Desert Harbor Retreat — The Setting

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Our stay at Desert Harbor Resort was a Christmas gift from Laurie’s parents, and we scheduled our stay for our 32nd wedding anniversary. Desert Harbor Resort is run by Raymond and his wife Wesley. Guests stay in a small house up the hill from the main house nestled below undulating cliffs among the juniper and piñon trees. The nightly rate includes breakfast, and guest have the option of ordering dinners as well. Guests can also get life counseling, time in a hot tub, and schedule messages for additional fees. There is a labyrinth guests can walk in and then sit in the center and meditate. On the other side of the cliffs the porch faces is a covered lookout, with a chair and a hammock, overlooking a canyon where one can relax, read or meditate. There are also trails for hiking in the canyon and beyond.

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Guesthouse

 

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Laurie drawing a selfie

 

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hot tub

 

 

 

 

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Laurie drawing the cliffs from the porch swing

 

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View of the cliffs from the porch

 

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Interior of the guest house
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Laurie modeling her new dress
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Interior view looking towards kitchen and bath area
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Laurie modeling her new pants and sweater

 

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The labyrinth

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view of the east side of the Sandias from the guest house
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Raymond set chairs on top of a cliff for us to watch the sunset
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The sunset from the chair on the edge of a cliff
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Laurie sketching the sunset
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Cliffs after sunset
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View looking west from the cliff after the sun had set

Easter Morning

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I got a nice drive-by sky on the way to the Shrine of the Little Flower, St. Thérèse and the Infant Jesus Catholic Church for Easter service Easter Morning. While we were in France last summer we went to various Catholic Churches in Provence and Paris and really liked the French services. We went to a service at St. Thérèse in early March that Suzette sang in, and we liked the church.  St. Thérèse was French, the church has stained glass from France, and Reverend Chavez lived and worked for many years in Europe, so there is a “French Connection” at St. Thérèse that we liked. The 10:00 am service was packed (standing room only), the sermon was fantastic and the music (guitar accompinament) was very good.

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Espresso Fino

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Espresso Fino opened at 222 Gold Ave, SW in Downtown Albuquerque right next door to our office. Owned and operated by Greg with his lovely daughter Nina, and handsome son Pablo (not pictured), Espresso Fino offers fine espresso coffee using organic beans. The shop has a brand new Nouva Simonelli 4 group Aurelia II espresso maker that is as bright and shiny as a fine mirror. They also offer pastries from Le Café Miche (two doors down on the corner of 3rd and Gold), breakfast burritos, and they will soon offer goodies from the New Mexico Pie Company.

Greg is former furniture craftsman from Taos, New Mexico, who has operated two other coffee shops in Taos over the past six years. Now that Greg and his family are offering their espresso making skills on Gold Street, be sure to stop in and try out their coffee.

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Hot Wheels

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The weather was sunny, with no wind and a high in the 50’s, so I took my cameras out for a walk around downtown. As I was crossing Central Ave. (Old Route 66) at sixth street, the guy in the blue car with big wheels started honking his horn. When I looked in his direction, he was making a gesture for me to take a photo, so I grabbed a quick shot as the light turned green, just before he drove off up Central. He looked pretty happy that I got the shot. The second photo is a little “abstract reflectionism” on Gold Ave. And then I got a “drive-by” photo of the moonrise over the Sandias as I was turning onto Coors Rd. on my way home.

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