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Book: High Infatuation / Steph Davis
I admire Steph Davis for her climbing, diet, and ability to express the inexorable draw one can experience toward the outdoors. The book is not as much about her personal relationships as I thought it might be given the subtitle “A climber’s guide to love and gravity”. She quotes some of the same Rumi poems…
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CDT Torreon Road / NM197 Overnight Loop
I park near a tiny paved road in the remote mesas of this part of New Mexico, find the cairns that mark the Continental Divide Trail here, and start hiking. It soon occurs to me that this is a strange place to take a long hike at the height of the fall aspen season. It’s…
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Under a Roof
This morning, with a measure of sadness and anxiety, I placed my home of the last six months in a storage lot for the winter. Our eight-foot Lance camper has been a better home than we dared hope. Yes, we’ve had to replace the water heater and contend with a number of irritating mechanical problems,…
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Borrego Mesa / Truchas Peak Loop Hike
Hoping to see some colorful aspen, I return to this area where I trained for the Pacific Crest Trail in early 1996. Back then it took me six tries to summit Truchas Peak using snowshoes much of the way, and getting back so late my girlfriend at the time had called the state police. Even…
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Book: My Stroke of Insight / Jill Bolte Taylor
A profound story, told with great clarity and caring. The author was a Ph.D. Neuroanatomist when she had a stroke in the left hemisphere of her brain that left her in a state of consciousness she likens to Nirvana, feeling at one with the universe, but unable to perceive time, objects, or language the way…
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Movie: Volver (2006)
The humor seemed to miss in this movie, or at least it missed me. It may be that I only get the more exaggerated Almodóvar antics, and this Spanish culural satire passed me by. The story was still good enough to keep me engaged though, and watching Penelope Cruz isn’t too difficult.
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Santa Fe Baldy, a hike with Parkinson’s
Dad and I orchestrate an earlier start on the Windsor trail toward Santa Fe Baldy. I know it will be our last hike for this visit, so I savor the time and try to appreciate how having Parkinson’s Disease affects his hiking experience. It takes courage to plan a hike at all. Dad’s desire to…
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Frijoles Canyon Frolick
I’ve done quite a bit of hiking in Bandelier National Monument, but my reluctance to pay for it has kept me away from the visitor center area in Frijoles Canyon. My Dad is overdue to get his National Parks Senior Pass though, the one screaming good deal offered at the gate – the last ten…
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Grottesco’s 12th Night
Ann finds another piece of priceless entertainment for us. The first treat is exploring the Santa Fe Opera house, which I’ve never been to. The sun is setting in the open air window behind the stage, putting on a moving show even in the empty house. I wonder if that doesn’t distract from the performances…
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Hyde Memorial State Park Circle Trail
I join my dad and Sarah at their campsite, and from there we embark on this pleasant loop hike. Ascending a forested ridge, we debate whether it is acceptable to pass a trailside bench without testing it. A few times we glimpse the smoke from a prescribed burn still pouring into the neighboring Santa Fe…