Beamer is feeling a lot better today. He is not fully recovered, however he has a lot more pep in his step. As a matter of fact, at the end of this day, when we arrived at Bob and Gloria’s ski lodge, he immediately started jumping up and down and running around like a little kid. He remembers this place and he likes it here. Perhaps he can detect the scent of his little friend Pierre. He is now laying in front of the fire relaxing and watching the flames. He still won’t eat his dog food, but that’s not because he is sick, it is because he got spoiled by the people food we fed him during his recovery. Did I say he was spoiled? We hit the road this morning at 7:45 and 77 ... read more

Today we were dealing with a sick dog. Beamer got into something outside last night, while Steve was walking him, and it did not agree with him at all. He has been sick all day. Hopefully he will be better tomorrow. So, we are here in Santa Fe for three days and intend to take in as much of the countryside as we have time to see. We left the hotel this morning at 8:40 AM and 81 degrees (which started out at 59 degrees at 7 AM and rose to 100 before the day was over) and headed north toward Taos. Before long we were in the Tesuque Reservation and as soon as we crossed over, we saw our first Casino. There were many along this part of our journey today. One of the first ... read more

The hotel we are staying in houses a number of workers. We know that a few are doing some kind of road work, as evidenced by their trucks and the equipment in the parking lot. Not sure how others may be employed. In any event, they were up before dawn and off to work, so we were awake early, as well. Not to say that they were noisy. They were not. But we are light sleepers in hotel rooms, and we heard their alarms go off and their trucks start up when they left. So, we made an effort to make use of that to plan ahead on our trip. Our plans are still in flux and I am not sure we made much progress. But at 8 AM we knew we had to get going, ... read more

We got a late start this morning. We were up at 6:30 AM, but decided to spend some time making changes to our trip itinerary. We decided to spend more time in New Mexico and then head for Colorado. Our good friends Bob and Gloria offered us their lodge in Winter Park, and having been there twice already, we jumped at the chance to go there again. It is such a wonderful place in a wonderful town. So…after making new reservations and cancelling others, we were off at 9:30 AM and 87 degrees, heading west through Hill Country toward western Texas. The drive today was eclectic. It began through flat lands over roadways bleached white by the southern sun and adorned beautifully with leafy green trees. And on a day when the sky is mostly blue ... read more

Well, we made it through the storm zone. When we left the hotel this morning at 7 AM and 81 degrees, the air was as thick as it often is, when a huge storm is brewing off the coast. The skies were brimming with black billowy rain clouds and the humidity was just hanging in the air like a wet blanket. We were under the outer bands of a storm and it was a familiar feeling, having been through more than our share of hurricanes over the past 20 years. We drove through a number of rain bands on our trip across Alabama and Mississippi and into Louisiana, but by the time we got to Lafayette, the skies began to clear and the rest of the day was partly sunny. The gamble paid off and we ... read more