Feeling Rundown

Went on LL hike in Pojoaque Badlands, starting from dirt road that runs past El Rancho. Beautiful badlands with spectacular views of Sangres and Jemez ranges. Eleven people showed up.

I need to switch to lighter weight hiking clothes in this warm weather. I got damp from sweat and stayed that way.

Feel rundown like a cold is coming on. Too much hanging around doctor offices and hospitals. Sneezed a lot yesterday - that was a harbinger.

I'm running in and out watering the spruce tree. A lot of water is going into the street. Also, doing two loads of laundry. Making a tortilla pizza, no cheese, for supper.

Ice People and Jinja House

Two weeks in a row I've gone to Smith's in White Rock to stock up on fruit and vegetables. I'm enjoying the experience. It's giving me more variety than I would get at Vitamin Cottage.

Of my Smith's buys, today I roasted more asparagus as well as Sun Bella bagged, brown mushrooms and an eggplant. The eggplant was turned into baba ghanouj. I'll have some asparagus and mushrooms tonight along with some frozen mussels we picked up at Albertson's yesterday.

I managed to get by with only a stop at Albertson's in Santa Fe. Spouse says it's more expensive than Smith's. We did pick up some wonderfully fresh strawberries and cut up pineapple to make a strawberry-pineapple fruit salad. Spouse says he wouldn't have bought the cut up pineapple if he had realized it cost $5.99 but it was worth it!

We saw Ice People at the Screen in Santa Fe. We enjoyed it but it left lots of unanswered questions. A book to go along with the movie would be helpful. For instance, it showed two of the geology students walking around, one with a GPS and another with a backpack that had some kind of antenna rising up out of it. I assume that they were mapping but that's never explained. At one point when those two are approaching the other geology researchers, one comments that here come the moon people. What in the world does that mean?

I thought it was interesting when one of the geologist talks about how dirty you get out in the field and when you first take a shower back at McMurdo, you see these round, waxy, white balls dropping off which are the dead skin that is being removed.

After the movie, we ate a late lunch at Jinja House. I ordered two appetizers - the Tokoyo Crispy Tofu and Seasonal Vegetables Stir-Fried. It was good but next time I'll ask if they can make the tofu soft. I think they deep fat fry it even though the menu says lightly fried (which I thought meant pan-fried). I put a whole piece in my mouth when it first came to the table and it was absolutely molten inside. Spouse ordered Shaking Beef and liked it. It came with spinach, cucumber salad and fried rice.

Today we were going to hike Potrillo Canyon but I took so much time making things in the kitchen and preparing and eating breakfast-lunch that I decided to walk this evening. The weather is beautiful here so it will be very pleasant tonight.

Back Among the Living

Yesterday was stomach affliction day. I went to the doctor's office at 4pm and by the time I got done, all the ultrasound people had gone home, even from the emergency room. Los Alamos Medical Center has no ultrasound exams available in the emergency room after hours. I may get an abdominal ultrasound next week.

On the WRSC hike today, Eve told me that after hours, there is no one to read an x-ray in the emergency room. It's sent digitally to Australia and in an hour, you have the results. (I like Eve - she's human, real and will talk to you.)

The group hiked the Potrillo Canyon Trail but Mary didn't go out to the end, even though they were very close, because she had to get back early for a potluck at the senior center. After I got sick, I wasn't planning to go on the senior center hike but I woke up without the alarm at 6am and felt no stomach pains so I decided to go.

Anyway, after an afternoon and evening of stomach pains and throwing up, it's good to be back among the living again! This last happened like this in August 2008 while on vacation.

Lower Water Canyon Explore

Showed up at Tsankawi and who should I see but Dale. He had just finished giving a ticket to a hapless photographer who had parked at Tsankawi but didn't pay. I waved as I drove past to the meeting place. The hikers said Dale had asked if they were with the hiking group. That's interesting that his patrol extends all the way down to Tsankawi and all the way up in the Jemez Mountains to Dome Road.

Doris and Brian were the only two hikers that showed up. They agreed to do one of my suggestions which was to walk in lower Water Canyon. First, I took them into Gate 6 onto the little mesa. They enjoyed that. Doris took us down a new way. We walked in the Water Canyon drainage until it became too brushy and then we ascended a hillside to explore some cavate ruins. Everyone enjoyed sifting through the pottery shards and looking at the cliff dwellings. One of our number who shall remain unnamed (wasn't me!) found a beautiful white arrowhead. Maybe it was made of quartz. We passed under the powerline where there is reputed to be an old trail. I might have seen one winding upwards but we moved on without exploring further.

