Today is Saturday and we leave for Mexico and the Copper Canyon tomorrow morning. We've been in Las Crusces, New Mexico since Wednesday. How wonderful it is to spend some time in wonderful, magical New Mexico, one of my favorite places in this country.

What is it about New Mexico? Is it the glorious, glowing sunshine, so different from Florida with it's hot glaring rays? Is it the light that bounces off the mountains in the late afternoon creating colorations that emphasize the sharp peaks and canyons? Is it the colors of the desert and the contrasts between the impossibly blue sky and the earth tones of the adobe structures? Or is it the people, grounded, real, and sometimes quirky? Certainly it's all of these and more. The Indian and Spanish and cowboy cultures come together here creating a wonderful and rich tapestry that is New Mexico.

Las Crusces is a delightful city, the second largest in NM, full of history and art and beauty. Today is the annual balloon festival. The hot air balloons fill the skies. Tonight the balloonists tether the balloons and the gases create a glow throughout the field.

Part of Las Crusces is an area called Mesilla, which is the old town. That's where the Gadsden Purchase was signed (the document wherein we purchased the southwest from Mexico) and Billy the Kid was tried and sentenced to hanging. That building still exists and is now a gift shop. As I walked around the plaza yesterday, the most vivid rainbow that I have ever seen appeared in the sky after a brief shower. In fact it was a double rainbow!

Today we get our orientation for our caravan trip to Mexico. And tomorrow, off we go. It will be several days before I get any internet connection. It's wierd in these modern times to imagine being totally out of touch, without even a cell phone. So nothing to do but relax and enjoy. I'll be back in touch when I can. Adios amigos!