Here and There//Texas/New Mexico: December 2009

Sat - Drive Houston, TX to City of Rocks State Park, NM

Sun - Silver City, NM, Drive to Tucson, U of A, Summit Hut, Fry’s, drive-by of the old homestead, Erik and Sara’s

Mon - Frank’s for bfast, Tanque Verde wash hike, Drive up Mt Lemmon, hike Sunset Trail, Drive to Gate’s Pass, hike Yetman Trail

Tues - Frank’s, Drive to Supes, hike Peralta Trail, Camp at Tortilla Flat on Canyon Lake

Wed - Walk and drive Globe, Set up camp at Oak Flat CG, Hike Haunted Canyon

Thurs - Drive back to Tucson via 77/Winkelman/Oracle (beautiful!), TG dinner

Fri - Hike Deception Mountain w Erik, Eat leftovers, play Scrabble, watch Golden Girls

Sat - Walk around U of A campus, Visit with Marcus and have lunch at his house, drive to Columbus, NM

Sun - attempt to collect xenos at Kilbourne Hole, drive back to Houston

Photos here

11/21/2009 -11/22/2009 Saturday-Sunday

Left home on Sandfield at 6:45 am. Drove west on I-10. Made a few brief stops for potty and fuel. Darkness fell, made it to City of Rocks State Park, north of Deming, NM. A decent place – towers of tuff. A bit hard to navigate at night. Had a small fire, read a bit of The Time Machine, then slept. Cold but I wasn’t too cold – uppermost 30s F. Got up a little after 6 am local time – 7 am Houston. It was light. Snapped some photos. It was pretty. Packed up quick and stopped off at the bathroom on the way out for a quick shower (gotta love NM state parks). Drove into Silver City, NM. A neatish hippyish town with lots of narrow one-way streets. Found the “old town” and stopped at a GLBT coffee shop, they directed me to Vickie’s, where I went and had a good breakfast. Wish I had more time to explore, seemed like a neat town and a good starting-out point for lots of adventures into the mountainous area just to the north. Boogied down 90 to I-10. Was sooo happy to be in Arizona. Had huge smile on my face for hundreds of miles. Familiar mountains, profiles. Fascinated by old, dying, dead, decaying towns – e.g. Lordsville. Why dead? When hayday? Didn’t seem too far from border into Tucson. Was a little early so stopped at UA. Then drove by old Weymouth house, then Fry’s for a bottle of Grey Goose vodka, then stopped at Summit Hut and got sun hat and Superstitions map. Met guy (manager?) who knew Rivendell and had a Riv-built bike in back (I was wearing a Riv shirt). Erik and Sara’s – great to see them, Sabkha very happy to see Russ, amazed they remember each other and are instant best buddies. We chatted for quite a while and drank some PBRs. Erik and I then set out for a walk with the hounds. Talked about our business ideas and risk analysis. We saw a solitary javalina. Nice to be in AZ and around the cacti, saguaro. Feels like I never left. Tucson seems a lot smaller compared to Houston – it doesn’t take long to get around, everything is closer than I remember. After a nice dinner and more chat we all sit around dining table with our laptops type type typing. I was planning to visit Globe, AZ, and see if I could live there. I’m thinking if I don’t come out to AZ I should try to get a job in San Antonio or Dallas. Useable water. Closer to mountains.