We had lunch at the Water Canyon-Potrillo Canyon saddle. I asked if they wanted to go back via the mesa trail but Doris wanted to follow the Water Canyon trail back so she could one day take her friend on that hike.

I headed for home around 1:30pm and am now finishing up a load of laundry. Tonight, grandson comes over while daughter goes to jujitsu class.

Los Alamos Geological Society talk last night was fun. I didn't really understand her explanation of why the cinder cones in Taylor Valley Antarctica are emplaced on the wall of the valley rather than on top of the mountains or in the valley. She explained it with an equation. She was very young and pretty - a post doc who recently became a full-time LANL staff member. I think that everyone gave her a pass on the explanation of her research. The best part of the talk was the slide presentation on the questions everyone asks her about her Antarcticic experience. One was what do you take and she showed us this enormous array of clothing that is issued to each person. She went during the Antarctic summer and said it really wasn't as cold as people said it would be.

There will be some good talks upcoming - Bill Johnson, Dorothy's son-in-law, in March and Bob Parmenter, chief scientist of the Valles Caldera National, in April.

Think I'll LIve

Turns out that exceptionally sore biceps last week were due to my seldom doing biceps curls and hammer curls. They didn't get sore this week. Perhaps there is some value in training the small arm muscles rather than just concentrating on shoulders and back.

Also, dummy me was once again overdosing on Vitamin D. I keep forgetting that the D3 capsules I have are 2000IU and not 1000IU! That's probably what was causing the sore big toes and some minor return of foot pain. If this keeps up, I'll have to hire a home health aide to supervise my supplement dosages! : )

Walked on Camp May Road. I never, ever get tired of studying the views from that road! It was very windy but I was under-dressed on the way up and didn't sweat much. I added another layer and warm gloves on the way down.

When I first started walking, some snowflakes were blowing around - at least one or two - but the dark cloud blew east toward the Sangres. The snow seems to have passed us by.

Yoga class this morning was good. I may have strained my buttock muscle in Warrior III (the one where you tilt forward and balance on one leg) but it seems minor. The mirrors were helpful. My form is not as bad as I imagined it from just doing yoga at home to an exercise dvd.

I could almost see getting a gym membership just for the classes but after a while, I'd tire of the obligation of going there on a regular basis to get my money's worth.

The nicest thing about a gym is that you do meet like-minded people who value their health. Today I saw Tom and Jean there. They used to hike with the LL group. Tom was working out on the treadmill. He can't hike anymore because of peripheral neuropathy which makes it really hard for him to walk on uneven ground. I also met a woman named Roberta who said that her 85 year old Mom never really exercised and now has all sorts of limitations as to how long she can stand and what movements she can make and generally has lots of aches and pains. Roberta is hoping that through regular exercise, she can be in better shape if she's lucky enough to make that age. Turns out that she was in the melodrama the same year I was but she was a can-can dancer.

It is so tempting to get a membership to the fitness center but I have to restrain myself because it will end up becoming just another obligation, albeit a thrilling one at first.

Yesterday and Today

Yesterday, went with spouse to lower Water Canyon outside of Pajarito Acres. Walked to drainage in Potrillo Canyon. Spouse waited for me just below the final climb to the saddle. I tell you, he was really hot-footing it on the way back! Fortunately now that my foot is healed, I wasn't suffering. He did slow down on the final hill up to the road. We went in the northern entrance where the powerlines are. Wasn't as snowy and icy as the classic middle entrance but there was still some hanging on.

Went to two LA Fitness Center classes today. After the Fifty Plus muscle strengthening class, I went to the Fifty Plus cardio one. Not much in the way of cardio but fun to move to music. I think, though, that I can safely skip that class in the future. Later this week, I'll try their yoga class. I'm concluding that I'd rather do my muscle strengthening at home (even though I'd really rather do anything else!) and go outdoors for my cardio. Maybe there will be a place in my life in the future to join a gym but not now. I feel good when I get outside to exercise.

Spouse went to see Slumdog Millionaire. It's supposed to be good and I'd love to see the scenes of India but I read about two violent scenes in the movie that I didn't want to see. I'll ask spouse how graphic those scenes were.

May walk this evening. It's semi-cloudy here and the Spring winds are gearing up.

Odds and Ends

Interesting article in today's Los Alamos Monitor on Dr. Storkan's cancer fight. He did the opposite of the author of the book Anti-Cancer. Dr. Storkan first tried alternative therapy and that strengthened his body but allowed the squamous cell carcinoma to spread to his lymph nodes. Then he allowed conventional medicine - surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy - to help stop the spread. Probably a good idea to use alternative treatments as an adjunct to conventional ones when you have cancer.

