snow, polar bears, and dylan mcdermott

We spent Christmas and New Years in Albuquerque this year. Wouldn't it figure that Albuquerque received record-breaking snowfall while we were there, and we didn't pack snow gear? Anyways, here's a photographic review of my trip.

They say the sky is bluer in Albuquerque than other places. Something to do with lack of moisture in the air and light refraction. Judge for yourself.



The morning we got in town, the clouds were just sitting on top of the mountains.


Snow + cacti = awesome.


I love the Flying Star Cafe. They had matzoh ball soup when I was sick. (Or is it matzo?)


We got 22" of snow in a 48 hour time period.


We went to the zoo to watch polar bears wrestle.


And mountain lions lick themselves.


Even the orangutans were in a festive mood.


My favorites from the aquarium:
Puffer


Jellies


And the Slippery Dick.


I found a dragon


and a dinosaur biker


This was the runway at the airport the day we left:



We left on New Years Day. Flights hadn't entered or exited the airport for days due to the snow and dense fog from the evaporating snow. Luckily, my flight was neither cancelled nor delayed. Unluckily, it meant that there were lots of people stranded in the airport, so we got stuck sitting on the floor. I'm a people watcher, and I saw a man walk by who looked just like Dylan McDermott. Since I was with two kids under the age of 8, I couldn't exactly nudge one and ask their opinion, so I checked the NM Film Office site, and guess who is filming in NM? That's right. McDermott. Sadly, no photo, as I was unprepared for a celebrity sighting at the Albuquerque Sunport. He was looking pretty raggedy though. Maybe he was amongst the stranded.