good-times-rollin: August 2026

Santa Fe Skies RV Park

Santa Fe, New Mexico

August 25

But first...three highlights from before we left home.

We had nice monsoons with lots of rain, high winds and it even hailed.

Lucy got a new ball for for her 2nd birthday.

And Jeff Gordon won the IROC race in DC...not once but twice! And from behind both times! It was a blast watching the 24 again with him driving. For years, we visited race tracks all over the country and watched Nascar on TV. We met Jeff at the Monster Mile in Dover, Delaware the second time we visited that track. He autographed my hat and I had a photo made with him...good memories right there!

Monday morning we were up bright and early. It was travel day. We had an overnight stay in Hatch, NM which was easy in and easy out and very quiet.

And Tuesday was arrival day...a two week stay at Santa Fe Skies...yep, Santa Fe, NM. This rv park and the capital of New Mexico has been on the "let's go there" list for a decade!

I love this park...

There is a walk that goes around the park with all sorts of interesting things to check-out. Early morning and late afternoon are perfect times to enjoy taking Lucy. The weather has been so nice with chilly mornings, a breeze all day and afternoons thundershowers.

Sunrise

Sunset

Our first taste of Santa Fe on Monday was awesome. We headed to the historic town with no special plan. It did not disappoint! Cathedral Park is gorgeous...green, shaded, and colorful. It has been preserved as a public open space for the past 100 years and is located next to the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi. The original adobe church was built in 1598 with changes made throughout the years. The cathedral we see today was built in 1869 -87. When it was finished, the old church was torn down and removed thru the front door. The only part of the original adobe church that remains is a chapel dedicated to Our Lady La Conquistadora. The statue in that chapel was brought from Spain in 1625 and is the oldest representation of the Virgin Mary in the United States.

Cathedral Park

The entrance doors to the Cathedral are 16.5 feet tall and each door is 5.5 feet wide.

The bronze panels depict the history of the church.

Visitors are always welcome to come inside the Cathedral, but this day there was a free concert in progress so we could not enter.

A Statue of St Francis behind the rose garden.

I read The Plaza is the heart and soul of Santa Fe. Santa Fe was founded in 1610 as the capital of Nuevo Mexico, making it the oldest state capital city in our country. It is often referred to as The City Different because of its unique blend of history, culture, and distinct southwestern character. To this day, city laws require traditional Spanish-Pueblo style architecture with earth tone stucco or adobe and maintain a low-profile that blends with desert light.

The Plaza is a National Historic landmark serving the culture, economic, and historic heart of downtown Santa Fe for over 400 years. The Plaza, also founded in 1610, was the focal point of the traditional Spanish-American colonial city.

The park is surrounded on four sides with historical buildings that today house cafes, galleries, museums, and boutiques.

The New Mexico Museum of Art. We enjoyed the gift shop there.

If you squint, you can see folks waiting to be seated at The Shed. That was our choice for lunch. This family owned business since 1953 serves award-winning red chile, creative New Mexican dishes, and cool margaritas.

The Shed has a lovely patio that's just perfect for puppies and their humans.

The Shed serves house-made corn tortilla chips...both blue and yellow corn varieties...with house-made quac, salsas, and queso. Sooooo Yummy! All of their chile is grown in Hatch exclusively for The Shed. They process the chiles themselves in their own mill in order to capture the flavor and freshness. And yes, it definitely has bite!

For lunch we enjoyed soft blue corn tacos filled with lean ground beef, cheddar cheese, and we chose green chile served with a side of beans and posole and house-made bread. I had to look up posole. The posole we were served was cooked with tender pork bites and hominy. Quite tasty!

The picture doesn't do it justice. The umbrella gave everything an orange glow.

The hacienda style adobe that is The Shed today was once the home for an elite Santa Fe resident, Captain Diego Arias de Quiros. The land and original structure , Prince Patio, was given to him by the King of Spain in 1692. The owners of this quaint cafe moved to its current location at Prince Patio in 1960.

Don't forget to duck!

Our first taste of Santa Fe was everything and more than we had hoped for. We are so happy to be here and I have a feeling the two weeks will fly by!

Up next..."a walk among the ancients".

Until next time,

HAPPY TRAILS!

Corona de Tucson

August 12, 2026

Dark skies and rain...

