We met up with our friends Suzy and Jim from Sun Lakes here in Albuquerque and went to explore Old Town. I think the sign above Jim and Al's head tells the whole story!

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This is definitely chile season - there are fresh ristras everywhere.

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San Felipe Church has been a house of prayer continuously since 1706 and was founded by Franciscan Friars.

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The altar of the church is simple but beautiful.

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A group of mariachis were entertaining in the plaza. I had never seen a woman mariachi.

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Like Santa Fe, Native Americans were selling their crafts around the plaza.

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We don't know the name of this flower but loved the way it looked - delicate and colorful.

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We began our day with a drive to the top of Sandia Peak. Here we had an incredible view of the city below us and the thrill of seeing a Clarks Nuthatch. The ranger told us this bird has an incredible memory and rarely forgets where it buries food.

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We then took a backcountry road that took us from San Antonito to Bernalillo which crossed the crest of the Sandias.

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We found this nice lunch spot by the creek. It was very relaxing sitting and eating with friends while the creek flowed by us. Here we also saw some beautiful jays.

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These petroglyphs were different than ones we've seen before in that they are on a 17-mile long table of land west of the Rio Grande, that emerged about 150,000 years ago when lava flowed from a large crack in the Earth's crust. This one of a macaw showed that these native Americans traded with the Mexicans for their feathers.

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