Things we forgot to mention - Tarantula!

Got your attention didn't I?

We'd encountered a family of boys, gabbling excitedly about the tarantula they'd
spotted not far from the rim of the Grand Canyon.  'Do you think you can find it
again for me?' I asked.  'Sure' they shouted.  And after a 2 minute search it sprang
out from the grass right in front of me.  I hasten to add it's not poisonous.  Sorry
no one volunteered finger to provide a sense of scale for the picture.  Suffice to
say it was big!

What else did I pass over.

Ok, so back at Albuquerque, before the balloons rose over the city, we rose over the valley, not in a balloon, but up to the top of the Sandia Peaks which overlook the city.  The elevation was just over ten thousand feet - almost two miles high. 

Then we drove the Turquoise trail to Santa Fe!  A gorgeous inner city surrounded
by big surburbs.  But even the suburbs mimic the pink adobe architecture that
dominates the scenery:

Something else we neglected to describe was another excursion in Tucson:
our hosts took us up to Kitt Peak - a mountain top that features the 'most
diverse collection of astronomical observatories on earth.'   Tucson actually
has a system of low level street lighting to facilitate the folks at the
observatory.

So, after a day of cruising down Mt Lemon and driving up Kitt Peak with a stop
at San Francisco Chapel, what could be more appropriate than driving through
old Tucson in search of a Margerita!?  And Old Tucson - old buildings recently
renovated - is lovely.

Cactus and Palm trees.  Warm summer breezes, even in October!  Very
seductive!  Oh, and the Margaritas pack a punch!

So I've already mentioned the tarantula.

and the chocolate taco

at the Grand Canyon.

I've already filled you in on the attractions of Page Arizona, and Monument Valley.

At Durango, we decided to make tracks for Chicago, which meant we'd miss the
spectacular mountain scenery in Colorado, going north to Silverton and Ouray.  So we
only got the second rate scenery going west to Kansas! And check out the snow in them thair mountains...second rate or otherwise!

At the end of a long day, a week ago, the full moon guided us in to Colby Kansas.

More from Chicago, next!