Albuquerque and Sante Fe

Enroute to New Mexico, we spent a day reliving history on a self-guided driving tour of Little Bighorn...an eerie place save for the cute little prairie dogs and what appeared to be wild horses.

On to Albuquerque so Al can attend the Annual SAF(Forestry) Convention. Someone might be having separation issues. But, it is all good because our friends the Runyans will be in town for the event as well!

Al and Jim went their convention route, and Bev and I visited, shopped and toured around the city. We took the Tram up Sandia Mtn., drove the famous Turquoise Trail with a stop in the quaint little town of Madrid where we ate Green Chile Pork Mole and yummy Red Chile Chocolate Cake. We rode the Rail Runner Train to Sante Fe which is a beautiful city...and ate more delicious food made with green chiles. We searched for the reknowned, albeit off the beaten track and something less than elegant, Bobcat Bite restaurant for their famous Green Chile Cheeseburgers. Our server said, "It has a pretty good bite, but it won't kill you. Just order it." Big, spicy and delicious!! One check per rickety table, cash only!

There is quite a long bike trail through the city of Albuquerque where one can encounter a train, sandhill cranes and...elephants. We did a bit of biking in the Sandia Mtn. foothills. It was up and down single track with prickly cactus on both sides. I didn't like it so much. Al loved it!

Our RV site provided us a great view of Sandia Mtn. A good view from the Bighorn window makes all the difference! A hike up the mountain was a pleasant change from the huge city, but my hiking boots tried to kill me. My feet would not be well for weeks. A strange Galileo Death Tree medallion of sorts was afixed to a large ponderosa pine tree along the trail. My companion Forester had a rare moment of silence regarding its meaning.

In keeping with my green/red chile theme, somewhere in Old Town Albuquerque, we ate Red Chile Frito Pie, and on our way west to California we had the most unbelievably tasty Green Chile Burritos at the Meteor RV Park just east of Flagstaff. So ends the chile-eating spree.

Yellowstone Nat'l Park

Yellowstone covers a vast area and has numerous hot springs, geysers, mountains, gorges, waterfalls and rock formations, not to mention abundant wildlife. It is a bit overwhelming to take it all in in a few days time.

Clouds of steam rising from boiling pools of kaleidoscope-colored craters, hissing, roaring steam escaping cones of time-hardened minerals spewed from deep below the surface and bubbling mud puddles seem otherworldly. Old Faithful creates an amazing show on a mind-boggling, predictable schedule.

At the same time, one can encounter a lone buffalo meandering along the roadside, a herd grazing contentedly, a black bear munching berries on a mountain trail or a testy, nervous, bugling bull elk watching over his harem.

Our view from the Bighorn window at Yellowstone River's Edge RV Park--perfect.

The Society of Foresters National Conference in Albuquerque is beckoning Al. A retired forester yearns to be among his own kind at regular intervals.



"...Oh, give me a home where the buffalo roam. And the deer and the antelope play..."

Mt. St. Helens

Visiting Mt. St. Helens was a sobering experience. The Visitor's Center does a great job of describing, through videos, photos, etc., what the mountain and the surrounding miles looked like prior to May 1980 and the actual eruption--an incredible, destructive act of nature. The mountain, missing the top 1,300+ ft., looks dead and bereft of life. It is hard to fathom the power contained in this Earth we walk on if Mt. St. Helens is any small example.

Next stop Yellowstone Nat'l Park.

A Wild, Alive Thumping!

Because we love our Bighorn, it seemed a good idea to install a Center Point Air Suspension system to give it a smoother, more comfortable ride. As long as we're at it, we might as well get an upgraded air hitch to give US a better ride in the dually. As might have been anticipated, the local dealer installed the Center Point upside down. A mobile technician was dispatched in a timely manner to correct the problem. We had to pull in the slides to jack up the coach for the repair. Hmmm, what to do with the kitties?

The kitties could be in the bedroom where we could close the door to the rest of the coach, but they could have access to the bathroom...as who knew how long this was going to take. Neither was excited when the walls of their house began to move inward. I suspected that after the initial terror, they would just snooze on the bed.

Some hours of drilling, air compressing, banging etc. ensued before the task was completed. When it was safe to open the slides, indeed Tulip was stretched out on the bed asleep. Zeus was no where in sight. Having checked his favorite hiding spots, I began to hear a wild, alive, thumping coming from under the bed. For the uninformed, the bed in a fifth-wheel sits on top of a large box that holds some storage under the mattress, and underneath the storage are the hydraulics etc. that move the slide in and out. Ok, I'm in a panic that he's stuck or hurt and he can't get out.

You know who, my hero, to the rescue! There is only about 8-inches on each side of the bed when the slide is in and no space at the end that is up against the dresser drawers. All obstacles aside, Al lifts the hinged bed to remove the stored items, then removes all the screws (including those where the screwdriver wouldn't fit) in the false bottom and lifts that out to get to the space beneath. Sure enough, the flashlight confirms Zeus has squeezed himself onto a shelf above the hydraulics. By now, Tulip has been around the back of the slide, through the opening and she hopped out as soon as we removed the false bottom. Zeus is not inclined to move. Once I see he is not stuck, I'm happy to wait until he comes out on his own. However, Al is now in a panic that Zeus might find a way below the floor of the coach. That would require removing the whole outside bottom to get him out!!

We thought jogging the slide button might encourage Zeus out--it just scared him. When Zeus gets scared, he gets stiff--rigor mortis stiff. If he's curled up, there is no uncurling him. Tulip has now made her 4th circuit in behind the slide, through the maze of wires and hydraulics and out the bottom of the bed. Zeus is not following her lead. Al insists he's GOING IN! I'm thinking we prod Zeus gently with the broom to hasten his exit. He does move enough for Al to get a hand on him. However, his legs are now stiffly outstretched--not an easy way to move a cat across carpeting--gently, of course. Both Al and Zeus emerge looking ever-so-slightly tense. Adventure over! By the time we put the bed back together and get the slide out, Zeus has eaten his dinner and is reclining comfortably on the couch.

Al has a long history of daring cat rescues. One inparticular rescue of a beloved feline involved a very high tree limb, a muck bucket on a rope pulley and a rather quick descent for both cat and bucket!! He proves himself the family protector yet again!

Mt. Rainier Nat'l Park

Leaving Wine Country RV Park was a bit like leaving home again; one makes friends in six-months time. The Workampers all packed up and pulled out within days of each other--each rig headed in a different direction. Hopefully, our trails will cross again one day.

As for us, an unusual favorable weather forecast was enough incentive to point us toward Mt. Rainier Nat'l Park. The first day was clear and the mountain was beautiful! On the second day, we drove through thick clouds all the way up to Paradise Lodge one-third of the way up the mountain. Once there, the sky suddenly turned blue and the mountain appeared as if one had turned a page in a book. The window of opportunity closed quickly, and we hiked the trails in a murky haze of cloud that created a curious quiet and serenity.

The highlight of the day was spotting a mother bear with two cubs and then a fat marmot atop a big rock! We hiked up to peaks and down to waterfalls.

The comparison of photos, taken from a great distance early in the Spring when the mountain was still snow-covered, with the photos from our visit this Fall when we were much closer, is interesting. It is impossible to see the whole mountain from close range; it is just too big.

Al and Josh summited Mt. Rainier some years ago with their extreme sports friends Jim, Ben and John. I think it was fun for him to be at the mountain again and recall an unbelievable experience--a climb that many attempt but few accomplish.

It would be cool to come back and circumnavigate the mountain on The Wonderland Trail...thoughtfully located at an elevation where one can actually breathe!

Onward to Mt. St. Helens.