Back from New Mexico for a week-- what now?

Well I have been home from New Mexico for a whole week now and it felt rather strange coming home after the long journey which lasted five weeks. The homecoming was a bit strange but things smoothed out at home after a couple of days.

I keep having recollections about the things that I did and the places I visited and all the wonderful people I met all of which I find my self relating to family and friends.

Favorite recollections:

Working at the Habitat for Humanity was a powerful experience in providing seva and it means more now to  me that when I was actually working on the house. Attending the dedication on my final day and meeting the needy family who moved into the recently completed home was totally moving for me then ..and now. Seeing the young mothers face and hearing her heartfelt thanks to all of us volunteers was just so  moving..

Visiting the Hummingbird Community which almost didn't happen was one of the most spiritual experiences I had. Hummingbird almost did not happen except that Mandy Creighton read my letter and asked me to visit. Our group meditation in the community center, sharing our thoughts with one another and helping  these generous individuals who opened their doors and hearts to me was something I really cherished.

Meeting my friend Carolyn and visiting the Jemez Pueblo for meditation in a Native American setting was just beautiful. After meeting Carolyn and realizing how effortlessly our conversation flowed and how similar we are in many ways made me so thankful I have met a kindred spirit who took time to show me the things she cherished.

The pictures I posted on Facebook documented the fact I have been to these places. But the feelings in my heart and spirit and the connection I felt are what made this experience so powerful.

My goals:

Provide seva to others: Success as working at HFH and Roadrunner Food Bank fulfilled this goal.

Increase my spiritual growth:  This seems to be an ongoing goal. Visiting the Hanuman Temple sharpened my focus, meditation at Hummingbird and at the Jemez Pueblo made me aware of my own spirituality more that I have ever been in the past. I feel that changes and they will continue to evolve. I continue to connect with the outdoors and with nature, this seems to be my true calling and leads me to a set of pantheistic beliefs.

Discussions with all those I encountered along the way allowed me to consider, absorb reject or modify ideas of others and keep what I found inside of me.

Increase my self reliance and become my own best friend:  These items were already well formed but my pilgrimage definitely sharpened and brought them into focus.  I definitely am happy with myself and feel empowered by my experience.
Raise my level of humility:  After working in an area where so many are at an economic disadvantage, I am humbled to think how fortunate I have been and also how much it means to assist those who are less fortunate than we are.

Be a friend to those in need: Seems like this happened as a result of all that I accomplished on this journey.

I can say this journey is ongoing as is life itself and I intend to strive to make mine as fulfilling as I am capable of..

Sandia, Trinity,Jemez Pueblo, Bandelier NM,Colorado, Chaco Canyon

I have not posted anything since the end of March and much has happened it seems.

I forgot to mention that I found a kindred spirit in Bill when I stayed with Bill and Liz. He is a forester and has a lot of the same background as I do and we enjoyed talking about trees and silviculture and timber cruising which I never learned. He even had some of the same books as I do and he attended forestry school at Clemson.

We also reviewed his extensive rock collection and I really enjoyed the fascinating minerals he had on display. I got to read a pile of old Popular Mechanics from the 50’s which looked just like I remembered them when I was a kid. The ads were ridiculously corny of course.

March 31^st.

Worked at the Roadrunner Food Bank in Albuquerque which is a food distribution center for many charities. My job was in bread where I had to sort out tons of old bread from every supermarket that donates bread to Roadrunner. The bread is out of date but still edible so it goes to hungry people. There is also a ton of pastries and cakes which are handled separately. I worked sorting and boxing for three hours and was really tired and glad to finish. It is a good feeling to help others I find and is part of my goal on this journey.

I checked in with Rose and Gary on Thursday and spent the next three nights there as a couch surfer.

April 1^st

I had planned to visit Southwest Sufi Community stating on the 1^st but when I called it seems there had been a tragedy there and one of the members was murdered by a jealous lover. As a result the entire community was devastated and could not receive any visitors so I had to make other plans. I still would like to go there and volunteer at some time.

