Three Rivers Petroglyphs

Located about 35 miles north of Alamogordo and 15 from Tularosa, a hill is home to as many as 21,400 petroglyphs.  The trail is probably ¾ mile up a rocky trail flanked with mesquite and sage.  The Three Rivers markings are so prolific, you wonder if they really are that real.  The docent down in the office said most are authentic,  but you couldn't help but notice the occasional "J M" or a peace sign someone had decorated a rock with.  Not knowing the reason for the Indian artwork, you might wonder if somehow this could also be some ancient graffiti.  Maybe the quadruped with the geometric design on the belly really said, "Grumbling Buffalo loves Squawking Bird."  Five thousand years from now, after our society has completely crashed, some budding anthropologist may think the graffiti painted on the side of some building is a discovery of social importance too.

Since the hill is several miles from the Sacramento Mountains, you have to speculate that this was either a burial or religious site to the Mogollon Indians who lived here for hundreds of years prior to the Mescalero Apaches.  I could imagine a burial party making their way to the top bringing with them, the body of a dead chief or medicine man.  The higher up the hill, the more important the deceased.

Although there is somewhat of a designated path, you are told that it is not necessary to stay on it.  The prehistoric markings are on virtually every rock with any size to it at all.

Looking to the west in the Chihuahuan Desert, you can see the glistening White Sands dunes and the San Andres mountain range. While the park literature advises you that rattlesnakes are common among the rocks, lizards were far more visible in the noon day heat.

Fremont, CA

Nice quiet little community.  Wonder what they do?

Actually, it's part of the Silicon Valley technology community.  I was only there for 3 days but enjoyed the cool climate, sunny days and the beauty of the area on the east side of the San Francisco Bay.

 

To an outsider, such as myself, in many ways California's internal folkways and mores seems like a paradox.  For example, motorcyclists engage in a practice of "lane splitting".  That's when a motorcyclist is allowed to pass slower vehicles by going between two lanes of cars.  At the same time, bikers aren't allowed to go without helmets.  That just doesn't compute in my head. 

In other ways, the poor and downtrodden are championed, yet there are more beggars and homeless there than most other places I've visited.  The poor just never become.....un-poor, even with the compassion.  Californians, and bay area citizens in particular are never without a "cause" they can engage in.  Just pick one.  There is a social injustice custom made for practically anyone.

I do like how you can be in a city but in minutes, find yourself on a canyon road watching wildlife that seem unafraid of humans.

The visit was short lived.  Onward to Alamogordo, New Mexico.

People Will Buy Anything

While the sun was still rising, the humidity was so thick it would wilt a crowbar, people mad their way down our street to the garage sale.

Admittedly, I went out and place signs on the highway and Darlene had put an ad on the internet but I was still amused as traffic lined up on the street to check out the collection of junk Darlene and Rebecca (niece/goddaughter) had laid out.  It was amazing at what people will buy.  It was basically, things that had been shoved aside at home for years.  Some clothing items had been worn only a couple times while others were just worn out.  It didn't matter.....25 cents for this, a buck for that, "...we'll bargain!",  Darlene proclaimed.

It was a good day, collecting a sizable income for what will become Rebecca's theater trip to New York.   That and just cleaning out the closets of accumulated junk.

On The Bayou

Recently, I've taken a break from the mountains, oceans and waterfalls to work near home.  For the past week and a half, I've been in Larose, Louisiana.  Because I'm completely embarrassed to turn in an expense ticket for a hotel over $175.00, I've elected to drive the 35 miles north each day to stay at a Hampton Inn in Thibodaux.

Usually, it's the same drive, day in and day out with a cane field on the left and a water hyacinth clogged Bayou Lafourche on the right.  This morning yielded a beauty that I really couldn't capture with the camera, but it was mesmerizing.

The sun  barely cut through the fog and Spanish Moss turning the landscape into a haunting grey which dramatized the atmosphere.

Further along, the fog began to lift and the sky brightened as I approached Larose, where the Intercostal Canal crossed over Bayou Lafourche.  Dozens of shrimp boats, offshore supply boats and push barges lay anchored in the peaceful waters.

Since I had arrived 15 minutes early, it gave me a chance to snap a few pictures.  Unfortunately, I consider none to be of outstanding beauty but at least I had a chance to exercise the Nikon.

Colorado

I'm here in Denver for a brief time.  I arrived nearly two weeks ago on a Saturday afternoon.  Sunday, I found myself revisiting the Rocky Mountain National Park.  The last time I was near here was 1½ years ago when I was working Boulder.

The chief difference this time was this time, the road to the top of the park was still closed from the snow and basically, I was bound to the lower edges around Bear lake

Here's a couple of Bear Lake photos of the two seasons.  The one on the left was taken in early fall in October of 2010 and the one on the right is from early March of 2012.

 

As usual, there were elk sighting everywhere and you had to be careful not to hit the car in front of you when they stopped (I am guilty too) for a photo of the herd.

This last Saturday, I worked until 2 P.M. but took a quick ride down to Colorado Springs to make a walk through of the Garden of the Gods.  It was nice and warm and found myself taking advantage of a pretty day to get some well needed exercise, walking for a while on designated paths then getting out in the brush to photograph a few sites.  I was ever mindful of the possibility of disturbing a rattlesnake getting in some sun as well.

