Husband made it to meadow - I continued on to my official 4 mile RT turnaround point.
On the hike, I asked husband about CNBC Obama-thon and he enjoyed telling me about the questions directed at Obama. He said that Obama has to be careful of what he says so as not to scare the stock market, that den of thieves!
Husband seems happy with his half-time schedule. He had to ice his ankle in the evening. I'm trying to convince him to use two hiking sticks, old ski poles, to help his balance but he's not interested. Probably if the physical therapist recommended using two hiking sticks, he'd believe it but he won't believe me. I hope he remembers to ask the physical therapist about it next week.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Monday, September 20, 2010
Husband's First Day of Semi-Retirement
Lab still hasn't confirmed that husband is officially on half-time so this "day off" may come out of our vacation budget.
Husband decided to have an Obama-thon this morning. He's watching a townhall meeting on CNBC starring OBAMA! It's on from 10-noon and afterward, he'll hike with me. I told him that likely no new news will transpire and that this is just a campaign event (even though not billed as such!)
He can't tape the show on our VCR because it would interfere with my taping of Dr. Oz. I'm passing time, waiting to go out on the hike, by doing a load of laundry and playing on the computer while half-listening to This American Life which I taped yesterday. The show's theme was Life After Death - oh, oh... (Isn't it quaint that we still use video and audio cassette tapes?)
Husband decided to have an Obama-thon this morning. He's watching a townhall meeting on CNBC starring OBAMA! It's on from 10-noon and afterward, he'll hike with me. I told him that likely no new news will transpire and that this is just a campaign event (even though not billed as such!)
He can't tape the show on our VCR because it would interfere with my taping of Dr. Oz. I'm passing time, waiting to go out on the hike, by doing a load of laundry and playing on the computer while half-listening to This American Life which I taped yesterday. The show's theme was Life After Death - oh, oh... (Isn't it quaint that we still use video and audio cassette tapes?)
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Tomorrow is Sunday Too
Spouse begins half-time work schedule tomorrow. Usually I'm hiking with a group on Monday but tomorrow the group is going to Las Trampas and I'm not - too far to drive - so I'll hike with hubby.
Today: Went to MPL, then we drove to White Rock, parked at WRMPL and husband walked a little bit with me but then went back to library. I went all the way to Potrillo Canyon trailhead and back. Stopped at Smith's afterwards - bought frozen veggies on sale for 88 cents a bag!
Today: Went to MPL, then we drove to White Rock, parked at WRMPL and husband walked a little bit with me but then went back to library. I went all the way to Potrillo Canyon trailhead and back. Stopped at Smith's afterwards - bought frozen veggies on sale for 88 cents a bag!
Landfill Cleanup Resumes with Radiation Detector Now on Excavator Arm
Los Alamos Monitor had brief story today by Garrison Wells: Pipe with excess plutonium halts lab clean-up. Now, the excavator arm will have a radiation detector on it to prevent any more breaches of the allowable above ground plutonium radiation permitted at the landfill cleanup. Idea is that the radiation detector will measure the amount of radiation before the excavator drags the contaminant above ground. Before, the radiation detector was placed on the ground next to the hole being excavated. That meant that they didn't know the amount of radiation until the cat was already out of the bag, i.e., after they had already drug the contaminant above ground! This is not rocket science. Not sure if I feel any more comforted by the change in procedure. I HOPE that some agency other than the lab is overseeing the safety of this cleanup.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
New Mexican Story on Plutonium Contaminated Pipe at DP Road Cleanup Site
Roger Snodgrass wrote an excellent article, on 9/16/2010 in the Santa Fe New Mexican, titled Contaminated pipe halts LANL cleanup project: Cylinder exceeds allowed radiation. Work has been shut down on the cleanup of the old landfill on DP Road dating from 1945 after a worker discovered a plutonium contaminated pipe and surrounding soil that had radiation levels that exceeded by six times those permitted above ground during the cleanup. The pipe and the soil it was buried in were measured to contain the equivalent of 40 grams of plutonium-239. Before cleanup began, the whole 5-acre site was estimated from soil sampling to contain only 200 grams of plutonium.
I live near this cleanup site and I'm not happy that the LANL spokesman, Fred deSousa, said the public was not notified about this discovery because, to quote Roger Snodgrass's article, "there had been no radioactive release to the public and no exposure". Regardless, the public SHOULD have been informed. LANL is not being very transparent about what's going on at the landfill cleanup.
The talk is that the landfill will be cleaned up to residential housing standards. I don't plan to ever live there. It's bad enough that we live so close to the cleanup site.
