That squirrel photo is great! Am I likely to see my first "real" one when I come over?

Rachel, I can practically guarantee that you'll be a veteran squirrel spotter before you leave here.

Yup, I've seen a bird pant, and air out its armpits! You don't have a patent on hot weather... unfortunately.

I might have questioned the legitimacy of the squirrel photo, if it weren't for the fact that I've seen them do exactly that. At the other house, I used to walk to a nearby park and walk laps around the half mile of concrete path (this was before I got back on the bike). I saw a squirrel lying in the middle of a shady patch of path, like yours was. It wasn't until my third lap that I saw him move a little. Until then, I thought he was "demised".

Watching the evening replay of Stage 17 after having followed it on the web this morning. What an amazing performance Landis put in. It reminded me of some of the dominant attacks Armstrong put in during years past.

I think what made Landis's performance so amazing today was the contrast with yesterday's dismal showing. One would almost accuse him of "playing possum" yesterday, only I don't know anyone in the world with the nerve to try to pull off such an audacious tactic.

I sure wouldn't bet against him in Saturday's time trial.

I'm still laughing. This may be your best squirrel photo yet! :-) I thought maybe he was playing possum as a hawk loomed overhead, but I don't doubt he's cooling off a bit. Poor fellow.

Now I'm sorry I missed today's leg of the race...darn! My DVR is full...never thought I'd see that day!

One of our "pet" squirrels (read: the ones who come and manage to foil our "squirrel proof" bird feeders without fail) will do this out on our deck railing. It's hillarious - but I think your photo is better. That said, I'm pretty sure we snapped our little guy last time he was on the rail, so I'll dig around for it this weekend and post it for comparisons. :)

We are leaving tomorrow morning to head out west to Santa Fe, NM for the kids' annual Suzuki String Camp. The forecast for Santa Fe sounds cooler than our current neck of the woods, even with isolated showers looming (so what). Any good suggestions on restaurants? We've been to Gabriel's, The Compound, LaFonda, The Shed...all wonderful, but what are your favorites?

Guadalupe Café for Mexican; The Cantina at Café Sena (same area as The Shed) in the evening for singing waiters/waitresses and "interesting" food like chicken fried ribeye; Tia Maria's for blueberry pancakes; Harry's Roadhouse for gourmet comfort food and desserts; Il Piata for Italian; the Chocolate Maven for Sunday brunch (try to get a table looking into the warehouse-sized kitchen) and take-home pastries. Any questions? ;-)

Sounds like a wonderful trip...have fun!

Oooh...I want to go to Santa Fe! Have you been to Anthony's at the Delta? Yummy! (Pricy, too, which is a bit of a downer...and a little drive from Santa Fe as it's closer to Espanola, but we loved it when we lived there (there being NM, not Espanola, we didn't live in Espanola. Not that that matters.))

Then there's the Swiss Bakery and La Tertulia (they are my memory of the best sopapillas ever) - both are in Santa Fe proper.

Beth, we've been to Santa Fe many times but haven't tried ANY of those restaurants! So much food...so little time.

Becky, if you're up to a drive to Taos, I almost forgot a really amazing restaurant up in the hills before you get into town: The Stake Out. More info at its website. Pretty pricy (but no more so than The Compound, as I recall), and the view is simply stunning, especially if you can get there around sundown.

Gee, thanks Eric and Beth! I wish we could all go together (I think). Is Guadalupe Cafe the one across from the Governor's Palace? If so, we've been there and enjoyed it. Wed. evening all the kids from the camp give a mini concert on the Plaza downtown (very fun), so the Cantina at Cafe Sena sounds like a great place to eat afterwards, if all 15 of our family members can get in! We'll try for a reservation. I'm going to check out all of your wonderful suggestions, but we'll only be there for a week!

Beth, aren't you the one that wrote that you were born in Los Alamos? I read "109 East Palace: Robert Oppenheimer and the Secret City of Los Alamos" by Jennet Conant last year. We even found the address near the plaza in Santa Fe last summer, and also scoped out Los Alamos too. I love that stuff.

Santa Fe: Three words: The Pink Adobe

Julie, I've already got that one flagged in my Fodor's. Thanks!

Anybody ever been to Cafe Pasqual's on Don Gaspar Ave.? I hear the breakfasts are great if you get there early enough to beat the line.

I can't believe I forgot BOTH the Pink Adobe (grilled tuna steak with pineapple salsa...mmmmmm!) and Pasqual's (the biggest breakfast burritos in town). Even their oatmeal is good. But you do have to get there before 8:00 or be prepared to wait. It won't handle a large group, either.

I was going to mention the Pink Adobe but wanted to stop before I just listed 18zillion places. There's another one in Rio Rancho that I can't for the life of me remember the name of - they have a big hanging tree (yes, it's what it sounds like) out front and it's amazing. But I can't come up with the name and google was no help. Bah. I'll ponder on it and mention it if I think of it.

Yep, I was born in Los Alamos. Can't say there were many restaurants to recommend in LA when I lived there, but Fuller Lodge and Ashley Pond are neat places to go see and the lab used to have a museum that was fun to visit (don't know if they still have it or if they've tightened up security.)

That is so hilarious.
I think that same squirrel fled Greentree where we live to your neighborhood. He would lie in the same exact position and taunt my dog. LOL

I'm impressed that he could taunt anything from that position. ;-)