Going to give up snowshoeing and sell my snowshoes next year at ski swap.  I haven't been using them much at all in the past few winters and my posterior tibial tendon dysfunction seems much better.  The snowshoes weren't really appropriate for breaking trail but I used them for that anyway, to the detriment of my feet. 

So, instead of snowshoeing, when the trails are snow-covered, I'll walk paved roads, sidewalks and forest roads.  Today I wanted to walk FR181 but the parking lot was too treacherous for me to park there - fie!  (Next time bring a snow shovel!)  Instead, I drove to the plowed, paved parking area near the Dome Road, FR289.  I walked to its intersection with FR36.  They now have mile marker signs on the Dome Road!  I estimate I walked 4.5 miles.  It wasn't icy or muddy but I'll carry my YakTrax next time just in case.  

First cousin Butch died yesterday.  Only a year or so older than me.  Had recent operation for colon cancer.  Not sure it he'd started chemo yet.  Sad.  His Mom, my Mom's last remaining sibling, Ethel, had died a month or so ago - was in her 90's.

Yesterday, attended Halloween Potluck at WRSC.  We brought delicious tuna salad from LA Food Co-op.  I helped a little afterward with folding up chairs. Much more work remained to be done - dirty dishes, folding tablecloths, etc., but I had to leave.  I'll help again next time.  I like helping when it's not an obligation but freely done.

Also, on WRSC hike before potluck, one hiker had balance problems and toppled over and was very unsteady on way back.  I and another hiker stayed close to him on the walk back.

Upset last night when spouse partially closed laundry room door which has no heat and in which, several winters back, water pipes froze and burst.  He couldn't understand why I'd be upset over that!

Still trying to figure out what to do with handwritten journals.  There is much good in them but also much blathering and complaining.  How to easily get rid of the dreck and keep the interesting stuff?

Listening to Wild by Cheryl Strayed.   I like her honesty.

Yesterday, volunteered at Home Tour.  Sat at a house in our neighborhood to greet people and make sure they either put on paper booties or took off their shoes.  As a volunteer, I could have gone on house tour also but why bother?  I didn't even take a look at the lovely house I was stationed in, only venturing from my doorway chair to quickly use the bathroom.  Won't volunteer again on the weekend or at the Home Tour - not my style.

Family is making annual pilgrimage to Salman Raspberry Ranch this year.  Me, I can buy frozen raspberries at Trader Joe's so I stay home and reap the fruits of their labor.  Besides, I have to get up early tomorrow for a volunteer task that will occupy most of the day.

I will go with them next weekend to Rancho de las Golondrinas Harvest Fest - crowded, hot but at least it's family time!

Made brownies yesterday - cocoa powder, garbanzo bean flour, applesauce, honey, date sugar, vanilla extract, natural peanut butter, almond butter, soy milk, rolled oats.  They actually taste good - even husband likes them - but after we use them up, I need to start eating less green tea, cocoa powder and honey. Need to try to adhere better to OmniHeart diet to improve my cholesterol profile.

Cool, cloudy and drizzly.  Guess I should be happy after the sweltering days of summer!

Friday hike was local on White Rock streets so we could attend grand opening of new White Rock Visitor Center.  The new visitor center is beautiful! Hopefully no runaway cars will bang into it like happened with the old one twice!!  Spouse and I decided not to stay for the blah-blah-blah dedication and the wonderful spread of food given as a reward for attending.

Instead, we ate at Lee's.  I got the homestyle tofu with cashews.  Saltier than I'd like but delicious and I didn't eat all the sauce - only what clung to the food.
They don't have brown rice so I skipped rice.  Also skipped the soup and egg roll.

Felt sorry for obese elderly woman who could barely walk but came in for take out from their buffet.  She told waitress she comes in every day.  Too bad White Rock doesn't yet have a hot meal program for seniors.  They have to go 10 miles to Los Alamos to get a hot lunch.  Poor thing didn't need all that salt and calories when she already looks all swollen!

Signed up to volunteer at home tour tomorrow.  Ay yi yi - the agency sponsoring called to remind me and tell me about the list of rules that I'm supposed to tell people - no bathroom, no food, no picture-taking, no cell phones, no touching anything (have I forgotten any?)  Reciting the rules and handing out booties are my main duties - ay yi yi!!  I'll skip this next year!!

Let me first say  - I don't like the new blogger interface.  I preferred the old, so-called Beta version.  It was more attractive, easier to understand and use.  To figure out what all the symbols mean on the new interface, I'm forced to hover my cursor over them until they, a la "open sesame", reveal their meaning.

It's all hazy smoky here today from the conjoined wildfires in the Gila Wilderness.  This reminds me too much of last Spring when we were treated to days of smoke inhalation from the Wallow wildfire in Arizona.  It's also been dry and windy here which brings back unpleasant memories of similar conditions last year which resulted in the devastation of the Las Conchas wildfire.  I tell myself that there is not much left to burn but I know there is plenty left, especially if dry, windy conditions continue.

This morning we walked with the White Rock Senior Center Friday group on the north section of the Perimeter Trail, starting at the Mitchell Trailhead and going toward Quemazon Community.  The leader surprised my by wanting to ascend to Pipeline Road above the north branch of Pueblo Canyon.  We then went the short distance down Pipeline to Quemazon Road and followed that to an access trail which led to Upper Pueblo Canyon Trail and then down an access trail to Yucca Road and back to the cars.  We were joined by 3 hikers from the Betty Ehart Senior Center walking group because their leader was on a trip.  I forgot to check my GPS but think we did 3 miles.

After lunch at home, I did 2 more miles, going east on the Pueblo Canyon Rim Trail to just past Zeus's easy chair carved out of tuff.  Near the intersection with the Zipline Trail, I watched 5 turkey vultures circling around and around.  Despite their "naked" red head which looks similar to the carrion they eat, they are beautiful birds that fly with grace and ease.

