chef's bar

As the dogs relax back at the casita, i go out for drinks and food. My friend and executive chef of Woodfire Grill in Atlanta, Michael Tuohy told me to visit his cousin's restaurant in downtown Santa Fe called Coyote Cafe. His cousin and restaurant owner, Mark Miller was more than welcoming to me...He sat me at the Chef's Bar and told the waiter, the maitre 'd and the executive chef to take good care of me tonight. The chef asked me how hungry i was and what i didn't like and then said 'mind if i play with this?...I'm gonna start you off with a cold plate and we'll go from there." So no joke, this is all the food the chef served me last night...(and i ate it all)

shrimp tostada
beef carpaccio
goat cheese crouton
steak tartare
shrimp on corn cake
scallop wrapped in serrano ham
crab pancake
pork tenderloin
quail
ny strip steak
asparagus

and per Michael's suggestion, mango margaritas to wash it all down...
What can i say, he was a cute chef and i felt like i'd insult him if i didn't eat all that he was preparing for me. i did feel overwhelmed and quite sick by the end of the night but that's beside the point...well worth it!

downtown

I love Santa Fe but i don't think i could live here because the shopping is so bad...not a one cute store or cool clothing store...(think clothing store inside spirituality store) So, good for hiking and relaxing, but not so much if you want to be materialistic.

cactus quills

When we got back to our casita, i notice sid has some quills hanging out of his cheek. strange, but my first thought was 'cool.' i get my camera and snap away. they came out easily...

desert pics

My friend Kathryn, who is my hiking buddy in Georgia would love this hike. And i miss her vast knowledge of trees, plants and flowers and insects and mathematical facts about pine cones and compound leaves...she's one of those geniuses that delivers facts with ease. I know she may think i'm absorbing her barrage of ecological info on our hikes, but i'm always just constantly asking myself, 'how the hell does she know so much?'

los animales...

The first sign we see is a pictured list of all the animals that we may encounter on our hike...horned lizard, gray fox, spadefoot toad, bobcat, porcupine, black bear, badger and prairie dog to name a few. i doubt we'll see any, but again, we just hope for the best. We are hiking in an Arroyo. I've heard the word before but now learn that an Arroyo is a channel formed by rushing water by a storm or by melting water in the spring. Even when an Arroyo looks dry, there can be underground water close to the surface.

morning hike

We start our first morning in Santa Fe with a hike on the Atalaya Trail. The sky becomes bright blue and the boys love the new hiking terrain...it feels similar to california, just more cactus...gorilla has just one good eye left so we just have to hope for the best...

a chance encounter?

I have to give Gorilla credit. He met Jim first. Atop his lap like he was bred to do, Gorilla jumped up on Jim and quickly offered his love and his butt to scratch. The man obliged and I introduced myself and sat down across from them.
Jim is a retired rancher. He came here with his dog to sit and look at the mountains. They are called the Sangre de Christo mountains, which means Blood of Christ, and they run all the way to Colorado. He told me they have a very calming effect on you if you just sit and look at them. We did.
After learning what i did for a living and where i was headed, he told me that if i like Santa Fe, Santa Fe would find a place for me here. It has a way of taking care of its people who appreciate it. He said L.A. wasn't the final place for me and that i would need to come back to a place much like this someday. Was i not just thinking the same thought?
He also said he doesn't normally walk to this park at night but on this particular night he felt drawn to this place. We were the only two people in it. For John Oselette and all the boys rolling their eyes right now, stop reading. Your skepticism is what makes women the superior species. Maybe in your next life they'll be some hope for you...In any event, it was obvious to me that this wasn't a chance encounter, rather a man i was supposed to meet on my journey westward. someone to calm my weary head of fears and worry less about the future. Maybe Santa Fe was for me, maybe it wasn't. Maybe it's colorado or georgia or oregon... i don't know where the next home or job will be but i knew if i kept myself open to new experiences, the adventure would continue...