Short Albuquerque Visit

We drove from Yuma to Deming in a day and then from Deming to Albuquerque on the next.  We bypassed Las Cruces and went from Deming to Hatch and then up I-25 to Albuquerque.

Leaving Deming and driving the Hatch highway was a very scenic experience.  I was quite surprise of the beauty on this road although Rand McNally had it labeled as a Scenic Highway.  The map was correctly labeled.

Kind of hard to tell on this photo but the vistas into the distance on both sides of the highway were great.  We will have to drive this way again.  It took about 3 1/2 hours to get to Albuquerque on a very pleasant highway.  We camped again at the military campground at Kirtland AFB which is about 15 minutes from Reid and Amy's house.

This was Easter Weekend and we carved out time to spend Reid and Amy. We were only going to spend a few days in Albuquerque and this time we couldn't see and do everything we wanted.  We were limited to:

• Seeing Reid and Amy and spending time with them
• Eating NM cuisine
• Working on their yard
• Spending one day in Santa Fe
• Extended family celebration on Easter

Reid and Amy were working on Wednesday afternoon, so the first thing we did after we got set up in the campground was find a Blakes Lotaburger and have a green chile cheeseburger for lunch.  It was great.

Later, that evening after work, we went to Padilla's Mexican Kitchen for dinner

The sopapilla's and the rest of dinner were great.  I know I have posted a picture of the same thing a time or two, but I love that food!  And it is hard to find a better restaurant in town.  Another one we like is Frontier Restaurant and we went there twice for breakfast, once on Friday and again on Sunday.  Hueveros rancheros and the hot cinnamon roll are always a safe choice there.

Reid took off Thursday and Friday and we worked on his yard.  He is in the middle of a big yard landscaping project that has take a few weeks.  Thursday was spent was moving dirt around, leveling it in places, adding yard trim to a walkway, and laying down some stones.

It is very nice and is looking better each day.  Their yard (both front and back) is going from one with a lot of grass (which requires watering) to one that has only a small area of grass.  He laid down a lot of mulch and planted a number of desert plants throughout the yard.  He also installed an extensive drip system to keep the plants and bushes healthy.

On Friday we went to Santa Fe by way of Cedar Crest on the back side of Sandia mountain.  He had a building to check out and we liked the drive on the back road to Santa Fe.

We passed through old towns that have become tourist stops. Madrid and Cerrillos were once important mining sites on the Turquoise Trail.  Now they are known for arts and crafts and unique little stores. The drive was interesting and I like the variety instead of traveling along the same routes all the time.  I think I've driven the Santa Fe/Albuquerque I-25 corrider a thousand times. (I grew up in Santa Fe.)

As we do nearly every time we visit, we drove by our old hangouts around some other places in Santa Fe.  Amy spent high school there and Pam grew up in Tennessee. Pam has heard the wind shield tour many times over the years but is a good sport about it.  

We drove out airport road to the old airport and had a look.  I remember then we stopped off at Santa Fe Country Club.  The Santa Fe Airport closed back when I was in high school.  At one time Continental Airlines and Frontier Airlines operated out of Santa Fe, now it is predominately smaller commuter type airplane travel.

We made our way downtown to the Plaza in Santa Fe and ended up having lunch at the famous La Fonda Hotel.  That is always a treat.

After we returned to Reid and Amy's I helped Reid with some yard work.  They converted their grass lawn into a low maintenance yard that saves a lot of water.

It turned out great and they ended up getting a rebate on their city water bill since they got rid of all the grass.  We enjoyed our time with Reid and Amy.  Never seems to be long enough.  We love spending time with them.

After a few short days in Albuquerque, we hit the Interstate early and headed for Oklahoma City with an overnight stop in Sayre Oklahoma.

Thanks for joining us on the Roadrunner Chronicles!

2016 Warner Bros Reunion - Friday and Saturday

Friday morning was golf for the four Bros while the ladies hung out at the cabin.  We went over to Sequoia Woods to practice the night before and then played 18 holes at Forest Meadows in Arnold.

Somehow I missed taking photos of our golf Friday morning.  I was fun.  Reid was the surprise of the day.  He plays once every couple of years and was 1 over par after 4 holes.  If was fun to watch him do well.

After we returned to the cabin and had lunch, the rest of the group went to Angels Camp to tour around and over to Ironside Winery to see the museum and grounds.  Pam and I were recently at Angels Camp and had seen the Winery and museum a couple of years ago, so we didn't join them.

Before everyone scattered, we got some photos:

While they were in Angels Camp, Pam and I packed up and headed to Sacramento.  She had a early morning flight to Virginia Beach on Saturday morning so we spent the night at a hotel near the airport.
The mother of one of Adam's best friends (and a friend of Pam's) recently passed away unexpectedly and we felt it was important for her to be there despite the reunion.  The service was scheduled for Tuesday in Virginia Beach.

Pam flew out at 6 AM on Saturday morning, returning on Wednesday about noon.

After I drove her to the airport, I went by McDonald's for an egg McMuffin and to Starbuck for a large coffee, I drove back from Sacramento in time to meet up with the group downtown at Arnold in time for the Lions Club Pancake breakfast.  The Lions have 41 members, do a Pancake Breakfast three times a year and raise about $35,000 for scholarships, eye and hearing charities.

 I texted a picture of everyone to Pam while she was at Chicago Midway airport for a short layover.

The first event down the parade route was the annual 5k run.  That was followed by a steady stream of fire engines and US Forest Service trucks and vintage cars. If was pretty great and I'll bet that scene was duplicated in hundreds and hundreds of towns across the USA!

