The arrow, that is. I found an arrow on the ground right along where I walk. Camp May Road is on one side and a steep canyon on the other. Maybe it was shot from the other side of the canyon or the other side of the road. Glad it wasn't shot at me! I stuck it in a cairn but forgot to look for it on the way back down.
I'm thinking maybe next year I can use my manual weed whacker to murder the NM locusts! At least it would get some use since neither spouse nor I care to tackle the weeds in our gopher-haven backyard! I could pretend I'm golfing (never, ever have or will), whack the NM locusts and yell "Fore!"
Weather was invigorating during my walk. It spit some but not much. The wind was moving a front through but a pleasant wind - not too cold. Clouds were awesomely breathtaking - what an assortment, all layered in crisscrosses across the sky. Patches of blue were framed like windows. Sun came and went but mostly came and when it did, the yellow aspens lit up. Still waiting for some special aspens to turn yellow along the Route.
Someone hung a grocery bag of trash on a tree. I should have carried it down but didn't feel like it today. I will one day.
Yesterday was Oktoberfest at the home of a White Rock hiker. Fun get-together! I made dessert from a recipe I found on the Internet - Easy Apple Kuchen - but ruined it with too much brown sugar which the recipe didn't even call for! Today, we saw 5 of the hikers enjoying the Health Fair/Arts and Crafts Fair so I know that at least 5 survived eating my sickeningly sweet dessert!!
At the Health Fair, I took a spirometry test. The nurse practitioner who gave me my (normal) results said we need to train for old age. I agree. The trend is downward - we can't get around that - but we need to do all we can to assure that our quality of life remains high as we journey through life.
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Sun Had Disappeared Behind Clouds by Early Afternoon
This afternoon, it had looked dark to the west; but so far, it's evening now, the rains haven't visited us like last night.
One of the librarians told me she was on top of Pajarito Mountain yesterday with her Corgi dog when the storm broke. Getting down, amidst hail, thunder and lightning was an adventure.
I went to our dentist in Albuquerque Tuesday. Dentist took x-rays and said there wasn't any cavity or abscess. Digital dental x-rays are neat - very fast, less radiation and can see x-rays immediately! Dentist adjusted night splint so maybe that will help. I really can only chew on my left side and started having some pain on my right side which the dentist theorizes is from clamping down on that side at night.
On way back home, we ate at Buffalo Thunder's Painted Parrot Buffet. Almost from the first bite, my stomach felt bloated and rumbly. Maybe it's a bad idea to steal broccoli from the Asian stir fries, maybe the guacamole, green chile and salsa sundae is a bad idea? Next time we eat there, it's salad and fruit for me.
On Wednesday, I drove spouse up to Pajarito Mountain Ski Area to enjoy the aspen colors. He walked as far as Cañada Bonita meadow and then went back to eat at the café. I continued on to Pipeline Road. Met a puppy on the trail. So adorable! Looked like a black Labrador. I stopped and puppy - name's Molasses - nuzzled between my ankles so I bowed out my legs to let puppy step through!! Owner said everyone loves Molasses!
Walked downtown today. Forgot my umbrella at Metzger's and didn't realize I'd forgotten it until I got to Ashley Pond to feed the ducks and looked at the clouds over the mountains. Ducks didn't seem very hungry. Ravens were feeding on cracked corn at edge of pond.
I'm tired. Woke at 7 am for big tree trip in Valles Caldera National Preserve but it was canceled due to all the rain.
My lower right back was aching on downtown walk today. Still is. Discouraging.
One of the librarians told me she was on top of Pajarito Mountain yesterday with her Corgi dog when the storm broke. Getting down, amidst hail, thunder and lightning was an adventure.
I went to our dentist in Albuquerque Tuesday. Dentist took x-rays and said there wasn't any cavity or abscess. Digital dental x-rays are neat - very fast, less radiation and can see x-rays immediately! Dentist adjusted night splint so maybe that will help. I really can only chew on my left side and started having some pain on my right side which the dentist theorizes is from clamping down on that side at night.
