Instead of taking the highway from Mendoza to Salta in Argentina, my son and I decided to aim for Route 40, through the Andes Mountains. This is a very famous route, like Route 66 in the United States. Route 40 stretches from Rio Gallegos in the south to La Quiaca at the Bolivian border. On the way, we visited Parque Provincial Ischigualasto, a national park, which is often referred to as Valle de la Luna. It’s well worth it just to Google the park so you can see how extraordinary it is. From there, we traveled over the mountains and many non-populated areas before we reached civilization. A magnificent and unique landscape became the norm.