Christmas lights by the palace (Santa Fe Plaza)

For actual rhinestone cowboys?

Santa Fe plaza gives very pleasant evening strolling in scarf-and-glove temperatures.

All the glittery things imaginable and a few that, frankly, I would never have thought of. Such historic. Very luxury.

Christmas lights by trains (Flagstaff AZ)

red sky at morning ...

We drove into Flagstaff on December 23 with a big snowstorm hard on our heels - a foot of snow due, starting at 5 a.m. the next day.

red sky at night ... well, orange. 

Christmas Eve morning the sky was grey and threatening but the ground still bare. We went to the Museum of Northern Arizona and spent a happy couple of hours wandering through fossils, pottery, textiles, paintings, and jewellery. 

As we came out, little flurries were starting. A few hours later, snow plows were patrolling the streets and parking lots. The scrape and hum of them reminded me of winters in Ottawa back in the day ... weirdly soothing ... 

Christmas lights by sea (Lake Havasu light parade)

As I said, strange and lovely are the Christmas lights of the desert. Especially if you watch them on a lake that is spanned by London Bridge (that's the actual London Bridge, not some cheap local knock-off.)

Christmas lights by land (Ethel M cactus garden)

Strange and lovely are the Christmas lights of the desert. We saw them here by land at the Ethel M Chocolate Factory. 3 acres of inexplicable seasonally festive wow ...