On way back home, we ate at Buffalo Thunder's Painted Parrot Buffet. Almost from the first bite, my stomach felt bloated and rumbly. Maybe it's a bad idea to steal broccoli from the Asian stir fries, maybe the guacamole, green chile and salsa sundae is a bad idea? Next time we eat there, it's salad and fruit for me.
On Wednesday, I drove spouse up to Pajarito Mountain Ski Area to enjoy the aspen colors. He walked as far as Cañada Bonita meadow and then went back to eat at the café. I continued on to Pipeline Road. Met a puppy on the trail. So adorable! Looked like a black Labrador. I stopped and puppy - name's Molasses - nuzzled between my ankles so I bowed out my legs to let puppy step through!! Owner said everyone loves Molasses!
Walked downtown today. Forgot my umbrella at Metzger's and didn't realize I'd forgotten it until I got to Ashley Pond to feed the ducks and looked at the clouds over the mountains. Ducks didn't seem very hungry. Ravens were feeding on cracked corn at edge of pond.
I'm tired. Woke at 7 am for big tree trip in Valles Caldera National Preserve but it was canceled due to all the rain.
My lower right back was aching on downtown walk today. Still is. Discouraging.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Still Plotting How to Get to Bonita Point
Wished so much that spouse would have shared seeing on Saturday the aspen extravaganza along Camp May Road and on Pajarito Mountain. The golden leaves of the young aspens start about 2 miles up Camp May Road in the burnt area near FR2998 and continue all the way up to the top of the ski hill.
Ski Area is so much pleasanter when lifts aren't running and when the mountain isn't invaded by testosterone-crazed bicyclists! The bicyclists that actually bike to the top are much saner!
Studied Bonita Point (Loco Triangle) from the jeep road on Pajarito Mountain. I can see now that it would have worked to go down along the end of the conifers to edge of Cañada Bonita Canyon and over along canyon edge to get around the tangle of aspens and out to Bonita Point.
The view from on high also made me think that perhaps I had the right idea about going further east on the projection from Paul's Portal overlook. It almost looks like the projection gradually steps down to a shallower portion of the Cañada Bonita Canyon. Instead, we walked away from the overlook and went through a bunch of aspens and then we were where the bottom of Cañada Bonita Canyon looked dauntingly far below. Perhaps I need to revisit Paul's Portal one day.
I could also see from on high that on the way back to Cañada Bonita meadow that day, we should have avoided the aspens that cascade down from the very top of the steep ridge that was above us. If we had instead stayed close to the edge of Cañada Bonita Canyon, even though it would have been more difficult walking due to the cant of the hillside, we would have avoided having to wrest ourselves out of the jigsaw-puzzle aspen grove!
In fact, hugging the canyon edge to go out to Bonita Point may be the best ticket of all. After all, it's not like this canyon edge is along a cliff. I'm guessing this would actually be easier (and safer!) than going from Paul's Portal and trying to descend into and out of the canyon!
I wasn't the only one alone on the mountain today. Saw two other lone hikers and a lone bicyclist. Even so, I morosely thought to myself "What does being alone matter? In the end, when I die, I die alone."
Sunday, spouse and I went to REI for the last day of their Fall sale. I bought a pair of Brooks Adrenaline shoes and he bought REI Sahara Cargo pants. Then we ate at Flying Star. This time, instead of the tofu Buddha bowl, I had the Acapulco Salad with avocados, orange sections, jicama, salad mix, red onions, grilled shrimp, salsa - good! We finished off the day by returning moldy tasting Flame raisins to Vitamin Cottage and buying a few items. For my exercise, I walked downtown in the evening.
Today, the Monday group did the postponed Sawyer's Mesa hike, finishing at Ponderosa Campground for a 9 mile jaunt! It was good to do it in October and enjoy the Fall colors and cool weather. The Gambel oaks with leaves of red, yellow and orange reminded me of making Autumn leaves in grade school out of construction paper! The leaves of the barberry shrub were such a brilliant red. We could see lots of golden aspen across Frijoles and Alamo Canyons.
