1 year check up and sundry

Last Friday I spent some quality time at Vanderbilt (OK one hopes that any time you spend with a health care provider IS quality time). Blood pressure 115/73 . Pulse 59. Weight 114 pounds less than a year ago. Wheeeeeeeeeeeeee! Jeans size 10 vs. a 26-28 of a year ago. Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound . Well OK that last sentence is an exaggeration but some days I get up feeling that good, and have to remind myself GIRL you are about to be 47 years old, have some good sense about what you can or can't do. Downside? Well, I haven't found one yet for me following RNY bypass surgery but I have struggled to be the model patient I promised the surgeon I'd be walking countless miles and working out as much as I have time for.

I get asked periodically at work, what is my "secret" for all this weight loss and I always tell them. Honey, it is no secret, I had gastric bypass surgery and if they want to know more then I am happy to give them an ear full of information. If I can pass along this blessing to someone else who needs it all the better. Now if they look at me in horror I don't volunteer anything else. My enthusiasm does know bounds.

Allatoona ...Maybe Later

Well, life has sort of intervened in the weekends plans for Allatoona pass, I'll miss seeing my friends at the field trials this weekend but I will not pass up another friend who I think needs company in the wake of a sad event. There's always later this year for Allatoona.

Allatoona Pass Coming Up

Looks like Archie and I are going to head down to Cartersville GA for a shortish day of ASFA field trials on Saturday then after the trial we will probably do the hike linked under the title of this (Allatoona Pass which follows an old railroad grade) , and maybe another one called Cooper's furnace that is local. 3.4 miles for the AP, and close to I75 with some nice views of Allatoona lake. Hope the weather holds nice and dry, guess I need to recharge my camera batteries. Will have photos up when I return.

Laurel Falls at GSMNP

After scrambling over ice, snow, rocks, and roots for 4 miles the day before ( and maybe something to do with shooting tequila Saturday night but don't worry we believe in gun control and they were all well placed shots) , we elected a cakewalk of 2.5 PAVED miles for Sunday's hike. Laurel falls is fairly steep going in but it is a paved path. Unlike the trail to the Chimneys, it is very populated even on a cold day in the middle of winter. The falls was partially frozen over so made for some beautiful photos. Oddly enough we saw a toboggan without someone in it along the way, then a black leather glove lying along the way. Archie deadpanned that some poor directionally challenged hiker must be "marking the trail". Yep, says I the pavement really isn't enough to indicate where the trail is, and indeed there were multiple signs along the way at points that led straight down that stated "This is not a trail". Must be tough to have no sense of direction or maybe it's just no sense.

The Chimneys at GSMNP

At least the people who labeled this trail are upfront and call it strenuous. It is totally up up up on the way in, you cross a beautiful stream 4x , we did this in January so it was frozen over. Talk about a winter wonderland. Of course the flip side of this is it was also very very slick in many places. The good news is I managed to make this 4 mile round trip without "busting it" which Archie defines as falling on your behind with potential to bust your coccyx. Ouch! None of that. Small streams run over the trail periodically probably very cute and picturesque in the summer but made for a slick as wet glass trail on the day we were heading up to the Chimneys.

This next photo was taken at the trailhead but actually it was after we had returned from the hike, it probably explains the dazed and confused look. Later that evening any dazed and confused looks would have to be blamed

