The kids at Estes Park:
Judy returns
An early start from Denver this morning and she was here in Santa Fe by 2:30. Nice she could be there with the kids and the baby. Nice to have her back here with me. All the family in Colorado is doing fine. Taylor is almost 14 and is interested in boys. She went on her first date, a double date to the movies, with mom chaperoning. Tony is almost 10. They won their first soccer game of the year four-zip. Teigan is five and believes in capital punishment (if you cross her)(she also believes in pre-emptive strikes). Alex is three. He went on a trip to Estes Park with Becky, Brian and family while Matt and Kari went to the hospital to have the new baby. Alex wants to teach the new baby how to tackle. Conner is two and starting to really express himself. The new baby makes six. That’s a lot of kids; a joyful noise.
Santa fe
House finches, canyon towhees, robins, say’s phoebes. Curve-billed thrashers in song. Ravens soaring. Mountain bluebirds. And several scaled quail sightings. Found a high point in a canyon with white-throated swifts. A flock of american avocets at a pond’s edge.
Along the way
The long-billed curlew.
So here I am
So here I am. Alone in Santa Fe, with no navigator. Missing not just Judy the navigator, but the navigator in the dashboard of the jeep as well. No little map to watch on the screen to see where I am and figure out how to get to where I want to go.Have you driven in Santa Fe? The whole old section is a series of donkey cart paths now paved. They twist and turn in all directions. You have to look at the street signs on both sides of the street at any intersection. The street names are probably different, for no apparent reason, depending on which way you turn. Most streets only go a block or two before the name changes, or the street ends entirely. Most streets start and stop. Some never stop, they just circle endlessly. Paseo de Peralta. No you don’t turn on it the first time you pass it. Keep driving and turn right when you get to it again!Know what else? Know that rule about odd numbered addresses and even numbered addresses on opposite sides of the street? Forget that rule in Santa Fe. They just put numbers anywhere they want. I found the block for my client; my client with an even numbered address. The first address on that block I saw was even, so I made several passes in the car, trying to locate the exact address. Didn’t happen. Not till I noticed an address on the other side of the street that was even as well. All addresses on that street are even! I found a place to park and located the address on foot.I like Santa Fe.