11/23/09 Monday

Got up and out of the house early. Went to Frank’s for Geoff’s special bfast. Then off to Tanque Verde Canyon. No one around. Unseasonably warm around here, about 10 degrees above normal, touching the high 70s daytimes. Sab and I hiked down the familiar trail into TV Canyon. Today I wanted to do all those hikes I daydream about. TV was what I remember, but it was a bit disappointing. It seemed small and bland and full of gravel. Maybe it is more full of gravel. It was a bit dry too – I guess a weak monsoon this year. We went to the pool at the almost-end. Why do I always go to the same place over and over? Human nature. There are many canyons nearby, or even downcanyon which I’ve never done, although I’ve visited TV probably 20 times. We didn’t see anyone. Back at the car turned and headed up Catalina Highway. Everything seemed pretty and friendly. Stopped at grocery store to get snack and cash back for the Catalina fee. Everyone seems more relaxed on the road and off. There is a lot more space. Things are a bit more ramshackle and naturalistic and it’s tolerated and liked. People line their driveways with stone; they let the desert run wild in their yards. In Houston if you let the jungle run wild – well, you don’t. Up Catalina, I had the same sensation of smallness and “so what”. It was just as beautiful as I always remember, but it all seemed compressed. A result of Europe, Japan, Houston? It didn’t seem as far up; it didn’t seem as scary. Up top we stopped at the Sunset trailhead – I’d never hiked it before. A half-mile or so in a weird little deserted cabin community, all brown with green metal roofs, it must be a Forest Service regulation. The trail itself was pretty but suffered the same trouble as many Catalina hikes – steep oddness. You’re up on top of a rather pointy mountain range. All the trails are up and down or on a steep hillside, which makes them all a bit uncomfortable. I didn’t really realize until this trip that much of the Cats doesn’t make really good hiking. It only seems good in the summer when it’s 100 degrees down in the city below. On the trail we saw a family from Houston. We stopped on a broad rock above a trickling stream, which was partially covered in ice. Up and walking again, another 100 steps and we were quite surprised to find ourselves at Marshall Gulch, where I’ve been many times. Didn’t recognize it “from the other side”. Got back to car around 3 PM, and had the feeling that we should do another hike, or drive up to Summerhaven, or something. But it’s all burned and desolate, which really does reduce the appeal. We headed back down the mountain, listening to NPR the whole way. NPR has become a good companion on this trip – stimulates the brain a bit, especially the daytime programming which doesn’t seem as lefty as the prime time news. Drove across town to Gate’s Pass and did a short hike up to Yetman saddle. Sabkha could barely walk due to tenderpaw, and she didn’t seem too keen on even getting out of the Subaru. But we did it, and again it felt small and short and not as pretty as I remember it. The view to the south along the backside of the Tucson Mts was really beautiful, as was the evening light which gave everything a somber feeling. I forgot how nighty it feels at 4 PM in the winter in AZ or NM. If you’re in a canyon, 3:30 feels like near twilight. Back to Erik and Sara’s the back way, over Picture Rocks Road. I want to live here, I keep thinking.

11/24/2009 Tuesday

Left not as early, maybe 8 am from the Fleshes. Detoured to Frank’s – a loooong detour – and had bfast and made some notes. Unplanned phone call to potential employer. Then reverted to original plan and headed up 79 to near Apache Junction, and out to Peralta Trailhead. It was later than I had planned to start – maybe around 1:30. Off we went up Peralta trail, which was steep and a bit rocky, def a bit challenging. Saw several other parties. Approached saddle at ~2.2 miles, at top of saddle was startled by a sudden, amazing view of Weaver’s Needle! Almost breath-taking moment. See photos – neat rock jointing and weathering pattern. Back down and scampered off through Apache Junction to 88 up toward the lakes. Set up camp at Tortilla Flat CG – just in time, since you need to buy a permit at the shop across the street and it closes at 6. Then headed back toward town to pick up a cell signal since I was expecting a call from B.M., who lives in PHX and whose mom was visiting. There was no message and since I was halfway back to Apache Junction, I kept going and got Taco Bell and firewood at Fry’s. Back at camp had a smoky fire and read part of The Time Machine.

