Hanging in New Mexico

We are staying in John and Mary Benziger's apartment in Santa Fe after a scary episode. 

Wednesday morning I got the go ahead to resume taking the chemotherapy drug Dasatinib. I had my blood checked at a clinic in Utah on Monday and even though my platelets are still low (94,000) the doctor in charge of the clinical trial doesn't think it's due to the drug. This makes me uncomfortable, not knowing why my platelets are below normal. Anyway, I took the first dose Wednesday morning as we headed out of Albuquerque to the Jemez mountains. After a soak at a beautiful hot spring near Jemez Springs we found a great campsite at Fenton Lake state park, high up on Jemez mountain. We bought some warm sleeping bags at REI in Albuquerque and we are prepared now for temps down into the twenties. By the time we pulled into the site, about five hours after taking the drug, I wasn't feeling too good. Within a few minutes I was feeling terrible, then the shakes and chills started. Two hours later, after getting sick to my stomach and passing out in bed I crawled out of the van. We decided to head down out of the mountains and back towards Albuquerque just in case I had more trouble. Nothing like a brief, violent chemotherapy episode to remind you what it's like!

Today, two days later, I feel pretty good. I'm supposed to take this drug daily until June so I'm hoping I tolerate it well. I've been taking it on and off for almost a year, but getting back on to it after two months off it was rough for a day. How come the second and third days have been so much easier? I don't know, but I'm happy!

Gina and I are excited to explore Santa Fe. Here is the view from Mary and John's apartment last night...

Yesterday, we had tea with Sandy Colt's sister Carola and her son Jimmy. They live a few blocks from John and Mary's apartment...

We were lucky to arrive in Albuquerque during the annual Balloon Fiesta. What an amazing, beautiful event...more than 500 balloons participate. We got there at dawn and saw a dozen balloons go up on Dawn Patrol, to test the winds. The balloons glowing in the dark....on and off like fireflies. At 7 am, the mass ascension began...

Here is a picture of Gina in psychedelic mode...could I get a hot air balloon made with her picture on it?

We'll be in Santa Fe until Monday...it's a great place to hang out, relax and wait out the early winter cold front that dropped snow on the surrounding mountains last night and a cold wind today. Sunday night we've got tickets to see Jake Shimabukuro ( an almost well-known ukelele player that Gina heard about on NPR) at the Kimo Theater in Albuquerque...then it's off to Texas, Oklahoma and points east.