Further In

You know those sand castles you can build by using really wet sand and dripping it into a pile? Well, one of the newest additions to The National Parks basically looks like giants tried doing that.

Drip Sand Castles. Definitely.

Last weekend, after an hour or so drive northeast through basically nothing, eleven of us made it to the trailhead for Tent Rocks. We started hiking and it was already over 90 degrees out, but soon we hit this slot canyon that reminded me of pictures of Petra, Jordan! It was a blistering hot day as we emerged from the shadow of the canyon to face a 600ft climb up to an overlook of the entire valley. A cub scout group was hiking (well, more like sliding) its way down but eventually the traffic eased and we made it to the top. The view was amazing! You could see in every direction and there were sheer drop-off on most sides. The tent rocks really do just look like huge stone teepees!

Heading off for the hike.

Doesn't it look like Devil's Tower?

Shade!

Can you see that little rock balancing on top?

Heading through the slot canyon! This part reminded me a bit of Needles last year.

Beautiful.

The sky slowly started clouding up. What a beautiful day!

Oh, the view!

Yes, that is a lake in the distance, not a mirage.

Some of the cactii were in bloom!

Sitting at the overlook.

It was quite windy at the top!

Three Tents

It's a tree!

On the hike back, we detoured to a cave carved into the wall. After some struggling most of us were able to climb into it to find that whoever carved it had thoughtfully included a bench :-)

View looking out of the cave.

Little(er) Tents.

This one just looks like a termite mound!

Upon returning, most people decided to opt for a shower but a couple of us headed to a place called b2b for some of the best burgers I've had (they have some strange combinations as well, and everything here has the option of getting green chile on it!) then it was off to decide what was more pressing, a shower or a nap? The age-old question.

I have Many Skills (Well...almost)

Plough stop, t-stop, double whip, weave, crossover...and the list goes on. When I first got here, there wasn't really any rugby going on so I figured I'd give roller derby a try! I haven't been on skates in years but the website said there was loaner gear. So, Monday four weeks ago I ambled out to an outdoor basketball court, strapped on a pair of mismatched skates and pads (and a helmet too, for those of you who worry) and wobbled to my feet. The first thing we learned was how to fall. Well, fall safely, that is. I definitely needed that part...the how to do it safely part. The falling part I had down pat! It could only get better from there :-)

There is so much more to this sport than I ever imagined. Before you can even think about actually being in the league and in matches, there is a nationally standardized "skills test" to pass. Some people take a full year of practice before they're ready. Plus, apparently there's a written test harder than any ref test I've taken before! I found this fact out when I showed up to my third practice and they were handing out tests!

After turning in my likely abysmal written test,  I had no illusions that I might actually pass the skills portion but figured it would be fun to try anyways! Since there were so many of us, as it became apparent that some were not ready to test, one of the leaders would pull them aside and send them over to practice with other newbies. I only got to 25 for the "27 in 5" part where you have to skate 27 laps in 5 minutes. Max (one of the leaders) asked me how many practices I'd been to. "third one" I replied, expecting to be sent to the side but she let me skate on. I was wobbly as I tried to continue the skills but I hadn't been pulled out yet! Eventually Max grabbed my shirt "I've got a new name for you" she said as she pointed me to the practice area. Since I had tried skills testing on my third practice, she has now dubbed me "third base". The jury is still out on whether the name will stick or not :-)

So, after three weeks of learning to fall and weave and becoming more and more steady on skates I didn't think it could get any more fun...then I went to my fourth practice. I made it to 26 and a half laps in the 27 and 5 practice and we spent all evening elarning new things and perfecting old ones. My stops finally actually work, I'm learning backwards turns and crossovers and we spent a good portion of practice jumping over and around things! Then at the end, Mars taught us a break-dancing pose :-) maybe I'll try to get a picture of that one for y'all.

So, I don't really have skills yet but I've now got my own skates and pads so I can practice more than once a week. The team is a great group of girls and Mondays are definitely now my favorite day of the week!

New skates!

So, I already broke a pair of shoelaces and apparently the tape is important. Or maybe its just cool, I'm not sure.

A Bigger, Better Yellow Springs

So, Albuquerque in general is an interesting place. I haven’t been all over the city yet, I think it would take years just to get to know Nob Hill. The University of New Mexico is right here and Route 66 is Central Avenue, the heart of Nob Hill and one block from where I’m staying. I’ve counted no less than 5 vegan restaurants, lost count of the number of tattoo parlours, have yet to go in one of the largest comic stores I’ve ever seen, and I’m still trying to figure out how to afford to go out to eat enough to try even 1% of the types of cuisine available in a mile radius. Not 1% of the restaurants, just of the types of food available!

There are murals everywhere, almost every blank brick wall has something beautiful or profound or an attempt at something on it. I guess this climate probably means things outdoors last longer. There are also bugs everywhere. A cockroach was hanging out in the kitchen sink for several days. I wasn’t sure what to do with him, squishing seemed like it would make a bigger mess and he was too fast to kill; catch and release seemed far too humane an option. Then, one night, Sam drained his pasta in the sink. Turns out that boiling water will kill a cockroach! There are grasshoppers and spiders everywhere as well. Iliya found a black widow in his bathroom when he moved in and Sam says there’s also one hanging out on our porch. In short, Hailey, if you ever read this, know that you would not like it here :-)

There is also an abundance of second hand stores and organic food markets. I got a great satchel for work and a little desk and chair for my room, so now I can stop always sitting on the bed to get on the computer! Of course, now that the AC is working again, my room stays really cold, so I’m typing this from beneath the blankets of my bed. Oh well.

I could go on and on but I’m sure little details about here will pop up in other posts. Now to figure out dinner…any bets on whether Vegan Sushi is any good or not?

BEST. BOOK. COLLECTION. EVER.

The house. There is no such thing as grass out here.

My rather pathetic little desk and chair. Though the fountain pen keeps motivating me to write more!

Can't...Breathe

June 1st, 2014

9am or so today found myself, Evan, and Iliya at the base of Sandia Crest about to attempt the hike to the peak. After 2 miles through the desert, another 7 or 8 to the peak 1.75 from there to the top of the tram and roughly 4,000 feet in elevation change, we then were trying to get our legs to work to get out of the seats our bodies had semi-permanently molded to and grab the tram back down. The High Finance restaurant at the top had sort of revived us with food and beer and Pat's tales of his 16 mile hike/run up to meet us had made us feel like we were ready to tackle the challenge of walking again. I definitely need to go do this again, and again until I can do it without stopping to catch my breath. 10,679 feet will take some getting used to!

The view from part way up

Those are volcanoes in the distance

There were a couple of rock climbers out. This peak would be quite a climb!

Major farmers tan!

On the tram, heading back down

That green beltway is the Rio Grande