Oh, the Places You'll Go: Albuquerque & Santa Fe

From St. Louis, I flew south west via Denver (note to self, layovers should not exceede 80 minutes) and up into the highlands of new Mexico. My arrival coincided with the Gathering of Nations, so there were few taxis to be found, but the hotel graciously directed me towards a shuttle service and I was on my way.

My windows faced west and the light here is, as they say, extraordinary. The trip was a whirlwind of meetings and meals including green chili, along with a few high altitude (very minor) nosebleeds, and consumption of ridiculous amounts of bottled water - I really hated the taste by the end of the trip, regardless of the label.

I realized how much I've adjusted to living in a city where everyone walks everywhere (yes, yes, there are subways and taxis too). The middle kingdom is really car-happy, and that makes it hard to get around if you don't rent one.

I squeezed a massage at the hotel spa in at the end of the trip, made an unprecedented 2 mile walk from the hotel to Old Town for my usual pinon incense purchase, and caught the family pick-up truck up to Santa Fe Sunday evening for 36 hours of R&R with the NM out-laws. They live in a beautiful adobe home on an acre or so of land in the rolling hills south of Santa Fe. No street lights, no noise beyond the wind chimes, backyard stream and the wind in the trees. We visited Bandelier National Monument Monday morning, before heading into town to visit art galleries - I fell in love with this artist's work, particularly the alabaster mobius pieces. They spin on their black bases. Beautiful, in the right light and in a kid-free space. I'm just saying.

Back home in time to make cosmos and G&Ts, and to sit on the patio for hours watching a thunder and lightning storm pass by to the west, and then a blue and gold sunset. And then up early (for the FG) and off to the airport. Touched down in Dallas just long enough to run/train between airplanes (note to self, layovers should be at least 60 minutes in length), and then back to my city.