11/25/2009 Wednesday

Up fairly early, tossed camp in car. Hemmed on which way to go, decided to go back to AJ. A hike left from the marina nearby that I’ve done before with Erin Gleeson. Back to AJ and toward Globe. Really pretty. Stopped at a mexi-café in Superior with all the cop cars out from – it was excellent. Chorizo, eggs, hash browns… even Kirkland Signature green tea. Up the road to Globe-Miami: absolutely beautiful. Rocky canyons, volcanic rocks but granite too. Windy road – would be super-fun with the Mazda. Would be super-fun period. So many trails, canyons, lakes… in Globe we parked at the bottom of Broad St, the main historic drag, and walked the street. It needs some sprucing up, to say the least. It could use more. Then we drove around Globe looking for the good neighborhood but failing to find any. Stopped at Chamber of Commerce and got a huge helping of literature and info that there is no good neighborhoods. Managed to insult the lady there at the same time, I think. Poor planning creeped in here – drove back out toward Miami, overshot turn-off for the Haunted Canyon hike I wanted to do, pushed on to Oak Flat Campground, set up camp, drove back and found HC road through BHP mine dumps. Once past the dumps a really neat, very remote-feeling area. Saw no one on the mine roads or forest roads. It was getting late-in-the-day spooky. Found trailhead and started off with low expectations. The trail was awesome. Vegatated and close down low, it opened up the higher we got into a delightful grassy saddle. Views into the next canyon – no roads, no nothing. Felt very remote. Footprints but no other signs of anyone else. Got a couple of mt lion scares on the trail – but nothing real that I actually saw. Poor planning again, we drove out back to Globe area to hit the Safeway for some food and beer, then back to Oak Flat. Note: big Safeway cheese bagel and a fifth-pound of sliced turkey make an excellent post-hike meal. Yum. The big bottle of Guinness was good too but the sandwich really took it. Had a nice hot campfire with wood collected in Haunted Canyon. Read more of The Time Machine and slept pretty good, although it was gusty windy.

11/26/09 Thursday

Up and out of camp, into Globe. Took 77 N instead of 80 toward TR Lake as planned. Whoops. But 77 toward Show Low is really, really lovely and beautiful terrain. Wow. Wow. Maybe my favorite place in the world. Turned around a little shy of Salt River Canyon, back to Globe then on toward Tucson on 77 S via Winkelman and Oracle. I never remember this route being so beautiful, with the rock and cacti and the mines and ramshackle homesteads. I continue to fall in love with Arizona. Daydreaming about [a job] in [an AZ town] the entire way back, building up my future potential life in my mind. Tucson around 11 AM, to the Flesches. They were around, prepping for the Tgiving dinner. I ran to store to get wine and cider. People began to show up close to 6 PM. The main crowd was Erik, Sara, Sebastian, and Jen, his GF. Me and the dogs. Later, Jennifer (new entymology PhD) and Mary T showed up. Good times were had by all. Food was good. After much food and drinking Erik started a fire outside. We stood around talking and dodging smoke for many hours. Eventually Seb and Jen left and then other Jen left, around 2 am. Erik and I stayed out there until 3:30 am.

11/27/2009 Friday

Slept in a bit, got up and cleaned up a bit around the Flesch palace and did some dishes. Around noon Erik and I set off for a hill/mountain near his house – Deception Mountain. It looked much closer and lower than it turned out to be. We set out cross-country – first in a wash and later across the hillside toward the peak. After several stops to rest and enjoy the views of Tucson we made it to the base of the cliffs that led to the top of the mountain. We poked around and found a scramble route that brought us nearly to the top. There was no going further without some serious fall exposure, so we called it good enough. After enjoying the peak a bit we headed down the trail that skirted the base of the cliffs. This trail eventually deposited us at an interesting little open-to-the-public chapel complex near the end of Scenic Drive. As the sun set we hiked back “home” through the desert.

11/28/2009 Saturday

Said our goodbyes and rolled from Erik and Sara’s around 9 am. Headed down to the U of A campus and walked all around. A beautiful place, lots of neat plants and pretty buildings. The desert-ness of the place makes it very unlike Houston, even when you’re in the city. Got coffee for the Fabs at the Chocolate Iguana and went to visit Dr. O at his rented house on the west side of town. Had a lunch of leftovers and chatted for a couple hours. Seriously considered staying another night. The early afternoon weather was wonderful, breezy and in the mid 70s, absolutely perfect. Finally I reluctantly got in the car and onto I-10, heading east. It seemed like it would never get dark but I new dusk was only a few hours away. I decided to skip to Chirichuas and head straight for Kilbourne Hole. Cut off I-10 to drive NM 9 through the beautiful, empty quarter of extreme southern NM. Came across a little state park (Pancho Villa) in Columbus, NM, which isn’t even a town, really. It rained most of the night. Next morning was remarkable as the rain let up but the clouds hung low draped across the plains and the isolated mountains. Some mountains surprising big, and make to look bigger as they were enshrouded in cloud. Lovely territory, at least right after a rainstorm.

