 |
| Mya's first official art show is at a local ice cream shop in Asheville. Her artwork will be on display all month. Here she is with her art teacher and her art teacher's daughter. We're so proud of you! |
 |
| Mya's "Portrait of My Sister" |
 |
| In the photo your Mom sent, I couldn't read the description of this painting. Maybe you will share with us, Mya? |
 |
| I couldn't read the description of this work either, Mya. So I'm going to call it "Happy Blue Cat." |
 |
| We left before dawn Saturday, taking the "high road to Taos," as it's called, from Taos, out of the mountains. |
 |
| Back in Texas, outside Lubbock, we just had to stop and admire a field of sunflowers. |
 |
| Van Gogh's inspiration, in another century, on another part of the planet |
 |
| Wind turbines are the trees of West Texas. Notice how long the blades are compared to the tank cars. |
 |
| We saw this turbine blade being delivered via truck and trailer as we drove through Sweetwater on our way to New Mexico. Surprising how large each blade is, They simply don't look that big up on the towers. Traffic was stopped so the truck driver could negotiate the right turn. |
 |
| We, of course, had to stop at the Perini Ranch in Buffalo Gap, south of Abilene, on our way home. I don't think this armadillo is in danger of being roadkill. |
 |
| So what do you do after an 8.2 mile hike? Clean up and head for dinner at a local restaurant known for its Southwestern cuisine. |
 |
| Southwestern equals blue corn tortillas, pistoles, and chile seasonings different from the Tex-Mex style in Austin. |
 |
| Mountain wildflowers spring from the rocks, it seems |
 |
| The Wheeler Summit trail (# 67, not 67 miles, thank goodness!) veers off from the Williams Lake trail. |
 |
| We met a friendly chipmunk on the way down from the mountain. Or rather, Chipster ran out to greet us. Papa Tom offered Chipster a walnut. Chipster stuffed a walnut in one cheek, hid one, and begged for a third one. |
 |
| When Chipster realized the walnuts were kept inside Papa Tom's back pack, he poked his head inside before being lured back out with yet another walnut. |
 |
| We saw two rams grazing |
 |
| Virtually every mountain trail follows a rushing brook for part of the way. The sound is a soothing accompaniment to footsteps crunching on rocks and dirt. |
 |
| Marmets were everywhere, chirping and calling to each other across the rocks. This one scored a ripe, red strawberry, probably from a hiker ahead of us. |
 |
| About 4 miles in. Part of the trail crossed fallen rock, called scree. Do you see me there? |
 |
| Snow in August! Just had to go off trail to actually touch some snow. |
 |
| Papa Tom |
 |
| So close to the summit! Do you see the hikers on the ridge? |
 |
| Then rain clouds rolled in. We decided we didn't want to be the tallest things in the open in the event of lightning strikes, so headed back down for the treeline without making the summit. Also, climbing the rocky trail was tricky enough when the rocks were dry. We didn't think going down on wet, slippery rocks would be a good idea. |
 |
| Papa Tom at Taos Mesa Brewing Company. We were there for dinner and the Deltaphonics, a New Orleans band playing in Taos that evening. |
 |
| Disc golf course . . . |
 |
| continues into the desert. |
 |
| Sunset outside . . . |
 |
| Deltaphonics inside. |
 |
| Just outside Taos is an Earthship community. The buildings are entirely off the grid. Energy is generated by wind and solar power. Cisterns catch water. Gray water is used in indoor gardens and to flush toilets; black water is purified by being run through the gardens and into a leach field. Inside the very thick walls are tires filled with dirt: keeps the buildings warm in the winter, cool in the summer. There's a lot more to this than what I'm explaining: check out the earthship website for more information. |
 |
| On the roof of one Earthship. The plan I particularly like includes an indoor pool for raising tilapia as well as the greenhouse for fruit and vegetables. The plan calls for having chickens for eggs (and meat, if you don't name them), and goats for milk and cheese. |
 |
| Squash blooming in one of the indoor hanging planters. |
 |
| Cucumbers |
 |
| Ceiling vents can be opened and closed as needed. In Texas, we'd open them to release hot air when the greenhouse heated up too much. You can also install window shades to block heat yet let light in. |
 |
| Window open to the desert. The Earthship wall around the building contains hundreds of glass bottles as part of the construction material. Papa Tom and I decided we'd prefer a solid wall; if the exposed glass bottles ever broke, the wall could cut anyone or anything that touched it. |
 |
| The interior walls are made of adobe |
 |
| Better use for used tires than dumping them in landfills? |
 |
Grabbed a cup of coffee on our way to Taos Ski Valley to check out the Wheeler Peak summit trailhead for next day's hike. Papa Tom really did have a mocha latte. For some reason, he's holding a water bottle. The café had interesting projects going on, such as collaborative paintings done by eight artists, with sale proceeds going toward more art supplies.
|
 |
Took a ride on one of the Taos Ski Valley chairlifts, to see what we could see. Wheeler Peak wasn't visible from the chairlift, but we found the trailhead to Williams Lake. You hike about 2 miles toward the lake before veering onto another trail that leads to the Wheeler Peak summit.
|
 |
I'm pretty sure the chairlift operator said this is the Cabin Chute ski trail. It looked very, very steep!
|
 |
The blue sign above the red "Be Safety Conscious!" sign says "No unloading here. Survivors will be prosecuted." We saw people riding without the safety bar down. Ours was down, securely in place. I'm a chicken due to having a great respect for what gravity and rocks can do to a falling object's head.
|
 |
Jim Stadler is a Taos favorite. He's played SXSW and New Orleans Jazz Fest. Burned up the keyboard on a closing number reminiscent of Dr. John's style.
|
 |
Yes, Sherlock Holmes, Jim Stadler has changed shirts. He warmed up in the t-shirt, above, and changed into his performance shirt for the show.
|
 |
Flower-filled patio, warm but not hot evening, great music, and being with Papa Tom: made me smile!
|
 |
Instead of carving initials into a tree, sweethearts scratch initials or full names into locks and attach them to the bridge railing above the Rio Grande River gorge.
|
 |
The river runs about 700 feet below the bridge.
|
 |
In the spring, thrill seekers raft the river rapids. Nobody was on the river when we were there. I think they would have looked very, very tiny, so far below us.
|
 |
The Rio Grande flows along part of the Texas/New Mexico border. Due to irrigation and dams, the river no longer reaches the Gulf of Mexico.
|
 |
Papa Tom about halfway across the bridge at the gorge.
|
 |
Tres leches cake with toasted coconut, mango, and cream. The "rose" on top is mango slices flanked by mint leaves.
|
 |
Happy Almost 64, P. Tom!
|
