Welcome to New Mexico (Source: Geo Davis)

At least twice a year (and some years even more often) we drive cross-country from the Adirondacks to Santa Fe and back again. We tend to poke along, stopping to explore our wide, wonderful, and sometimes slightly weird country. We visit family and friends along the way. And we chauffeur our Labrador retriever—who is unfit to fly (according to his overly protective dog-momma, my bride)—in comfort door-to-door, acquainting him with canine acquaintances new and old all along the way.

It’s an enjoyable journey. We listen talk and listen to music and audio books. We eat. We discover. We hike and sometimes I bike. It’s a thoroughly memorable adventure each and every time. But there are certain recurring highlights like the moment we first enter New Mexico, the Land of Enchantment. Butterflies in the stomach. The good kind. And a quickening of the heartbeat as we talk excitedly about everything we plan to do as soon as we arrive in Santa Fe…