Hello Again,
We've had an amazing week with Pat's good friend Nicole (Rif) and her husband Nate, as well as Pat's mother Anne.
We arrived at Rif and Nate's place in Albuquerque and it was an immediate celebration. We all hadn't seen each other since Christmas and Nate brews his own amazing beer. That's the perfect mix for a celebration. We did manage to see a lot of the city's best sights, however, and saw them through the eyes of locals. We drank beer not only from Nate's personal stash but also from several of Albuquerque's great breweries. Marble Brewery comes to mind as particularly good. After an awesome dinner on our first night in Old Town, we went to Marble and ended up starting a dance party. The second day was filled with professional beer tasting for the guys and manicures/pedicures for the girls. We also went over to Rif's Aunt Deb's house and had a great Fourth of July party with some of the big wigs of Albuquerque. To cap these crazy four days we set off a slew of our own fireworks in front of their house on July 4th. Obviously it's legal here. Eight hundred fireworks and one national anthem later, a perfect four days had concluded.
It was fantastic to be there. Rif moved out six years ago and Pat had always meant to go visit but for whatever reason never made it, so this was six years in the making. We have met Nate several times back east, but it was great to have one on one couple time to really get to know him better. He's born and raised Albuquerque and so the perfect person to educate us on a city we had absolutely no preconceptions about. They also have a perfect dog named Kokopelli (the Native American god of fertility) that we couldn't get enough of. We saw the best parts of the city, and they were many. On the flip side, Nate acknowledged the downsides such as crime and of course a lack of water. The Rio Grande flows right though the city, but even this far north it's nothing spectacular. We could clearly see the Las Conchas fires burning out of control over 100 miles away. With that said we had a great time. Shauna also got Rif's wedding "bible". Rif and Nate got married in Saratoga last year, and since we're getting married there next year, Shauna can use a lot of the same people to do our bash. Less work for us is a big plus. Shauna said it was like getting all of the answers to a test that had yet to be taken. Of course a visit like that always seems too short but that means it was a lot of fun. Thanks to the Zerbe's for being wonderful hosts, see you both again soon back east.
The fun did not end in Albuquerque, however. Pat's mother Anne flew in and we picked her up before driving forty-five minutes north to New Mexico's tiny capital of Santa Fe. It's a beautiful city full of restaurants, bars, and art galleries. It's the quintessential southwestern town full of Adobe and Huevos Rancheros. There is green chili on everything as well. The food in New Mexico is fantastic. It's hard to go wrong with meat, cheese, beans, and green chili all wrapped up together in a fresh homemade tortilla. We're staying at a great little B&B called the Water St Inn, and it's in a perfect location just three blocks from the main plaza. We walked all around the city (it doesn't take long) the first day taking in the pretty Adobe architecture. The major hotels and churches in particular were impressive. We got a drink on the roof of La Fonda and took in the natural beauty along with the raging fires not far away. The next day we got in the car and took the "high road" to Taos, about seventy miles to the north. Taos is also an artist's town but much smaller than Santa Fe. It's beautifully set high up in the mountains. Back in the day it was very much a cowboy town, and it still has that feel, except that the saloon has been retrofitted into an art gallery or trendy cafe. It is a ski bum town as well, having four or five good resorts within thirty miles. It has a bit of a Jackson, Wyoming feel but much more laid back (even though you can tell there is plenty of money here). We also took the short drive from downtown to the Taos Pueblo, where the natives of the area have been living for thousands of years. Of course it is a tourist trap, but it was interesting to see a still inhabited native village made completely of Adobe. At the same time it was sad to see the oppression forced on these people by white culture.
Today we're doing the Santa Fe museum circuit, possibly starting with the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum. Tonight we're taking Anne out to La Casa Sena (highly recommended by Rif) for her early birthday dinner. Maybe we'll pop into our restaurant next to the B&B afterwards for a drink and some great piano bar atmosphere. We've done it the last two nights, so why not make it three for three?
Tomorrow we'll be saying goodbye to Anne and getting back to our reality of camping in the national parks. It has been great having Anne along and we're so happy she could meet us somewhere along on this crazy trip to share in the experience. After being literally crammed into the back seat with all of our camping gear, she has shared in the experience. Although it has been so great to sleep in a bed and go out to eat the past week, we need to get back to basics and stop spending money. Over the next thirteen days we'll hit six more parks to bring our total up to twelve! This will bring us to Colorado, Utah, and Arizona. Next up is Mesa Verde NP in Colorado, and we're looking forward to checking out the ancient cliff dwellings of the Anasazi people.
Until then,
S&P
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