Breakfast at San Marcos Cafe

        Last Sunday morning we drove from Albuquerque to Santa Fe along the Turquoise Trail. The Trail is a National Scenic Highway that is a great alternative to taking Interstate I-25.  It goes to the east of the Sandia Mountains, through small, historic towns, past the Cibola National Forest, and through a lot of grasslands.   We saw a herd of buffalo, some really huge cattle, and looked for, but didn't see, antelope.

We were hoping for a place to eat breakfast since we had left Albuquerque early.  But because it was early, the shops were still closed.  They had looked really interesting, and I hope to get back there sometime. 

       But at that moment I was hungry and really needed more coffee.    The caffeine hit from the little cup that I had brewed in the hotel room had long worn off.

     Just as we reached the end of the Turquoise Trail and thought we would have to find something in Santa Fe, we spotted peacocks and turkeys.  They were strutting about in a yard that had a sign that said "Opern".    We had stumbled across the San Marcos Cafe.  

       San Marcos Cafe is described as a country cafe in the European tradition.   The San Marcos Eggs that I had were definitely more Latino than European:  scrambled eggs surrounded by guacamole, green chiles, black beans and diced tomatoes, placed inside a tortilla and covered with cheese.   Yummy!!!    Kent liked his choice, too, and we split a cinnamon roll.   The cinnamon rolls are fresh-baked and looked to be one of their specialties.   It definitely tasted special--and it was huge.    This was a breakfast that took us through the day.   
      On this Sunday morning it was a lively, busy place.   We had a table near the back of the front room that gave me a good view of the interior.    There was a pot-bellied stove, brightly painted chairs, and interesting antiques filling the room.   Near us was a smaller version of an ice box that was very similar to the one that had belonged to Kent's great, great uncle.  
      Off of the main room was another dining room that looked like a newer addition.   Its main attraction were the large windows that offered a great view of the animals that roamed just outside the door.

One of the peacocks.

The turkeys were the largest ones I had ever seen!   They strutted along with the peacocks in the front yard.  What a sight! 

Stamping in Santa Fe

 Last weekend we took a trip to Santa Fe, New Mexico.   Being a rubber stamper, I had to visit Guadalupe's Fun Rubber Stamps, which is located in old town Sante Fe.    It's above a Starbucks--a perfect location for me.

Lee Kellogg was working that morning, and I had a great time chatting with her as I shopped.  I could have stayed for hours.   

   

This is their store--what a fun place!!!     And here are the treasures I brought home with me.   I can't wait to use them.

Arizona Cotton Rats

Early every Friday morning my friend Chris and I walk for an hour or so on the walking trail near my house.   We frequently see rabbits and hummingbirds and occasionally coyotes.   This morning I saw an Arizona Cotton Rat.    In fact, he ran right in front of me--I nearly stepped on him!

The photo above was taken by someone at the Sonoran Desert Museum.  Even though my little friend seemed slow for one of his kind, he was too fast for my camera.

The walking trail goes behind some houses and eventually connects to the sidewalk next to the main road through Sun City Grand.    My little buddy came from a grassy area between the sidewalk and the street.  He ran in front of me, but behind Chris, and disappeared under a bush.   She missed seeing him.   I'm sure she was disappointed.

He was 4 to 5 inches long and very well fed.   I know some people hate anything to do with mice or rats, but I don't mind them--in the right place.   And this was a good spot for him.  There were no houses nearby.   He should be able to live here happily until he becomes lunch or dinner for a coyote or Harris Hawk. 

  

They always say that Walking is good for you--and you never know what you'll see.     

Happy New Year!

This is Keenu, my 140 pound Alaskan Malamute Grandpuppy.   What a beauty!  

      We visited him and his parents (my son and daughter-in-law) over the Christmas holidays.   Had a great visit with them and other family and friends.      We even had a White Christmas since their city has had snow on the ground since Thanksgiving, and a few more flurries fell on Christmas Day.

