Rio Grande River at Embudo Station between Santa Fe and Tao New Mexico

The drive was 400-some odd-miles from Kirkpatrick Airforce in Albuquerque base to Larkspur, Colorado, home of my brother Mark, and sister-in-law, Patty. It’s hard to believe it’s already been a year and a half since we saw each other; the last time was heading cross-country from Florida back to Portland, in May 2018.

Wayne remained behind with the RV to do some repair and enjoy having the place to himself.

Krysteen Waszak happily posed with her awesome plein air painting. To see more of her work, visit www.krysteenwaszak.com or via IG @krysteenwaszakart. Krysteen’s studios are in Albuequrque and in Taos.

I took the more scenic route, through Santa Fe and Taos. 

Fishermen plying the waters of the Rio Grande in New Mexico.

Golden cottonwoods arched over the Rio Grande River, paralleling the highway. 

Sange Cristo Mountains, Colorado.

Entering Colorado, the sagebrush somewhat gave way to agricultural plains and small pioneer towns, the Rockies soaring up from the valleys. I’ll enjoy a few a days kicking back with family before heading of Monday morning for a long drive to meet Wayne in Amarillo Texas.

Prarie dogs just outside our camp spot in Red Rock NM,  near Gallup New Mexico.

This is a little bit of cheat. I didn’t download the image of this prarie dog couple until we were leaving Red Rocks New Mexico. Better late than never, and they were too cute not to post, especially since I didn’t get a snap of the white-bottle-brush-like tails of the kaibob squirels hopping around outside our Jacob Lake campsite.

I’m hoping the next time I see Mark and Patty, it will be aboard our boat in Florida or the Caribbean.