RuedeBuhr Road Rage - Day Thirteen

Today we woke up at the RV park, had breakfast, and then then drove into Santa Fe to find the Frank S Ortiz park, which has a reputation as being a great off-leash area.  After parking Harvey the RV, Rufus and Cooper set out to explore.

The area was laced with a network of trails through the sandy chaparral and the boys had a great time chasing each other and looking for rabbits (the local population wisely chose to make themselves scarce).

Kelly and I came along too, poop bags in hand.

Cooper made new friends along the way (although everyone was a bit intimidated by his size at first).

Kelly and I walked around a bit, checking out the local shops and artists.  Kelly found a lovely necklace to take with her as a souvenir.

We then started the drive to Taos New Mexico.  Along the way, we saw some amazing vistas as thunderstorms rolled over the plains.

 

RuedeBuhr Road Rage - Day Twelve

Today was mainly a travel day, so not much to report. After breakfast, Rufus laid down for a nice nap in the cool grass of the yard.

Rufus and Cooper then said their goodbye's to Cory.

Both boys have expressed an interest in becoming therapy dogs, and this is something we are likely to look into once they are a bit older.

We then loaded up and started the long drive to Santa Fe.

The drive was not that exciting, and Cooper got bored to the point were he even considered having a go at my laptop, despite the fact that he lacks opposable thumbs.

We finally arrived in Santa Fe that evening, and prepared the boy's dinner before going out for our own at Cafe Pasqual. Cooper, despite having slept in Harvey the RV most of the day, had quite an appetite.  This became evident as we were preparing his meal.

After dinner, we drove out to the RV park just outside the city, where we were treated to a spectacular starscape, the moon being new and the sky being crystal clear.

All the pictures from today can be found here.

We’re Back! Windows Live Writer team saves the day!

Brandon on the Live Writer team over at Microsoft stepped in to diagnose the issues we were having, and was able to point me at a preview version of Live Writer which addressed the issue we were having.

RuedeBuhr Road Rage - Day Eleven

We did not cover a lot of ground today, but we had a great time none the less.  After spending the night with my uncle in Chandler, AZ (a suburb of Phoenix).  After getting up and having breakfast, Kelly checked out some of my uncle's livestock.

Rufus went into the house to meet Cory, my cousin, who suffered brain damage in a car accident a few years ago.

Cooper made friends with Jack, Cory's therapy dog.

As the day wore on and grew hot, Kelly and I decided to take a dip in my uncle's pool.  Kelly in particular found the water a bit brisk (the weather having been cool for the preceding few days). 

The boys found the whole "jumping in the giant water bowl" thing to be a bit odd.

Rufus was intrepid enough to get his front feet in, but we could not coax either of them completely into the pool.

We then loaded up and drove down to my uncle's place south of Phoenix.  There, Kelly and the boys showed an intense interest in my uncle's emus.  

 

The emus showed at least as much interest in us as we showed in them.

We also met my uncle's mules.

 

The boys, harkening back to their encounter with mules at the Grand Canyon, were much quicker to make new friends.

While we were doing this, my uncles discussed potential uses for cast off farm machinery.

The day having grown hot, we retired to the house for drinks and a snack.  My uncle regaled us with stories about which my aunt expressed a degree of skepticism.

My cousin and her girls arrived, and the boys greeted them in the front yard.

The girls were also very happy to see Kelly again.

As evening approached, Kelly and I (as the new couple in town) were asked to pose for a few pictures.

Kelly also got a chance to hang out with my aunts, which she enjoyed enormously.

Drinks were consumed, and my cousin's girls somehow convinced me that it would be fun if we applied pool chalk to our noses.

 

Kelly was also convinced to join in this game.

Cooper, having had a big day by this point, crashed out.  Kelly stopped by for a snuggle with her boy before he dozed off.

After everyone left, Kelly and I played Preference with my aunt and uncle, and were able to pull off a stunning come from behind victory before we all headed off to bed.

All the pictures from today are available here.

Windows Live Writer has failed us...

We have been using Windows Live Writer to blog from the road.  However, it appears that an unaddressed bug in how Writer talks to Blogger is preventing us from putting up new posts containing pictures. 

Please stay tuned, as we hope to resume our regularly scheduled programming.

Cousin Ila plays with cousin Vihn

Ila is a great little Blue Healer puppy belonging to Kelly's sister.  She has a history of playing with both Cooper and Rufus, and recently spent some time entertaining little Vihn (Kelly's nephew).

RuedeBuhr Road Rage - Day Ten

After a good night's sleep in the cool desert air, we awoke and had a yummy breakfast of french toast with my cousin and her kids.

We then went with them for a drive around the RV park.

 

We then took a walk in the desert to wear down the boys.

Rufus got a chance to chase a rabbit, and returned very proud of himself.

Now that the day way growing hot and the boys were suitably tuckered out, we decided to head back to the campground.

We had all worked up quite an appetite, we loaded up and drove to a local diner.  I lent my camera to my cousin's little girl and she demonstrated her skill as a photographer.

She then "liberated" my cap, and had some fun with it.

   

Finally, we finished up our meal, said our goodbyes, and took the obligatory group picture.

We then loaded up and started the drive to Sedona.

Once there, Kelly and I took a break to check out the local Cold Stone Creamery for some ice cream.

We then started the drive south the Phoenix via Cottonwood, AZ.

We arrived after dark, and stopped in to pay a visit to the Cosmo Dog Park in Gilbert, AZ.  Unfortunately, we didn't take any pictures, but a grabbed one taken in the daylight from another website.

  Finally, dogs exhausted, we drove to my uncle's house, parked Harvey the RV, and bedded down for the night.

All the photos from today can be found here.