3rd leg of our cross-country trip: New Mexico

The cows were munching on pale grasses as we glided past them on the road from Deming to Hillsboro, New Mexico. A few times we had to slow down because cows were actually ON the road. After Hillsboro highway 152 narrows through a gorge, at the bottom of which is Percha Creek. We found the lodge where we would be holed up for a few days, The Black Range Lodge, with a group of geologists from the University of Wisconsin Eau Clair. We would have dinner with them and then early the next morning they would disappear, off with their heavy packs full of compasses and rock hammers and orienteering equipment of all types.

I decided it would be good for my brain to try to see how many of them I can still remember. There was Brian, the leader, then another Brian, a swimmer who was avoiding alcohol to keep in training, Herald (interesting story as to how he got the spelling of his name), Anna (formerly an art student, I told her about Judy Chicago), Heidi (a very earnest geologist), Liz (who could talk a mile a minute and we could almost follow her...!), Nathan (who had the cutest Simpsons lounging pants), Shane (whose birthday was celebrated the first night), then there was Aaron and Michelle and Greg, the T.A. from Canada but I can't remember his wife's name...if I think of any others I guess I will get extra credit.

When Bill and I drove to the Emory Pass vista point the sign described the Tertiary Volcanic layers we were looking at, which was nice to share with the students. Our hosts at the lodge were straw bale building enthusiasts. They knew Drew Hubbell, son of Jim Hubbell and friend of Janet and Bruce Richards (see San Diego post), so it was a nice circular connection.

After the 2nd night there, we headed north to Santa Fe.

2nd leg of our cross-country trip: Arizona

Boulders lay on top of each other in surreal piles. Our rented car snaked around bends that the wagon trains once traversed. Outside Yuma helmeted children of all ages surfed down the dune hillsides in dune buggies of all sizes, and there were RV's as far as the eye could see. From Yuma we drove east to Gila Bend for lunch at the Space Age restaurant. Then southeast to Ajo, a delightful and surprising town with arcades on three sides of a grassy plaza. At sunset we were gliding across the Tohono O'odham Indian reservation, stopped at the Shell station in Sells, the colors of the mountains and sky purple against electric blue.



The next day in Tucson we walked around the downtown civic center, St. Augustine Cathedral, the Pima County Courthouse, City Hall and the Federal Building. The latter structure's glass entryway served up a luscious photo op.

1st leg of our cross-country trip: California

On December 24th we drove straight down 5 (not "the 5" as they say in So Cal), and sometimes on 33 (the Busy Bee Bakery fellow made us nice sandwiches in Coalinga: white bread, squirted-on mayonnaise, triangles of American cheese, turkey, lettuce, peppers, tomato). We arrived at San Marino Community Church just in time to see a determined angel rushing up the aisle (the others were gliding or otherwise drifting angel-like)--the determined one was my great-niece Elena, she did a great job.

On Christmas Day the family took the traditional Christmas Day walk. And the day after, William and I headed out to Santa Anita for opening day at the track. Had a great time, beautiful horses, the mariachi bands, none of the beautiful horses won for us so neither of us could gloat.

On Saturday we took the Surfliner down to San Diego and arrived in Point Loma to visit with our friend Janet Richards. At 90+ she took the lead on our walk on Shelter Island. The sky at sunset was lovely, Jim Hubbell's sculptures gleamed, a hulking cruise ship edged its way in the harbor, symbols of danger and waste side by side with Hubbell's gates of peace.