on the copious amounts of alcohol consumed while we partied with two Mexicans (Patron and Jose Cuervo). One must reward oneself for a job well done and this is one of the most strenuous hikes in the park with one of the most rewarding views. It was kind of funny. The four stream crossings are in the 0.7 mile and while it is steep between them just after that 4th bridge it becomes REALLY steep. We had crossed the bridge and there was a young family in front of us with a couple of small kids and the trail turned hard to the left and I swear went almost straight up over rocks. I looked at the trail then looked at Archie and said, "Is that really the trail?" (I suspect I might have said that with dismay ) Yes he says and off he goes. Oh boy. The family elected not to attempt the rest of the trail. The last tenth of a mile the trail runs up across a ridge with unbelieveable views ( if you don't have vertigo and can stand to dig out your camera while keeping your balance). Photo to the right is taken from the top of that ridge at some point when I wasn't tripping over a root I suppose. Then the trail goes around a steep icy sort of precipice that has about 20 feet of steel cable for you to hang on to for balance , on around the edge of the ridge and up. This is the photo around the edge of the rock face. It is quite narrow and while you can't tell it, it is probably a 1000 foot or more drop to the left. At this point you have ascended to something over 4700 feet, ( the climb in the trail is 1700 feet in that 2 miles up there). Needless to say I am clinging to rocks and any tree that looks like it would withstand someone clinging desperately to it. If you look at this next photo with Archie in it you'll see a bunch of brushy stuff growing to the right. These are wild rhododendrums that a fellow hiker advised us would probably break our fall at the very highest point should we slip off the trail. I may have been staring at the boy in horror at this point. We sat up on the end of the trail at the overhang looking at some kind of spectacular view, sun was out I think it was the most comfortable spot temperature wise that I found that day. It was however pretty soon time to go down, definitely we wanted plenty of daylight left for this hike out. So here I am headed back down. At a couple of the steepest parts I had to elect to slide over rocks on my butt because it just looked like the safest way to do it, however that doesn't count as "busting it" because I was doing it ON PURPOSE . The view and sense of accomplishment at the end of this hike makes it well worth it. Personally I would not try it without good hiking boots due to the rocks and roots and steepness of the path. Also because I HATE BUGS this was probably a good time of year despite the snow and ice for me to go. We finished the hike with a visit to Sugarlands visitor center to make plans for the next challenging hike we'd take although probably not this weekend, and we found one called Shuckstack on the Fontana Dam side of the park that looks like the ticket. Definitely will be more on that one in March which is when we hope to attempt that. Man I hope the bugs won't be having too much of a show of force then. Cutter and Off will be my good friends on that trip.

First thing Smoking

Is what I hope that the inmate who showed his hiney on Monday is on. He met the disciplinary board today got 15 days in the punitive unit ( no TV, no commissary, no radio, no buddies), 18 months of package restriction, and a ticket to no job and recommended transfer to another institution since he threatened me. I hope he is on the NEXT THING SMOKING OUT OF BLEDSOE COUNTY.

I don't mess with people and I don't like being messed with. I hope dude learns some self control from this.

Bail Out?

Warning political rant:

Bailout, WTF? Oh so we are going to bail out these sorry @$$ !#&*ers who ran their own private industries into the ground with government tax dollars? The banks who lent money to people under terms they knew were not recoverable? To people whose incomes should have never permitted them to purchase homes worth over $100,000. Bail out car companies that pay people almost as much to be laid off as to work? Bail out real estate companies? States? WTF?

How about me? Bail out my happy @$$ so I can live in a monstrous big house and drive a new vehicle and take big vacations and retire at 50.

I really don't understand why tax dollars should be used to bail out private industries. If we give them money then I think we should OWN THEM or at least whatever percentage of their worth that we have given them, and I think the companies should have to PAY IT BACK WITH INTEREST. Oh yeah and the CEO and President of these companies they all GET FIRED WITH NO SEVERANCE PACKAGE if we give them money. Obviously they are incompetent morons to start with so why keep them on?

Some days you're the windshield.....

Warning: Work rant

I try to be an optimist, a yellow dog Democrat, a Christian. I try and treat people as I would want to be treated but some days I want to pinch people's heads off. Most of the time I think I am doing something pretty worthwhile at work, yes I work in a prison with people that most of society would just as soon forget existed, sometimes even sadly their families have been so put off by them that even they feel this way, but occasionally I think maybe I've helped someone and maybe by good example I might have triggered some human and nonsociopathic response in some of these criminals. Recently, one of my students came to me with a photo said his girlfriend had been shot and killed by an exboyfriend. He was genuinely upset and I talked with him tried to comfort him and let him have a couple of days off work. That was maybe a month ago.

