Yesterday was a "domestic" day including several loads of washing, mucking out the trailer, and repairing a few items that have broken along the way (glue jobs). Plus we had plenty of time to lounge in the sun and just enjoy the beautiful weather (which is predicted to come to an abrupt end in a couple of days).

Last night we had dinner with Pat Hogan and Lynn Sebastian who overlapped with Rick in graduate school at the University of Utah. They both left Utah 33 years ago and Pat finished his PhD at Washington State University and Lynn finished hers at University of New Mexico under the famous Lou Binford. Pat has been the contract archaeologist at UNM for decades and Lynn has cycled through several positions including the NM State Archaeologist, the editor of American Antiquity, and the President of the Society for American Archaeology to mention just a few. She now works for a non-profit foundation and is deeply involved in resolving disputes between energy developers and Plains Indian tribes.

Pat and Lynn live in a newer "Pueblo Revival" home in Corrales, a quiet suburb of Albuquerque with spectacular views of the Sandia Mountains. We had a very pleasant evening catching up on our lives over the last 30 years; and they emphasized how unusually pleasant the weather has been since we arrived. They claim that Spring is the worst time to visit because of high winds and dust clouds. The weather prediction for the regions is precisely that beginning tomorrow and lasting until about Wednesday. Therefore we plan to stay put in Albuquerque until the storm blows through so we don't have to drive in the predicted 65+ mph winds.

Today we will visit a few more National Monuments that contain Pueblo ruins accompanied by Spanish missions. We will update today's blog when we return this afternoon, or if we are too pooped we will summarize our tour in tomorrow's blog. Happy Saint Patrick's Day (we aren't Irish but we love corned beef)!