2007 Landscape Tour

Today was our scheduled day of "rest" in Santa Fe. Since you are seeing rest in quotes, you are probably already expecting that it wasn't... and you would be correct!

After having breakfast at Ilana's father's house, the four of us (including Ilana's father and step-mother), hit the road towards Bandelier National Monument. Our first stop was a section of Bandelier called Tsankawi which is not as busy as the main area of Bandelier. The trail was relatively level... however, there were a series of 3 ladders that had to be used. In addition, the trail did get narrow at some points. However, the petroglyphs and the view from the mesa were worth it.

We kinda got hiked-out at this point, so we took a drive through the town of Los Alamos; where we had lunch at a Sonic. Tater tots... yum! We continued into the Jemez Mountains; through some of the areas that were burned in a large forest fire several years ago.

Our next stop was the Valles Caldera National Preserve. This area was a series of ranches up to a couple of years ago when the area was donated for the preserve. While we did take a couple of pictures, the weather had gotten colder and it was raining off and on... so we got in the car and continued on.

After turning south, we stopped at the Jemez State Monument where we walked through a small museum and an old pueblo site. Due to restoration and archaeological work going on at the pueblo, there were several sites (including the old church) that were off limits to the public.

Back on the road, we went through a couple of pueblo towns and then skirted the edge of Rio Rancho... which is a new community near Albuquerque. We ended up back on the interstate and headed back to Los Alamos.

While the ride lasted most of the day, it was very nice; not only because of the scenery of the area but also because we were passengers on this trip!

Back at home, we relaxed and had a great dinner of Frito Pie (Chili w/ Frito chips, lettuce, tomatos, onions, sour creme, and guacamole) and chocolate creme pie for dessert. After Ilana and I watched the season finale of The Office, she watched Masterpiece Theatre with her step-mom and half-sister... while I watched an episode of Grey's Anatomy (next-to-last for the season).

Today, Ilana and I are back on our own as we tour Santa Fe; mainly Museum Hill and the Plaza... and then one more night in the Los Alamos area before back on 66 on Tuesday. At the moment, we are planning on arriving in LA on Friday afternoon.

Ilana and Jeff