With the new warm weather, trees were beginning to bloom and with that were bees as well.  Rock climbers took advantage of the spring day to test their skills and enjoy the sun.

The unusual rock formations were incredible and found myself loading up my SD card in the Nikon with multiple shots of the same thing, each of them beautiful in their own right.

Sunday, I felt that I needed to take advantage of my last full day here for a while, so i headed back to Colorado Springs very early in the morning.   I had in mind that I would like to take the cog train up Pikes Peak but the next ticket I could get on the train wouldn't be until 1:30 P.M.  Not wanting to hang around the cog platform for 4 hours, I went out looking for other things.

I found Helen Hunt Falls in North Cheyenne Cañon Park.  The hike to the top is a little less than a mile but is somewhat steep.  It's not a paved trail but it does have log and dirt steps accompanied by log railings.  It isn't an extreme walk but it will get your attention if you are not accustomed to altitude.

Coming down from the hike, I felt it might be more interesting driving up Pikes Peak instead of riding a train.  Over 50 years ago, my parents and I came out to the peak and Dad drove up but I hardly remember much of it.  

Reaching the top, you could see what seemed like forever.  Temperatures were in the low 30s and the wind blew at a nice clip sending shivers down my spine even with a down jacket.

If you look carefully, there on the left side,  I believe you can make out the state capitol in Baton Rouge.  Can you see it?

 I might be wrong.

As the afternoon was beginning to wain, I made my way down the mountainside being careful not to overheat my brakes.  Halfway down, there was a ranger checkpoint stopping each vehicle to check the temperature of their brakes.  The two SUVs in front of me were ordered to pull over and let the brakes cool.  When I approached the ranger, she took a reading of my front brakes, looked up and said, "Good job!", and waved me on through.  I'm such a Boy Scout.

For those who have asked, the recent fire in southwest Denver metro-plex has not be any danger to me or the city but Tuesday afternoon there was a serious smoke plume and the odor filled the air even in our office Thursday.  

It's confined to the hills but is a serious fire that has claimed the lives of at least two people.

As pretty as Colorado is, I'm ready to get home to the family.  I miss them all. 

I can't remember how we got into the conversation but

Gina, my office administrator and I were discussing kindness, personal giving and generosity in God's eyes and how it is returned to us, when a guy walked past our door.  He nodded and smiled to us then stopped, turned around and headed back to our door.

He walked in and Gina asked, "Hello, may we help you?"

"I'm not sure," he shyly replied, "but I hope so.  I'm a volunteer for the Milwaukie Meals On Wheels and wonder if you can help in some way?  We provide food and assistance for the elderly who can't provide for themselves."

Gina and I looked at each other knowing we were experiencing a "God moment" and immediately hauled out our wallets.

It's days like this that reminds you that He is listening to every conversation and the quality and substance of these circumstances are open invitations for Him to place another person in your life.

I realize he didn't necessarily identify himself as a Christian person or imply religion at all but it didn't matter.  All we had to do was respond to God in our lives and know that we responded to the scripture (Matthew 25:44), "Then they will reply, 'Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or in prison and not help you?' "

Gifts like these are small, like grains of sand but the mightiest ancient buildings were not made of just a few parts but millions of tiny grains of sand in the mortar that hold the bricks together.

Ms Darlene visits Oregon

Flying home is such a drag, especially when you're flying from the west coast to home and negotiating time zones.   It means to get home a decent hour, you pretty much have to be at the airport in Portland late morning and even with that, the possibility of landing in Baton Rouge or New Orleans can go way into the hours.  At least once, I've landed at midnight.

My company views flying a spouse to meet you as a gain because you don't lose the Friday going home and the Monday returning.  So with that in mind, Ms Darlene flew out for a long weekend in the northwest.

Originally, we'd planned on making a run up to Seattle but she said she'd prefer to see snow and mountains.  Ah ha! Mt. Hood would be just the ticket.

She flew out on a Thursday and so I took Friday off as a vacation day and blasted our way up to Mt Hood after visiting places like Multnomah and Wahkeena Falls .  Snow became very real by the time we reached Sandy, Oregon and she wasn't disappointed.   Many hotels higher on the mountain were booked solid so we booked a room at one of the lodges, just below the big ski area.  The scenery was gorgeous, especially for a couple of Louisiana residents, and spotted several deer near the lodge.

Saturday and Sunday was spent in and around the Timberline Lodge where we rode the ski lift up and gawked at the beauty like a pair of flatland goobers.

Ms Darlene has now deemed Portland/Mt Hood as her favorite place in the world and is now a Sneaux Bunny.  Bear in mind that she said the same thing about Maui, Los Angeles,  Honolulu and Carmel.  This too may pass.

Anyway, it was great and I loved her coming up for a long weekend and look forward to her joining me in another location.

After Portland, it's on to Denver for a brief two week assignment.

 

Hannah Abigail Albritton

Welcome to the world, sweetie.

Scary, isn't it?  Yeah, I know, me too.

