August 16, 2007

I really, really, really love [Prairie Dogs](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prairie_dog). They have an extremely advanced and extensive form of verbal communication, with hundreds of distinct calls they use to describe different dangers and predators. It saddens me somewhat that the tourist trap known as Jackalope keeps over a dozen dogs in a cement lined pen which is roughly one tenth the size of the area the would inhabit in the wild. Either way about it, they're cute as can be, as evidenced by these photos: [](https://eecue.com/p/29247/Prairie-Dog.html) [](https://eecue.com/p/29249/Prairie-Dog-Eating.html) [](https://eecue.com/p/29256/Prairie-Dog-Kisses.html) [](https://eecue.com/p/29260/Prairie-Dogs-Kissing.html) [](https://eecue.com/p/29263/Prairie-Dog-Munching.html) [](https://eecue.com/p/29264/Prairie-Dog.html) You can see the rest of the Prairie Dog photos I took [in my gallery](http://eecue.com/images_archive/eecue-album-1477-1-Jackalope_Prairie_Dogs.html).

Yesterday the radiantly beautiful [Penelope](http://peneloper.com/) and I took the road less traveled from Cochiti Pueblo up through Tent Rocks along National Forest road 289, with a slight detour to Saint Peter's Dome, up to Highway 4. The FJ, which we've named Blue-J, performed flawlessly, although this time 4 Wheel Low was required. Here are some photos I took, along with Penelope's first HDR photo: [](https://eecue.com/p/29235/Blue-J-with-Pen-and-Dave.html) [](https://eecue.com/p/29246/Blue-J-in-Dome-Wilderness.html) [](https://eecue.com/p/29242/View-from-Dome-Wilderness-Lookout.html) [](https://eecue.com/p/29243/View-from-Dome-Wilderness-Lookout.html) [](https://eecue.com/p/29230/Cochiti-Dam-and-Valley.html) Penelope's first HDR photo: [](https://eecue.com/p/29239/Dome-Wilderness.html) You can check out the rest in [my photo gallery](http://eecue.com/images_archive/eecue-album-1476-1-Dome_Wilderness.html).

Surprisingly enough, I only took a few photos of Santa Fe itself during our vacation there. Here they are: [](https://eecue.com/p/29265/El-Portal-and-Crane-with-Clounds.html) [](https://eecue.com/p/29266/Santa-Fe-Plaza-Monument-Topped-with-Pige.html) [](https://eecue.com/p/29267/East-Palace-Avenue-and-Clouds.html)