Dwight R. Smith published a book in 2004, One Mile At a Time: Cycling Through Loss and Renewal, about how cycling around the country helped him after he lost his two sons in a nine year span and then his wife died.

Dorothy Hoard's Guide to Bandelier National Monument is such a beautifully irresistible book made so by Dale Coker's cover photo of a rainbow over Bandelier's ruins and Dorothy's impeccable interpretation of the Bandelier landscape.

One day I have to check out the pinch of land that Santa Fe National Forest bought from the Baca Location Number 1 in 1990. I have the legal description and I can see it on the newest forest service map when I compare it to the 1990 map but I want to get an on the ground view of it.

Dave will soon be releasing a long term weather report. It predicts dryness. He says the storm coming next week will pass us by. He terms the VCNP the Valles Caldera Government Country Club. He used his Labrador Retriever, Thunder Dog, to check out a snow bridge on the East Fork. Thunder Dog fell in but was nonplussed by the icy bath. But, as Dave says, Thunder Dog also likes to eat cat poop!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Went to Santa Fe with spouse. We ate at Outback Steakhouse. I got seared ahi tuna but it tasted more like pastrami or corned beef. I asked for plain wasabi and soy sauce but waiter said they didn't have any but then later, after I ate tuna, brought out soy sauce. Well, anyway, the salty sauces (supposed to be wasabi vinaigrette and a creamy orange sauce that tasted of soy sauce) that came with the tuna tasted all right and were also good to dip the tender vegetables in - yellow squash, snow peas, carrots and broccoli. Sweet potato was a very welcome touch. I deferred on the butter and brown sugar! I made a salad out of the quarter head of romaine underneath the tuna. Had a little of the pumpernickel bread but it tasted like it had sugar in it. Asked them to turn down music and thankfully, they turned it off instead.They were giving everyone a $10 off coupon for visit in March so we'll go back and I'll try the Atlantic salmon. Spouse had 6 ounce steak, baked potato with all the trimmings, including cheese which he said he could have done without and a nice salad - better than at Red Lobster. Outback normally opens at 3pm on Saturday but today, Valentine's Day, opened at noon.

Spouse bought antenna at Walmart. So horribly hard to get a decent picture using converter box. Our roof antenna needs replacing but we're too lazy to bother. I bought a new Totes black golf umbrella. One cannot have too many golf umbrellas and it was only $12!

We stopped at Trader Joe's. I usually don't eat their samples but couldn't resist the 72% chocolate-enrobed strawberries. Didn't buy much because bought plenty yesterday at Smith's in White Rock. Spouse stocked up on seafood and that's a good thing. I bought three bags of organic carrots, a bag of sulfured dried Blenheim apricots and a bag of freeze dried mangosteen. Try to avoid sulfur but the sulfured dried apricots are so much better than the hard, dark unsulfured ones. Sulfur makes me cough a bit, though, but I don't have them often.

Breakfast smoothie included: spinach, strawberries, carrot, almonds, half red bell pepper, apple, herbal tea, tumeric, rosemary, ginger, hibiscus. You can get a lot of fruit and veggies in a morning smoothie.

Tonight's supper will include rock lobster tails purchased from Smith's and scallops from TJ's.

Dorothy called to tell me she's giving me a copy of her revised guide to Bandelier. It's finally completed but now she has to labor over the historic roads book and income taxes. I'll pick it up from her bag tonight when I go out walking. Was some snow blowing around when we rolled into town. Could be cold and windy tonight. I'll have Prairie Home Companion to listen to.

My big toes are feeling a little better. An unexpected and unwelcome pain had developed in them, perhaps initially caused by the neutral Brooks shoes or, maybe more likely, the Keen waterproof hiking boots - who knows.

My biceps were horribly painful all day yesterday but that seems to have gone away today and I'm thankful for that. I took the LA Fitness Center's muscle strengthening classes Tuesday and Thursday and each day my biceps got exceptionally sore. It should stop happening when my muscles get used to the class. It's not like this is the first time in my life that I've lifted dumbbells!

Nambe Badlands Again

I need to make a few notes to help set in my mind possible pitfalls if I take any groups on this hike.

On the top half of the figure eight, when you are in the arroyo and after you pass the castle butte, watch for the white caliche hill, with a rounded, orangish colored hill behind it to the right, that has the faux snake (a stick) on it. Soon after this, look for a short cut that will take you out of the arroyo. Follow a trail across a flat, sandy stretch and then go downhill to cross the same arroyo you were in and immediately go up a small hill and out of the arroyo. Almost immediately, you climb to your left up an inconspicuous path (not a real trail) to the ridge that leads back to the overlook of the lovely, lone butte I saw from lunch on Wednesday.