Today he got loud in class, I told him hold it down, two seconds later he is loud again, I said hey hold it down and the next thing you go big argument ensues suddenly I am "picking" on him and "singling him out". I'm like "oh no I KNOW you are not playing that race card on me". He's like well maybe, I'm like dude I am doing you a favor by asking you to be quiet instead of just taking your days, suddenly he is all well don't do me no favors do what you got to do, I am sick of you and sick of this class. OK says I then I'll just take some credits and start processing you outa here. Oh says he you gonna do me like that ? you gonna put paper on me well I'll fix you then.

EXCUSE ME? I'll fix you? What? I'm like what ? what did you just say? He's like you put something on me I'll show you, I'll fix you. I'm like are you threatening me? You gotta go buddy you can explain all this to my boss. He's loud all the way down the hall like I'm the one who is the cause of this then running his mouth at my boss. He ends up in lock up I have to do a write up, and it's FREAKING MONDAY. Work SUCKS, people suck, and trying to be compassionate and caring REALLY SUCK. I am really going to have to work on that hate the sin but love the sinner thing tonight. Maybe if I worked on some vodka and sugar free Tang first I could work on the hate thing easier.

Virgin Falls a "moderate" hike of about 8-9 miles

OK don't ask me why they call it Virgin Falls, I'm sure a man named it though and had some reason. The falls is over 80 feet high and it emerges from a cave at the top of a bluff and it falls into another cave at the base so there is no stream leading to or from the falls just the cascade itself. In order to get to the falls you have a "moderate" hike crossing a creek/branch/stream four times, (this photo of a creek crossing requiring a steel cable to get over it should have been MY FIRST CLUE that their moderate was a bit different than my moderate) This is my fellow hiker Archie perhaps looking at me a bit balefully prior to our crossing here. We did NOT get wet for those who are curious. This is one of the loveliest hikes in TN, it has everything: babbling brook, cascades, three big waterfalls, caves and spectacular overlooks, oh yeah and it's "moderate". It is actually rated in the top 10 hikes in TN definitely worth the trip. To the left is Big Laurel Falls, now this falls has a stream leading to it but the water falls into a cave underneath the falls and the stream disappears. I'm sure this is lovely in the spring but there would be ticks, snakes, spiders and chiggers here in droves in warm weather. I can almost feel them coming out of hibernation at the thought of me possibly venturing into the woods.

If you are intrepid (is that another word for goofy?) and willing to climb straight up like a billy goat for a little bit (straight up the "moderate" trail) you can reach a couple of spectacular overlooks called either the Caney Fork Overlook or "Martha's Pretty Point". Don't know who Martha was unless she was one of those hiker's buried underneath rock cairns along the moderate way. A little jokey joke there were no burial sites but there were some odd looking rock cairns that really reminded me of cowboys piling rocks up over their buddies who passed on the trail. Here we are cheesing it up at the overlook. We had lunch at the overlook some pretty tasty roast beef , cheddar cheese and protein bars. While I wasn't a girl scout, I have always believed in being prepared. Good thing too as we were just short of halfway into this hike at lunch time. I think when I realized that was when I sat down in the middle of the trail after I slipped and sort of laughed insanely with tears running down my face for about 5 minutes. Archie quipped,"Save yourself, it's too late for me" several times on the trail, and I am still cracking up over that. You had to be there or had to reach that level of tired maybe for it to be as funny as it was and still is to me.

