Thursday, May 6, 2010

Santa Fe, Blowing Away!















Our latest adventure has taken us to Santa Fe, NM. We left St. Louis last Sunday with Luanne and Tucker towing behind us. Luanne had driven in from Winthrop Harbor that day and we decided to do three more hours.

We spent the night in Marshfield, MO in an RV park right off the interstate. It was a great little spot with tons of restaurants nearby. The next day found us on the road fighting the winds as we drove through Oklahoma. It was very, very strange to be driving through Tulsa, just blocks from where I used to live without stopping! Late afternoon found us in El Reno, OK at a city campground. It was a very small place, but right off of the interstate and a good overnight stop.

I was glad to be off the road after fighting the winds all day long. There is a huge front which has been bringing high winds through for more than a week and it continues as I write from Santa Fe.

Tuesday evening found us at Palo Duro State Park in TX, south of Amarillo. Bama Deb had arrived the day before and it was great to see her again. Palo Duro is the second largest canyon in the US, I guess the Grand Canyon is #1. It is a beautiful spot, interesting drive into the campground with a 10% grade and twisting curves all the way down. It had been cool when we left El Reno and 100 degrees on the canyon floor!

The rocks are beautiful and wild turkey abound in the park. I think if all works out we are going back there on our way home and staying for a few days. The park is full of hiking trails and is so spectacular we want to explore some more.

Wednesday fought us fighting the wind again. As we entered New Mexico the snow capped mountains appeared in the distance and made the long journey worth while! We very happily arriving in Santa Fe to meet Nancy and Jack, Erlene and Bailey. The campground is just a few miles out of the city, so very convenient. The winds are gusting at 50 mph and actually have Saffire rocking and rolling!

Nancy had fixed a wonderful dinner with pot roast, salad, creamed corn, rolls...it was deluxe!
And so nice not to have to do a thing when we arrived. I was really tired so Teddy and I had an early evening.

We spent today in Santa Fe. A visit to the Georgia OKeeffe museum was not quite as rewarding as I had hoped. It is a little jewel of a museum, but they had turned half of it over to a special exhibit of the works of a modernist woman with a lot of anger in her pictures. Disappointing to say the least.

I asked two of the docents at the restaurant where we should have lunch and we ended up at a place locals eat. It was delicious, most especially the sopappillas!

Nancy and Jack ended up at the vets office instead of in town with us. Apparently Jack has eaten grass with something in it that made him sick. The vet said it snowed here last Sunday!
and the moisture produces something bad for dogs. He got a shot and some meds and seemed well tonight when we walked.

Erlene is recovering from her second round of chemo for breast cancer and her energy level is still not fully back, so after lunch she wandered back to the campground. Deb, Luanne and I spent the afternoon in Santa Fe. We wandered in shops and had fun looking at all the Indian jewelry at the Governor's Palace. I picked up some earrings for the girls and a silver guitar pick for Philip. Deb got a cool piece of turquoise and Luanne got a necklace for her niece.

We explored half of the wrong side of town looking for a liquor store. I am happy to report we enjoyed bloody mary's before dinner and will have chocolate martinis one night soon.

Erlene and Nancy were drinking wine. Erlene is now monitoring Nancy's wine consumption for her, and trying, trying, trying to get Nancy to train Jack....or was that Jack training Nancy??
I'm sure the whole campground heard the laughter from Saffire tonight. We ate here inside because the wind is soooo bad.

We are planning on a hike tomorrow. Deb has come up with a big park with trails and vistas where the dogs can go. I'm planning on sleeping in tomorrow, and hoping against hope that the winds will die down before then.

I'll have wifi here until we leave Sunday, so I'm off to load a few pictures and will be back tomorrow!


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