Just realized that I went on and on so much about the Route and the forest service that I forgot to say where I walked today. I practiced jogging intervals on the White Rock Rim Trail from the official trailhead near Overlook to where it intersects Pajarito Canyon. I continued all the way to Sherwood Ave. on the rim trail but gave up on the jogging practice because of the wind, the rocky trail tread and the uphill. Was listening to book on CD, Head Trip, that I recorded to audio cassette. I meant to follow the easy way back but wound up back on the rocky part of the rim trail for part of the way. The whole round trip is ~5 miles.

Voted today. Stopped by forest service office (astounding to see it actually open and the desk manned!!) and asked when the Las Conchas forest closure will be lifted. Its been since last June 26 and I'm eager for the forest to reopen. Couple of weeks was the answer and the forest supervisor is working on the lifting of the closure order. I, of course, will believe it when I see it but if it happens soon, I'll be very jubilant!!

Very windy this afternoon. Was going to walk on the Route to see its condition after the Jemez Mountain Trail Runs (JMTR) 50k race used it on Saturday. The forest there is not actually open but the race directors had a one day special use permit. When the forest recovers more, they will go back to the race courses they used in the past but for the meantime, were forced by the Las Conchas wildfire to use different trails. Decided not to risk walking on the Route with all the winds. There is one tree that looks like the leaning tower of Pisa and ready to fall if I breathe too hard on it. I had hoped the forest service would remove it as a hazard tree to ensure the safety of the runners but that never happened. They put red flagging around the hazard trees and left them to fall where they may.

The forest service considers the Route an illegal, user created trail and really doesn't want to maintain it but they should because there is a real use for it. It's a safer way to walk up to Pajarito Mountain than using Camp May Road and runners and bikers have started to use it more frequently now. I met two runners on the Route and they said they were happy to have discovered this alternative to Camp May Road. Maybe with time, the trail will become so "real" that the forest service will be forced to maintain it. I suffer no illusions regarding how good a trail it is. It has far too many sharp turns to be safely used by bicyclists. I followed two bikers down one day and I could see the places where they skidded to a stop. The trail needs more maintenance than I can give it.

Last week while walking on the Route, just below Guardrail Hill, saw a portly gentleman sitting on a rock enjoying a snack. I'd earlier seen him walking by on Camp May Road. I'm not completely sure who he is (maybe the man who lived in a cave in Los Alamos Canyon several years back?) but he carries a stout walking stick and wears sandals. As I passed by, he commented on there being a trail in the woods and I told him that it would be part of the JMTR 50k race. I was doing a final sweep for trash on the Route to make sure it was presentable for the racers. Can't do anything about all the glass chips, though because it's too hard to pick up every last piece. I pick up the big pieces when I see them glinting.

When I speak of the Route, I'm only talking about the section from the Ocean to FR2998. The larger trail, called the Camp May Road Trail, of which the Route is a small, less than 2 mile section, goes all the way up to the Townsight Lift at Pajarito Mountain Ski Area.  The Route can be accessed from Camp May Road via the Coblentz Climb (which I assume is also an illegal, user created trail but really neat!), a short, steep connector trail that goes up to the Ocean where you can then pick up the Route on your left, just follow the cairns.  Other access points are the Ocean or FR2998.  I access it from the intersection of the West Road bypass and Camp May Road by following some old roads and crossing Camp May Road to go up to the Ocean.  

Walked out and back on Pueblo Canyon Rim Trail from Los Alamos Airport to top of Camp Hamilton Trail.  Skies looked dark to the south, with virga falling.  Got spit on by a few raindrops but made it back home dry and alive.  So much trash on trail below the Pajarito Cliffs site and the Eastgate Industrial Park.  I'd like to pick some up one day but it seems a big task for one person.

Spouse is fully retired from lab now but will teach a college course this Fall which shall keep him busy.  He's allowed to go back to the lab as an unpaid guest scientist starting next week which will also occupy him.

Today, we ate lunch at the senior center and right now, he's at the movie theatre.  On Mondays, ticket prices are reduced all day for seniors.

Been doing lots of hiking, as usual, but not much journaling.

Winds Calmed

Went out to walk around 4:30 pm. First mile, winds of Hades and some kind of occasional, white precip - maybe graupel. Second and third miles, terrifically odd because the sun came out and blue skies were overhead. I say "terrifically odd" because the day was mostly overcast and the mountains hid in pall of dust. Fourth mile, winds and overcast came back. Shall be interesting to see how much it snows overnight. Only an inch is predicted.

I'm now emailing these posts. I've gone back to using a subject because Mail becomes very suspicious if I don't and double checks if I'm sure I want to send a message without a subject. What would I do without this computer to supplement my brain?

Winds of Hades Upon Us - Snow to Follow

I've put off walking because the winds are blowing around so much dust. Soon, though, I'll walk and listen to the broadcast of This American Life and then NPR. We had several spring-like days last week but, alas, that is past. I wonder if I'd mind the cold as much if this house didn't leak warm air like a sieve. On last Wednesday's hike, a woman told me that she and her husband never have to turn on their furnace and sometimes even open windows to cool off in the winter. They live in a condo with a south-facing exposure and also get heat from the units above and below them. Sounds good to me! As I get older (or maybe as my thyroid gets older), I'm less tolerant of the cold.

OK, enough of that Pollyanna stuff of yesterday.  I'm already in need of another attitude revision.  I slept horribly last night. It wasn't so much the time change as it was the damnable leg cramps. At first, I fell half asleep for a while but then woke up too cold and when I dared to put another cover on, I got a cramp in my left calf.  Had to leap out of bed several times to stretch my calves and, of course, each time I got up, I peed thinking that perhaps that would hold me until morning.  When I last looked at the clock, it was 3 am.  I finally turned off the alarm and slept until 10 am but feel like a kicked around dog turd.

