I was asked if I wanted to attend a seminar in Albuquerque, NM dealing with the prosecution of domestic violence in Indian Country. The agenda looked promising and it had been quite a while since I'd seen an old college buddy, Jason, who lives there. So why not?
Unfortunately, Albuquerque does not like me. When I got to my rental car, there were a few flakes of snow in the air. I drove south of town and passed this water "tower" along I-25.
When I returned to the city a few hours later, I could have been back in North Dakota.
This was the third time I had been to Albuquerque in the past four years. Each time I visited, it snowed.
I hadn't planned to swim outside anyway.
We are accustomed to snow-covered pine trees in North Dakota, but snow-covered palm trees are another matter entirely.
But the snow quickly melted and by the weekend, we were hacking away at the University of New Mexico's Championship Golf Course.
Jason [middle] poses with friends, Mark and J.T.
For a while, it looked as if I had all my ducks in a row...
My swing was in fairly good form after a five-month hiatus. Alas, the wheels came off early and often--my scores ballooned into the 90s.
Jason and another friend, Jerry, tee off on #18 at Twin Warriors, a snazzy resort on a pueblo north of town.
A sign in downtown Albuquerque made me chuckle.
This church was in another pueblo north of Albuquerque.
Near the airport, I spied this antique.
Returning home, I snapped this shot of the Missouri River separating Bismarck and Mandan. The ice is definitely gone for 2005.