Some of the commentary I am offering might appear to be a travel documentary but it is more than that. It offers insight into my being and thoughts and is a way for me to expand my horizons and increase my depth of understanding of myself and all those that I encounter along the way.

I met Carolyn on Friday and we had a nice lunch and went off to the Rinconada Petroglyph area which was just like South Mt in Phoenix. The petroglyphs were washed out in the noonday sun making it hard to see them plus it was really hot. At 3:00 PM we left and headed for Sandia Crest where we bought tickets and boarded the tram for the summit. It was very cold up there and there was some snow and we had a great time wandering in the snow and taking lots of photos. Later we had dinner at a restaurant at the base of the tram.

A view into the great wide open with me on the cliff

Carolyn my companion at Sandia

Brian at Sandia

I found Carolyn was definitely a kindred spirit and a very easy conversationalist and we had a wonderful visit. We are both on similar spiritual paths I am noticing.

April 2^nd

I was invited to visit the Trinity site at White Sands with my host Rose and her sister and daughter went too. It is far from everything and when we got to Trinity it was very busy. This will be the last free visit and previously there was only one day a year when it was open. I had always wanted to see this place of stark beauty and having read the book “American Prometheus” it was a moving experience. Not much remains of where the bomb was detonated except an obelisk in the sand. I few bits of trinitite are visible and these are fused sand from the bomb blast. There is very little radiation noticeable on a Geiger counter.

Because of the implications of what this science experiment eventually revealed I can now see why Oppenheimer who was deeply spiritual professed,” I am Shiva, destroyer of Worlds” as he quoted from the bhahagavita.  And so we see even today what happens when the results of this test run amok.  My hosts bought the book mentioned above at the White Sands bookshop on my recommendation. 

Little lumps of trinitite at the Trinity Site- Note the bootprint for size

Me at the obelisk at Trinity where the bomb was detonated

April 3^rd

Carolyn met me this afternoon and we drove off to Jemez Pueblo where the red rocks resemble those in Sedona. There are any number of beautiful formations some shaped like a woman and we found the spot where Carolyn likes to meditate. After taking pictures I sat down in this beautiful spot to meditate and put aside all other thoughts. It is lonely and beautiful and just perfect where we sat. Carolyn gave me a sample rock from the red formations to remind me of our visit here. Although this place is reminiscent of Sedona, it is a Native American site and must be respected accordingly. Anglos are only allowed into certain areas and we were fortunate we could visit the meditation spot and partake of the energy and beauty that is embedded in this wonderful scenery.

The large red rock leading to our meditation site at Jemez Pueblo

Our meditation site

The lady in the rock at Jemez Pueblo

We drove up to Jemez Springs where I found the bath house that shows up in the guidebooks. It is sort of expensive to visit so we did not go in and instead drove over to the falls at Soda Dam which is a beautiful spot then back to Jemez Springs for dinner. The bar was rowdy and old and full of character. It was the only place in town open on Sunday Evening. Food was fairly good at this roadhouse.

After returning to ABQ I stayed with Carolyn and slept in my sleeping bag alongside all her plants. Her casita is small and delightful and I felt right at home. We watched a PBS documentary about the Orient Express which was really interesting even though I found myself getting very sleepy at the end of the show. We got to discuss our early years a little bit but mostly focused on our adult lives and the present and where we are headed and what we believe.

April 4^th

I left Carolyn’s place and headed back up past Jemez Springs to Battleship Mountain where I took a hike and picked up a piece of obsidian from the fields along the river. This is a wonderfully scenic and relaxing area and there was no one there that I saw.  After leaving Battleship I went on to Spence Hot Springs for an hour soak which was moderately busy but not full. The people were interesting and fun to talk to. 

Battleship Rock

A lump of Obsidian at Battleship Rock

Finally it was on to Bandelier NM where I walked thru the cliff dwellings in the late afternoon and took some photos. This is a geat place for viewing the remains of ancient Native American dwellings.  That night I stayed in Espanola.