Good news - as you get older (I qualify), you do more of your peeing at night. The meds that would provide a solution are anticholinergics and would probably give me dementia.  The sleep doc recommended that I take dopamine agonists like Mirapex and Requip for the leg cramps but, once again, no thank you.  I think the allopathic cures would be worse than the afflictions.  Now I'm looking into something like Hyland's Leg Cramps.

Picture me, this morning, walking to the library, blue backpack burgeoning with books, grumbling inwardly that just a few days ago it seemed like Spring was here; but now, it's overcast and cooler than I, Supreme Majesty of the world, think it should be.

Along comes a neighbor, walking four, fawn-colored dogs at once. "Hello," I say to her and she replies "Lovely day for a walk!" We both continue on our way but now my eyes are open and I say to myself "It is, it is, it truly is!"

Everything is still the same - an occasional lost snowflake careens by, the mountains are still overhung with heavy clouds, my right foot still hurts, the book bag is still too heavy but my attitude is newly revised and I'm now thankful for the coolness and the beauty of the cloud-draped mountains.

Getting my 100,000 mile check up this year.  So far, the sleep doctor has dismissed my low nocturnal oxygen, in the 80's per an overnight nocturnal oximetry, as not bad enough for a sleep study.  He suggested taking Mirapex or Requip for my nocturnal leg cramps - no thanks!  Right now, I'm experimenting with increasing my vitamin B complex and so far that's helping.

Recent chest x-ray showed my heart was mildly enlarged so that, plus the low nocturnal oxygen and feeling that my exercise endurance has decreased, got me an echocardiogram of my heart and a treadmill stress test.  I haven't got the results but I assume that I'm not dying, (yet), because the cardiologist didn't need to see me again.

One good thing I learned from the stress test is that I'm not exercising hard enough.  What I mean is that there's a difference between daily 4 mile strolls (although I am faster than that!) and aerobic conditioning via hill repeats and intervals.  I lasted 12 minutes on the treadmill and was breathing very hard and I need to breathe that hard a couple of times a week to increase my aerobic conditioning.

Today I walked the first two miles of Camp May Road and did hill repeats x 2 on 2 of the steepest hills.  (Not sure of the correct terminology but first I walked up the hill, then walked down and then walked up again.) I feel like I accomplished something and plan to do something like that maybe twice a week.  Now that the trails are more snow-free (at least until after tonight's snow!), I will also try jogging intervals (jogging on asphalt and cement hurts my knees and my feet) but I won't make them as strenuous as the hill repeats.  They'll be mainly to practice jogging and hopefully work my way up to longer periods of jogging.  

It was very windy along Camp May Road.  I saw two ravens hanging out together in a tree, staying out of the wind.  When I tried to take their picture, they flew off from each side of the tree.

Took walk today with husband behind Larry Walkup Center.  I wanted to go to lower Water Canyon Trail outside Pajarito Acres because word is that the trails there are mostly dried out.  Instead, we got a late start, after stopping at the library which doesn't open until noon Sundays so I opted for spouse's suggestion to walk the open space trails behind the Walkup Center.

We started downhill on the Acid Canyon Trail and quickly realized that although there are some dry areas, there is also a lot of mud and snow patches.  The snow is probably very icy in early morning as the top layer melts and refreezes overnight.  We went as far as the high Pueblo Canyon bridge and turned around.  I completed the rest of my miles with back and forth to the airport while listening to a tape of Prairie Home Companion.  There is still too much mud and snow to make hiking on the trails truly carefree.  It's surprising how long the snow has stayed.  It's all melted in our yard.  Spring will come, Spring will come - just hold on!

I wrote this on 1/27/2012 and never did anything more with it so here it is:  idea of reincarnation - you'd probably never know if it really happened but it's comforting to think it might; this on hearing that by 2050, we'll need to address global climate change and saying out loud "I'll be dead" and wishing it weren't true and then thinking that maybe I'll be reincarnated but won't know - life is wonderful even when it isn't and it's hard to think that this "me" will one day be dead and no longer be entertained, horrified, in wonder, terrified, in awe of this thing called life - maybe the knowledge that our life will end is the source of depression, sadness - I guess the cure is don't dwell on it

Canyon Rim Trail really hopping yesterday.  Among the more memorable -  jogger with two big, leashed dogs, one on either side; bicyclist making multiple trips out and back; older couple walking their 12 year old white Scottish terrier, Mac; a passel of adorable little ones riding bikes and trikes.  Shall we nominate the Canyon Rim Trail as the most well-loved, well-used trail in Los Alamos?  I say "Yes!!"

Photography thoughts after taking a photo recently of shadows cast by exterior metal stairs: I'm a stickler for shadows.  Always have been ever since I got my first camera in my teens for Christmas.  It was a Polaroid Land camera.  Via a Google search, I found a photo of a Polaroid Land model 100 camera.  I don't know if that was the exact one I had but it sure looks like what I remember - bellows and all - and the era is right - early 60's.  The camera was expensive enough (or, rather, we were poor enough) that I paid for part of it with my allowance and Daddy paid the rest and bought it for me as a Christmas present.  Not sure, but it could have been the Christmas of my 15th year, after our Mom had died at age 39, three days before the previous Christmas. 

Didn't tell my father that part of the reason I wanted a Polaroid camera was to take photos of my face to instantly study what I looked like in pictures as opposed to looking in a mirror.  I felt like this would more objectively portray what I really looked like.  Being an overweight teenager and having mild acne didn't exactly bolster my self esteem but the pictures made me look worse than in real life because when I held the camera right-up-close to my face and didn't smile, it looked more like a mug shot.  Maybe I took the photos when I was home watching my younger brothers and sisters on the nights Daddy worked late?  Maybe I took the photos while Daddy was in the hospital dying of cancer?  I don't know for sure because I destroyed those photos!

I didn't only use a camera for self-portraits. I branched out to shooting "artsy" black and white photos of my brothers and sisters.  Maybe this was a different camera - an Instamatic?  I'd have to do some digging in my photo albums to figure this out.  Looking at old photos of my family makes me sad, though.  

