denacj

It wouldn't be vacation without a stop in Moab, Utah. Deep in Southeastern Utah, this place is our home away from home. Each year for the past five, we've built a stop in this magical canyon country. We arrived right around noon and for the first time in many, we drove right by our standard hotel accomodations and arrived at Coyote Run rental home. An 1,800 square foot, two story house located on a golf course overlooking the vast expanses of red rock, this place is amazing. Every comfort is available. We unpacked, dodging the enormous bees feasting on the desert lavender prominent in the frontyard landscape. Once settled, we went to the most amazing rock shop and 'hounded' for additional specimens for our cactus garden and succulent pots. Beautiful colors, some raw and some polished, ... read more

Dear Family and Friends, it has been three days since my last travel blog post. That sounds like a bit of a confession; which it is. Let me wrap up our last day in Santa Fe before I share thoughts and reflections on our short stop in Taos, New Mexico. Our last day in Santa Fe was terrific - sightseeing, shopping and a fantastic dinner at The Shed. We spent the vast majority of the morning at a shopping complex called Jackalope where multiple artists and shops are all found - everything from furniture, home decor, plants, pottery, jewlery and so on. We met a really nice couple from Oaxaca, Mexico who were in town for a few days giving ceramic demonstrations and selling their beautiful pottery and sculptures. We carefully selected a vase with calla ... read more

Last left off with the Blackberry Jalapeno Margarita at a lovely brewery/restaurant in Las Cruces, New Mexico. All I can say is, thank you Yelp! The place is called De La Vega's Pecan Grill and specializes in, you guessed it, Pecan Ale. Before the margarita, we sampled the unique brews - Pecan Ale and Green Chile Ale. Flavorful and bold with the scents and taste of respective names. The menu was a bit too pricey given that so many amazing New Mexican restaurants were available, we passed on dinner here, but did follow through on the recommendations of the bartender who recommended El Sombrero Patio Cafe. We arrived at this seemingly tiny restaurant with a very packed parking lot a bit after 6pm. We nabbed the last four top table before the wait for tables began, ... read more

Good evening from Ajo, Arizona! A sleepy and VERY small town 135 miles from Tuscon and 43 from the Mexican boarder. We arrived yesterday following a very long drive from Palm Springs. The trip wouldn't have been nearly as draining had we not run smack into a highway closure of the 10 and were diverted well into agricultural land with miles and miles of alfalfa fields, probably adding 45 minutes to an already long drive. We checked in to a tiny road-side motel La Siesta and unloaded all our wares into a shoebox size cabin - our home for two nights. Easily the tiniest room imaginable, the cabin has a quaint feel to it and is comfortable in spite of not having a lot of excess room to move about. But we are really not supposed ... read more

Summer Vacation 2012! The bags assembled, the road warrior provisions procured, the route selected and a mix of cost effective and splurge accomodations booked - here we go. We are sitting quietly this afternoon (on vacation, did I mention that?) readying to leave for three weeks on our annual road trip. With stops in Palm Springs, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Nevada and a soft landing at the end in California's beautiful Central Coast, we begin this year's journey with a much less heavy heart and head of worry. Wish it was totally cancer free, but to no avail. While I won't be making this trip gripping my cell phone in anticipation of details about my mom's cancer treatment, this year we are thinking of Heidi and her very aggressive fight against round two. I'm hoping ... read more