We stopped in Albuquerque to see some long time friends, did some exploring in Albuquerque and Santa Fe. I thought we were heading to see a mission but it turned out to be a church, the San Miguel Church which is the oldest church structure in the USA (built in 1610). We also went to the Loretto Chapel that has a famous free-standing staircase built by a mysterious visitor thought to be St Joseph in 1873. We also explored the outside of the New Mexico capitol building since it is a weekend.

One of my favorite sights had to be the sunsets from Tom & Paula’s back yard, their home is on a hillside neighborhood and the cool Albuquerque evenings were so nice. The cool evenings were a stark reminder that we are going to be back home in the Phoenix heat very, very soon.