Whatever camera I used and when, two of my photos even got into Ingenue magazine, a teen magazine in the 60's, when I sent them off for their readers' photos feature.  One was a close-up of my younger sister who was sitting on top of our dog house with her hair hanging down.  Another was of my oldest younger sister.  I got down low and took a photo of her standing with her arms akimbo.  Looking at the photos, someone would have thought we were inner-city children but we actually lived on two acres out in the country near Canton, OH.

President's Day Walk

On President's Day, since I thought West Road was still under partial closure, I decided it would be pleasant to walk there.  I didn't read the notice carefully because on that holiday, the road was scheduled to be open.  It worked out all right - most ski hill traffic came from West Jemez Road which kept West Road fairly empty.   The road's wide shoulder had mostly dried out from the fresh snow Sunday night so I had stable footing.

Starting from the intersection of Camp May Road and West Jemez Road, I walked with the wind behind me.   For my four miles, I made two out and back trips, going as far as the razor wire topped fence that blocks vehicles from West Jemez Road.  On each return trip,  I unhappily walked uphill into a fiercely cold, hat-flapping wind. 

Ventured off pavement yesterday on Kwage Mesa dirt road.  It's dried out some but there are still far too many scabs of snow and ice and mud, the kind that clumps to your shoe soles and gives makes your feet heavy!  But, I wanted to jog.  I haven't been doing that much this winter because its been impossible to get on terra firma since December.  If I jog on pavement, it's not good for my knees.  Well, true, I jogged a few times on the sewer plant road but not consistently enough.  I have to go back to consistency.  Tried jogging a little on asphalt this weekend and my right knee felt painful like it was going to lock.  It's all better now.

Today, walked bottom 2 miles of Camp May Road.  Española Valley a swath of pink with blue layer of distant Sangres rising above.  High peaks of Truchas and Las Trampas are snow covered.

Wasn't completely clear overhead but dark clouds to northwest blew further north and were replaced by mix of dark bottomed clouds, blue skies and sunlight.  Alongside Camp May Road, ice rind on snow reflected a fiery gleam.

Haven't had many brilliant thoughts ever since I bought tape recorder to which I'd hoped to impart them.  Really, I don't think I ever think my own thoughts because I'm usually force feeding someone else's thoughts into my mind - radio, CDs, DVDs, TV, books, magazines, newspapers, all the stuff on the Internet.

I did have a wry thought this morning while looking at the sunlight highlighting the dust on my car's dashboard:  "I don't like to dust - might need it some day for forensic evidence."  (Same applies to our house!)  We gave one of the senior center hikers a ride recently.  I forget how the subject came up  - maybe we joked about our car's dusty interior and then he confessed that our car was dustier than his!

Wow - how innovative can I be?  (I'm making fun of myself!)   Instead of walking the bottom two miles of Camp May Road yesterday,  I drove two miles up and walked the top two miles to the Pajarito Mountain Ski Area and all the way around the Camp May Community Park loop.  Whee!!  The upper half of Camp May Road seems less steep than the bottom half.  Camp May Road dry except past Oxbow Road parking and then there was some tamped down snow and ice on the sides of the road.  In the few shady parts, road surface was thinly snow-covered but not bad.

Interesting studying the topography from the roadway - next time, bring binoculars.  The area between Camp May Road and Los Alamos Canyon seems so spacious since all the trees burned in the Las Conchas wildfire.  Could fit in a lot of cross country ski trails and snowshoe trails and hiking trails.  Would love to explore that area when snow melts.

In this same area, and between Townsight ski run and parking for Oxbow Road, saw, just below the guardrail, one of the little house-shaped wood signs on a metal stake that the forest service uses.  Usually these appear near the beginning of forest roads off Camp May Road.  Hard to tell if there was ever a truly a forest road there because t's now a burnt, rocky area and I saw no trace of a road.  Regardless, I'll add this to my springtime explore list.

When I got to the ski hill, I was happy that the ski lodge door was unlocked.  Nice to use real bathroom!  In the dining area, I took a ski area brochure.  It shows tiny flame symbols in the burnt east and west sides of Pajarito Mountain to indicate they are closed.

Carefully made my way down all the stairs, which can be slippery, to the parking lot.  Continued past boulder barrier and up groomed hill to Camp May Community Park.  The decrepit pit toilets have been replaced with modern ones.  Saw lots of bunny tracks.  Could hear grooming machines on the mountain.

Groomed walkway ended at Mother Lift but then I followed vehicle tracks and didn't sink.  Private vehicles can't go up to Camp May Community Park until the spring melt but ski hill vehicles have obviously gone up.  Grooming started again, past uppermost parking area, for Salamander Gully, an easy ski run.  I debated going on this back down to the Mother Lift but when it got just a tad steeper, I chickened out and instead followed old snowshoe tracks at the bottom of the park road to close the loop.

I could hear whoops and hollers as I got close to the ski area parking lot.  A van load of kids from the local Y were getting ready to snowshoe the Cañada Bonita Trail.

As I walked down Camp May Road, a neighbor driving by greeted me.  He'd gone out to Cañada Bonita meadow with his dog.

It was a beautiful day.  No wind and the snow sparkled dazzlingly under a clear, blue sky.  On way down, I noticed some of the aspen trunks are turning khaki green so they probably survived the Las Conchas wildfire.

Walked on Camp May Road today.  Just past the Ocean, I followed a snow-covered dirt road back for
a comfort stop behind a tree and since I was right where the Route crosses the road, I decided to follow the Route for a short distance.  I saw shoe prints so someone else is using it.  I just hope they have a chainsaw and will remove all the trees that will surely fall on it in the coming years.

I had to test each foot step in the snow because I didn't want to wrench my right foot.  Next time, I bring ski poles with baskets.  My "hiking stick", the golf umbrella, didn't work well because it sunk up to a foot in the snow.  Also, I'll wear the Gore-Tex Brooks.