To the west, you can see views of U.S.285 and Clara Peak Road from this ridge. Right at the LL group's lunch spot, you go steeply downhill from the ridge and back to the cross on the figure eight, otherwise known as the gray pavement because the rocks look like paved sidewalks. You turn right to go back to NM503.

Regarding the bottom half of the figure eight, on the way back, after passing the pinnacles on the left side, you walk through a narrow arroyo. Remember to point out to people the house you can see if you look back as soon as you come up out of this arroyo.

Nambe Badlands Hike With LL Gang

Was fun and good exercise. It's hike #51 in the Salzman's book, Hiking Adventures in Northern New Mexico. Very nice of our leaders to agree to take the group on it so I could scout it for the WRSC hiking group. There were twelve of us. Everyone seemed to enjoy the beautiful views of the badland's rock formations and of the Jemez and Sangre Mountains.

The trail starts at the boundary between Nambe Pueblo and BLM land, right where there's a sign on NM503 saying that you're leaving Nambe Pueblo. You park on a dirt road that's just below NM503 and go through a gate that's easy to open and close. You start out walking along the Nambe Pueblo boundary fence and then turn to the right at a three-way trail juncture, leaving the boundary fence, to walk fairly easily uphill a little over one and a half miles to a four-way trail junction that you'll recognize by the gray, pavement-like rock cover. At this point, you can turn to the left and follow an easy path back to the vehicles. I didn't do that option but I bet it's no longer than three to three and a half miles. Our leader did that because her right knee was hurting her. She really gets winded walking uphill and was sweating heavily. Maybe she's become deconditioned with the knee pain.

Or, for a five mile hike, you can turn right and go down into an arroyo. Going down into the arroyo, the trail was rough because it was badly eroded. You follow the arroyo's twists and turns for a while and then go left up a bank and eventually up on top of a mesa for lunch that has great views of the mountains all around and a picturesque butte that had crows flying all around it. From our lunch vantage point, we could see the back of the spine of the Pojoaque Badlands.

Then it's down off the ridge and up and across another and back down to the four-way trail junction to return to the cars. The footing is fine but potentially slippery on this part. Some WRSC members would not appreciate the steepness and neither would some WI's. I'd recommend taking those hikers on the bottom part of the loop, i.e., turning left at the four-way intersection.

It was a beautiful day with high-pressure blue skies and no snow or ice or mud. It's a perfect time to go there before it gets too hot. Our leader said don't go there when it's wet or windy or hot!

Our leader's birthday is February 10 so her husband passed out brownies he had baked.

I took off my gloves for heat regulation but now my hands have the rash again and are very itchy. I need to run hot water on them before they drive me nuts!

I didn't sleep well last night - lots of peeing, lots of putting covers on and taking them off and my right foot bunion was giving me pain, which hasn't happened before. It almost seems like the orthotics are making the bunion bigger but not much I can do about that!

Grandson comes over tonight and I am prepared with ten issues of Boy's Life, which he loves, that I checked out from MPL.

What's Going On? Not Much

Got up at 8am which is loads better than 10:30am. Walked usual 4 miles RT on Camp May Road. Trying to do it only once a week so as not to aggravate knees and feet. Pretty views as always.

Called Los Alamos County when I got home to report potholes on West Road, sand that needs sweeping on Camp May Road, drainage problem on Camp May Road and tripping hazard dirt piles near library.

Did load of laundry. Running dishwasher and soon must put away a bunch of dishes.

Enjoying reading Above Timberline: A Rocky Mountain Journal by Dwight Smith. Interesting that he dictated the book into a tape recorder and someone else transcribed it. I Googled Brown's Pass, Colorado and found some photos on WebShots. It's a stark but beautiful area. Brown's Cabin, where Dwight lives for the summer, is at 11,500' in the Collegiate Peaks.

Going to get rid of the GRE books I scavenged from the library non-return shelves.

Have to get up at 6:30am to go on LL hike to Nambe Badlands. I want to learn that hike so the WRSC group can go on it. Their leader asked me to check it out.

Grandson's teacher wants to do an experiment and see what grandson is like at school if he doesn't take the ADHD medicine.

Grandson Was Over Tonight

Daughter is taking a jujitsu class on Mondays and Wednesdays at the Y from 7-8:30pm. We'll watch grandson for her every other week.

I wanted to walk with him but spouse had him watch a show he taped off the Science Channel so I walked by myself back and forth to the LA Airport for my exercise.