Fridays

There's just nothing like driving home from work on a Friday to make you optimistic and energetic. Especially when the weekend's wide open, and even more especially when it's a three-day weekend looming ahead.

Tomorrow I will drive 300-plus miles to El Paso to pick up Mr. Wizard who's been in Denver working at a trade show. Since his flight is due at 5 pm, mountain time, we made the executive decision to spend the night there so we can run some errands. The Element needs new tires and that tops my list of to-do's. It's nice to visit civilization once in a while, and even nicer to have access to 'luxuries' not found in the desert, like going to a movie, which we may just do. It's nice to have the drive home to think and plan and make a list; once I get home there are other things to think about: laundry, cats, dinner, put-off chores.

The 75-mile drive home from work passes quickly now that the days are getting longer. This past week I actually made it home around dusk, which is much nicer than getting there in the dark, like the previous week.

In my first two weeks of commuting I've seen many critters on or near the road: an elk (this really surprised me!), deer, javelinas, rabbits, eagles, coyotes and some kind of exotic antelope. They all remind me that I have to be vigilant, because sometimes they aren't, and I sure don't want to run over or into anything on the commute. The miles of wear and tear on my vehicle are damage enough.

Lunaloca is 4 miles off the paved road, and those 4 miles are the slowest and most beautiful of the whole drive home. I snapped this shot of mountain 'layers' at the top of a rise, looking westward, before I head into our valley where three hungry kitties are waiting at the door.