I live near this cleanup site and I'm not happy that the LANL spokesman, Fred deSousa, said the public was not notified about this discovery because, to quote Roger Snodgrass's article, "there had been no radioactive release to the public and no exposure". Regardless, the public SHOULD have been informed. LANL is not being very transparent about what's going on at the landfill cleanup.
The talk is that the landfill will be cleaned up to residential housing standards. I don't plan to ever live there. It's bad enough that we live so close to the cleanup site.
Eating Out Resolution
Resolved: Never order appetizers AND a meal - too much food. Went to Jinja House for husband's 60th birthday. He wanted to order the Tokyo Crispy Tofu as an appetizer and we shared it. I ordered the Jungle Green Curry with marinated tofu and brown rice off the lunch menu - the portion was enormous and I, of course, ate it all even though the appetizer had quelled my appetite. What's the point of appetizers except to make people too full to eat their real meal? I didn't want leftovers sitting in the hot car while we shopped at Whole Foods. I should start carrying a small cooler and ice to take leftovers home when I eat out!
Overheard at Jinja House (probably the WHOLE restaurant overheard) a motor-mouth woman talking loudly on her cell phone. Or maybe she was pretending to converse with someone because she left no space at all for the other person to say a word. She said she's going to move to Santa Fe, journal about the experience and write a book. Maybe it will be a talking book...
Daughter and son-in-law had husband and me over for dinner. Made pork BBQ, potato salad, roasted vegetables from their garden, green salad and chocolate-iced marble bundt birthday cake. Daughter gave husband home made plum jam for his birthday - very delicious. I had some tonight on bread and peanut butter.
Husband at movie theater seeing The Town because he gets in free on his birthday.
Exercised on Canyon Rim Trail and Mesa Trail this morning before Santa Fe trip. Saw coyote chasing something that ran off fast in a swirl of dust. Saw adorable boy bicyclist, with his Dad, who was maybe all of 5 years old. Little boy told me he liked my hat!
Last night we watched the DVD Temple Grandin, a made for HBO movie. It utterly enthralled me. It won loads of Emmys and I can see why - it was so well acted. I found the story of Temple's life and career moving, inspiring and so very interesting. Temple is one smart person!
Overheard at Jinja House (probably the WHOLE restaurant overheard) a motor-mouth woman talking loudly on her cell phone. Or maybe she was pretending to converse with someone because she left no space at all for the other person to say a word. She said she's going to move to Santa Fe, journal about the experience and write a book. Maybe it will be a talking book...
Daughter and son-in-law had husband and me over for dinner. Made pork BBQ, potato salad, roasted vegetables from their garden, green salad and chocolate-iced marble bundt birthday cake. Daughter gave husband home made plum jam for his birthday - very delicious. I had some tonight on bread and peanut butter.
Husband at movie theater seeing The Town because he gets in free on his birthday.
Exercised on Canyon Rim Trail and Mesa Trail this morning before Santa Fe trip. Saw coyote chasing something that ran off fast in a swirl of dust. Saw adorable boy bicyclist, with his Dad, who was maybe all of 5 years old. Little boy told me he liked my hat!
Last night we watched the DVD Temple Grandin, a made for HBO movie. It utterly enthralled me. It won loads of Emmys and I can see why - it was so well acted. I found the story of Temple's life and career moving, inspiring and so very interesting. Temple is one smart person!
Friday, September 17, 2010
WRSC Hikers Walk Canyon Rim and Pueblo Canyon Rim Trails
Only a small group - 3 drove up from White Rock Senior Center and met spouse and me. We parked at the official parking lot for the new, paved Canyon Rim Trail (across from the construction site of the Los Alamos Cooperative Market on NM 502 aka Main Hill Road - slow down or you'll miss the turn off).
Had to quickly cross the busy road and walked behind the Holiday Inn to pick up the Pueblo Canyon Rim Trail (dirt trail that runs along fence on north side of Los Alamos Airport - great views of the tent rocks in Pueblo Canyon) which we took west to the airport terminal building.
Another access can be had by walking down the sidewalk along Entrada Road at Los Alamos County's new Pajarito Cliffs site and picking up the Pueblo Canyon Rim Trail on the north side of the county warehouses. Look for a small sign crediting the Youth Conservation Corps (sponsored by the YMCA) for the work they did on this trail and then turn left toward the airport.
After we reached the airport terminal, I continued west toward the paved Mesa Trail and East Park but the rest walked the streets back to continue on the Canyon Rim Trail at its western terminus near the fire station across from East Park (the Canyon Rim Trail will eventually extend to the Los Alamos Medical Center). Even so, I caught up with them and we all moseyed east back to the parked cars. I eschewed the car ride offered by spouse and instead did "walk fast-walk slow" intervals, fartlek style, back to the fire station and called it a day.
