Building a Self-Watering Raised Bed

One thing I really miss about living in Schuylerville is growing my own vegetables.  I have made several attempts here in Albuquerque in my little backyard garden patch, but have been relatively unsuccessful.  For one thing, the soil in that bed is pretty poor in spite of my attempts to amend it, and top watering with a sprinkler is not a good solution for this climate. I found plans on-line for a self-watering raised bed and my parents gave me a Home Depot gift card for Christmas with this project in mind. 
The self-watering raised bed has perforated pipe in the bottom and a pond-grade plastic liner.  You hook up the garden hose to the filler every two to three days and in a couple of minutes the drain hose drips, you unhook the garden hose, and that's it!  The water wicks up through the medium and the plants look great!  I haven't actually harvested anything yet, but the plants are green and growing like crazy, so I'm very optimistic! 

 Stephen did some fancy cutting to fit the frame over a stump that I wanted to cover up.

 I painted the box and frame to match the house and shed, and Stephen installed the liner, perforated pipe, fill hose, and drain hose.  We taped up the ends of the pipe so they wouldn't fill up with soil (it's not actually soil -- it's raised bed medium).

 Stephen trimmed the excess liner.  So pretty!  Ready for plants!

I planted tomatoes, bell peppers, summer squash, and collard greens. I added some landscape stone to cover up the cement blocks and make it pretty. So far it's working just like it's supposed to, the plants look great, the old stump is covered up, and hopefully we'll have some yummy veggies in a month or so!

White Sands National Monument

We celebrated our 27th anniversary a couple of weeks early this year, staying at the Lodge in Cloudcroft for two nights and visiting White Sands National Monument in Alamogordo on Saturday.
     At 275 square miles, White Sands is the largest gypsum dunefield in the world.  The visitor center features exhibits that explain the geology and history of the site.  There is an 8 mile driving loop with lots of places to stop and explore.  On the boardwalk there were signs and exhibits including one that identified all the animal tracks we saw in the sand.  Fascinating!
     It is difficult to describe how hot, dry, and bright it is.  The air temperature was 90 degrees, but the sand reflects the light so well, and it is so dry that it feels sort of like being in an oven.  You can get a sunburn even wearing a hat like mine because of the sun reflecting up off the sand.  During parts of our visit there was a slight breeze which felt great, but made the sand stick to the sunscreen we had slathered on ourselves.  By the time we got back to the hotel, we were covered with layers of grease and sand!  I also dumped about a half cup of sand out of each sneaker before I got in the car each time we stopped.  In spite of all that, it was an awesome experience and like nothing I have ever seen.  We loved every minute of it!

These delicate pink flowers (above) were in bloom in several places.  Below, you see tracks made by a beetle that we were happy NOT to see in person.  The tracks are the size of the tires on a mountain bike.

It seems like you should be able to see the ocean past that dune...

This (below) is the road we drove on.  The dunes shift constantly, and although the staff plows the sand, it still covers the road on most of the loop.

We got out and hiked in several places.  They tell you to bring 2 liters of water per person per hour, to carry a charged cell phone, and to be very careful not to get lost.  Once you cross a dune and can't see the parking lot it is VERY easy to lose your bearings.  And on a windy day your tracks can disappear quickly.

Plants have a tough time staying rooted in the shifting dunes.

The tracks below were made by a lizard.  The lizards were the only fauna we saw out in the daytime, the rest of the resident animals are nocturnal.

This is a view of one of the parking lots from the dunes.  There are picnic tables under little shade canopies. 

After hiking with me at several different spots, Stephen decided to sit and read a magazine in the shade while I hiked around the dunes.  I was careful to keep the parking lot in sight!

For those not as acclimated to the heat and altitude as we are, I would suggest visiting White Sands in the late fall, winter, or early spring!  It was amazing though, and should be on everyone's list of things to see in NM. 

The Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad

The year was 1882, and we were riding the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad to Cascade Canyon after staying the night at the Rochester Hotel in Durango, Colorado.

On Friday we drove the scenic route to Durango.  We checked into the charming and historic Rochester Hotel and walked to the train museum.

 The museum has quite an eclectic collection of loosely related things in addition to the train exhibits.

We had dinner at the Cypress Cafe on the recommendation of the hotel concierge.  I had asked where three meat eaters and a vegan should eat.  The vegetarian menu items at the Cypress were not veganize-able but the chef made me a beautiful stuffed eggplant.  It was a culinary delight.  In the morning we had a hearty breakfast at the hotel, checked out, and headed for the train station.  Due to the chilly and somewhat windy forecast for Southern Colorado we dressed in extra layers.

 We stayed in our coach on the way to Cascade Canyon.  By the time we arrived, it was sunny enough that the cool air and breeze were not unpleasant, although we remained bundled up.

 Some people brought picnic lunches to eat at Cascade Canyon.  We had snacks but mostly walked around and explored the area and took pictures.

 On the way home, Stephen and I rode in the open car.  There are no seats, so we stood holding on to the poles and leaning over the side to to take pictures along the way.  At times we got wet from the steam and it was a little smoky once or twice, but mostly it was delightful.

 The train returned us to Durango (and the year 2018) at about 3:00 and we headed back to Albuquerque via the more direct route.  After a delicious dinner at El Patron we arrived at Casa Marino.  Another adventure in the books!