Albuquirky

From our backyard today we watched a thick bolt of lightening strike the base of the mountain behind us (less than 2 miles away) and start a prairie fire. It blazed a large swath of desert brush turning the sand black and sending up a large plume of smoke.

From the comforts of home we also regularly see (and chase) large tumbleweeds and occasionally road runners and oversized hummingbirds. So far we've only seen one snake in our yard.

Every major park in Albuquerque, including the one on base, provides children up to 18 years of age "free" lunch every day throughout the summer.

Most houses don't have air conditioning but a simpler device called a swamp cooler that sits on the roof and works like a water-cooled attic fan (no thermostat).

The city of Albuquerque has "free" wireless Internet connectivity throughout the city. Meanwhile, folks in base lodging, like me, are stuck with dial-up which is creeping along at 21.6 kps. I've got some great photos but I won't be uploading them until I get something faster.