Santa Fe and Beyond After spending the morning of New Year's Day deep below the earth, I hit the road again. My route to Santa Fe took me through Roswell, where unfortunately I saw neither aliens nor flying saucers (except for an odd, saucer-shaped cloud in an otherwise clear sky... hmmm...). Even the UFO museum was closed. But I got this cool shot when I stopped for lunch. Beyond Roswell, the drive was largely uninteresting, since I was on the edge of the Great Plains by this point. I arrived in Santa Fe before sundown, ready for a two-day breather. And what a pretty little city for a stopover (despite temperatures in the 20s and 30s). Santa Fe is just about the classiest small town I've ever been in outside of southern California. Adobe-style buildings and historic structures framed the downtown quarter. Every other storefront housed an artist's gallery. As a casual observer, I drunk it all in, but this is the kind of place to come with a girlfriend or wife. Very romantic. Maybe some other time. The next day, I did a little day trip from Santa Fe, driving north and west to Los Alamos and Bandalier National Monument. The latter contains the 800-year-old remains of a pueblo community, complete with cliff dwellings and lots of beautiful hiking trails. Dim outlines of petroglyphs were even visible on the cliff face. But I don't know... as interesting as this site was, I've been spoiled for life when it comes to ruins after visiting Rome and Pompeii last year. Next: Very Large Dream Photos | E-mail comments | Back to Home Page Content, photography & design © 2001-2003 Michael Strickland All photographs digitally watermarked · Unauthorized use prohibited