven days a week, starting at 8:30 a.m. with the last tour at 3:30 p.m. Acoma Pueblo's Sky City: The longest-inhabited city in North America, dating back to 1150. Both the Mission and Acoma Pueblo are Registered National Historic Landmarks and are on the National Register of Historic Places Sky City can be accessed only by 1.5-hour guided educational tours, which start at the cultural center, and a permit must be purchased for photography, which is restricted Tour fees are $23 for adults, $20 for seniors, military and students, and family rates also are available. Camera permit is $13 About 55 minutes west of Albuquerque Tent Rocks: You can drive to an overview of the rocks, or for a more interesting and interactive journey, park at the lower lot and wiggle your way through the narrow slot canyons on a hike up through the balanced rocks themselves To get there, head north on I-25, then take the Highway 22 exit toward Cochiti Reservoir. Follow the signs to Cochiti Pueblo and the monument. Vehicle entry fee is $5. Madrid: Has evolved into its current funky artist colony, hippie-southwest vibe with everything from art boutiques to coffee shops to a gypsy festival and a fourth of July parade. Service Your Ride Here!

Are you planning to take a summer road trip? Perhaps, you're like me and get very impatient and can’t help but ask “are we there yet,” every five minutes. Well, if you are or maybe you’re traveling with children, you’ll need some entertainment to keep everyone’s mind off miles still left. We have listed out some of our favorite road trip games in this week’s blog! Take a look below and let us know what your favorite games to play on those long trips are! I Spy: great for trips with little kids! One person spots something and describes it (“I spy with my little eye something….”) and everyone else has to guess what it could be. First person to guess what the object is gets to start the next round! The license plate game: everyone knows this, but it involves trying to spot a license plate from each state of the 50 states, at least once on your road trip. Depending on where you’re headed, you could also include the provinces of Canada! Name Game: Pick a category (it can be foods or animals or anything) and the first person names something (i.e. Popcorn). The next person then has to name something in the same category whose first letter is the last letter of the previous name/ word (i.e. Noodles). Stories: one person starts a story with “Once Upon A Time” and then a single sentence. The story continues sentence by sentence, with everyone in the car contributing one sentence of the story at a time. The story is over when someone says “The End!” To spice it up, you could also start with “It was a dark and stormy night...” 20 Questions: everyone knows this one as well, but one person thinks of something and everyone else can ask 20 questions to try and find out what that thing is. The first person to guess the correct item/ thing, gets to start the next round! Are you ready to head out on your trip? Now, that you have your game list, all that is left to do is pack up the chevy and hit the road! Take A Road Trip In A New Chevrolet