Graham Central Station, Albuquerque, NM

I love train stations, they remind me of the summers of my youth when Mom, my sis and I would travel by rail from California (through Albuquerque!) to Illinois for our two week vacation with my grandparents. And as an adult I had a similar love affair with trains when I stood in the middle of New York's Grand Central Station for the first time and felt as if the world was literally rushing by me on all sides, going every which way in a hurry....but I digress.

Graham Central Station in Albuquerque is not a train station. It's a dance hall, and more. Self-promoted as "America's finest nightclub facility featuring multiple club and music formats!", GCS lives up to the marketing tagline. Karaoke in one corner, rock in another, a bachelorette party moving through all genres and rooms, and country western/swing in yet another corner.

I had never heard of Graham Central Station until last night, yet this is a chain of several "finest nightclubs", spread through Texas, New Mexico (Albuquerque and Las Cruces), Louisiana, Tennessee, Oklahoma and Arizona, with sister clubs in several other states as well.

I am a country western girl at heart, so my night at Graham Central Station was spent in the country western music/dance hall portion of the finest nightclub facility in America and it was knee slapping, toe tapping fun.

The music was nonstop and the dance floor was never empty. The crowd was a mix of young and old bootwearing folks who love to two-step. We were a sweaty but energized bunch. The swamp cooler was working overtime, but it was barely keeping up. But no matter how damp our cotton shirts were, nothing could dampen our spirits and it was a great night.

Now that I have danced, I want to take a train ride - maybe a ride on the Cumbres and Toltrec in Farmington. I think it would be good for my soul. I love the way a train feels, the cadence of its movement over steel tracks, the soothing sway of the railcars as they pull and tug against each other, the cool air that flows in through windows that slide down or vents that push air upward.

We had a two-stepping good time last night. Graham Central Station may not be a train station, but it was definitely good for my soul (and my calves).

I am in the Land of Enchantment and I am enchanted still.