Looks like winter but feels like spring!!!

I hiked the Pino trail today, a 5.7 mile hike up the West side of the Sandia's. It really did feel like spring, almost 60 degrees and sunny in town, just a little cooler at elevation!!! Still lots of snow and ice... which made it look absolutely gorgeous!!!

But I'd better not get used to the mild spring temperatures and brace for the week to come: highs in the low 20's! It'll be cold on my bike at 8 in the morning!!!

Open fire

I don't care if it's 50 degrees outside,... I still want a fire.....
And no, I haven't cleared the X-mas cards yet (yes, it is the end of January)...

Venturing west of the Rio Grande

We rarely cross the river into the Albuquerque's "west side", Rio Rancho, the embodiment of suburban sprawl with cookie-cutter homes, strip malls and a whole lot of concrete. But it is also home to the "Petroglyph National Monument", a large wide open are with an estimated 24.000 carved images and 'the three sisters' volcanoes.

We hiked around for a few hours and were lucky to catch a stunning sunset! The variety of landscapes in New Mexico is just incredible!!

I believe I can fly!!!!



From the rocky cave...


Low desert grasses...



Looks like the aliens are landing (and we're not even in Roswell!!)...


Colors changing minute to minute...

Side-by-side ;-)

I started at my new job at UNMH. I'm still orienting to the organizational and paperwork part and getting to know the people and the flow of the department but I my impressions so far are positive...

And Doug and I are spending our daytime hours on the same campus. Not that we ever run into each other, but at least we can meet for lunch ;-)!!

Dear Santa Fe, I miss you terribly!!!

I miss living in Santa Fe.... a lot! It's hard to define exactly what I miss but although Albuquerque is only an hour from Santa Fe, the difference between the 2 places is huge. So, whenever Doug can be away from the books for a day, we try to get up there; a hike in the mountains, a walk around town, food at our favorite places... When driving back, I'm always a little sad because we're not staying longer but also grateful because we are living so close....

Yesterday, we hiked late in the afternoon and the moon was already out, creating some interesting light-shows and moon-shadows.






Great dinner, a cozy hotel room and a green-chili-brunch later, we were on our way back to Albuquerque for a busy week ahead....

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I was fortunate enough to have a great 2010. I'm hoping for a great 2011 in whatever way, shape or form it might present itself....

I'm wishing everybody the love, strength and humor to enjoy, appreciate and savor the good and deal gracefully with the challenges 2011 might present!!

Bosque del Apache

The Bosque is a birding and wildlife refuge about 1.5 hours south of Albuquerque. As many as 14.000 Sandhill Cranes and 32.000 Snow Geese (and plenty of other migrating birds) make the Bosque their winter home. The cranes arrive in November and stay as late as the end of February. After that, they slowly migrate back to Grays Lake in Idaho, their breeding ground.










We were fortunate enough to see 1000's of snow geese take off all at once. It was a visual as well as an auditory spectacle; a combination of them 'talking' and their wings flapping.




There were lots of people watching and taking pictures, most with fancy camera's with tripods and 2-3-4 feet lenses. I felt a little intimidated as the only one with a tiny point-and-shoot camera. Still, I like all 148 pictures I took ;-)!!