This time it was our turn to visit

We took a quick trip out to see our friends Robert and Kathleen at their fabulous cabin in Alpine, AZ.  Yummy food, and fine times were had, including exploring a local antique store where we procured some light fixtures for our saloon project, hiking up to the Big Lake fire lookout that burned in the Wallow Fire in 2011 (I salvaged some molten metal that will get incorporated into an artwork someday), and also hiking along a lovely creek.  This high altitude corner of Arizona always amazes me; it's a far cry from the desert near Phoenix that I'm more familiar with.

Saloon update -- doors and windows

 We got the doors and windows installed, mostly -- still some trim and finish work to do, but they're in their places now.

These are the old windows and doors we picked up from Rangewood Reclaimers in ABQ, that used to be in a historic dairy. They're in remarkably good shape for their age!

More visitors!

This time it was Chad's friends Kim and Robert.  We took a nice excursion out to see the cliff dwellings at Bandelier.  Not pictured are the good food and conversation; it was an enjoyable weekend :)

 

Backpacking in Bandelier

There's still snow in the high country this time of year, but Bandelier is low enough and warm enough that it's a pretty nice locale for a quick overnight backpacking trip. 

We hiked in and found a nice warm spot perched along the edge of a canyon.

Evidently, this has been deemed a good spot for a long time, as there were many potsherds on the ground to admire.

The first wildflowers of the season are starting.  In this case, an evening primrose.

We enjoyed the peaceful evening.

Saloon starting point

We decided that the old horse barn, which long ago lost its siding and doors and anything else that was there except for the roof and some posts to hold it up, should really be a tiny saloon. So, we have embarked on that project, even though many of the details remain to be decided.

Trailer

Chad bought a cute little trailer he found on Craigslist.  Very useful for carrying loads of compost, saloon supplies, etc!  The guy we was selling off everything he owned in preparation for moving to France.  He threw in some old redwood decking boards for free; I'm sure we will find a use for them (I'm thinking planter boxes...)

And always more concerts

The group I sing with always has a rash of concerts for St Patrick's Day and the Easter season; I've had a lot of rehearsals lately...

Visitors!

One of the fun things about being in Santa Fe is that it is a great place to have visitors.  In this case, Chad's cousin Heidi and her daughter Sarah came out from Europe to visit Linda.  We had a fabulous few days, with good food, gallery exploration, and a hike out at Diablo Canyon.

Cats

 They look so sweet, but in actuality are Toy Destroyers.