11/19/2009 Sunday

Found Kilbourne Hole but couldn’t find the xenolith locality. Poor planning! Walked around a bit with Sabkha and tried a few places, but got anxious to leave and finally set off almost empty-handed. Back via El Paso… a long drive, arrived home at 11:30 PM. Felt good to be back in Houston.

A cold, rainy Sunday afternoon is a rare treat in Houston. After a day full of chores and other work -- like working on the final paper to come forth from my PhD dissertation -- Sabkha and I frolicked over to the Barker-Clodine parking lot. It was in the upper 40s with intermittent light rain. We set off from the deserted parking area north through a flooded stretch of woods. Luckily I was wearing my waterproof hiking boots as we waded through about 3" of dark, spooky water. After 100 feet the woods opened up into a large field dotted with clumps of trees here and there. The field is occasionally mowed by the park service -- but lord only knows why. Occasionally in the past I've seen equestrians riding their equines around this field, but it certainly isn't set up as a track or anything. Regardless, it's a nice area to romp around. Due to the recent rains (and snows), the field was dotted with puddly areas a few inches deep. Sabkha ran around sniffing. I like the open field as a Sabkha play area because I can keep an eye on her and give her a zap if needed to bring her back in line. She tends to get into trouble when we're in thick woods where I can't see her. If she spots something and runs after it, I often catch this too late to halt her chase.

Without this in mind, we entered the thin woods at the edge of the field and struck out roughly to the north, in the direction of Buffalo Bayou, which snakes across the reservoir. The woods became increasingly thick as we weaved our way deeper among the branches. Sabkha bounced around ahead of me, sniffing everything and generally excited. This was her first time out and about since our trip last week to Arizona. She needed to let off some steam.

We came upon a drainage ditch that was filled with water and clearly drained into the bayou, although there was no discernible flow. As I examined the ditch and considered how to cross it, Sabkha saw something interesting in the woods on the other side. In a single leap she bounded over the ditch and was off at full speed. A few crucial seconds passed as I realized what was happening. I grabbed for the shock remote but it was too little, too late. Sabkha quickly passed out of audible range in pursuit of who-knows-what. I was left standing in the woods, suddenly quiet, alongside the drainage ditch. The dark, tannic waters magnified the submerged, rotting leaves and suddenly looked sinister. I was all alone in these woods -- this swamp -- where I've seen hoards of wild boars, coyotes, a huge bobcat and countless snakes. The rain began to fall harder and then came in cold sheets, and every breeze stirred the almost-bare trees, causing them to send a tinkling cascade of droplets to splash onto the wet ground. This sounded very much like an approaching dog pushing through the brush, but I waited in vain. Suddenly it seemed to be growing dark as I stood in place, calling over and over for Sabkha. "Sab!" "Sabkha!" "Sabber, come!". There was no sound apart from the wind and the falling rain. I checked my watch and decided to give her another quarter-hour: until 5 PM. Then I would start the trudge back to the field and back to the car. Maybe she would follow my trail back; maybe she would be waiting at the car; maybe she would be found the next day by a bicyclist along the path through the park. I continued to call, and just as the minute hand of my watch moved to point straight up and indicate 5:00, I heard the far-off but unmistakable sound of the jingling of dog tags. I caught the sound then lost it, doubting myself. Then I heard it again and was sure this time. Sabkha emerged from the brush, slinking, head down, pretending to be ashamed of herself for disregarding my commands. I scolded her but found my anger alloyed with relief at having her back alive and well.

With a close eye on Sabkha, we marched back through the woods to the open field. Now my jeans were drenched and sticking to my legs, making it difficult to walk. The rain continued and one got a sense that the water was rising, all around -- after all, this is a reservoir, it's designed to flood, I thought. We explored the perimeter of the giant tree-dotted field, then struck off at a diagonal back to the path and followed it back to the parking lot, where a single silver Subaru sat parked, still looking like brand-new from a few hundred feet away.

Here and There//Texas/New Mexico

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Painting Complete

Friday, December 11, 2009

Arizona, Nov 2009

Tuesday, December 08, 2009

Kitchen Refurb, Day Two

Monday, December 07, 2009

Kitchen Refurb, Day One

Sunday, December 06, 2009

A Swamp Adventure