New Mexico Christmas

Hello Dear Readers:

My wife and I went to New Mexico this Christmas to spend time with my family. When we left on Christmas Eve, we had about a foot of accumulated snow in our little town. When we came back on New Year's Eve, the snow was completely gone. It was quite odd. It seemed like a giant toggle switch was flipped in the sky and snow was gone - poof!

Well, it was no illusion. The day I had to return to work, it snowed a couple of inches while we slept and it made the roads slick and slippery once again. I had to look up to the sky and ask, "is this a sign?"

As you can see by the attached picture of the Church of San Felipe de Neri in Old Town Albuquerque, the weather was beautiful. I am always amazed by how blue the skies are in New Mexico in the winter. When we arrived at the Abq International Airport, it was a comparatively balmy 40 degrees! Trust me folks, when we were experiencing all the snow and highs in the mid teens and twenties, forty is a warm number.

If you consider a trip to the "Duke City" here are some highlights everyone should see in no particular order:

The world's longest Tram--it goes from the base of the Sandia Mountains to the top of the Sandias (altitude over 10,000 ft)!

The New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science.

The Albuquerque Museum.

Old Town Albuquerque and the Church of San Felipe de Neri (founded 1706)

The Albuquerque Biopark and Aquarium.

And of course, there are so many gastronomic delights, I cannot label them all!

Now while you are there, take a 45 minute drive north to Santa Fe. Be prepared for COLD! Santa Fe is 2000 feet higher than Albuquerque at 7000 feet. Getting there is worth the trip and it is easy to get to the Old Central Plaza and the Basilica of St. Francis. Unfortunately, it tends to overshadow the smaller but no less magnificent Loretto Chapel. It has a mysterious spiral staircase which still baffles engineers to this day.

As you can see by the report, R and I did not want to come back home. But alas, we did and we are sure to return hopefully soon.

E out