I returned to Camp May Road at Paint Ball Shell parking and.  Now I see why I always passed right by the Paint Ball Shell area - 3 big trees are uprooted and make it look so different.  Fortunately, they didn't fall on the Route!

The full name I call the Route is Camp May Road Route but the abbreviation thereof is unfortunate because it's the same as the lab's CMRR Project (Chemistry and Metallurgy Research Replacement).  I need to dream up a new name!  I hope some day someone sees the value of having a real trail in the woods alongside Camp May Road.  Without a shoulder, the road is dangerous for walkers and biker.  It's not mandated that the hoped for trail would follow the Route as there are a variety of ways to go.  It would be nice, though, if it connects to FR2998, like the Route does, because FR2998 connects to a trail that goes all the way up to the Pajarito Ski Area.

Saw a man fiddling with his iPhone near FR2998.  He said he wanted to snowshoe the Nail Trail.  I pointed to the forest road that would get him there but he was intent on learning how to find it by using the GPS on his iPhone and a TOPO! map printout so he paid me no mind.

Boatloads of overcast floated overhead when I started walking but they blew somewhere else and it ended up with mostly blue skies and sunshine when I got back to my car.

Writing in this everyday bores me so mostly I won't.  Perhaps my life is boring?  Oh, well, it's the only one I have and I'd better be grateful for it!

Watched DVD Surfwise last night with spouse.  Enjoyed it but an unusual family, indeed.  First read about 'Doc' Dorian Paskowitz in an AARP The Magazine article about family and his strict health regimen.  The documentary was made in 2007 and he was still keeping up his regimen but using a cane to walk.  He was born in 1921 and would be 91 now.  Both he and his wife, Juliette Paskowitz, are on Facebook, alive and kicking!

Browsed The Return of the River, book in Mesa Public Library about hopes for restoration of the Santa Fe River.  Didn't read all the poems.

Wanted to shred a few receipts this morning at Los Alamos National Bank but their Shred-It truck was delayed.  Do it another time.

To indicate how boring my life is, I found a slim book on the library's non-return shelves, more a pamphlet, called Eat, Drink Santa Fe: The City's 50 Best Restaurants.  I'm actually contemplating working through the book and eating at some of the more affordable ones, that we haven't already sampled, with spouse!

Friday Walkers drove over to Monte Rey Drive South and Estante Way and walked around Pajarito Acres for 2 hours.  Eight of us.  New hiker (walked with us last week) didn't show up.  Hiker with dropped 1st metatarsal will try to walk with us on a weekly basis.  Couple who vacationed in Tahiti over holidays, stopped at San Diego on way home.  They'd like to move there.

Afterward, spouse and I ate lunch at Pyramid Cafe.  I pigged out on hummous, baba ghanouj, green chile salad (so wonderfully addictive!) and tabouli!!   Just writing this and I'm hungry again!!

Another day, another hike up the first two miles of Camp May Road. Got another late afternoon start but was back to the car well before dark.  On the way up, saw the B couple.  They cross country skied Pajarito yesterday and today.  I'm always cheered by seeing them and they always stop to say hello! 

Someone has dumped a jacket, a hoodie, denim shorts and a child's car seat at the beginning of FR2998.  Wonder if the spring thaw will reveal more trash.

The snow on the ridges above Pajarito Canyon shone in the afternoon sunlight.

On the way down, maniac raced past me at high speed.  Heard squeal of brakes but saw no bodies strewn in the roadway.  Miss a turn and you'll end up in the deep freeze of Los Alamos Canyon!  I didn't think kind thoughts about the driver!

Yesterday, walked off the road onto the snow to look at snowman at intersection of West Road Bypass and Camp May Road.  Family built it - I saw tiny boot prints and snow angels.  Walking in snow back to road, my right foot suddenly sunk - that's the bum foot and I kind of wrenched it but it was OK today.  Snow is not my right foot's friend!

Looked at these topo quads today at the library:  Aqua Fria, Tetilla Peak and Santo Domingo.  Looked at a lot more but these were the relevant ones to follow the course of the Santa Fe River to the Rio Grande.

Here are my notes:  Cienega Creek is a tributary of the Santa Fe River.  Santa Fe River comes toward La Cienega from the northeast and travels between Cerro Seguro and the Las Tetillitas peaks.  Santa Fe River then runs through the Cañada de Santa Fe which skirts southern edge of Tsinat and La Bajada mesas.  Tsinat Mesa has Tsinat Ruins on it.  La Bajada Mesa seems to be the southern edge of the Caja del Rio Plateau and Tsinat Mesa is a small part of La Bajada Mesa.   On its way to the Rio Grande, it appears that the Santa Fe River crosses (over or under?) a spillway of Cochiti Dam but Cochiti Lake is well north of the Santa Fe River.  The Santa Fe River, which originates in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, goes into the Rio Grande (usually as a dry riverbed) catty-corner across from where Peralta Canyon, which originates in the Jemez Mountains, intersects the Rio Grande.

It seems the Santa Fe River would get an infusion of water from spring-fed Cienega Creek but it it's complicated.  I found online a Channel 4 KOB-TV news report about the village of La Bajada, west of La Cienega and Santa Fe.  The villagers, many who subsistence farm their land, complained last July about no water in the Santa Fe River.   According to the TV station's story, when Santa Fe tore out invasive salt cedar and Russian olive trees further upstream along the Santa Fe River and replaced them with native willows and cottonwoods, beavers toppled those trees and built dams which dried out downstream La Bajada!

Chris Isaak has two new-to-me CDs in the library - Lucky Man and Beyond the Sun.  I'm on the list for Beyond the Sun and have listened to Lucky Man.  It was good but I'd need to listen to it again to really appreciate it.  Just love that man's voice as it wraps around me!

The hiker with stage 4 lung cancer - just like state representative Ben Lujan - died Tuesday.  What a shock. She was always warm and kind when I talked with her on hikes.   The funeral home website shows a recent photo of her and one when she was younger - what a knockout beauty she was!!

