Cuba (no, the one in New Mexico) then to Arizona

Spring in the forest near Cuba, NM

Then we went to Cuba. New Mexico, that is.  It’s a small town on the high desert surrounded by mountains. We visited old friends Bill and Bonnie Leverton who moved there after leaving TV broadcasting careers in Arizona. They live in a unique round house on a beautiful piece of property at 7000 ft. elevation, and that night we had a delicious dinner at charming El Bruno’s Restaurant.  Bill and Bonnie gave us the tour including an attempted visit to a spectacular summit near town, which was stopped by heavy snow on the forest road. They continue to ply their craft, doing videos, incredible photography, and promotions for clients.  The visit was too short, but we were invited back and plan to make future visits.

Levertons and Kelleys

The trip down I-40 was one Ruth & Tom had taken separately many times before, and today it was routine, but very cool and windy. After a long day and a short stop in Flagstaff for provisions, we made it to Williams for dinner with good friends Kath and Brian James.

Bears, Buffalo and Elephant (Rocks)

Bears doing their thing

White buffalo munching at Bearizona

Although the weather had been cool and windy, it got very nice on Monday April 4, and we enjoyed the day.  First we visited Bearizona a unique, new visitor attraction in Williams. It’s billed as a “wildlife drive through park” with a variety of wild animals that the visitor can view very closely.  There’s a walk through part of the park also with other wildlife displays and the home of bear cubs. Although it is open, it is still being worked on, and it promises to be a first-class tourist attraction adding to the Grand Canyon Railway and historic downtown Williams to draw visitors year round. 

Woods, water, mountains-golf in Williams with the James

Then we played 18 holes on the wonderful Elephant Rocks Golf Course which was in surprisingly good condition right after the winter snow melt. It is at 7000 feet elevation so the ball is supposed to go farther, but on this course that often means “farther into the woods.”  It was a gorgeous day, so who cares about the score. We finished the day visiting other dear friends including Carol Delander and Bernie and Connie Hiemenz. 

Sensing the finish line, we headed to Tucson on Tuesday morning.

Wonderful Peaceful Santa Fe

Continuing our journey south on I-25 past Trinidad, CO (most interesting place we did not visit), through the colorful, arid plateaus of northern New Mexico, winding our way down and around the Sangre de Cristo (“Blood of Christ”) Mountains to beautiful Santa Fe, it seemed like we were viewing the opening vistas of an epic movie as the Brahms Symphony No. 4 streamed from our satellite radio.  

Shadows on El Farol

Who amongst us does not feel at peace in Santa Fe, with its soft Pueblo-influenced adobe structures, natural environment, visual arts everywhere?  It is love at first sight each visit.  We drove a very narrow, meandering, famous artsy Canyon Road with a red sun setting behind us to the oldest restaurant and cantina in Santa Fe, El Farol. As we parked it became that time of night when the sun sinks, small neon signs come into view, indoor settings are lit, and time seems to stop like an Edward Hopper painting.  After a brief pause to appreciate the mood we stormed the door and devoured tapas.

Breakfast at the St Francis's Table de Los Santos

Hotel St. Francis is where we stayed, a beautifully restored historic hotel near the plaza in the heart of the city.  Everything about it epitomizes Santa Fe, honors its cultural heritage.  

Children getting along in front of New Mexico Capitol building

The next morning, after a tasty southwest-style breakfast at Tabla de Los Santos in the hotel, we wandered the city visiting historic landmarks like the State Capitol (only round Capitol in the USA), Palace of the Governors, San Miguel Mission, Loretto Chapel.  We drifted in and out of galleries, viewed Native American art spread out on blankets, and spent a couple worthwhile hours in the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum.  Along with paintings were artifacts including Alfred Stieglitz’s fishing tackle box O’Keeffe used for her oil paint, palette knives, and drawing supplies, after he died.  

San Miguel-Oldest church in the U.S.-1625

From the Kansas Plains into the Colorado Mountains

Bedraggled after the arduous drive across the high plains of Kansas (see previous entry), we arrived in Northglenn, CO, a very nice suburb north of Denver, to visit transplanted Simi Valley friends.  You should see their beautiful home!  Not surprising since Ron is an artist and Judy has a flair for everything artistic including cooking and landscape architecture. 

Forget the Concert Hall supper in Hermann, Judy prepared the most delicious bratwurst supper ever!  It was also a great evening because Ron and Judy amused us with their great repositories of information and entertaining stories.  Later, conveniently a few houses around the corner, we visited their multi-talented daughter Jenny, her ambitious husband Paul, and their delightful sons James and Tristan thriving in what can best be summarized as a spectacular, showpiece home. 

Revived, the next morning we bid our dear friends adieu and drove south past the State Capitol in Denver to play a round of golf in Colorado Springs.  A stunning Pikes Peak (Tom - insert photo) was always in view as was the Air Force Academy with its famous 17-spired Cadet Chapel.   It was difficult to keep our eyes on the ball.

Golfing toward Pikes Peak and the Air Force Academy

That evening we yielded to bestial cravings and stopped at PF Changs for dinner -  specifically to enjoy our favorite dish, Ma Po Tofu, last enjoyed in Austin, TX.  In typical fashion we dined at the bar where we’ve always met interesting people.  This time was no exception.   A very fit middle-aged gentleman sat to our left and we got to asking each other how we arrived in Colorado Springs.  Our story was very short.  His took a little longer:  he came from Boston in his 20’s to do missionary work, became a fire fighter, and simultaneously opened a fireplace/stove store (but of course) which he, wife and two sons now operate only on-line without their store front. 

Hyatt Place was our residence for the rest of the night and we loved it.  It had everything two swashbuckling, avant-garde, HD-addicted NCAA sports nuts need:  space to spread out, a huge flat screen TV, memory foam bed, Wi-Fi internet, complimentary breakfast, and a Starbucks coffee bar.