Santa Fe, NM and Aspen, CO

Here we are in the mountains again, and we couldn't be happier. Something about being up high and the abundance of hiking trails keeps us (well, me at least) happy. Santa Fe was a little smaller and a little more mature than we had anticipated, but it was nice nonetheless, and Aspen is a nice little haven for the insanely rich or the avid outdoorsman. Luckily, we've had the good fortune to have met a few of the down-to-earth members of the community rather than the aggravatingly frivolous members.

We are staying the the parents of Laura's friend Maggie, who is one lucky girl. While I've never met her before, I get a good sense that Maggie is a practical, good natured woman, strictly from calculations I've made after hanging out with her family. Ann and Mike have been extremely generous since we arrived yesterday, and it's always nice to meet progressive, like-minded people along our travels. The second half of our trip is shaping up just right if you ask me!









Mike and Yuki

















Laura on the trail up to Maroon Bells, just outside of Aspen. Again, a mountain next to a lake. An American West essential.














Me with three of the seven dogs that reside here. They're all very nice and six of the seven have curly hair, just like a human grandmother.









The Woody Creek Community Center, which Ann is in charge of, is being renovated into a gallery space, coffee shop, commercial kitchen, and office space and Laura and I helped with a little bit of volunteer work!
Actually, we just painted around some trim. But nevertheless, we had our hands in the project.









Laura eats and apple at Crater Lake.
















Me, throwing a Rocky Mountain snowball at Laura, which, just after this photo was taken, hit her shoulder. Apparently it felt like a rock. I'm sorry.














Excited/Lazy Eye
















You can see one (of three) of the Maroon Bells here.











Before we got to Aspen:






Colorado is boring!















I think this is New Mexico. It's also boring.










Laura in front of the something or other about Native American (American Indian) Artwork in Santa Fe.













Me in front of some church, which was less than exciting for me, but I was forced to look excited.












It's currently snowing outside and we're going to have to wait until morning to see if we can make it out of here, but if not, I suppose it's no big loss, huh? We'll keep you posted on our whereabouts, as always!