Sunset and Goodby

We started off the day with a VERY BRISK hike up the short trail on the Cerillos Hills. A beautiful day, totally clear, cool with a nice wind. Great view from the top as always, of the Ortiz Mountains. (I've posted that before, so didn't bother now.0

We were followed not long after by a riding train of elementary school girls. They were very happy and excited.

Cut from the 19th Century to the 21st Century: we needed to make our hike brisk, because Mom wanted to catch a Rail Runner train into Santa Fe, to go shopping for shoes.

Mom made her train with minutes to spare. Dad and I went to the dump. and then to Home Depot to buy an additional window for our bedroom. We caught up with Mom in Santa Fe, who had Very New Shoes, and they had lunch, but I at least got to sit outside at a table with them. We then drove up into the hills to a place with very wild outdoor sculpture, and another place with glass blowing and pretty glass. "No Dogs Allowed!" They have no sense of humor.

Mom and Dad had dinner at a place in Madrid. They said it was very good. I had to stay in the car, but they said that the Madrid dogs kept wandering in to see what was cooking.

Now we fly back tomorrow. We are sad to leave our Madrid casita ... but I'll be blogging you again in a few months to pick up the story.

Happy Trails!

Sundance

More Swimming!

First thing this morning, I got another chance to go swimming, this time in the Galisteo River, not far from our casita. It was very refreshing. The day was warm but not hot -- perfect for walking in in a river!

Then we went into Albuquerque and spent some time on Nob Hill, where Mom shopped and got herself some birthday outfits, and Dad and I walked around seeing the sights. As you can see, the dogwoods have decided that the blizzards and cold winds are over.

(As you might have guessed, the Dogwood is my Favorite Tree.)

There are some very interesting looking stores and signs on Nob Hill.

Also some very interesting architecture.

Mom's Party Game

Today was Mom's birthday, and to celebrate she wanted a party game -- namely to create medallions made up of broken plates, glass and stuff and set them in concrete in our front yard.

I helped with some of the beginning designs. Dad did the grunt work, digging the holes, mixing the concrete and driving into Santa Fe after it turned out that we didn't have enough concrete.

Pam and our friend Pat did all the major design work (after my input). We have this horrible set of Pottery Barn plates that Mom and Dad bought when we first moved in here, so Mom and Pat started by smashing those with hammers and sticking them in the cement. The two of them also had big collections of glass fragments, tiles, beads, beer-bottle tops and things too various to list, and so a lot of that got pressed into the wet concrete as well.

We were all pretty proud when we were finished. (Pretty tired too.) We think that what we created is quite extraordinary and beautiful (and also quite strange). We finished Mom's birthday celebration by going to dinner at Harry's Roadhouse Cafe. Well, THEY did; all I got was to sleep in the car; but by that time, sleeping in the car was fine with me.

Here is one of the finished medallions.

A Big Day Trip

Mom, Dad, our friend Pat and I had a big day-trip today, driving to western New Mexico for them to buy jewelry for Turquoise Trail Traders. One of the best parts of the trip for me was to ride and snooze and snug for 2 1/2 hours with my Dad (going out) and then with my Mom (driving home). Our first stop was Gallup, but they tell me the jewelry was pretty expensive there, so we didn't stay long, but drove south to Zuni and the beautiful Corn Mountain mesa that welcomes you to the Pueblo.

The first thing we saw in Zuni was a Zuni-bread oven getting fired. I guess once it's hot enough they close it up, and then you can bake bread in it. Too bad that we weren't there long enough to sample the bread!

The jewelry prices were much better in Zuni, and Mom and Dad were able to get everything they were looking for. Pat got some nice stuff for herself too.

On the way home, we stopped at El Morro (Inscription Rock) -- one of our favorite places in that part of the country. That's the place where hundreds of years ago travelers across the desert found a beautiful pool of fresh water, and then wrote their names and dates on the walls of the cliffs.

Back home, dinner, then a short time while the people admired the things they bought, and then everybody went to bed early.

Rock Pictures

Today Mom, Dad, Pat and I had a great romp in Petroglyphs National Monument, just west of Albuquerque. Native American people carved all these pictures into big hunks of lava many many years ago.

It was bright sunny, cold and windy out in the canyon.

Mom, Dad and Pat had a great time with the pictures. The pictures looked OK to me. Actually the main parts of my day were 1) A great big jack rabbit hare running up through the rocks 2) Hundreds of geckos that I chased through the bushes 3) Getting my leash and my Dad totally tangled up in the bushes as I chased the geckos, so that he had to keep stopping and untangling us.

Afterwards I was so tired out that I hardly noticed that the grown-ups stopped for lunch in Albuquerque, although I did notice -- and appreciate! -- the half-turkey sandwich that Dad brought back. Slept all the way home, and we all had a quiet, tired, happy dinner, and went to bed early.

Stormy New Mexico Skies

We are here happy in New Mexico with wild winds and dust storms all around us. The snow they talked about hasn't showed up yet, except for a few flurries.

Mom and I (and our good friend Pat) are hanging out in the Casita being cozy and warm. We're very happy with the new pillow from our friend Diane.

As you can see, I spent most of my day sleeping in the car while Mom and Dad did about 120 errands buying stuff (including fortunately a lot of good dog food).

Earlier in the day, Mom and I took a hike down to the downhill part of our land, where we have discovered a great garbage dump going back probably 100 years, mainly of bean and Spam cans. I am greatly looking forward to going back soon and doing a lot of more serious excavations with my ever-so-capable paws!