It's been almost 2 months since I last posted? Wow. Life gets busy and I have to say, I just haven't had the flair or motivation for writing lately. Still adjusting to life here in NM and in Farmington, the new job...I still call it new even though its been almost 6 months. But I still feel like its new...this whole pediatric thing, whoa.
Anyway...all is good and especially this month because I have visitors! Dad and Holly came out for Halloween weekend and it was so great to have them here. I had the perfect weekend planned; dog walks in the hills, Halloween candy to give out, green chile lasagne, a trip to Chaco Canyon, and dinner in Cuba. Who said "the best laid plans"...something something...that they don't work out...well that person was talking about our weekend.
The thermostat broke the first night dad and Holly arrived and we went to bed at a chilly but tolerable 68 degrees and woke up to 54 degrees! Bundled like campers and wearing flannels and touques, we made a pot of hot tea, and then another...and called the heating guy and the landlord. Meanwhile, while waiting for the heating guy to arrive and noticing that we could see our breath INSIDE, the toilet in the spare room started leaking when flushed because it wasn't sealed correctly. Are you kidding me? Welcome dad and Holly! And poor dad had a 4 hour training run scheduled...he had about an hour or less of heat to warm up in before he was off on the trail. He's amazing. I did all of the complaining by the way...dad and Holly were very stoic and just went with the flow. The heat got fixed and Holly and I celebrated like it was Christmas! And plans were made for the plumber to come and re-seal the toilet later that week. All is well again.
Oh right, and then there's Chaco Canyon the following day. Great plans to spend the morning there and hike to the Pueblo Bonito lookout with the dogs, apparently a do-able hike with dogs and a "must see" view. Well, we turned off of NM550 at the Chaco sign and I figured it was straight along that road. We trucked along on a rough country road and finally came to Pueblo Pintada...or something like that, and a T-intersection. Hmmmm...that's funny, no signs for Chaco Canyon and no mention to expect a T-intersection. Confused by the GPS readout and no cell phone service, we opt to drive the hour back to the main road to ask for directions at the gas station. At ths point my migraine is kicking in and I'm feeling nauseous. Being in the car is not helping. We make our way back and luckily connect to the parks guy at Chaco via cell phone right before the 2nd turn off we were supposed to take on the way in. We find our way to Chaco, chat with the park guy and we set off for this great hike. Beuatiful area and we realize we should have planned better, brought food and backpacks to really spend some time there. We get to the 'trail' that takes us to the outlook and start our trek up the steep mesa. Hmmm...there's no path. We find ourselves struggling up the mesa on loose rock and shaky footing. Not a trail for dogs and espcially for Debit who has sore hips. Dad and Holly make it to the top, I take the dogs back down and we laugh and make plans to return in March instead. Better prepared. Better equipped.
We drive back to the main road and stop at the gas station. By this time I'm debilitated by my nausea and headache so we get some snacks and drinks, ditch the dinner in Cuba idea, and head for home instead. I felt better after sleeping for a few hours and managed to make it out for one last dinner before dad and Holly are on the road the next morning.
We did all agree that it was a weekend of adventure and smiled. And mixed in were some good dinners (including the green chile lasagne), a nice walk in the hills with the dogs, Lone Ranger radio shows via Holly's computer, trick or treaters, and best of all, good company. Dad and Holly packed up and headed south. I got a call a few nights later from dad, they forgot a suitcase here that Holly needed for that weekend...why wasn't I surprised at this point?! Thanks to Fed-Ex for getting it to Holly in time for the weekend!
Now I'm really looking forward to U.S. Thanksgiving weekend with my friend Beth...a weekend in Santa Fe, an evening at Ten Thousand Waves spa, and friendship and road trips to Chimayo and my old stomping grounds of northern NM. But maybe with less 'adventure' than the previous weekend!
So there you have it, the latest update...
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