After the parade we wandered through the Arts and Crafts Fair looking for something we couldn't do without. Marty and Elena picked up a couple of black and white photographs and Brad and Sue got a little ceramic sign.

 When we got back to the cabin later in the afternoon, we somehow ended up in the Roadrunner for awhile.  I think I wanted to show them my table and favorite invention.  It sits over the coffee holders in between the two front seats above the center drawers in the front.

 Next, it was dinner on the back porch again.  I think we had salmon that Marty caught last year in Alaska which was pretty terrific.  Elena rustled up a tossed salad.

The deck on Marty's back porch was built just for get-togethers and is large enough for chairs and tables and the barbeque. After we cleared the table and loaded the dishwasher, we had dessert and coffee and talked long into the night again.  It was another special time and a lot of fun.

2016 Warner Bros Reunion - Wednesday and Thursday

My brothers and wives and Pam and I have gotten together often during the years and we did so again this past week at Marty's cabin up in the Sierra's.  He built his mountain cabin in the 1980's and had the foresight make a paved RV space with electric hook ups.

We drove in early Wednesday morning and were all set up when Marty and Elena arrived from Tucson.

Pam and I were so excited that the Roadrunner fit well into the parking space right in front of Marty's cabin.  He had insight to plan it out long ago before we ever had an inkling that we would have a motorhome.  We planned on 30 amp service but over the years he upgraded to 50 amp so we were all set!
Brad and Sue drove in next from Sacramento Airport.  They live in Ft Worth.  Reid and Amy soon followed, also flying into Sacramento and taking a rental car.  They live in Albuquerque.

Marty had things planned for us during the week including days for all of us to cook dinner and do a couple of meals.  It all worked out great.   There was a good balance of 'hanging out' and activities.

We changed things a bit on the schedule and Pam cooked tortellini and we had a big salad for dinner.

The notion that 'We have too much food here" became a recurring theme everyday.

 We had a nice time catching up on the back porch and then moved it inside for some more chatting.  We did a lot of that which was great.

The next day, the only thing we had on the agenda for activities was a 90 minute hike around a grove in Big Trees State Park.  It was about 5 minutes up the highway from the cabin in Arnold.

 We had a good group and enjoyed the docent who explained a lot of things about the history of the park and some of the tid bits about how it was discovered.  In the spring of 1852, hunter Augustus Dowd was chasing a wounded grizzly bear and came upon some large sequoias.

 This was back in the '49er' gold rush days.  Dowd was from Murphys, the gold mining town 20 miles to the south.  He told a lot of stories about the place and finally more and more people took the trip and saw it for themselves.

We've been to that park 3 or 4 times over the years and always learn something new every time we visit.

Our shirts are Elena's idea.  She came across a picture of the four of us that she had imprinted on T-Shirts.  

So which one do you suppose is me in this photo?

After our hike, we gathered for a group shot

Then returned to the cabin and everyone helped with dinner.  Elena spiced things up a bit with her 'infused' water that we all enjoyed.

It was Sue and Brad's turn so we chowed down on some brisket they cooked on the grill.

And it was another nice evening to spend on the back porch after dinner.

That's a recap of the first couple of days together.  It was a lot of fun!

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!

An Afternoon at the 2016 Corrales Garden Tour

Posted from Bakersfield CA.

Last Sunday, Reid, Amy, Pam and I attended the Corrales Garden Tour.  Cousin Linda lives in the village was again on this year's Garden Tour Committee.  She was at one of the six home on display.   We got our tickets near the Produce Market in town and then followed our map to visit each of homes.

Corrales Valley is next to the Rio Grande and has a good water supply for farming and gardening in the area.

The color of the flowers and Mexican Tile caught my eye at the first house.

 But the noteworthy aspect of the garden was the two very large fish ponds that are kept stocked with sizable ones.

 Many times the gardens are not dependant on lots of water, but rather those that need very little.

 I am about as good at naming plants as I am birds so I'm not much help identifying these fragrant yellow bushes.

These are like most gardens and take a lot of TLC and work.  But they were gorgeous.

 Many of the homes had artists who were set up and painting scenes from a shaded vantage point.

 This might have been my favorite home where the homeowner, in blue, gave us a guided tour.

Her mom, in the red top, has been visiting for weeks and did a lot of the work getting the gardens on the property in shape for all the visitors.

This was a typical check in point at a home on the tour.  It is set on the mountainside near Rio Rancho.

 Inside, we found these three authors who also are RVers and were selling their latest books.  I know it would be helpful it I had taken a card and gotten their names and website correct.

Maybe they will see this and add a comment.  Stranger things have happened.

Some of the homes had lots of garden area, others had a few plants along a wall or near the house.  All were beautifully done and many with grass which surprised me.  I figured most would be yards requiring minimum irrigation.

 Some had beautiful porches of this variety.  I like the separated beams with the mesh fabric over top.

 Then the highlight of the tour -- we got to see cousin Linda!  She is very active on the committee and was filling in as a parking director.

 She took time out to chat with us and catch up on grandkids and such.  Priorities.

 This is the last home of the tour and looks across the mesa and Rio Grande and downtown Albuquerque and the Sandias in the distance.

 Each home had a volunteer or two from the Sandoval County Master Gardener group and they answered all our questions.  But here at this back porch view, we mostly enjoyed the breathtaking view.

It was a fun way to spend the afternoon and we topped it off with some dinner at the world famous El Pinto Restaurant.

 It was a great way to wind up our stay in the Albuquerque area!

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!