       When we returned to Arizona, we brought the cold weather with us.   We had a hard freeze two nights in a row, and it has remained chilly during the day.   All the plants that could be moved were placed in the garage.   Frost cloth was draped on all the others.    We've been a little under the weather ourselves since then so I haven't had a chance to see if the cold weather killed any of my favorites.   I hope not.

       My Christmas Cactus will be blooming soon.  They are actually succulents, not cacti, and I hope to get a good picture when the blooms finally open.   I need to fertilize it again to help encourage more blooms since there are only about seven buds right now.   There should be a lot more than that!  It only blooms once a year, even though it takes up space all year and has to be tended to. If it's only going to be showy for one month out of 12, I expect a really GOOD show.

       I've been seeing a lot of Red Tail Hawks on the drive to work.   They love to sit on the telephone polls to watch for mice and other tasty meals.  On Sunday morning a nice sized coyote walked down the sidewalk in front of the house, too.   They are plentiful, but I can't seem to get a good picture of any.  

        I haven't made any New Year's Resolutions (if you don't count the perpetual "lose weight") so maybe my resolution will be to work on getting better blog photos.    Which means I need to make a resolution to Blog more.   

        Hope you had a great New Year's.   If you made any resolutions, please post them.  Maybe you'll inspire me.   

     

   

Arvel Bird at the Pueblo Grande Indian Market

Yesterday we went to the Pueble Grande Indian Market to hear Arvel Bird and shop for Christmas presents at this Native American arts fair.   The site was the Pueblo Grande Museum in Phoenix.   Tents filled with pottery, jewelry, paintings, baskets, and other treasures lined the area.   Tribes from all over Arizona and surrounding states were represented.   There were so many beautiful pieces of jewelry.    I wish my pocketbook could support my taste!

Arvel Bird is my favorite Native American musician.  I already had two of his albums and took advantage of the Market special to add another one.   He is Paiute and Irish, and he mines his heritage to create wonderful music.  More about him, and a sampling of his songs can be found at http://www.arvelbird.com/. 

We rode the Light Rail train into the Market, which was fun.  I love riding the train.   On the way back we stopped mid-way to have dinner at Switch, http://www.switchofarizona.com/.   Switch has great food and a cosmopolitan atmosphere. 
Music, culture, fine dining--it was a great day in the Big City. 

All Aboard!

Last night the Sun City Grand model train club had a rare evening train run.   Since there are so many families visiting at Thanksgiving, this was a great family treat.   We went since we're young-at-heart.

The night was unusually chilly, but that didn't stop the trains.  

Whoo's There?

     This Great Horned Owl stopped by my neighbor's house on Friday, and Kent was able to get his (her?) picture. My other neighbor was outside working in her yard, but the owl didn't seem to mind at all. He stayed for a long time even though all of us were snapping photos of him. The neighbors whose fence is being used are still in Iowa so they missed him.

      A summer or two ago one had landed in a tree behind the house. Because of the way he was acting, we thought he was sick. It was an unusally hot day, and the wind was blowing hard. The owl was perched on a tall stump and had spread his wings out. It looked like he was trying to cool off. He stayed for over an hour, even ignoring a really lucky rabbit that had hopped nearby. Eventually the owl did fly away so perhaps he wasn't sick at all.

       During the winter we sometimes hear them call to each other at night. We haven't heard any for a long time so we were hoping we might hear them Friday night. However, we have been sleeping with the window open since Friday, but we haven't heard any owls. Still, it was great to see him and have him visit.

      We've seen a lot more wildlife the last two weeks. The cool weather has either made them more active or us. I'm not sure which it is. One spectacular day was last Wednesday. Kent saw a bobcat early in the morning. When I went to see it, however, it was gone. Then about an hour later we both saw two coyotes in the yard. One of them, nicknamed "Bob" by the neighbors, has lost his tail. It didn't seem to slow him down, however. Later than night we were walking. It was already dark, but our area is well-lit. Down by the golf course, FIVE coyotes crossed the street in front of us. They were going from one side of the golf course to the other. It was too dark to tell if Bob was with them or not. We were so surprised--we had never seen eight coyotes in one day.