Day 7: High Desert

MONDAY, 8 AM. At nearly a mile high, Albuquerque is a high desert. We calculated our daily recommended water requirement to be a case of water daily. The recommended amount is 1 oz. per pound of body weight daily. And then there's Murphy's daily gallon. M has a headache this morning and I'm also noticing the effects of altitude. Breathing becomes a little more difficult, and the pulse pounds a little more than usual. Coming from sea level, this is very different.

Rest is on the docket today, but I'll write more later.

8 PM. It was a quiet day. Only a few photos. Nothing exciting to report. We visited with friends we hadn't seen in a very long time. It was wonderful to see them again after so long. The afternoon was spent napping, reading, recovering from a 2,250 mile drive, and allowing our bodies to acclimate to living at 5000 feet. The hotel has a courtyard just for dogs, so we took Murphy out to play in the courtyard late in the afternoon. La Quinta Inn & Suites-Midtown is especially dog-friendly. Cookies are available at the front desk for all good little doggies, and a plate of warm chocolate chip cookies is set out each afternoon for humans. We ate our cookies in the courtyard. The hot sun made the chocolate chips gooey and delicious.

I might go for a swim or a hot tub soak later this evening. For now, I'm content to just spend a little quiet time in our room, looking at the deep blue sky, fluffy clouds, and the mountains.