The weekend of the 23rd of October, I took my friend Carman to Albuquerque to visit my family and take the loop trip up the back side of the Sandias to Santa Fe and back to ABQ. After what has become a tradition for us stopping at the Buckhorn Saloon for green chili burgers, we found our hotel who couldn't find the reservations. Go figure! We had great Chinese food at the Bamboo house. I couldn't eat all of mine, so we brought it back to give to Sue and Marty. We met them for a great breakfast at Taco Sal. Really great service! Of course, they knew Marty and Sue. They had to go home and wait for the carpet people and we took off for the crest. No disappointment: they had a foot of snow the week before, and the scenery was outstanding. Madrid was next: the shops, photography, and art were great. We went to the Mine Shack just to have a drink; we were still full from our breakfast. I wanted Carman to see the staircase at the Loretto Chapel, but it was closed for a wedding. We toured the plaza; the Bull Ring was closed until 5pm. Rats! Next stop: bottom of the tram. We had a drink at the bar and then headed to Marty and Sue's. We shared our day's activities and a pizza from Domino's which Carman thought commendable. It's great keeping company with an Italian.