Leaving Santa Fe

We leave Santa Fe on Tuesday for Denver, just as a cold front and snow storm hits the Rockies. Once again it has been an awesome time

Friday - after a very stressful week at AT&T - the wife and I tried to run to the top of Atalaya Mountain (9,121'). It was super sunny





I've made it to the top 2x but also was turned back last April because of snow. Friday we were denied. It is possible - probably with $20 Yaktrax - but not for us Friday especially as it becomes steeper and steeper. We were a little less than a mile away





Early Saturday and Sunday mornings Hudson and I did a 4.3-mile loop with maybe 550' of elevation. He's sleeping right now. Sunday we started maybe 15-minutes before sunrise and saw a coyote about 50 feet away. It looked like a much less fluffy Husky

Afterwards Maureen and I did a little final shopping for fun regional things



We then went one last time to the plaza





Hopefully a final night of drink with my buddy Drew and his wife tomorrow and an uneventful drive to Denver

Atalaya Mountain

After a night out with 2 old buddies and a few pints and a few shots of Crown Royale, I figured a run was needed. I did part of Atalaya Mountian, which is maybe 2,000' of elevation gain over 3.5-miles one-way (I did maybe 625' and 4.6-miles round-trip - it is tough run). It was yet another beautiful day

Day Trip to Chimayo and Taos

We headed up to Chimayo and Taos for the day. First we drove through Tesuque where we had stayed for 5 weeks last year

The art on the bridges and noise retaining walls on Highway 84 north of Santa Fe





One of the several casinos



We went to Chimayo specifically to get some more mystical dirt with healing properties:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Santuario_de_Chimayo

Chimayo once had a bad drug scene, including heroin distribution. When we first came to Santa Fe last Easter we saw the pilgrimage over 3 days heading to the church, people walking many miles along this road







Santuario de Chimayó















After spending some time, getting some dirt and lighting a candle for Maureen's old college roommate who recently died, we headed to Taos





The 3 of us went for a run along the Rio Grande











After a good run, a great meal and some shopping we headed back to Santa Fe. Here is Blake's Lottaburgers welcoming us back on our way through Espanola

Dale Ball Trails

One of the best things about Santa Fe is the great running trails. The best is the Dale Ball trails

Sunday me and Hudson got up early and were ready to go at sunrise. Even though it doesn't seem to snow much here, when it does it takes months for snow in the shade to melt







Hudson either happy to be with me or bitter about being on leash - same look. He did get some time off-leash when a large poodle came over off-leash. Hudson is grumpy being on-leash and other dogs coming up to him. So I let him go and the three of us ran until we ran into the poodle's owner





200 feet high - not much but a good work out



Monday after work (I usually work 5:30am to 3:00pm) me and the wife went to do a 3-mile run. We took a new trail that was steeper than I explained











Unfortunately I somehow got lost despite being well-marked with maybe 28 wooden maps throughout the system. It actually took me a mile-and-a-half running on sand to figure out we were in an arroyo. HAHAHA. Oh well...

Durango to Santa Fe

Monday morning we began the 212-mile drive to Santa Fe. This is our hotel in the daylight





Here is the Animas River and the trail I forced Hudson to run on last night. Seriously - he was a bitter dog



Heading South...



I had to take two half-days off work since we did long drives on Friday and Monday. I did get some work done - when the sun wasn't making it impossible to see my laptop. I also took a staff call in Pagosa Springs. As in hot springs with a strong sulphur smell



On to New Mexico...











Camel Rock



Our festive back-yard





It was a relaxing first week here - more or less. I got caught up with AT&T work and began running more seriously. Maureen was pretty stressed as she was out-of-nowhere offered a job by one of AT&T's third-party contractors out of Denver (2 days in the office, 3 days virtual). Still TBD

Santa Fe is such a happy place - festive with more sun than you could hope for. This is "downtown"



Here are a few pics for my folks

First Ma, some of the religious architecture & symbols





Then Pa, who loves trains. There is even a quiz for him