The Easter egg tree
(are they leftover or are they rushing the season)
of the First Presbyterian Church of Annapolis,provides a reminder,
however imperfect,
of the hot air balloons of
Albuquerque;
they in turn,
call to
mind
and
heart
and
spirit,
dear friends
Gladys and J.C.
and wondrous memories
and adventures
and love that never dies
but accompanies us
always.
See you along the Trail
Tucked into a bend of the river
the Rio Grande Nature Center is
one of my favorite places in Albuquerque.
I try to visit each time I am in town.
Tucked into the side of the trail,
one late October day,
amid some dying weeds and some decaying trees,
delicate purple flowers appear.
I don’t know how or when I discovered this special spot,
but I suspect that my special friends Gladys and J.C.
had something to do with it.
23 October 2009
Rio Grand Nature Center State Park
Albuquerque, NM
Behind gray green mountains
burns a brilliant golden pool;
light sabers stab the sky
then fade to wisps of brown
as day ends.
Summer 2001
West of Albuquerque
Somewhere west of Albuquerque,
one star hangs defiantly
above the far horizon;
the sky turns
forty shades of blue.
A coyote mournfully howls
as I surrender to night’s embrace
and gentle dreams of you.
Summer 2001
West of Albuquerque
Filed under Poem
As the sun climbs
the eastern side of the Sandias
illuminating the morning stillness,
cameras in hand,
they descend steel rungs
into a concrete arroyo
to photograph,
to document
shopping carts
pushed into,
washed into,
the arroyo bottom
left upturned, abandoned;
birds stop upon a telephone wire
to watch
and wander
and ponder dreams.
22 August 2010
Albuquerque, NM
Into the crack
between pavement slabs
tender, tenacious, green tendrils
patiently, persistently push
emerging to burst
into glorious purple and gold.
22 August 2010
Albuquerque, NM
The final day of this New Mexico trip saw me hanging out in Albuquerque. I overate again. That stops tomorrow. But I could not pass on the food here.
I got a hotel that has a fitness center. So I did 2.25 miles on the treadmill. I also went to the Coronado State Monument – not sure what I make of that name. It apparently is near the place where Coronado and his party of invaders wintered in 1540-42.
An ancient pueblo there – Kuaua is there. The pueblo was settled about 1300 CE and abandoned toward the end of the 1500s CE. It sits right along the Rio Grande. Despite the cold weather (which the wind that picked up during the early morning did not help), I did the trail along the river and the trail around the pueblo. Then I went to the Pueblo Cultural Center. Interestingly enough, it has an exhibit on the saints of the pueblos.
All that walking led to a step count of 12,807 – the highest so far!
Tomorrow – the return to the Shire.
See you along the Trail.
What has not gone well:
I have overeaten the last couple of days. It is easy to blame that on being in New Mexico and being overly tempted by the food that I love. There is truth to that. But the reality is that I need to be able to face food that I love and eat reasonably.
I have not walked 10,000 steps either of the last two days. I did not make 10,000 steps the last two days combined. 6740 today. I helped to lead an all day workshop each day and that just made it too easy not to get out and do the walking. Again the reality is that I need to learn to cope with that.
I did not do concentrated walking yesterday.
What has gone better:
A friend’s comment on yesterday’s blog inspired me to head back to the track today between the end of the workshop and dinner. I went 1.5 miles – not as long as I should have – but all the time allowed. And it is better to have missed only one day.
While the overeating included starches (chips and sopapillas), it did not include sugar based products. No flan. No fried ice cream. No chocolate chip cookies served on the breaks.
One takes the wins one gets.
Football tomorrow. And walking. Travel on Monday – but late enough in the day that I should be able to walk.
Filed under Exercise
I helped lead a dialogue session on being a diverse, including community for representatives of Menaul School. Eric Law was the main trainer and I had the privilege of helping. It was a good experience. Tomorrow we work with all the faculty, staff, administration, and volunteers. Saturday is an event for the larger Albuquerque community.
Eating has not gone well although it has not been high calorie foods that I have been overeating.
Stats: 2.25 miles on Menaul School track; 10,084 steps
Filed under Antiracism, Travel
Today’s exercise involved walking two miles around the Menaul School track. It was good fun.
Then came the opportunity to preach at chapel. That takes place every day and lasts about 15 minutes. There were a couple of announcements. Then the brief worship service. One of the students read the scripture. Chaplain Buddy Monahan did the introduction and off we went. I think it went a bit long – but even those students who were going to lunch after the chapel hung in and listened well. A fun experience.
Eric Law got in a bit before 7:00. We had dinner at the Range Cafe – a local chain. It was pretty good. The one where we went is actually located next to a Days’ Inn where I have stayed on a number of occasions when I have been in Albuquerque. But I never tried the restaurant before. We did some planning for tomorrow and agreed to meet for breakfast to continue.
11,736 steps.
See you along the Trail.
Along the Graybeard Trail 