3.30.2012

At Aspen Vista



Happy dog going for a hike.




Sad dog doesn't want to go back home.

3.28.2012

A Visit from Andy

Arrived into town last Thursday night without incident. It kinda went wrong from there.

Friday, we got a late start over some Whoo's Donuts. I thought there'd be a good hike out in Tesuque, but couldn't find anything online. Burning daylight … it occurred to me I hadn't seen the Caldera in a long time. A quick check for a sandwich shop in Los Alamos I'd heard of, and off.

No sign of it at the address Google had, but another one appeared. Haunted by the breakfast burritos we were too late for, got some recommended wraps and hit the road again.

Looking out for the Coyote Call trailhead, noticed that the Caldera itself was open. Haven't been since that skiing trip, Andy had never seen it. The road down, bumpy but clear. Clear skies, a cool breeze, lunch outside at the new visitors center. And then in to ask about hiking. To be told the trails were too muddy, with the melting snow; they were going out reevaluate, but Coyote Call, up opposite the Caldera was open.

After the one fakeout, parked at the trailhead. Set out across the still-snowy ground.



Where we promptly dropped knee-deep into the snow. And though there were mercifully only-muddy patches, it was a long slog up to to where the trail heads into the woods. Which was not any less snowy.

Around two hours of driving for about 45 minutes outside. When the point of the day was to be outside. It was partially redeemed when we found the Don Quixote tasting room outside White Rock.

And luckily, there was dinner at Whole Hog with Stacy and Jim, in preparation for the next day's radio show. And then much socializing back here after.

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Dashed out for burritos before the live show. Will post the link when the podcast is available, but I thought it was great — and not just 'cause my friend was the guest. Good insight on barbecuing.



Update: download here. Live radio, people.

We'd thought about what to do for the rest of the day. Due to be another beautiful one. Mon and I hadn't been to Taos since our trip out here over ten years ago. And we never saw Taos Pueblo then. Andy had done the standard Santa Fe stuff … to Taos!

Road trip! The main road's a little twisty and turny, but pretty. A bit over an hour to the pueblo north of town.

Which was closed.

Sigh.

Strolled town a bit, found a nice place for an outdoor lunch for some awesome gyros. The drive back on the high road was prettier than I remembered. But it definitely meant we spent more time, again, in the car than outside.

Done in. Stayed home for the evening, catching up.

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Sunday, around, a late start to spend the afternoon in Albuquerque. Circled downtown, and then wound up at the Southwest Chocolate and Coffee Fest. Not a lot of samples, but more than enough. Especially since we were planning on dinner before bringing Andy to the airport.



Insanely good hamburgers, for two of us, at Holy Cow. A few last minutes to visit.

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And then, since Mary had been in town for yoga teacher training for the past week, we caught up with her. We had an outing the week before upon her arrival. But she wrapped in the afternoon, packed up, and met up with us for more stories.

3.23.2012

Andy's live on Mouth of Wonder tomorrow, talking about smoking meat. We'll probably be there, too, trying to keep everyone in line.

You can listen to a live stream on Saturday, March 24 at 10:30 AM Mountain Standard Time, here at the KSFR site, the player at the bottom of the Mouth of Wonder site, or download it as a podcast from iTunes.