Sandia Peak

One night this week, we drove all the way up to Sandia Peak (10378 ft) from the East. Unlike 95% of New Mexican days, it was cloudy, misty and rainy (Sound familiar, anybody in St. Louis or in Belgium?). Initially, we didn't see more than 10 foot in front of us, but than the skies opened up in a matter of minutes, just in time for some pictures.....







The empty-gas-tank-light of the car came on just as we started the ascent.... we did make it all the way up and coasted down (some in gear and some out of gear, opinions anybody?) to roll into the gas station at the bottom of the mountain right in time.... ;-)....

Rebecca's here!!!

House guests for the 3rd time since moving here!! Rebecca had her first New Mexican experience with time in Taos, Santa Fe and the mostly the native american pueblos....

Sitting on the front porch at Doug's admiring the views and being entertained by Minxi ;-)...





Who is that funny photographer?!?!?!?!

Hiking specials...

Dry moss on the trees....





Funky Aspen trunks...

Yes, I work full time,.... yes, I feel like I'm on vacation sometimes still...

Last weekend was an extended one -with a little hiatus of work on Sunday ;-(...... A gorgeous bike ride Saturday, camping out on Sunday and a hike on Monday.....
There is nothing quite like sleeping outside under the stars..... A make-shift bed outside on the patio, fresh mountain air blowing through and more stars than the human eye can ever perceive... Waking up early morning by the sound of the birds and the bright sunshine.... Breathing the thin Santa Fe mountain air took me back about 30 years in a milli-second......: flash backs of family vacations in Tschiertschen, a little village in the Swiss Alps...



On Monday we hiked,..... We spent less than 5 minutes following a designated trail up the mountain ridge and the rest of the 7 hours bushwhacking through steep and not so steep mountain slopes, scrambling over rocks and tree trunks, holding on for dear life to whatever appeared to feel solid enough to provide some support....... The views were great, and it was a true endurance, coordination and balance challenge.... I have a pair of pants with 6 big holes in it and some war wounds to prove my survival ;-)!!!! I have to say I was very happy to see the gate and the car silhouette and I think I dreamed about maps, compasses and GPS systems that night ;-)!!!!

Religious truth

I hope not to offend anybody but I thought this was funny....

Taoism: Shit happens.
Buddhism: If shit happens, it really isn't shit.
Hinduism: This shit has happened before.
Islam: If shit happens, it is the will of Allah.
Catholicism: Shit happens because you deserve it.
Protestantism: Work harder or shit will happen.
Materialist: Whoever dies with the most shit wins!
Atheist: I can't believe this shit.
Militant agnostic: I don't know shit and neither do you
Judaism: Why does shit always happen to us?
Eco-spiritual: Compost happens, it's all good shit.
Rastafarianism: Let's smoke this shit.