After the hike, I took one of the hikers back up on the Dome Road to the Sawyer Mesa Road so she could pick up her car. The Dome Road is in great shape right now! Saw some wood gatherers by the side of NM4 right before the Cerro Grande parking area. Bandelier National Monument recently gave free permits so people could collect the wood stacked in teepees near the road - good deal!
Ski Area is so much pleasanter when lifts aren't running and when the mountain isn't invaded by testosterone-crazed bicyclists! The bicyclists that actually bike to the top are much saner!
Studied Bonita Point (Loco Triangle) from the jeep road on Pajarito Mountain. I can see now that it would have worked to go down along the end of the conifers to edge of Cañada Bonita Canyon and over along canyon edge to get around the tangle of aspens and out to Bonita Point.
The view from on high also made me think that perhaps I had the right idea about going further east on the projection from Paul's Portal overlook. It almost looks like the projection gradually steps down to a shallower portion of the Cañada Bonita Canyon. Instead, we walked away from the overlook and went through a bunch of aspens and then we were where the bottom of Cañada Bonita Canyon looked dauntingly far below. Perhaps I need to revisit Paul's Portal one day.
I could also see from on high that on the way back to Cañada Bonita meadow that day, we should have avoided the aspens that cascade down from the very top of the steep ridge that was above us. If we had instead stayed close to the edge of Cañada Bonita Canyon, even though it would have been more difficult walking due to the cant of the hillside, we would have avoided having to wrest ourselves out of the jigsaw-puzzle aspen grove!
In fact, hugging the canyon edge to go out to Bonita Point may be the best ticket of all. After all, it's not like this canyon edge is along a cliff. I'm guessing this would actually be easier (and safer!) than going from Paul's Portal and trying to descend into and out of the canyon!
I wasn't the only one alone on the mountain today. Saw two other lone hikers and a lone bicyclist. Even so, I morosely thought to myself "What does being alone matter? In the end, when I die, I die alone."
Sunday, spouse and I went to REI for the last day of their Fall sale. I bought a pair of Brooks Adrenaline shoes and he bought REI Sahara Cargo pants. Then we ate at Flying Star. This time, instead of the tofu Buddha bowl, I had the Acapulco Salad with avocados, orange sections, jicama, salad mix, red onions, grilled shrimp, salsa - good! We finished off the day by returning moldy tasting Flame raisins to Vitamin Cottage and buying a few items. For my exercise, I walked downtown in the evening.
Today, the Monday group did the postponed Sawyer's Mesa hike, finishing at Ponderosa Campground for a 9 mile jaunt! It was good to do it in October and enjoy the Fall colors and cool weather. The Gambel oaks with leaves of red, yellow and orange reminded me of making Autumn leaves in grade school out of construction paper! The leaves of the barberry shrub were such a brilliant red. We could see lots of golden aspen across Frijoles and Alamo Canyons.
After the hike, I took one of the hikers back up on the Dome Road to the Sawyer Mesa Road so she could pick up her car. The Dome Road is in great shape right now! Saw some wood gatherers by the side of NM4 right before the Cerro Grande parking area. Bandelier National Monument recently gave free permits so people could collect the wood stacked in teepees near the road - good deal!
Friday, October 15, 2010
Rogue Trail With White Rock Seniors
What's going on? Not much! Spouse and I met the WRSC hikers - only 3 showed up - at the Walkup Pool, ostensibly to walk down into Pueblo Canyon. We were joined by a hiker from the uptown senior center hiking group.
When we got to where the Ranch School Trail goes steeply down into Pueblo Canyon, it turns out they really didn't want to go down that trail but had already passed the turnoff for the trail they had anticipated taking; instead, we walked along the south rim of Pueblo Canyon, the one I call the Rogue Trail. We turned around where the trail narrows to a singletrack. The grand total was a little over 3 miles. It was a beautiful day full of sunshine and we all enjoyed the walk and company.