Hannah was born at the Woman's Hospital, in Baton Rouge and weighed 7 lbs, 13 oz.  Everyone is doing well and soon will be headed home with Mom, Dad and big brother Henry to celebrate Christmas.

She, is absolutely gorgeous.

Mele Kalikimaka (Merry Christmas)!

Darlene & C R Albritton

Finally out of Grand Rapids, Louisiana looked absolutely wonderful while we fretted over schedules of where, who, when and how we would all get through family days together. It was great that my Mom could come down with Darren, Donna and the kids and get together with Jared, Jaime and Henry along with Blaise and Laurie. While some had in-law family functions needing attention, others went in many directions over the weekend. Mom and I got a chance to get out and drive down to Gramercy & Lutcher on the River Road and saw the old plantations and countryside. My real intent was to show her the bonfires on the levee. Each Christmas, people on the rivers build huge bonfires to light the way for Papa Noel to find his way to the good girls and boys on Christmas Eve.Decades ago, these bonfires also helped families find their way up and down bayous and rivers as they found their way to and from midnight mass.

Most of the levee bonfires are seen near Gramercy and Lutcher, LA. While most are conical bonfires cut from local willows down behind the levee, some are more elaborate in various shapes. I've seen them shaped like the state capitol, airplanes, trucks, houses and this year, a motor home.

Adding to the confusion, I got a call from the office asking me to be in Honolulu for a while soon after Christmas. Without hesitation, Darlene asserted her desire to go too, so we booked both our flights and flew out on Christmas day, thinking it might be less hassle and crowds then. This was true to a point.

I took Darlene to the New Orleans airport early then turned back to Baton Rouge where I caught out 3 hours later. The different schedules and airlines were to put us into Honolulu within 30 minutes of each other but snow and delays in Denver let Darlene sit in a plane on the tarmac for 4 hours and making her 6 hours late.

Oh well, we're here. During the weekdays, Darlene spends time walking around downtown Honolulu and Waikiki, getting shin splints from wearing sandals.

Saturday, we took somewhat of a tour around the northshore through the towns of Mokuleia, Haleiwa the beaches of Banzai Pipeline.
Although the big waves were not here yet, there were several in the 15 foot range. Locals tell us we should be able to see the "big ones within the month if I'm still here.

Beautiful seascapes included things like Chinaman's Hat near mountains where scenes from Jurassic Park were filmed.


This is Sunday, so we'll be out and hopefully tonight I can edit a few surfer pictures.
Sometime in the next two weeks, we plan to visit the USS Arizona/Pearl Harbor Memorial.


Here's the link for all the photos on the Hawaii blog. (Click for the photo link)

We made an attempt a snorkeling at Hanauma Bay but arrived an hour prior to low tide and by the time we got through the lines the water was so low, it made for miserable swimming over the dead coral in the extinct (we hope it's extinct) volcano cone.
We decided to cash it in and gladly pay the buck apiece for a ride up on the trolley.

Weekend with Roy

.....Acuff, that is. Roy Acuff reigned supreme at the Grand Ole Opry when he was alive and well.

This past weekend, early Saturday, I left Huntsville, Alabama hoping to find an adventure in Nashville, Tennessee.

On weekdays, it must be a pretty robust place with lots of new building construction and sporting new 8 lane super highways. My GPS was leading me toward old downtown and the Ryman Auditorium.

If Nashville is Mecca to country music fans, the Ryman has to be the Holy of Holies.

A converted church that still has stained glass windows,the Ryman was the home of the Grand Ole Opry for years until Gaylord Entertainment began hosting it at Opryland.Years ago, Broadway Street was the heartbeat of country music. It's just a half block from the original Grand Ole Opry and spawned country stars like Roy Acuff, Little Jimmy Dickens, June Carter, Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, Patsy Cline, Ernest Tubb, Minnie Pearl and others.

Many like Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson and Roy Orbison had early success there.

Still today, country music hopefuls make pilgrimages here in hopes for that rainbow, playing for tips during the day and playing in groups at Tootsie's and any number of bars during the night.

This town's brand is definitely music and the Music Row area is lined with music companies small and great.

As you drive the area, recording and production companies are separated only by attorney offices and virtually every light pole has a half dozen posters advertising some singer, musician or banjo player.


During the day, some open up their guitar cases and play for tips until time to tune back up at the lounges.

Nashville nods to others other than traditional hillbilly music icons. There's a Hard Rock Cafe and a Coyote Ugly with young men and women sporting multiple tattoos, body piercings and purple hair walking the sidewalks in front of the Wildhorse Saloon.

While many come here

in search of their dreams

some are not so lucky and found the end of that rainbow a place of discouragement, despair and loneliness.

But as Willie Nelson once sang, "Sad Songs And Waltzes Aren't Selling This Year".

At lunch, I dropped into a Chinese Restaurant. Just before leaving, the waiter plunked down the ticket on the table accompanied by the traditional Chinese Fortune Cookie. Ironically, the message in the cookie pretty much says it all.


(I promise, I really got this cookie and took the picture myself)

Call me a pessimist but I'd guess the lucky numbers wouldn't win me the lottery either.