A fascinating coincidence happened our first day out.  As Howard drove on Highway 84 heading southeast toward Texas, we came to the famed Pecos River and into the little town of Fort Sumner.  There we noticed a sign about Billy the Kid -- a museum, I think -- and then another indicating where Billy the Kid's "grave" is.  We didn't stop.  As we drove out of Ft. Sumner, I picked up my Superb Crosspatches puzzle book and turned the page to a fresh puzzle -- and saw, to my amazement, that it was named "Billy the Kid"!  Do I hear you humming the theme from The Twilight Zone?!!

December 29-30, 1998 While Larry and our grandson, Jason, and buddy from KU, Bryan, went to Taos to ski, Howard and I went for another whirlwind tour -- this time into southwestern Colorado, to see our friends in Naturita.  We drove Highway 44 to Farmington NM and then Highway 550 into Colorado.  As we went through Aztec NM, we stopped at the Aztec Ruins, another interesting National Monument, using our Golden Age Passport again.   I've got the Web location of the Ruins on my Choice New Mexico Links page.

We really enjoyed the Durango CO area -- the mountain scenery is spectacular!  (Check the links for some gorgeous photos.)  There were lots of skiers here and there, because there was just enough snow for them, but none on the highway!  Someday we'd like to go back and ride the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad to Silverton and back -- it looked like fun!  Silverton is a Victorian town and so is Ouray, which is 23 miles farther north, on the same mountainous highway we took out of Durango.  By "mountainous," I mean plenty of hairpin curves.   And the scenery is quite visible because there are few guardrails!  It reminded us of Frazier Canyon in British Columbia, which we drove in 1996.  The day was waning and we didn't want to worry our friends, so we skipped Telluride -- and were rewarded with a great dinner when we reached Naturita.

We traveled back to Albuquerque by way of Navajo country, stopping at Sheep Springs NM for some "Fry Bread."  When we reached Gallup, we did some reminiscing, because we got off the train here right after we were married in 1952.  Howard was in the Navy then, stationed in San Diego aboard the USS Piedmont (AD-17).    As we rode the Santa Fe Railway's El Capitan, he decided it was time for me to taste my first taco.  So when the train made its stop, we got off and crossed over a grassy area and Route 66 and went into a tiny cafe for a quick lunch.  Today there are only shops of various sizes there, so I found one that fit my memory and decided "This is it!"  The incident didn't make the same impression on Howard as it did on me, so he couldn't dispute it.  The reason I recall it so well that I was afraid the train would leave without us!

I learned a lesson in Gallup -- do not drink hot coffee with a meal featuring spicy hot green chile, because it GREATLY enhances the spicy hot part!
 

It was dark by the time we came back into Albuquerquefrom the west, so we were able to delight in all  the beautiful lights.   They made me think of a sparkling diamond bracelet on black velvet.

Christmas Eve  We attended the candlelight service at St. John's Methodist Church, then drove around admiring the luminarias;  they give a soft Christmas-y glow to the neighborhoods ... very nice!

December 23  Larry took us on a one-day tour of southwest New Mexico.  West of Socorro we stopped to visit the National Radio Astronomy Very Large Array (VLA), a group of 27 LARGE satellite receivers.  As I understand it, the scans accomplished by the receivers are something like an MRI of a section of the sky.  The movie Contact, starring Jodie Foster, features the VLA.

Then we went on to the Gila Cliff Dwellings north of Silver City.   It was getting late, so not far from there, we stopped and looked up at the stars, which were beautiful in the clear mountain air.  Off in the distance we could see the lights of the city of Truth or Consequences.

December 19   We visited the Albuquerque Biological Garden's "Festival of Lights," a lovely Christmas display.  The carolers were dressed in Victorian costumes.

December 11 Albuquerque.  On December 8, we took a day trip up the Turquoise Trail on the back side of Sandia Peak, through Madrid and Cerrillos, and into Santa Fe, where we had lunch at the Blue Corn Cafe.  Excellent food.  After going through the historic La Fonda Hotel and a few stores, we set out for the Jemez Mountains.  On the way, we stopped by White Rock for a breathtaking view of the Rio Grande River from the "Scenic Overlook" there.  It's too deep and wide to be captured in a single photo -- I did an Altavista search, but wasn't able to find a good one.

While I was at it, I put together a page of Choice New Mexico Links -- check it out.  It will sound a bit like a tourist piece, but that's because one of my resources was the Albuquerque CVB agency's colorful Fall 1998 to Spring 1999 booklet.

After we left the Overlook, we drove through Los Alamos, the home of National Laboratories.  It's where the first atomic bomb was developed.  It's obviously still top-secret, but they do have a website.  You'll find it on my New Mexico links page.  Also one for Sandia Labs; they host an Atomic Museum here in Albuquerque.

We left the desert ecosystem behind for a while as we drove through the beautiful Jemez (HAY-mez) Mountains.  Then we dropped down into Sulphur Canyon and into high-mountain desert country again.  We drove past several Pueblo  villages on our way back to Albuquerque, where we arrived just at sunset.

Yesterday, we explored Old Town here in Albuquerque.  After lunching at Fry Bread Mama's (more good food), we found a traditional American Indian wedding vase for a couple of our Kansas City friends.  One of the most interesting shops was the one with craft work by Senior Citizens.  They put together some beautiful work.

As I'm working on this page, I am ably assisted by Gus, the African Red parrot.  He's keeping an eye on me and if I leave the room without telling him I'll be back, he'll begin making all sorts of noise.  But if I tell him I'll be back, he just chirps once.  He's a lot of fun.

Well, that's all for this time.  More to come!

December 6, 1998 Hello, from Albuquerque, New Mexico!  Well, we were home for a month and then went on the road again.  We're here with our son, Larry, and his family for a few weeks, including Christmas.  We always enjoy visiting here--they have lots of sunny days, and the view of Sandia Peak from Larry's kitchen window is spectacular.  A couple of years ago, we rode the tram to the summit, so we probably won't do so again this year.  Another time we were here for the Balloon Fiesta in October; it was great to see all the hot-air balloons.  I'd love to go up in one sometime -- and I'd also love to ride in the Goodyear blimp someday (BIG grin)!  As we drove here from Kansas, we came by the Capulin Volcano National Monument in northeastern New Mexico; it's an interesting place. The nice thing about it was we have the National Parks/Monuments "Golden Age Passport," so we didn't have to pay the entry fee.