This afternoon, spouse and I are sloth-ing it at home. He tells me that this is how it will be when he fully retires. I'd better not say what I "laughingly" told him!
We hardly ever see grandson anymore. I thought our daughter had him this week so we invited them for supper tonight to visit. Her ex-husband has him two weeks and then she has him two but I miscalculated which weeks were hers. Tonight, it turns out, is daughter's date night with girlfriends. We could reliably see grandson 2 nights a week when she attended jujitsu classes at the Y but now she is very busy with schoolwork so she's stopped going.
When we got to where the Ranch School Trail goes steeply down into Pueblo Canyon, it turns out they really didn't want to go down that trail but had already passed the turnoff for the trail they had anticipated taking; instead, we walked along the south rim of Pueblo Canyon, the one I call the Rogue Trail. We turned around where the trail narrows to a singletrack. The grand total was a little over 3 miles. It was a beautiful day full of sunshine and we all enjoyed the walk and company.
This afternoon, spouse and I are sloth-ing it at home. He tells me that this is how it will be when he fully retires. I'd better not say what I "laughingly" told him!
We hardly ever see grandson anymore. I thought our daughter had him this week so we invited them for supper tonight to visit. Her ex-husband has him two weeks and then she has him two but I miscalculated which weeks were hers. Tonight, it turns out, is daughter's date night with girlfriends. We could reliably see grandson 2 nights a week when she attended jujitsu classes at the Y but now she is very busy with schoolwork so she's stopped going.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Ruminating About Yesterday's Hike
One day, I have to try again to get to Bonita Point, aka Loco Triangle. There must be a better way to get there. I know people who have hiked up Quemazon Canyon which is below the point. Maybe if I walked up Los Alamos Canyon from the Reservoir, I'd see a way up.
I feel sure that the Bonita Point was beyond and below the aspen forest that turned us around. I need to go to Pajarito Mountain and study the area again with my binoculars. It would be good to go before the aspens drop their leaves so I can pinpoint where we turned around in relation to the point.
Yesterday, I wanted to follow the treeline further down toward Cañada Bonita Canyon to see if I could see the point to the east but my friend wanted to start back. She was so nice to agree to go with me that I didn't press the issue. There are not many women in their late 70's that could have gone on that explore like she did. For that matter, not many people of any age would want to blunder about where we did!! Fortunately, neither of us fell whilst cavorting amongst all the downed wood.
We both thought the scattering of old tree stumps we saw were odd in such an isolated area where few people venture. The felled trees were left laying beside the stumps. In some cases, the tree trunks were cut into sections.
Two of the bear scats we saw were light colored with lots of seeds. One was dark with little visible roughage.
I walked 2 roundtrips on the Canyon Rim Trail this afternoon. Saw 2 bicyclists, 11 walkers and 2 dogs. People walking the trail in the afternoon are less interested in greeting one another. I listened to a tape of Prairie Home Companion. Purple vetch is still blooming.
Dropped off at PEEC a paper grocery sack stuffed full of plastic produce bags. The high school kids plan to make something with the plastic bags.
I feel sure that the Bonita Point was beyond and below the aspen forest that turned us around. I need to go to Pajarito Mountain and study the area again with my binoculars. It would be good to go before the aspens drop their leaves so I can pinpoint where we turned around in relation to the point.
Yesterday, I wanted to follow the treeline further down toward Cañada Bonita Canyon to see if I could see the point to the east but my friend wanted to start back. She was so nice to agree to go with me that I didn't press the issue. There are not many women in their late 70's that could have gone on that explore like she did. For that matter, not many people of any age would want to blunder about where we did!! Fortunately, neither of us fell whilst cavorting amongst all the downed wood.
We both thought the scattering of old tree stumps we saw were odd in such an isolated area where few people venture. The felled trees were left laying beside the stumps. In some cases, the tree trunks were cut into sections.
Two of the bear scats we saw were light colored with lots of seeds. One was dark with little visible roughage.
