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Thank you, thank you, thank you to all of you who responded to my post. I
wastruly overwhelmed and very touched by the fact that so many of you were
willing to help out.  I really can't thank you enough for trying to help
make this trip a great one!

To those of you who asked about the inn in Santa Fe:  there is a web site
which lists gf inns around the country:  www.1-888-inn-seek.com/GFinns.htm.
One of the owners (I believe) of the inn at which we will be staying is
GF.  It is El Farolito B&B Inn (888-634-8782).  It looks to be very
attractive, is rather expensive (but I imagine everything is in Santa Fe)
and I will let you know more when I get back!

All of your ideas were extremely helpful for this and future trips and I
will incorporate as many as I can into my plans... and then try to relax!

To Dan: Thanks very much for the advice on restaurants and  thanks for the
info on Julia Roberts! I guess there are not that many of us over 21 who
can wear spandex!

To those of you who asked about family/friends in the area who could help
out:  yes we have friends in Montreal and family in Boulder, however, the
friends in Montreal are the parents of the groom and the family in Boulder
are the couple getting married.  I really don't want to add to the things
they have to think about right now!!

For those of you who thought I was being overly concerned:  I appreciate
your thoughts about just relaxing and enjoying it and not worrying about
food ... but there are several reasons why I can't do that on this trip
(now I will proceed to tell you more than you ever wanted to know about
why).

One major reason is that it is going to be very hectic trip and involve a
lot of driving (Santa Fe to Chinle, Chinle to Moab, Moab to Boulder), not
to mention a lot of flying and not a lot of time in between.  Since my
husband spent most of his life living in NYC, he is not a long distance
driver, therefore I will do most, if not all, of the driving.  If I get
sick (or even just hungry/cranky), it could therefore, put a major damper
on our plans.

The other reasons have to do with past experiences that I have had.  I have
only been gf since November, but have had very serious reactions to casein
for about 15 years...therefore, I have had some experience with
difficulties in finding foods to eat. (I would be thrilled if I could just
grab a piece of cheese when I was hungry.)  I have also, in the past, done
a fair amount of traveling alone with my daughter, who has cerebral palsy,
is confined to a wheelchair and was also, at the time, on a casein free
diet (now gfcf diet).  I found when traveling with my daughter, that the
more preplanning I did, the easier and therefore more enjoyable the trip
was for both of us, therefore this kind of planning has become part of what
I do! We have traveled in the U.S., Canada, Europe and New Zealand...and
have managed pretty well, despite her physical limitations and our food
limitations...but it didn't just happen by itself and particularly because
we were traveling alone (that is, just the two of us) and she is completely
dependent upon me... my health was a very important issue. I found that
when I did what I call planning (others refer to it as "overplanning," some
even "micromanaging" I could then relax and handle the issues that did come
up (and there were always some...like when the (only) elevator in the hotel
in Germany broke down as we tried to use it at 11:30pm after a very long
day of driving... I managed to find two people to carry her upstairs and
fortunately by the next morning it was fixed) with greater flexibility and
grace. The biggest food related problem we encountered actually was when
the airline "forgot" to load the special meals on our flight from LA to
Auckland. The flight was 12 hours (plus 2 hours of runway sitting) and
that's a long time to manage on snacks alone!!) Our friends who met us at
the airport were a bit surprised to be welcoming two very tired, hungry and
cranky individuals!!(It did get better though -- in fact, right after
breakfast!)

In addition, my first trip on this diet was to Austin, Texas in January.
My husband and I were going for a conference and I did not preplan as there
was plenty of time to scope things out after we got there.  Everything went
quite well (I had some of the best meals I have ever had...the restaurants
in Austin were great and the Central Market had lots of good snack food)
but, part of the conference involved a "banquet" on Saturday night.  We
spoke to the manager of the kitchen staff ahead of time, found out what was
being served, suggested that they simply leave the sauce off the meat and
steam some vegetables...I would forgo the appetizer and dessert.  Seems
like no problem.  As we sat at dinner, at a table full of strangers,
everyone was served but me.  When we asked where my food was we were told
that it would be out shortly.  They then brought me the standard
meal...sauce on the meat, etc.  I sent it back.  They then proceeded to
bring me a vegetarian dish... with no one able to tell me how the veggies
were cooked (e.g. butter).  I sent it back.  After about an hour (by this
time everyone at the table was asking questions about my diet, what happens
when I have gluten/casein, etc., making suggestions about what to do, etc.)
we confronted the manager of the kitchen staff who told us that the chef
was REFUSING to cook my meal!!  More suggestions from our table mates as to
how to handle this...finally we spoke to the manager of the hotel and as
everyone was finishing dessert my meal finally arrived... to the cheers of
everyone at our table!!  The meal itself was deliciously
prepared...however, I ended up eating in the dark (there was a slide
presentation immediately after dinner) and by the time the meal arrived
wasn't feeling all that hungry anymore (in fact, my stomach was in
knots!!)  I would really like to avoid the aggrevation for my husband (who
is a fabulous cook himself and takes charge of these things because he is
so familiar with ingredients) and the general upheaval... particularly at
an event such as a wedding!! If we were closer to home I would just let it
go and eat later, but that won't be possible.

So, the short answer to all of this, is that I am simply trying my best to
make this trip an enjoyable and easy one for all of us (friends, family and
most of all, my husband!)by doing as much as I can myself ahead of time.


Thanks again for all of your helpful advice.

I will try to write individually to those of you who had particular
questions.

Jane