Cloudcroft, White Sands, and Thanksgiving with the Osterhouts

 The first part of the adventure for Mom and Dad was the 48 hour train trip, complete with sleeper car and meals.  They had a great time in spite of some delays.

Next, we explored the area around my new school.

Stephen grilled a non-traditional Thanksgiving feast.

Then we headed South toward Cloudcroft, just at the tail end of a rare NM snowstorm.  It was a good thing we took the truck with 4 wheel drive, because The Lodge in Cloudcroft didn't exactly plow or shovel very well!

On our way to Cloudcroft we explored Fort Stanton, which has had a varied history and still has many interesting buildings along with a small museum.  The museum docent remarked that someone in our group must be into history, because we spent so much time in the museum before walking out to visit the buildings!  We replied that we had to read every sign and plaque -- doesn't everyone? 

We arrived at The Lodge in time for a delicious dinner by the fire, with a pianist playing a selection of jazz standards.  

The next day we left snowy Cloudcroft, which is at approximately 9,000 feet in elevation, and headed down the mountain to White Sands, which is at just over 4,000 ft.  By the time we got to the park it was sunny and in the high 40's.  No snow there!

During our road trip, we made a couple of lunch stops that included a lot of what Stephen calls "local color."  The Smoky Bear Diner was one of those places.

We had some time at home after our road trip, during which we took walks in the open space, read books, played ukuleles, and just hung out.

When it was time for the Osterhouts to complete the adventure with another 2 day train journey, the kitties tried to join them.

Ultimately, they were not allowed to pack themselves.  I don't think they would have enjoyed the trip. Here is one final photo, a shot from the moving train, taken with Mom's phone:

Marinos visit 2022

The Valley Falls Marinos visited during the Balloon Fiesta this year, but we didn't do anything "balloony."  We did have a lovely 2 days in Santa Fe, during which we went to a quilt show, a library book sale, strolled through an art show, and watched a Native American dancer in the plaza.  Later, back in Albuquerque, I showed the area of my new school, and we visited the pumpkin/sunflower farm and some small local businesses in addition to walking around the community garden.

Here we are having dinner at Gabriel's, just outside of Santa Fe.

The quilt show was in the Santa Fe Convention Center.

Our very charming and comfortable room at the Old Santa Fe Inn.

Back in Albuquerque, a walk in the Los Poblanos Fields open space behind my school.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And a visit to the pumpkin patch / sunflower farm.

Salt Lake City

This charming condo about a block from Temple Square in Salt Lake City was our home away from home for our stay.  I had wanted to revisit SLC with Stephen and see all the sights since the 2019 Orff conference.  Despite the state of air travel, I was able to get cheap flights on points by going Mon - Fri and thankfully we experienced no delays or cancellations.

Each morning I went for walks around the city while Stephen slept in.

Then we walked to a cheery cafe with vegan and non-vegan breakfast options.

There was a lot of construction going on in and around Temple Square, but we were able to visit the Church History Museum and the Beehive House on  our first day.

The next day we picked up a rental car and drove to the Bonneville Salt Flats.  The GPS says, "Bonneville International Speedway."  The infrastructure consists of a sign, a parking lot and 3 porta-potties.  When there is an event, they just set up everything on the salt flat and then take it away afterward.  Some folks were arriving early and setting up for trials and Stephen got to talk to a bunch of car guys.  

I tried to get a close-up of the salt crystals. 

It's hard to convey how vast it is.  The distances are also somewhat deceiving.  We walked from the parking lot to the area where the racers were setting up tents and cones, and it was farther than it seemed.  The heat and the sun reflecting off the salt were intense!  

Stephen wanted to drive into the mountains near SLC and I wanted to hike, so the next day we did both.

We enjoyed all the sculptures on display around the city and visited the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art.

And on one of my evening walks I strolled through the lovely Brigham Young Park. 

SLC is a very interesting, clean, walkable city with excellent public transportation and lots of things to do in the surrounding areas.  We highly recommend it as a vacation destination!