The Canyon Rim Trail is close to 2 miles RT if you do an out and back on it. The Mesa Trail is close to 1 mile RT out and back. A sign at the Canyon Rim trailhead suggests an almost 4 mile loop by walking on the Canyon Rim Trail, the Mesa Trail and the Pueblo Canyon Rim Trail. The eastern continuation of the Pueblo Canyon Rim Trail connects with the Camp Hamilton Trail near Eastgate Industrial Park. This opens up a number of possible hikes utilizing the trails in the Pueblo Canyon and Bayo Canyon areas.
Had to quickly cross the busy road and walked behind the Holiday Inn to pick up the Pueblo Canyon Rim Trail (dirt trail that runs along fence on north side of Los Alamos Airport - great views of the tent rocks in Pueblo Canyon) which we took west to the airport terminal building.
Another access can be had by walking down the sidewalk along Entrada Road at Los Alamos County's new Pajarito Cliffs site and picking up the Pueblo Canyon Rim Trail on the north side of the county warehouses. Look for a small sign crediting the Youth Conservation Corps (sponsored by the YMCA) for the work they did on this trail and then turn left toward the airport.
After we reached the airport terminal, I continued west toward the paved Mesa Trail and East Park but the rest walked the streets back to continue on the Canyon Rim Trail at its western terminus near the fire station across from East Park (the Canyon Rim Trail will eventually extend to the Los Alamos Medical Center). Even so, I caught up with them and we all moseyed east back to the parked cars. I eschewed the car ride offered by spouse and instead did "walk fast-walk slow" intervals, fartlek style, back to the fire station and called it a day.
The Canyon Rim Trail is close to 2 miles RT if you do an out and back on it. The Mesa Trail is close to 1 mile RT out and back. A sign at the Canyon Rim trailhead suggests an almost 4 mile loop by walking on the Canyon Rim Trail, the Mesa Trail and the Pueblo Canyon Rim Trail. The eastern continuation of the Pueblo Canyon Rim Trail connects with the Camp Hamilton Trail near Eastgate Industrial Park. This opens up a number of possible hikes utilizing the trails in the Pueblo Canyon and Bayo Canyon areas.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Up FR181 from West Jemez Road
Went up FR181 from twin water tanks on West Jemez Road. In the past, I've thought I was going 4 miles RT by turning around at the big meadow where the road splits but then comes together again. This meadow is well past the turnoff to the Perimeter Trail. But in reading Craig Martin's Los Alamos Trails more carefully, I realized that I was probably only doing a 3 mile RT hike.
Today I didn't turn around until the first road to the left past the meadow. This is the road that Craig says is 2.1 miles in from West Jemez Road and goes in .6 mile out to Red-Tailed Hawk Point, a fantastically scenic overlook into Water Canyon as long as you have the patience and stamina to wade through giant pick-up sticks from the Cerro Grande Fire in 2000.
Craig doesn't mention it but a few tenths of a mile further southwest along FR181 (American Springs Road) is another road to the left that will also take you to Red-Tailed Hawk Point. There is no avoiding the eventual mish mosh of downed wood along the way, though. This other road runs along a ridge that separates two of the three branches of upper Water Canyon and you will have beautiful views along the way.
To read more about Red-Tailed Hawk Point, see Dorothy Hoard's Los Alamos Outdoors. Craig's hiking book is indispensable to learn the nuts and bolts of the hiking trails in and around Los Alamos County but Dorothy's book still provides an almost poetic interpretation of what you'll see along the way.
It was warm and dry today - too much so. The purple asters and yellow sunflowers are putting on a cheerful show but the aspens are still holding back their display.
Today I didn't turn around until the first road to the left past the meadow. This is the road that Craig says is 2.1 miles in from West Jemez Road and goes in .6 mile out to Red-Tailed Hawk Point, a fantastically scenic overlook into Water Canyon as long as you have the patience and stamina to wade through giant pick-up sticks from the Cerro Grande Fire in 2000.
Craig doesn't mention it but a few tenths of a mile further southwest along FR181 (American Springs Road) is another road to the left that will also take you to Red-Tailed Hawk Point. There is no avoiding the eventual mish mosh of downed wood along the way, though. This other road runs along a ridge that separates two of the three branches of upper Water Canyon and you will have beautiful views along the way.
To read more about Red-Tailed Hawk Point, see Dorothy Hoard's Los Alamos Outdoors. Craig's hiking book is indispensable to learn the nuts and bolts of the hiking trails in and around Los Alamos County but Dorothy's book still provides an almost poetic interpretation of what you'll see along the way.
