Toward the end of our 2004 Continental Divide hike, we met a bike tourist named Glenn. We had exchanged a couple of emails with him since and were able to arrange a meeting for coffee and breakfast at the Yankee Street coffeehouse in Glenn’s current home of Silver City. It really is good to reconnect…

The drive over Emory Pass is unexpectedly twisty, slow, and beautiful. A cold rain pours down, and when we make a pitstop on the far side of the pass we find a shivering German bike tourist in the restroom! Uli is most thankful for a hot cup of coffee before he heads to his next…

This funky town that named itself after a 1950’s game show embodies much of what I love about New Mexico. There are soft colors, prominent mountains, desert birds, and hot springs to enjoy in a cultural setting that defies explanation. This old, struggling tourist town in the middle of a desert filled with ranches, mines,…

We drive out Buckman road after dark just to spend a night outdoors. With no moon it’s wonderfully dark, and a couple of spectacular meteors flare through the blanket of stars. Groping in the dark with my headlamp, trying not to collide with any cacti, I find this cozy little nook between a cholla and…

Ann shows me a ride she used to do way back when, with a bonus stop at the charming San Marcos Café. Again the sky is blazingly clear, and wind has a chilly edge. I’ve been enjoying the biking we’ve been doing while Ann’s ankle isn’t yet strong enough for hiking. We didn’t take pictures…

Of the three mountain ranges that converge near Santa Fe, I’ve only begun to explore two. To remedy that I get a nice early start on a clear day at the north end of the Sandia Range. A cold wind keeps me moving upward to views of ever more majestic cliff bands. The views are…

My election day project as an early absentee voter is to ride my bike to every polling station in Santa Fe. It’s not quite what I expect. The great irony of the day is that the early voting dropoff seems to have been the only polling station to experience significant lines in Santa Fe. All…

It’s a peaceful feeling to wake up in our tent after a quiet, star-filled Halloween night. That’s a good mindset for a meander through some of the very strange Chaco Canyon ruins. Strange because they are magnificent structures concentrated in a very remote area. I admire the remains of these “great houses” and wonder about…

Through her job, Ann procures the opportunity to tour a large coal-fired power plant. I’m mostly curious as a consumer of electricity to see one of the more environmentally problematic methods of power generation up close. The San Juan Generating Station, at 1800 megawatts, would be capable of powering New Mexico by itself if it…

The day seems unreal, it’s so summery. Not a cloud in the sky, just warm enough to sweat, a little breeze rattling the dead aspen leaves. I keep questioning whether the real world is ever this nice? Could I be dreaming about hiking? The Baldy trail has a few brief steep spots descending into Apache…