Glad you enjoyed it. Yes, Santa Fe has its share of lefties.
Denver traffic usually isn't that bad except for rush hour. Were you on I-25? Normally the traffic on the I stays around 65+ MPH. When my granddaughter Sadie was being born, I hit Denver right at afternoon rush hour. I was supposed to take the Colfax Exit, but traffic was so slow I took the Colorado Blvd exit and took Colorado north to Colfax. I got there ten minutes before Sadie was born. If I had stayed on I-25, I would have missed it.
Normally between 9:00 and 4:00 and after 6:00, the traffic flows pretty smoothly (unless you hit the end of a Broncos game).
I find it takes about three days to get acclimated to the altitude. I live at 4800' and if I go over 10,000 feet, I have to take it easy for a while.
You don't realize how much you miss it.
I got the same feeling when we returned from Kentucky and few times. "All that green is nice and all, but it sure is nice to be back where there are wide open spaces and horizons."
The hot days and cool nights are common here also. Not enough atmosphere to trap the heat in at night. Our temperature differential between day and night is normally about 50 degrees. That is what makes our chile peppers so great.