It was warm and dry today - too much so. The purple asters and yellow sunflowers are putting on a cheerful show but the aspens are still holding back their display.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Cañada Bonita to Guaje Canyon Overlook-Fleeting Seasons
The main hiking leaders are out of town attending a high school reunion so the substitute hiker took the eight of us on the Cañada Bonita Trail. One hiker stayed behind at the Pipeline Road overlook into Valles de los Posos. The rest went to just above the start of the downhill to the Guaje Canyon Overlook.
I walked down to the overlook and took photos of Caballo Mountain. Several times, I heard some scruffling nearby and looked back, expecting to see one of the other hikers but saw no one.
I somehow managed to miss seeing the Cerro Rubio turnoff on the way to the Guaje Canyon Overlook. We all enjoyed the various viewpoints into the Valles Caldera along the way.
There are golden aspen leaves here and there on the trail but nothing large scale is happening yet. At the Cañada Bonita meadow, one of the hikers sang a line of the folk song "Where have all the flowers gone?" They were splendid while they were here. The same hiker pointed out on the way back where he had photographed loads of orchids in the Spring.
At the hike's beginning, seeing all the fireweed gone to seed, I had made the comment that it seemed like Spring just happened a few weeks ago. That's the only downside of the change of seasons - it can be sad to know that a season is past and to think that I may not have fully appreciated it while it was here. I feel the same way when I look at photos of our daughter as a baby. If I had only known how short and precious that time would be, would I have appreciated it more instead of letting myself get embroiled in the everyday ephemera of life?
I walked down to the overlook and took photos of Caballo Mountain. Several times, I heard some scruffling nearby and looked back, expecting to see one of the other hikers but saw no one.
I somehow managed to miss seeing the Cerro Rubio turnoff on the way to the Guaje Canyon Overlook. We all enjoyed the various viewpoints into the Valles Caldera along the way.
There are golden aspen leaves here and there on the trail but nothing large scale is happening yet. At the Cañada Bonita meadow, one of the hikers sang a line of the folk song "Where have all the flowers gone?" They were splendid while they were here. The same hiker pointed out on the way back where he had photographed loads of orchids in the Spring.
At the hike's beginning, seeing all the fireweed gone to seed, I had made the comment that it seemed like Spring just happened a few weeks ago. That's the only downside of the change of seasons - it can be sad to know that a season is past and to think that I may not have fully appreciated it while it was here. I feel the same way when I look at photos of our daughter as a baby. If I had only known how short and precious that time would be, would I have appreciated it more instead of letting myself get embroiled in the everyday ephemera of life?
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Change of Seasons-Kudos to Canyon Rim Trail-Dr. Oz's Colonoscopy
I'm in love with the change of seasons. I get bored easily as a season wears on and on. Too much of anything is boring but at a season's beginning, with its promise of what's to come, I'm excited. Fall is coming on in northern New Mexico with all its yellow - billows of sunflowers and barrels of chamisa and the promise of hillsides soon to be festooned with golden aspens. I can't wait!
I did intervals on the Canyon Rim Trail today and am continually amazed at how well used that trail is. Apparently there was a crying need in Los Alamos for a paved trail for people who prefer that to walking on the uneven surface of a dirt trail. Some scoffed at the cost of the pedestrian bridge on the Canyon Rim Trail and called it the bridge to nowhere. Not hardly! It's enabling many to have an enjoyable outdoor experience. Build a trail and people will have fun!
I recently watched an episode of the Dr. Oz show in which he revealed that his colonoscopy showed he had an adenomatous polyp which is a type that can turn into cancer. I thought it was very brave for him to reveal this because some will say that eating healthy, exercising and staying slim didn't do Dr. Mehmet Oz any good since he developed this precancerous polyp despite his healthy lifestyle. I disagree. Maybe these measures aren't an ironclad guarantee of good health but I'd rather hedge my bets by practicing a healthy habits than by following the Standard American Diet (SAD) and being a couch potato. Long live Dr. Oz!!
I did intervals on the Canyon Rim Trail today and am continually amazed at how well used that trail is. Apparently there was a crying need in Los Alamos for a paved trail for people who prefer that to walking on the uneven surface of a dirt trail. Some scoffed at the cost of the pedestrian bridge on the Canyon Rim Trail and called it the bridge to nowhere. Not hardly! It's enabling many to have an enjoyable outdoor experience. Build a trail and people will have fun!
I recently watched an episode of the Dr. Oz show in which he revealed that his colonoscopy showed he had an adenomatous polyp which is a type that can turn into cancer. I thought it was very brave for him to reveal this because some will say that eating healthy, exercising and staying slim didn't do Dr. Mehmet Oz any good since he developed this precancerous polyp despite his healthy lifestyle. I disagree. Maybe these measures aren't an ironclad guarantee of good health but I'd rather hedge my bets by practicing a healthy habits than by following the Standard American Diet (SAD) and being a couch potato. Long live Dr. Oz!!
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