The White Cliffs of Kasha Katuwe

My second trip I after arriving in New Mexico five years ago was to Kasha Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument north of Albuquerque.

Back then my camera was a primitive digital with 2005 technology and something like 1.8 megapixels... scoff!

Also, I had just started hiking when the skies went from cloudy to dark and I could tell a snow storm was coming so I turned back, not even half way.

Today was picture perfect in the upper 50s. I could not have asked for a better day. I might also mention that the gravel road to Tent Rocks is now PAVED!!






The area owes it unusual geography to the volcanic past of northern New Mexico. Volcanic rock and ash have eroded leaving spires throughout Slot Canyon.






















If you are planning a trip, try and go in cool weather. Cold weather keeps snakes and other critters away. I didn't see one bug on the hike.

There was; however, snow and ice in the crevices so make sure you wear good shoes if visiting in winter/early spring.






















Valley of the Pe... nah.. too easy...





If you are a low-lander [from below say...2000 feet] this could be very strenuous on you. Make sure you take water with you, even in winter, and I repeat: GOOD HIKING SHOES! I would also recommend possibly eating a good breakfast, those carbohydrates come in handy on a hike like this, you will need your strength on the last stretch.



Your reward should you reach the 6400 ft summit is a breathtaking view for miles and miles -- I could see the snow capped Sangre de Cristo mountains northeast of Santa Fe.







Tomorrow I journey further north.

I'm out.

tweet

Ok, so I thought a Land of the Zia twitter account would be cool for when I'm on the road. I have no idea how to work it and am playing around with it so bare with me.

tweet.

www.twitter.com/zialander for those of you who know about such stuff.

[any tips would be greatly appreciated]

NEW YEARs EVE FREAKOUT!

Greetings citizen! I hope everyone had a good and safe New Years!

I did. I managed to swing a trip out of town to visit T-Rob in Oklahoma -- and just in time too. The day I arrived in Tulsa it was almost 70 degrees while that morning in Albuquerque it was 28 -- YUCK!

I was in town to visit T-Rob and to see what has become an annual New Years Eve event in Oklahoma City: The Flaming Lips New Years Eve FREAKOUT concert.

The who, you ask? Flaming Lips are local Okies done good. They scored a big hit a few years back with their release PINK ROBOTS [YOSHIMI BATTLES THE GIANT ROBOTS] a sci-fi, Pink Floyd-ish album.

Lead singer Wayne Coyne is Grand Marshal of the annual March of 1000 Flaming Skeletons Halloween parade in Oklahoma City every year which I have covered in this blog.

I always enjoy visiting Tulsa and OKC. They are big metropolitan areas and so green thanks to the rivers and lakes near both cities. Lush is not something we see much of in Albuquerque even with the Rio Grande River running through the core of town.




I ate well while in town, from Cattleman's Steakhouse in OKC to The Hideawy in Tulsa. From POPS in Arcadia to Coney Isand hot dogs in Jenks, OK

I'm STILL stuffed.


Ah, but the main reason for visiting was the New Years Eve concert in OKC:












OKC and Tulsa are great towns to visit if you ever get the chance!

Well, I'm glad to say I know winter is on the way out -- I heard the ice cream man driving down the street this week and he was open for business.

I'm in the process of planning several exciting adventures for the year, in fact one is happening this weekend, so stay tuned!

I'm out.

SUFJAN

Hey gang, just wanted to share some great new music with you!

Fellas name is Sufjan Stevens and he has several CDs and EPs out.

The first song is VESUVIUS from his CD - THE AGE OF ADZ.

The second is Chicago from his CD ILLINOISE.

Check him out.

SHAKEY-TOWN

How time flies.

It was 17 years ago today I awoke around 4:27 am in Los Angeles.

I'm not sure why I woke up, I wasn't due at work til 8 am.

I looked at my table clock and vividly recall it reading 4:27 am. I took a glance out the window [at the time it faced Sony Studios down the street].

I then laid back down and rolled over.

The shaking started four minutes later at 4:31 am.



Some memories stay with you forever...like they happened yesterday.

The apartment was turned upside down that night.

As the violent shaking started I just kept repeating, "Oh my god, oh my god...!"

I jumped up and put pants on as the shaking increased. I then stepped in the door frame of my closet [not sure why, it wasn't a tornado!!]

I heard my roommate, Andre, call out my name from his room.

As the shaking began to decrease, I put some shoes on and went into the living room and saw Andre coming out of his room. Everything had fallen out of the cabinets and refrigerator. The power was out too and it was pitch dark. We could hear screaming coming from the three storing building and people running down the hallway.

We gathered our wits and ran down three flights of stairs too!

Everyone had gathered on the dark street along with other tenants from other buildings. We could see blue sparks in the sky from the downed transformers.

Then there was an after shock! It was right out of a movie as people started to scream in the streets.

Eventually the cold got to us and many of us went back in to the building and went back to sleep.

The following day I managed to get to work along with two other people. The boss' of course did not. There was no power either.

We mainly just held the fort and played poker all day -- and got paid for it, woohooo!

By that evening power had returned to the apartment and I saw the damage in the city on the TV: a freeway had collapsed literally down the street from work!!

I wasn't able to get a hold of my family until the following evening.

In the end, it is part of living in LA I guess.

I'm out.

PACK UP

Don't know if you guys have heard of this chick....correction, young woman, from England but I sure hope you will. I can't get this song out of my head and if this is the sound of new music to come, I'm very excited.




...but it's not just Miss Doolittle that is bringing back a retro sound, I'm sure by now you have heard Cee Lo Greens infamous 'F**CK YOU' song which is also fantastic [please forget the Gwynith Paltrow version from GLEE... PLEASE!!!]

I'm out.

The Holidays Are Here And We're Still At War

...winter arrives

Autumn has turned into winter.

Even though this is a mild winter I hate to see the colors abandon the landscapes before me.

The smell of fresh cut grass: gone.

Somehow, sweet tea doesn't taste as sweet as it does on a warm summer day.

Two days before Thanksgiving I opened the door to get the daily paper [yes, I still read the paper!] -- 75 percent of the leaves had fell from the trees. The mass exodus of Autumn had begun.

Two days later it snowed. Four out of five years that I have been here our first snow has been on Thanksgiving Day.

Thanksgiving was nice. Dad celebrated his 82nd one with us, how cool is that!

Mom was missed -- 20 years since she has passed.

I don't really have a set time when I put up the Christmas Tree...whenever the spirit moves me, usually around 1 December though. Just a small one for me and dad.

I'll be leaving for Okie City soon for New Years, excited about that.

A new year.

A new trip around the sun.
Pack your bags.

I'm out.