Picture does not show well but the bunches hanging in these pines are really tons of butterflies that will soon take flight once the morning sun warms them a bit.  

The famous "Alcatraz". Grows wild in parts of Mexico. 

Time for a little crib in Angangeo before going to see the buttrerflies the next day. 

No shortage of cactus on the canyon walls on the way to La Huerta. 

400 year old tree at La Huerta. Picture does not do justice to the very extensive above ground root system that reaches into the nearby spring. Lovers come here to spoon as the tree is good luck for all things to do with mating. 

Tunnel on the way to La Huerta. 

New perspective on the Queretaro aquaduct. This from where it reaches the town. 

The 29 hand and the proud owner!! Wow!! Note however that Joan's red pegs are almost at the finish so she didn't get to count the whole bunch - much to her chagrin. 

A perfect hand

Had a great visit with Joan and Darrell over the past few weeks. We did quite a bit of exploring around the vicinity here – got deeper into Guanajuato, Delores, and Queretaro than heretofore. We got off the main trail and visited La Huerta about half an hour from here and also tried to find some of the pre-Hispanic ruins close by but they are poorly marked so we had no luck getting to any – maybe next time. We did all the garage sales we could find in town on the week-ends but there were few gems to be found.

My little cocktail party cum houswarming went off quite well I think on the 10th, just a couple of days after Joan and Darrel arrived. It marked almost to the day a year since I have been in the house. There were about 40 folks that I have picked up over the last months including several of the neighbors. I got the boys running the Kiosk in the Artisans Alley to cater and people seemed to like the food they served. Furthermore J and D and I feasted on the left overs for a day or two. My neighbor and her keyboardist sang and played guitar. Some folks danced. It was fun.

We took a few days and visited the Monarch butterfly preserve in Michoacan. This latter is a days drive south of here, close by a town called Angangeo, so I left dog and other animals in the hands of a young man whose name I got from the neighbor. That worked out quite well and the butterflies are certainly worth the visit. Those interested can learn more at: http://www.study-mexico.com/English/4/monarch-butterflies.cfm.

Angangeo is at about 10,000 feet altitude and a relatively poor region of the country. You needed warm clothes and there was even some ice on the wet ground in places as we approached the butterfly preserve with our guide the following morning. Joan and I picked up a bit of a tummy bug the night before, which caused us to find the trek up to the Monarchs rather strenuous and in fact we returned to SMA a bit earlier than planned as a result. We called the doc across the street on our return to SMA and he subscribed some pills and stuff that seemed to work quite quickly. Must have been the water in Angangeo.

Joan and Darrell brought some nice books with them and picked up some more at a few garage sales around this town so we did a good deal of reading during their viist and I have enough to keep me busy for quite a while. We also played lots of crib and Joan and Darrell thoroughly cleaned my clock. It made for some good giggles nevertheless. Joan actually got a 29-point hand along the way – the first I have ever seen and her first. Darrell and I recorded the event on film (er electrons??). We ate in most of the time giving me a welcome opportunity to refresh my culinary skills. The Gregor and Chile-Willy got thoroughly spoiled as a result. We have all gained a bunch of excess poundage that will have to be worked off over the next few weeks. The two four-footers are suffering from visitor withdrawal today and were downright dissappointed with the lunch menu. Dinner was a little better as there were some steak bits, but cocktails were a near bust.

I am off to Puerto Vallarta at the end of the week for about a week. It was nice to have a dry run with the young man who will sit the animals so I can go without fear in that regard. Was thinking of going to Queretaro this week with a friend who has a Costco card but a cold bug has intervened so not sure that will transpire. Joyce and Brian, (friends from the year previous), are back in town for a few months and dropped by this evening. It was nice to see them again and we will get together on my return.