Thoughts on life and death:  Going quickly would be OK if I made it all right with my life as I lived it and the people that I lived it with.  Haven't quite achieved that.  I'm often wishing for other circumstances rather than appreciating what is.  Linger and you'd want to hold on to life - too much time to ruminate and torture self.  Or, maybe time to set things right and accept death?  Thinking of death makes one appreciate the ordinary like chopping an onion or calling husband to discuss what's for dinner.  Sometimes, though, I make life a struggle.  How to make it less so?  All the things we hate about our life, dying would put in perspective but, of course, it would be too late!

I must say that yesterday, I really relished the many people I knew that I ran into at the library and senior center.  Life is meant to be lived, or something like that my friend in her late 70's once said.

Last night, looked at Santa Fe National Forest map and could see path of Santa Fe River.  Map is such large scale that it's hard to see all the details so I'll study topo maps of the area at the library.  The river stays north of I-25, maybe passes through or near La Cienega and goes down La Bajada Mesa to the Rio Grande below Cochiti Dam.

Santa Fe County's plan is to continue the Santa Fe River Trail, from where the City of Santa Fe's paved trail ends, all the way to the wastewater treatment plant in Santa Fe County.  The whole project is called the Santa Fe River Greenway.  


It would be interesting to one day walk the whole length of the Santa Fe River.  Past La Bajada Mesa, though, it's on Cochiti Pueblo land and below where the river originates on Lake Peak high in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, it's impounded in reservoirs that are off limits except for special tours.  Great, at least, that the section from Frenchy's Field to Alameda and St. Francis Drive is walkable!  No water in that section of the river when we walked along it but there were construction vehicles busily moving soil and boulders in the river bed to make the banks less steep and to install grade-control structures to control storm run-off damage to the river channel.


On Tuesday, buttonholed a Santa Fean (turned out she taught for seven years at Chamisa School in White Rock - small world!) and she advised if we ventured beyond the end of the paved trail at Frenchy's Field to take pepper spray and a cell phone.  I got the idea that this was to protect against both 4-legged and 2-legged roaming animals.  She said she walked that way by herself in November 2010 when the event Santa Fe EARTH Flash Flood was staged by 350.org and the Santa Fe Art Institute to show how the Santa Fe River would look with water running through it.  More than a 1,000 people stood in the dry river bed in Santa Fe County between San Ysidro Crossing and the Caja del Oro Grant Crossing and held up blue-painted cardboard and blue tarps as a satellite passed overhead.  This all came about after "the environmental group American Rivers designated the Santa Fe River as America's most endangered river of 2007" [quote from Wikipedia's entry on the Santa Fe River (New Mexico)].  


The City of Santa Fe gets some of its drinking water from the upper watershed of the Santa Fe River and the water is stored in McClure and Nichols reservoirs.  Now, with the soon-to-be-completed Buckman Diversion Project which takes water from the Rio Grande, there will be more water available to flow year-around in the Santa Fe River and there is definitely demand by Santa Feans for the river to become a "living river" again and not just a storm run-off channel.  

Spent a lot of time searching for info on the Santa Fe County portion of the Santa Fe River Trail and trying to determine if Santa Fe River crosses I-25 on its way to the Rio Grande.  Could trace path of Santa Fe River on Google Maps satellite view but then lost it somewhere on the Caja del Rio.  I know it crosses NM599.  Need to look at hard copy map, with aid of magnifying glass.

The information I found about the Santa Fe River Trail in Santa Fe County:  There is a .7 mile long dirt path along the Santa Fe River between San Isidro (Ysidro) Crossing and Caja del Oro Grant Road.  As an add-on at the path's western end, you can turn right to walk to Aqua Fria Park.  A 5,300' section is due to be completed in March 2012 at El Camino Real Park between Constellation Way and Cottonwood Drive and will include "two steel truss span bridges".  It's unclear if it will be a paved or dirt path. This section will be near NM 599, the Santa Fe Relief Route.   I couldn't find any information on El Camino Real Park.  so maybe that park is being built along with the trail or possibly Google Maps is not up to date.  These two trail sections are well west of Frenchy's Field which is the end-point of the paved Santa Fe River Trail in the city of Santa Fe.

Saving this for last makes me less verbose.  Walked SF River Trail today with Tuesday group.  Started from Hotel Santa Fe and wended past Railyard and Sanbusco, over to Alameda.  Went as far as Frenchy's Field which is the end of the paved trail.  Trail will one day extend beyond this, crossing NM599 and ending at (or above?) the Rio Grande.  Friday Walkers may like walking part of this one day.

Tuesday group ate lunch at Hotel Santa Fe but I drove over to Whole Paycheck to eat small lunch in car in their parking lot and then drove home.  To save time, I didn't dare go in the store.

My GPS said we walked almost 7 miles.

Have chance to do East Fork snowshoe tomorrow but decided not to.

Snowing this morning.  Little birdies skipping around backyard looking for food.  Haven't yet chopped down flower stalks so maybe they got lucky.

Had to go to Santa Fe for an oil change so wanted to get exercise done in morning.  Walked 4 times back and forth to airport for 4 miles.  Slippery slush at first but then warmed and just fine.  Alternated between bright overcast and dull overcast.  Relatively warm for snow.  Saw, parked side by side at airport, a lime green VW beetle and a Christmas tree green Ford Ranger pickup. The greens brightened my day as I wasn't cheerleading about the new snow infusion.   Glad to get exercise done as walking this evening in the cold and dark and gusting wind wouldn't have been fun.

Picked up grandson at his father's to deliver him this evening to his Mom who's returning from New Orleans vacation.  Took grandson to Target and gave him money to buy a toy.  He'd brought money along but was a couple of dollars short.  Then we walked to Santa Fe Place where I bought him lunch at Dairy Queen.  Carousel gives 15 turns around for $1.75 - we counted them out!

