Snowy Walk

On Saturday morning, our first day of Christmas vacation, we awoke to snow.  We decided to go for a walk in the open space behind our house.   It was about 40 degrees and the snow was melting, but it was quite windy, so we needed our jackets and hats.

When we got to to the top of a hill, we could see that the snow stopped right in the middle of our development!  The East Mountain area must have had quite a bit of snow, but the city and the West side had nothing.  It was so strange to see the line where the snow ended.

Our house.

Things Are Different Here -- Christmas Tree!

If you want a real tree in ABQ, you can go to a big-box store, or you can go to one of the Christmas tree places that spring up in empty lots in the desert around the end of November.  Actually, there were also a couple of folks selling trees out of the backs of pickup trucks on the side of the road.  You can also buy pinions and chiles from these roadside pick-up trucks, but I haven't had the nerve to try it yet.
I wanted to get our tree at the same place as last year because they were nice to me when I went by myself.  So we drove up to the Northeast near our old apartment and found the same guys.

For 21 consecutive Christmases, Stephen and I argued (negotiated) over the size of the tree.  He always wanted a huge tree and I thought that since he is allergic to them, and we always lived in tiny houses, that we should get a tiny tree.  Then last year we had a big space with high ceilings, but I only had a borrowed truck with a 6' bed, so I got a 6' tree!  This year I told Stephen he could go wild and get whatever tree he wanted.  Much to his disappointment, they didn't have any REALLY tall trees, so he settled for getting the biggest one they had.

 The trees came from Oregon, the proprietor told us.  They have the rows of trees tied to temporary fencing, as you can see above.  The RV, canopy, and a storage trailer make up the rest of the place.

For the first time in many years, I had room to put up every one of my ornaments!

Sumner Lake

Stephen has an excellent sense of direction.  It's sort of an internal GPS with a map and a compass right in his brain.  In the Northeast, he navigates using this sixth sense and when he gets off track, he just takes the next left or right to correct course.  This works really well in the NE where roads connect to other roads every couple of miles.  It can be slightly more problematic out here in the Wild West, where (as we discovered yesterday) if you miss your turn and decide to "take the next left," you can add 100 miles to your trip. 
Our intended destination was Sumner Lake, created by a dam built in 1937 for the purpose of irrigation.  There was a lot of empty land on the way, with long straight roads featuring just enough elevation change so that you could see 5 or 6 miles ahead before cresting the next gentle rise.  We stopped at this dry lake bed because it was the only variation in the landscape we had seen in an hour.

Apparently the locals thought that using the sign for target practice was the point of interest.

  I actually have no idea what happened to extend the trip; I just know that I fell asleep and when I woke up Stephen said he had missed a turn but he knew approximately where we were and we would take the next left.  20 miles later, the next left appeared, with a sign that said "Fort Sumner - 54 miles." 
The thing is, we hadn't really had lunch, which was OK with me but not quite as awesome for Stephen, although I had packed snacks and water and we bought more snacks at a gas station.  Earlier, around lunch time, we had driven through Encino, NM.  This is what the town looked like:

So we bought gas and trail mix and kept going. 
When we finally reached Fort Sumner, Stephen thought he might get his lunch at long last, but even though it was a Saturday afternoon, the ENTIRE TOWN was closed.  Tourist info: closed.  Billy the Kid Museum: closed.  Restaurants: closed.  Stores: closed.  It was actually a little spooky.  We drove through town twice to double-check, then left town to find the lake, about 7 miles away.
Lake Sumner is a state park with a boat launch, camp sites, ranger station, etc.  It was all closed, and there was no one around.  That was OK with us, so we parked at the scenic overlook and walked the Discovery Trail, then along the shore.  It had gotten very cloudy by then, with moody lighting in the late afternoon.

The rock is very porous.  Stephen thought it looked volcanic. 

Close-up of a weirdly eroded rock.

Stephen got some of the local vegetation in his shoe.  Not nice.

 When we had explored as much as we chose, we set my GPS (not the one in Stephen's head) for the fastest route back to ABQ.  When we got to I-40, we finally found some restaurants, and Stephen FINALLY got his meal at a Mexican-American place by the freeway.  I drove the rest of the way home, in the dark, to give him a break.  We did see some pretty cool places, and had a nice day.  Neither of us got bent out of shape by the unexpected detour, and we were fairly well prepared.  But for those of you used to NY and New England, here's some advice.  Always bring water and snacks, and never pass up the opportunity to fill the car with gas!

The Osterhouts visit ABQ part 3

I had Monday off for Veteran's Day, but Stephen had to go to work.  We got a fairly early start and I drove the rental van to Santa Fe.  We parked in one of the municipal lots and walked to the historic Plaza, where, unbeknownst to us, the Veteran's Day parade was just starting!  As my Mom said, it was the perfect parade.  No parking problem, no long wait, a nice comfortable temperature, and a parade that had all the parts you would wish for but was reasonably short. 

After the parade, we walked around the plaza, stopping to look in shops and to check out the crafts.  David bought patches and postcards, and we bought a few souvenirs.  I had done some research to find a place for lunch, and had decided that we should try the Plaza Cafe if it was reasonably accessible.  It was, and my folks were adventurous enough to try some of the Southwest-style diner specialties.  Dad had frito pie and Mom had Indian taco with calabacitas, which is basically veggies, cheese, chile and guacamole on Navajo frybread. 

We walked around some more after lunch, enjoying the architecture and the colorful characters hanging out in the Plaza.  One guy had a full-sized harp on some kind of motorized chair.  There was an accordion player in the square and a violinist on the corner. 

We returned via the Turquoise Trail, enjoying the sights and scenery.  We got back in time for a walk to the park near the hotel before dinner.
On Tuesday, Stephen and I met my family for a late dinner and to say goodbye, as they were returning to NY early Wed. morning.  We had a wonderful time and are already planning for their next visit! 

The Osterhouts visit ABQ... continued

The first order of business on Sunday morning was for Stephen to repair David's wheelchair, which had a flat tire.  While he took care of that, I took my Dad for a walk in the open space.

It was a beautiful day already, as you can see.













When David was rolling again, we headed over to the West side of ABQ to see my schools.  The gates are chained and padlocked on the weekends, so my gate key wasn't helpful, but I drove around the block so the family could see where I work.  After that, Stephen took over driving to our actual destination, Jemez Springs.  It is a gorgeous drive into the mountains past red sandstone cliffs.  We stopped briefly at Battleship Rock, which is just past Hummingbird Music Camp, where I took my band kids on a field trip last spring.

I have ridden through Jemez several times, and each time I wished I could get out at the Soda Dam.  I told Stephen that whatever else we did that day, we HAD to stop there. Water from underground hot springs has caused the buildup of mineral deposits forming a unique and spectacular natural dam that blocks the Jemez River.

 Next, we stopped at the Jemez Historic Site.  It includes the stone ruins of a 500 year old Indian village and the San José de los Jemez church dating to 1621/2. The village of Giusewa was built in the narrow San Diego Canyon by the ancestors of the present-day people of Jemez (Walatowa) Pueblo. The name Giusewa refers to the natural springs in the area.
In the 17th century, the Spanish established a Catholic mission at the village. The mission was short-lived, and, in time, the people abandoned the site and moved to the current location of Jemez Pueblo. The massive stonewalls were constructed about the same time the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock. The heritage center contains exhibitions that tell the story of the site through the words of the Jemez people. A 1,400-foot interpretive trail winds through the impressive site ruins.

 Our last stop was to take pictures of the awesome red sandstone cliffs.

On the way back, we had dinner at El Pinto, our favorite New Mexican restaurant in ABQ.

It was a great day!