I drove up Camp May Road and parked at Shotgun Shell because I wanted to take photos of some beautiful baby aspens that grow in a drainage there. Imagine my surprise to see a parked car and a middle-aged man in a white dress shirt sitting on a rock nearby and looking at pieces of white paper. I heard his car leave while I was in the drainage taking 21 photos of the aspens that were still in yellow, having their last gasp of autumn colors. I had planned to say hello when I was done taking photos. He had studiously ignored me as I walked toward the drainage. I wanted to tell him that he had picked a beautiful spot to park.
It looks like a system is coming in today because this morning, our turquoise blue skies looked milky blue like they do back east in Ohio and Pennsylvania and small, dark bottomed clouds were forming. This afternoon, we're all socked in with high clouds.
I drove to White Rock this afternoon and, on the way there around 1:30pm, I'm sure I saw a ghost going by...but, then again, today is Halloween so maybe it was just someone in costume! : )
I bought a pair of very long, fiberglass, canary yellow ski poles at the Jemez House Thrift Shop for $2. The lady at first wondered if she was supposed to charge me $15 because the poles still had their tag from the recent ski swap held in town. I'll use the poles for my balance practice on the Fitter wobble board. It gives me confidence to know that I can catch myself if I start to tumble off. It's also good to practice closed-eyes balance.
Saw my neighbor Irma at the thrift shop and talked with her for a while. She recommends glucosamine and chondroitin for my foot problem. I'm afraid to take it, though, because I know a woman in the Wednesday hiking group that took it but ended up having 2 knee operations anyway. Irma also suggested apple cider vinegar and increasing my brewer's yeast. She says she takes a zillion supplements. I don't know her age but she looks good. She was carrying her little dog, Chippie. He had an operation this week but is doing well.
I walked about 2 miles RT on the lower Water Canyon Trail. My right foot felt good enough on the way out, which is slightly downhill. On the way back, as I got within about 1/2 mile from the trailhead, I had to be very careful not to walk too fast or else it would have caused pain. I'm icing my foot now.