Regarding yesterday's bitch fest:  Sure, I could do that all day, every day but what would it gain me?  Key to happiness is take a hike which I'll do tomorrow with the Tuesday group.

Women in LL group with stage 4 lung cancer has now opted for palliative care and doctors give her days or weeks to live.  Be grateful for good health!!

Prairie Home Companion had a sweet segment this week called Snowman.

Today we walked on the asphalt path along NM4 in White Rock.  Spouse went a little past Piedra Loop and turned around.  I continued a little past Gate 12.  We park at the WR branch of the library.  Noticed for sale signs on commercial property on Longview Drive.  Brochures were out so I don't know any details.   This is an area of business condos that hardly have any businesses renting them.  Wish they'd redevelop it into residential condos!

In the winter, I always love to walk this path in White Rock because the views of the Sangres and Jemez Mountains are far ranging and beautiful!

At Los Alamos Historical Museum, we checked out exhibit of photos of Las Conchas fire.  One of them misspelled Sangres as Sangrias!!  Well, maybe we could rename them!  Seeing the photos reminded us of before the town was evacuated.  The afternoon the fire started, June 26, 2011, spouse was watching Super 8 at the Reel Deal Theater which had scenes of a wildfire with smoke billowing over a mountain.  He was stunned to come out of the movie theatre and see real life billowing smoke plume.  I walked on the Pueblo Canyon Rim Trail from East Park to the library downtown. I didn't see the smoke plume until I got up off the canyon rim.  The smoke plume took over the whole sky at such an astounding rate.  That evening from our house, we could see the fire as it torched Bandelier.

Bitch Fest:  Husband is always around.  I bought a Sony tape recorder to record my thoughts.  So far I've only used it once but haven't had time to privately listen to and transcribe what I recorded.  There's nothing on it that husband would be remotely interested in but he'd only infringe upon my privacy if I played it while he's here and he's always here.  There is no privacy now that he's working part-time.  Way too much togetherness.

He really doesn't know what to do with himself.  He's already been on the computer 7 times today.  He watches TV excessively even to the point where he's snoring while "watching".  He's too dumb to pick himself up and go to bed when he's so sleepy he's falling asleep in front of the TV and not even following what's on.

It was so much better when he went to work for 40 hours a week - at least I got a break from all the togetherness.  Saying all this, I know he deserves to retire.  Part of the problem is the setup of this house.  Of the six rooms in the house, not including the bathroom, only two have doors - the bedrooms.  The rest of the house is nothing but an open pit with dividing walls but no way to shut a door and not have to listen to the blasted TV which is on ALL THE TIME!!

He did buy wireless headphones to listen to the TV but usually complains when I ask him to put them on.  Right now he's watching the Golden Globe awards which I'm getting tired of hearing.

I just now said "Please put your headphones on." and he replied "All right!" so that's encouraging.  Why did I ever want to get married?  True, like my friend in her 70's says of her husband "He's good company!"  I shouldn't bitch so much.  Now her husband is in Sombrillo and unable to walk while his broken elbow heals.  I don't wish bad on my husband.  I just wish we'd buy a house, not a mansion, that would afford more privacy.  Having my own computer wouldn't be bad either!

Indulging in idle speculation to husband about an acquaintance, I chortle:  "See no evil, hear no evil....well, two out of three ain't bad!"

Herman Cain was on Bill Maher last night wearing a bowtie.  I commented to spouse that Cain's not wearing a necktie because his wife would strangle him with it!!

Our neighborhood's new name - Gateway Neighborhood of the Eastern Area.  Coined this when T-board member visited us yesterday.

Life is sometimes too much.  Too many appointments and not enough reading.  Too many diddling things to do and not enough time to relax.  Too much driving to Santa Fe and then not enough time in the day.  Too many days waking up 7 am when I can't go to sleep before midnight and I need 8.5 hours to function.  OK, enough complaining - just heard of hiking acquaintance who is battling for her life with stage 4 lung cancer.  I'm sure that about right now, she'd rather be too busy.

Spouse and I went on Sierra Club hike today.  Met group at Sierra Club Office off Lena and Second Street - never been there.  Walked Rail Trail - Alta Vista to Rodeo Road.  Rest of group, maybe 8-10 people, went on to Rabbit Road.  Wish there were more easy hikes like this for spouse to go on.  Want to do Spur Trail and new Santa Fe River Trail (not sure if correct name but goes to Frenchy's Field) in Santa Fe one day.

After hike, we went to Red Lobster.  I ordered the catfish.  I love catfish and never get to eat it otherwise.  I should buy some one day.  It was blackened with lots of deliciously salty seasoning.  The lunch portion is only $8.50.  Then went to worship services at Natural Grocers and on home.

Yesterday, drove to SF for express purpose of seeing a pedorthist there to order new orthotics.  He took a cast and they should be ready in 2 weeks.  They will be very different from the ones the Albuq physical therapist makes.  I showed them to the pedorthist and he didn't think much of them.  He and his wife have 6 cats and feed 3 strays.  He's into refexology and craniosacral therapy.  Somehow have to tell him I'm not interested.

Today, WRSC hike was in El Rancho.  Almost didn't go because I don't like walking on non-existent shoulder of narrow road.  When we got to the wider dirt road, that at least felt safer.  Three dogs followed us the whole way.  On the way back, all the other neighborhood dogs came out to the road to defend their territory.  Not ideal.  New hiker joined us.  She lives in Jemez Springs and comes to Los Alamos several days a week while her daughter is at Chamisa School.  Wonder if she'll come back next week?  Seemed nice.  Wants to volunteer at the Española bakery to learn how to cook Mexican pastries and cakes. 

Went to WR Smith's and Jemez House Thrift Shop afterward.  At thrift shop, for $2, bought Van Heusan khakis in perfect condition and two satchel shoulder bags.  Wanted the bags to put my tape recorder, notebook and camera all in one.