Ta da the falls, we made it now to turn around and hike 5 miles out of here after an appropriate amount of time oohing and ahing (maybe next time a hike in and some brief cave exploration but at this point DARK WAS COMING!) Had to get a couple of obligatory shots at the falls, hey I'm a tourist wherever I go, and then out of there we shot. Did I forget to tell you that hiking IN the trail is 70% DOWNhill? Guess what hiking out is like? Now guess about it in the dark. Fortunately Archie was a boy scout and had brought LIGHT because the last two hours of this hike was spent in pitch black easing along looking for the woefully inadequate signage. The trail markings here are not regularly spaced nor are they regularly marked sometimes it's 50 feet usually it's more like 150 and occasionally 200, sometimes they are white circles on trees, sometimes they are green circles on rocks. Either the trail blazers hit the ethanol a little early or this is some sort of alien landing zone. We actually did really well I thought considering ALL FOUR CREEK CROSSINGS HAD TO BE MADE IN THE DARK!! Eee Yowzah! We were victorious though and pretty much danced a jig when we finally reached the trail head.

Socorro, The Very Large Array and the Bosque

OK it's the day before we are gonna be hunting in Deming and the day after Thanksgiving, up early and headed South , our first stop the VLA (Very Large Array) that you might have seen in the moview Contact with Jodie Foster and that hot young fellow Matthew McConnaghey (sp?). The VLA is located about 50 miles West of Socorro on the plains of San Agustin. It's a beautiful place. There were a small number of pronghorns nearby and two of the bucks had some of the best racks I've ever seen in NM or WY. There was also a good bit of rabbity habbitat that Vger and I checked out, actually he had a pretty good chase there. Going back to Socorro, as we went through Magdalena ( a small mining town) there were several neat buildings. The first is the Magdalena Depot pictured at the right, and of course the Magdalena Marshal's office. We also saw the Marshal cruising around in his car. He didn't look like Matt Dillon though. Then there was this cute and quaint little building labeled Townhome oddly enough so I had to wonder if this was what passes for a townhouse there in Magdalena. I don't know but you can be the judge.

On the way back out through Socorro I got my hunting license and we saw this spectacular church built in 1594 so had to take photos of it too. I would not have found it if not for stopping there for my hunting license as they had a bunch of postcards there of this there with this church on it so I picked one up and said oh my this is here in Socorro and was told yes so of course then I had to have directions to it. Thank goodness they were simple and it was close by. Then it was South to the Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge before heading to Roswell. Lots of birds. Here's one of the many pintails ( I think that's what this ducky fellow is), snow geese and sandhill cranes, but my favorite favorite moment was seeing one of the two bald eagles that they knew was in the NWR. If you remember earlier I wrote that my friend Leonore had commented at the zoo when we saw 3 magnificent bald eagles that it was sad that most people would only ever see the national bird in a zoo. At that moment I was one of those people but when this fellow or gal appeared at the Bosque I could become one of those that had seen one in the wild. After the Bosque we drove East across the mountains to Roswell, saw a spectacular sunset in Valley of Fires lava flow ( most NM sunsets are spectacular though), we had a meal, I worked out in the gym at the hotel and we got ready to hunt the next day. The rest as they say is history. One of my boys won the breed hunt the next day and I decided to head home while I felt good on Sunday. Enjoy the sunsets!

Thanksgiving Day

Tasty Oh! Turkey breast rubbed in fire spice, cheese grits with peppers, oven roasted potatoes and chocolate volcano cake now those were the highlights I remember best. Many thanks to Leonore and her family for putting up with the two travelers (Nancy and myself) for several days and sharing a lovely Thanksgiving with them. After dinner I pulled out the laptap and watched bullriding videos with Leonore's very intense Border Collie girl Dot as you can see here. Like all girls she has a special place in her heart for cowboys, or was it the cows/bulls she was lusting after the opportunity to maybe herd around the arena a few times? At any rate she is a most pleasant video companion never complaning when you change the screen or the rider. Another amazing moment came when the snow began to fall in huge fluffy flakes and it stuck at least overnight and for a little while the next morning. It caused our friend Susan to leap to action and pack out of there on her way home as she still had to get home to get her dogs for the hunt that weekend. Below you can see my dog Vger the morning after Thanksgiving before I got he and CJ loaded up, they both enjoyed a romp in the snow.

