Sage Brush, Rabbit Brush and a Small Town Parade

We did one last stroll at Great Sand Dunes National Park on the sand sheet. There was an interpretive trail near the Visitors Center. It was long enough to enjoy and stretch out before the final drive to Russ' parents house, and short enough that we didn't arrive late.

Sand dunes at sunrise.

Rabbit brush in bloom. Turns out I'm allergic.

Sage brush and rabbit brush expanse.

Stay on the trail.

We found a good restaurant in Alamosa, Colorado called Calvillo's. I'm glad to get back to the land of spicy green chile, Rio Grande rift valley style. It's also nice to take a break from driving. We chose US 64, which was longer than the Wolf Pass route but definitely scenic.

Chips and salsa.

Green chile stew, chile rellenos.

We parked in front of the museum, but didn't go in.

I would like to say we are resting for the first few days, but we have been busy catching up with family and getting settled. I've go laundry in the washer and Russ has been working on our home firewall setup from a distance. Apparently a fire in our town shut off power for a few hours and it messed with our system. My dad went over to cycle power and get everything back up and running. We enjoyed the Aztec Homecoming Parade (Go Tigers!). Our niece participated with her soccer team. It was impressive. Floats were typically nice trucks pulling flat bed trailers. Everyone threw candy at the crowd. I wore my mask, even though we were outside, because there were a lot of people. It was great to see so many people out having a good time.

Russ and our nephew getting ready for the parade.

Local ROTC color guard.

Fire trucks and the football team.

More athletes.

Our niece is on the float.

Even the "Marching" Band was on a trailer.

We ate Sonic for dinner after the Parade.

Niece and Nephew at a local park.

There are four more kittens here, now mostly grown into cats. It seems like every time we come, I have to practice some restraint so as to not take any home with us!