Santa Fe and Albuquerque

If you ever want to have a wonderful drive, take highway 285 south from Denver to Santa Fe.  It goes through a high altitude valley.  It was like an IMAX movie, driving along between two mountain ranges through this flat plain.  It was clearly not spring here yet, driving along above 7400 feet.  I kept wondering who lives here and why, but there were clearly cattle in some of the fields.  The peaks of the mountains were snow-covered, and my guess is that they stay that way well into summer.

Santa Fe was fun, but mostly fairly cold.  I had some time to visit the old town area and had some wonderful food.  My friend Ellen had recommended The Shed, so I went there for dinner just a few hours after arriving.  I had been feeling nostalgic as I drove down through northern New Mexico, not having been in this area for many years.  The mesas, arroyos, and the type of vegetation, pinion pine and mesquite, were all building a warm feeling.  Then I sat down at The Shed to a plate of green chile chicken enchiladas, and with the first bite it was an intense overwhelm of gustatory nostalgia.  This is the New Mexico I remember, real New Mexican cooking.

The next day I ate lunch at Cafe Pasqual's, having chicken mole enchiladas, and it also was a truly memorable experience.  I love the different versions of mole, with this one being complex in flavor, but only mildly spicey. Enchiladas twice in two days seemed a little much, but there is something that is so thoroughly real Mexican food about them.

I played golf once in Santa Fe at the Marty Sanchez municipal course.  I arrived early in the morning, and when I started on the first tee, playing alone, it was only 40 degrees.  After two holes I was worried it was simply too cold to play, but it slowly started to warm, and with it my general performance.  After struggling in the front nine, I played pretty well in the second.

I left for Albuquerque on Monday, the 26th early, and arrived in time to play at Twin Warriors as a single.  I was paired with a young man from Ohio, whose wife was in the cart, but didn't play.  He was very good, and we had a good time.  The course is beautiful, but still, with it just being on the brink of spring, the trees were not yet in leaf, and it was relatively windy, varying between one and two clubs during the round.  I'd love to play there again sometime, preferably when it is warmer.  I went later that day to Mary and George's house in Placitas and stayed with them for a couple of days.  Their house, which George built, is not only beautiful, but has many very innovative touches.  It is so easy to be there, and we had a great time.  The next day I did some minor shopping and then went to Michael's house in the far northwest corner of the city to have lunch with him and the boys.  I couldn't believe how much the boys are now young men, fairly constantly teasing each other.  It was a fun lunch.  Later that evening Mary, George and I went out to the Hyatt for their 8th Anniversary dinner.  It was delightful, and the atmosphere was great.  Their hospitality was so gracious and I was most appreciative that the weather started to turn warm.  

I then traveled south to Las Cruces for the night, impressed with how much greener the southern part of the state looked than I remembered it.  It is Spring, and I was told it has rained more than usual, but the hills and distant mountains are like a lumpy blanket of green across the plains to the edge of the hills.