I walked 2 roundtrips on the Canyon Rim Trail this afternoon. Saw 2 bicyclists, 11 walkers and 2 dogs. People walking the trail in the afternoon are less interested in greeting one another. I listened to a tape of Prairie Home Companion. Purple vetch is still blooming.
Dropped off at PEEC a paper grocery sack stuffed full of plastic produce bags. The high school kids plan to make something with the plastic bags.
I Should Be
I should be doing the laundry, I should be vacuuming the carpet, I should be replacing the carpet in the kitchen with linoleum, I should be ripping out the 20 year old wall to wall carpet and refinishing the wood floors underneath, I should be weeding the yard, I should be buying groceries, I should be scrubbing the toilet, I should be dusting the cobwebs in the kitchen, I should be raking the fallen leaves, I should be buying a more energy efficient refrigerator, I should be shopping for a new gas oven before our 20 year old one explodes, I should be calling the furnace man to give our gas furnace a clean bill of health, I should be going through all my possessions and getting rid of stuff I no longer need or use, I should be buying a new shed to replace the present one which functions as a Comfort Inn for mice, I should be replacing our wooden fence which is dying one slat at a time, I should be watering the water-devouring spruce in our front yard, I should be using cloth bags for my groceries instead of plastic, I should be using CFL light bulbs instead of incandescent, I should be shopping locally instead of at Walmart, I should be joining clubs and volunteering more around town, I should be spending less time on the computer ...
This list could go on and on but you get the idea. You probably have a list twice as long of your own. All the things I should be doing hang over my head on a daily basis. Some of them I do because I have no choice - have to eat, have to occasionally clean, have to do laundry, but the others, I do gradually or when forced to by circumstances. The majority of this list is related to the upkeep of the house and grounds (aka, gopher playground!) Our 50 year old home needs a good remodeling but I'd rather sell the house at a bargain and let someone else remodel it. Living in a house in the midst of a major remodel doesn't sound fun. My answer is to go on a hike unless necessity arises which mandates paying attention to this hovel, er...house.
This list could go on and on but you get the idea. You probably have a list twice as long of your own. All the things I should be doing hang over my head on a daily basis. Some of them I do because I have no choice - have to eat, have to occasionally clean, have to do laundry, but the others, I do gradually or when forced to by circumstances. The majority of this list is related to the upkeep of the house and grounds (aka, gopher playground!) Our 50 year old home needs a good remodeling but I'd rather sell the house at a bargain and let someone else remodel it. Living in a house in the midst of a major remodel doesn't sound fun. My answer is to go on a hike unless necessity arises which mandates paying attention to this hovel, er...house.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Bonita Point or Loco Triangle
A friend willingly went with me today on the Bonita Point or Loco Triangle explore. We didn't actually make it to the point but had fun trying. We had to walk through forest impacted by dead log upon dead log, in pickup stick fashion.
It took a long time to even get near Bonita Point but we decided to turn around short of our destination when we encountered a young aspen forest full of downed logs laying in wait like hungry crocodiles eager to snap our limbs off. We tried hard to plow through the aspens - there was no easy way around - but we were greatly slowed by all the obstacles hiding within.
By now, it was late afternoon so we turned around and picked our way again through all the downed wood and yet another interminable aspen thicket. Trying to break free of that thicket made me sympathize with insects that get caught in a spider's web - we felt entangled every way that we turned!
We were so happy to get back to the bunch grass of Cañada Bonita meadow! Whoever said that bunch grass is difficult to walk in has never tried to walk in an area clotted with downed wood!
I'll probably never again be able to talk someone into accompanying me on that crazy hike. My friend says she'll cross it off her list for now unless I discover a super-highway that leads to Bonita Point!
We saw 3 piles of fairly fresh bear scat. We were glad we didn't see the bear(s)!!
It took a long time to even get near Bonita Point but we decided to turn around short of our destination when we encountered a young aspen forest full of downed logs laying in wait like hungry crocodiles eager to snap our limbs off. We tried hard to plow through the aspens - there was no easy way around - but we were greatly slowed by all the obstacles hiding within.
