It's a long ... long drive from Kansas City to Albuquerque, NM. We left the Black Dog Coffee house loaded up on coffee and chili at about 11:00pm and arrived in Albuquerque at about noon the next day. The drive went well... Kansas is boring and cold at night. 28 degrees to be exact. Oh... and factory meat processing plants smell like death... even in the cold... I can only imagine what it's like in the summer heat.

We ahd one close call where we were driving through the New Mexico desert at 8:00am, with about a hundred miles left in the tank, and every "town" we came to either had closed gas stations, or were completely boarded up. Not sure how it happened, but we finally got to a gas station in the middle of the desert with "7 miles" left in the tank according to the estimate computer in the van. 18.25 gallons immediately and gratefully went into the tank... at $2.95 a gallon mind you... into an 18 gallon tank. Do the math.... but you got to love it, and respect it, when fate smiles at you like that.

After checking in a scouting both venues, and finding them both much to our satisfaction, we did a little supply shopping and headed to a park on the Rio Grande River. This place was awesome. We spent the day hanging out, grilling and enjoying the beautiful weather.

Both shows were well received by those who were there, and both had drastically different clientele. The owners of both venues were vary hospitable and gave additional amenities and/or cash to help us out. We met some interesting people with stories of all kinds.

We decided to drive to Tempe, AZ after the show, leaving Albuquerque at 2:00am. We were all exhausted except for Jaime. She's a trooper. She drove us the full 8 hours to Tempe. And here we are.. a little dirty, probably a more than a little smelly... but we have met up with an old friend, and relaxing at his place and reviving our tired selves.

Tonights show sounds like it will be a good time... more tomorrow.