August is a great month to see the beautiful Barrel Cacti in bloom. Even though I love all the cacti blooms, the barrels are my favorite. It's their vibrant colors, the glow ring before it is fully open, and their stunning crown.

When the barrel is about 10 years in age, buds emerge from a wooly or fuzzy growth in late spring through summer that are triggered by the hot seasonal weather and rains.

After the blooms fade, the cactus produces small, oblong, fruits that look like tiny pineapples. They start out firm and green and turn a bright golden yellow when ripe. The outside is a leathery rind and the stiff flower remains attached. Inside are a kazillion tiny, black crunchy edible seeds.

Fishhook Barrel Cactus grow wild in the Sonoran desert and this is the time of year for them to "shine" and show off. They commonly grows to about 5 feet, but can reach up to ten feet.

During the Dog Days of Summer, the Tucson Botanical Gardens invites folks to bring their pups for an early morning walk. They even provide a menu for you and your canine dependent(s) if you want to have breakfast/brunch when you visit.

Lucy isn't quite as excited about the visit as we are, but she does enjoy seeing the friendly folks who give her lots of attention and lots of puppy pets.

I always enjoy these walks and love taking photos at the Gardens. No matter what the time of year, there is something to capture. The Rain Lilies were blooming and the Passion Flower vines and Coral vines made gorgeous canopies.

The manicured grounds highlight the filtered sun, lush growth, splashes of color create a peaceful and eye-catching outdoor space.

I was so excited to get a text from Jodee saying she had an appointment in Tucson and if we were not busy would stop by for a visit. I quickly responded with a great big "YIPPEE!". I love these visits with dear friends. Jodee and I met on the blog, met in person at Lazydays when rollin' full time and again in Moab, and have visited a couple of times after buying our sticks and bricks. Life is busy, but what a treat it is to catch up in person like we had just seen each other last week. Lots of laughs, lots of stories, and lots of Lucy who was full of tail wags and toys. I only took one photo...a keeper for sure!

Last week-end, Jamie, Andra, and Ozzie came to visit.

We had a double date with the kiddos. The Botanical Gardens is having Monsoon Sunset Concerts on Fridays nights in August from 6:00 - 9:00 pm. The event features live music by local musicians, beer and wine, and a full menu at Edna's Cafe. The pulled pork sandwiches were yummy as was the cold brewsky, and the Daytrails band members were all students at U of A. The band is known around town for its sun-soaked indie rock energy.

And you might remember awhile back there was a fund raiser for a mural to be painted on the outside (by the street) wall for the Gardens 50 year anniversary on the Porter property in downtown Tucson.

Back at the oasis, it was out with the old and in with the new. We had all the 25 year old packed insulation covered with dust and dirt removed, the attic sanitized, the cracks and gaps filled, and brand new insulation blown in at 17" deep. Why you might ask. Well, the old fiberglass loose fill had settled to about 4 inches and had lost some if not a lot of thermal efficiency.

Out with the old...

It was a two day project and we are very pleased with Strongbuilt Heating, Air, and Plumbing. We bought our new AC unit from them 3 years ago. The technicians in charge of this project were very professional and polite and worked so hard in the extreme heat. We were also impressed with how they cleaned up...it looked as if they had not even been here when they left.

In with the new...

We have enjoyed some monsoon storms and skies. There is another month before the season is officially over and we sure could use more rain.

Very dark clouds rollin in around sunset...

Rain clouds and sun rays late afternoon...

Lucy fills our home and hearts.

Practicing "stay"...

Sharing her toys...

You might remember our daughter Jill published a book The Secrets of Shadywoods a couple of years ago. She has been busy the last couple of years working on a series. There will be a total of five books and the first one has been published and is available on Amazon.

Valandria is a fantasy novel for ages 11-14 with lots of magic and mystery.

The second book is published and will be available on Amazon September 12.

And the adventure continues with Drascandar with dangerous secret missions and dodging the Dark Stewards.

And also back on the east coast, these two munchkins started their school year.

As a former K teacher I am quite impressed Edith can already write her name and can not believe that Felix is in 5th grade.

So thats a wrap on the past few weeks. Hope all is good in your neck of the woods. I'll close with a few more photos that make me smile and clue for an upcoming late summer adventure.