By now, it was late afternoon so we turned around and picked our way again through all the downed wood and yet another interminable aspen thicket. Trying to break free of that thicket made me sympathize with insects that get caught in a spider's web - we felt entangled every way that we turned!
We were so happy to get back to the bunch grass of Cañada Bonita meadow! Whoever said that bunch grass is difficult to walk in has never tried to walk in an area clotted with downed wood!
I'll probably never again be able to talk someone into accompanying me on that crazy hike. My friend says she'll cross it off her list for now unless I discover a super-highway that leads to Bonita Point!
We saw 3 piles of fairly fresh bear scat. We were glad we didn't see the bear(s)!!
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Nail Trail and Pajarito Canyon
The Tuesday hiking group WAS going to hike the Nail Trail today but they changed the hike to the Cañada Bonita Trail. Since I just did that Saturday, I hiked the Nail Trail myself today.
The Nail Trail intersects the Pajarito Canyon Trail and the question in my mind was would I be brave enough to walk back through Pajarito Canyon by myself (I was) or would I feel safer backtracking on the Nail Trail. My imagination assumes mountain lions are crouching behind every shrub, preparing to pounce.
On the the scrabbly trail down into Pajarito Canyon, as I passed through shrubs and in and out of drainages, I thought: Why do all the instructions on what to do if you meet a mountain lion advise throwing rocks but caution not to bend over? How can I pick up a rock if I don't bend over? Am I supposed to carry rocks just in case?
Maybe iPhone or Android could invent a Human Companion and/or Cyber Guard Dog app. Then while I'm walking by myself, I could fire up my (non-existent) iPhone or Android and scare off malingering mountain lions.
The aspens in the Pajarito Canyon drainage are beautiful!
The Nail Trail intersects the Pajarito Canyon Trail and the question in my mind was would I be brave enough to walk back through Pajarito Canyon by myself (I was) or would I feel safer backtracking on the Nail Trail. My imagination assumes mountain lions are crouching behind every shrub, preparing to pounce.
On the the scrabbly trail down into Pajarito Canyon, as I passed through shrubs and in and out of drainages, I thought: Why do all the instructions on what to do if you meet a mountain lion advise throwing rocks but caution not to bend over? How can I pick up a rock if I don't bend over? Am I supposed to carry rocks just in case?
Maybe iPhone or Android could invent a Human Companion and/or Cyber Guard Dog app. Then while I'm walking by myself, I could fire up my (non-existent) iPhone or Android and scare off malingering mountain lions.
The aspens in the Pajarito Canyon drainage are beautiful!
Husband's Attention to Stock Market Is Depressing
On husband's weekdays off, he can either be found, when I awaken, plugged into the computer, undoubtedly assessing current stock market conditions, or plugged into the cable TV business networks, watching talking heads hysterically take the economy's pulse. The idea of paying moment to moment, detailed attention to the stock market depresses me. The stock market will go up and down, sometimes with dizzying rapidity, so why distress myself over its daily gyrations?
Monday, October 11, 2010
Tried to Walk Apache Springs Trail Yesterday
Yesterday, spouse and I drove up the escarpment into the Jemez to the Apache Springs Trail to hike and enjoy Fall colors. When we got to the trailhead, a fire truck was blocking the parking lot entrance and more two police cars were blocking the entrance across the street to the FR181/American Springs Road and more emergency vehicles were over there. As we drove by, spouse asked the fireman directing traffic what was going on but the only answer was there was a situation they were handling. We turned around at the parking lot for the old Girl Scout camp and drove down to Ponderosa Campground and walked the Upper Crossing Trail. Spouse went as far as Frijoles Canyon while I walked down into the canyon. I saw two hikers coming up as I was going down. I turned around after crossing the Rito de los Frijoles' bridge but one day, I'd like to continue on the Upper Crossing Trail to the mesa top above. That would be a lot of good elevated heart rate!
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