Transportation board member came over this afternoon to speak with husband about traffic calming on Trinity Drive.  Husband is against roundabouts but for traffic calming.  There will be one roundabout at Central and Trinity, though, but at least they SEEM to have decided that there isn't room for a roundabout at Airport Road and East Road.  Council meeting next week decides future plan of action.  Husband corresponds with group that wants Trinity to be 5 lanes and no roundabout.  They don't even live in our neighborhood.  I call that group husband's "coven"!

T board member said that hiking friend's husband, in his eighties, is now in Sombrillo.  He fell and broke his elbow.

Culture crawl tonight - exhibits opening at Mesa Public Library, Fuller Lodge Art Center and ongoing exhibit at Los Alamos Historical Museum.  I need to go take a look!

Regarding the statues of Robert Oppenheimer and General Leslie Groves on Central, why is Oppenheimer's statue all shiny while Groves remains dark?  Do people like to rub Oppie but not Groves?  The other night, walking by the statues, I saw that someone had cradled an empty soda bottle in Oppie's right arm.  I should have removed it but didn't.  Yesterday, someone had removed it.  

These are notes from the steno pad made while around the house:

"foot less sore than when hiking" This refers to the one and only snowshoe I've taken this winter.  The trail was well-tamped down and groomed.

"mountain lion and coyote attacks" Woman walking two dogs on Cañada Bonita Trail last week commented about this.  A mountain lion killed a dog on Barranca Mesa and another tried to take a dog in Quemazon Community.  Coyote attacks have occurred to dogs on local trails.  Bayo Canyon Trail had photos of wounds inflicted on dog.

"forest service website and press releases"  Dissatisfaction over delays in reopening Cañada Bonita Trail and deplorable, not-up-to-date forest service website and why doesn't the forest service issue press releases to the local newspaper so people know what progress is being made on rehabbing local trails?

"giving up on self-help books, gave up on my soul"  Thought this when I decided to take back to the library a self-help book I'd found in the non-return section.  It's not like I'm going to greatly change at this point.  Reading a self-help book only frustrates me and makes me think how bad I am.  Same way about Buddhism.  I feel like a bad person reading all the precepts.  I'll never attain saint-hood - not even close!

"trees aren't meant to last forever, nor people" Thought this on witnessing the Las Conchas fire damage along the newly reopened Cañada Bonita Trail.  I loved the forest but will love the burnt area too.  It's all beautiful!

"life is so damned finite - if I volunteer 3 hours, that takes time away from other things I might do"  Been dabbling at volunteering.   Volunteered at the blood drive but had to stay an hour longer because the next shift was late.  Couldn't accomplish much on a writing project when I got home.  It's a trade-off.  The volunteering felt good but I like to write, read and walk too.  Mustn't let volunteering encroach on that.  Maybe find volunteering job that allows reading and writing!

"I'll go to bed as soon as this is over" says husband.  Says me "Yeah, if you're awake"  Husband has tendency to snore while watching TV!

"One need never wonder again - just Google it!"  Ah, yes, my wisdom overwhelms even me!

"plain laziness - lately get such a late start"  Yes, I like to walk every day but sometimes sitting on my butt at the computer and all sorts of little household chores gets me out too late and I never catch up!

"male gossips - biddies without titties"  This when husband and brother are speculating how much sister paid for new used car!  Who cares??

There - got that off my chest!!

New Year's resolutions for this blog:

To change these settings for this blog from Yes to No:  "Add your blog to our listings?"  "Let search engines find your blog?"  I want this to feel more like a private online journal.  People can still find it if they want but why encourage them?  It's not that I'll start writing personal secrets - ha, you were hoping!  Maybe this will help me to make it more informal and more about my thoughts and life, albeit less polished.

Not to title these blog posts.   Maybe that will avoid all the hits on my blog post titled "Excruciatingly Detailed Regurgitation" which is nothing but a deadly dull and boring recitation of a shopping trip to Santa Fe gone wrong.  I think the hits are from 5 year olds using computers without parental supervision!

Now let's see if I can read my notes made while walking on Camp May Road yesterday:

"snow takes away my freedom"  What I meant by this is that with all the trails snow-covered, I can't get out on them because of my bum right foot.  I want the snow so NM doesn't burn up again this year but I'd like to get out on terra firma again one day.

"FS legal dept."  This is because I'm worried that in the Spring when more trails get rehabilitated from the Las Conchas fire damage that the forest service will take their sweet time legally amending the closure order like they did this winter, costing the SW Nordic Club monies, in officially reopening the Nordic Trails.    It got hung up in the legal department and the opening was delayed even though the trail was made more than ready by the volunteers.

"snow stays"  Walking up Camp May Road and looking longingly at the Route which is still full of snow.

"no Xmas tree gathering signs"  These appear on all the side roads along Camp May Road.  Odd that if the side roads are still closed that the forest service would place these signs at each entrance.

"sore foot - snowshoeing less fun"  Not being able to break trail because of my bum foot makes snowshoeing less fun for me.  Snowshoeing on a well-tamped down, groomed trail is boring.

"hoping to get thru winter w/o -20"  So far, so good but the deep freeze didn't happen until February last year.

They Let Me Out Today

Finally escaped from the loving embrace of my family and walked up first two miles of Camp May Road.  Yes, yes, I know I bravely talked of doing a snowshoe as soon as the holidays were over but two loads of laundry this morning took precedence.

Even though it's only a road walk, I felt like I'd come home to be seeing the sights along Camp May Road again!  During the holidays, I avoided it because the traffic is too heavy when the ski area is open.  It was perfect today!   The Route is quite snow-covered and I entertained the idea of snowshoeing on it but my right foot would protest greatly if I broke trail.  Maybe at this point it's best to wait for fresh snow and a newly broken trail?  Who knows what I'll do when they let me loose again tomorrow!

Oh, the sky was a glorious NM blue today.  Some clouds but nothing diminished the beauty of that blue, NM sky and golden afternoon sunshine!   The beauty of a NM winter would even melt the heart of a snowman!