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Sandia Peak Tramway and the Zoo

This first photo is looking West from the tramway, well looking West about 75 miles toward Arizona. the view may not quite translate to a photo reduced this much, so if you are in Albequerque area GO TO THE TRAMWAY it's worth the trip and the $$. The tower that we have just passed in the photo on the left is over 270 feet high and we are still looking West toward Arizona here. The tramway is the longest one of its kind in the world and was built by a Swiss company. The engineering specs on it are amazing. This next tower is the 2nd one and isn't nearly as high as the first. Look carefully at the third photo, yes there are PEOPLE ON TOP OF THAT TRAM. We were of course curious as to how one could rate that special seating arrangement and asked. You have to work there we were told. Okey doke.

Now here is the view from the top of the mountain to the East looking across the ski lift. Yes that is another guy standing on top of that ski lift working on it as best we could tell. After coming back down we then drove to the Albeq. zoo, the first critter here below is a capybara, yes that's right the world's largest rodent, a giant ratlike thing that only another rodent could possibly ever love. Blech. Lots of animals and I have pictures of most but won't overload the blog. We really enjoyed the polar bears too so thought I'd bring you one here. Of course zoo photos would not be complete without photos of lions so here are my obligatory lions. The male was just an enormous black maned fellow who was very interested in those of us who smelled like big dogs. Probably wanted to show us what a real predator looked like. The North American version of a lion was terribly interested in us too, the zoo has 3 pretty spectacular cougars or maybe it was 4 or 5. Then there was this handsome and inquisitive zebra stallion at the zebra enclosure. Now there were also some really interesting birds to be seen there, these big white ones were African vultures. Kind of pretty actually for buzzards as we would call them around here. Then there was this really agitated and angry looking African stork that hopped and skipped around and beat on the other one in his cage. After we left the zoo we were pooped and went by the grocery store I believe so we could pick up last minute Thanksgiving stuff. Can you IMAGINE how crowded that store was?

The Best Laid Plans or Petroglyph National Monument

of middle aged tree huggers often go awry. I had set aside Tuesday before Thanksgiving to drive out to Chaco Canyon. If you read my blog you remember reading that unfortunately due to a bit of an accident with a tire rim the day before that I didn't get on the road early enough for that so I opted for the Petroglyph National monument there in Albequerque. Hiking, ancient peoples and volcanoes what more could a girl want? This first photo is of the huge lava flows that created the box canyon that you wander through at one of the three sites to look at the "glyphs". Not very artsy but that is pretty much what this place looked like. I hiked around 7 miles here that day. My traveling buddy was worn out after going to Taos with me the day before. Here's another view of this canyon, hard to tell how enormous this thing is. I would put this on the must visit list though if you go to Albequerque. Ah well, it is those glyphs though that you are putting up with my blog here to see, so on with it. Not sure what the glyphs on the left are I think the spiral represents how connected everything is. The one on the right here looks like a scorpion to me though. The one with the circle divided??? The second one here on the right is a cat I believe the sign said, and this one to the left looks like a turtle and a chicken to me but I really don't know. This other one to the right below looks like a masked figure on the left, maybe a turtle, bird and snake thrown in for fun and balance?

There are dozens and dozens of these glyphs around the canyon but you do have to do some hiking to get back and sometimes up the lava flows to see them.

What we have here are masked figures, a macaw, a macaw in a cage and a represented yucca plant. Now don't ask about the two here because I haven't a real clue. After about 4 hours in the lava fields I moved on to the volcanoes. No glyphs there but still mighty fascinating. This is the first of the 3 major cone volcanoes just West of Albeq. NM. I had to hike in then a half mile access road then hike up and down. Great fun. Here's a couple of photos of me at PNM and the volcanoes. It was warmer in the box canyons than it was on top of the volcano I can tell you!! For me and my love of odd rocks, hiking and volcanoes, this was a spectacular day even though it did not start out that way.