Swiss Cheese Rock at Bandelier NM where the caves are

One of the many caves at Bandelier NM

April 5^th

Left Espanola and took a long drive up past Ojo Caliente to Tres Piedras then west across the summit and down hill to Tierra Amarilla. This was the same route I started out when staying in Taos and I wanted to see the snow country in detail which was a treat.  Then north to Chama which is a wonderful little town full of cabins and lodges and restaurants for vacation people.

I stopped at the Combres and Toltec Railroad yard for photos then on to the high mountain passes in Colorado before returning to Chama. Went west to Bloomfield to spend the night. This is an oil well area and there are wells all over which was a surprise to me.

A snow field near La Manga Pass CO -it seems to call to me to explore these beautiful mountains

April 6th

On to Chaco Canyon ! This was not too far a drive from Bloomfield so I was there in a couple of hours. A long 15 mile dirt road which was washboard got me to the campground where I checked in with a lovely host named Cindy. She gave me the tour and let me pick a campsite since there were plenty in the tent camp area. I got one near the big rocks which I thought was pretty neat. There were plenty of RV people there too but I wonder how they made it thru the washboard road.

Later that day I went over to the Pueblo Bonito ruin and had a guided tour with a great Park Service Ranger named Lauren she seemed to know everything about the site in as much as there are a lot of questions about this mysterious place that may never be answered. Our group asked a lot of questions and the tour was an hour and a half long.  

Pueblo Bonito at Chaco Canyon- just a partial view

After the tour I went to the visitor center and checked out the displays then back to my tent. By then the wind was blowing terribly hard and it was a portent of things to come. I staked my tent securely but not everyone did and tents went flying down the wash. I prepared some dinner on my stove and sat on the rocks til about sunset and visited the other campers too. Someone left a big pile of firewood there, what a surprise! I built a big fire after dark and got out my lantern to read by until about 10 PM when the fire went out. I got in bed only to hear rain hitting the tent at 11 PM. I did not place my tarp properly and the rain went between the tent and the tarp forming a big pool under the floor of the tent which wicked thru the floor and soaked a lot of my stuff. Fortunately my clothes were spared and I slept on a foam rubber pad so the sleeping bag stayed dry but the foam was wet. It was still raining in the morning and trying to take down a wet tent and pack it up along with everything else that was soaked was not fun. I threw it all in the truck and will deal with it later. Had a cold breakfast and decided to leave after telling Cindy I would like to return when it is not pouring! There are some good hikes in the area but not when it is raining.   I asked the park ranger if I could go out on a road thru the wilderness and he said I should try it and see. Due to the rains the road was muddy and I thought 4WD might be best due to ruts and mud. Got back to a paved road after two hours and was still tired from the mess at Chaco so headed out to Holbrook to get a room for the night. It is not raining but the winds are terribly strong here. I am going home tomorrow after a month of being away.

In spite of the inclement weather at Chaco Canyon, I am drawn to the beauty and mystery of this place. It has a great deal of serenity about it and the spirit of the ancients are there and can be felt by those who are willing to listen.

I will summarize my thought that this journey revealed for me after I return home. It has been a wonderful trip and I now know that I managed to complete most of what I set out to do.

Visiting in Taos, A trip to the snow country and a visit to Hoodoo Land

I stayed with Sandy on Sunday the 27^th and she has just gotten a travel trailer which I got to try out. It was quite cozy and had heat so I was comfy in my bed at night. She has two cats Louis and Allie but they did not come in the trailer so I had to visit with them in the main house. Sandy lives out in the country north of Taos so it is very quiet and the stars are bright. We went to a yummy place for dinner called the Outback Pizza and it is behind some other businesses so that is how it got the name.

We watched a movie that night called “Garbage Warrior” which is about Mike Reynolds who founded Earthships. He had some terrible struggles to get the state to accept his ideas which were considered unorthodox 20 years ago concerning building houses out of recycled materials. The walls are made of earth filled tires to provide thermal mass and covered over with cement or stucco and this keeps everything at a uniform temp year round. Solar panels provide power and the places are completely off the electrical grid. All water is reused too and plants grow indoors for food.

Sandy and Louis

Louis Posing

 

The next morning I visited the Earthships and took the tour which was fascinating after I saw the movie. There is a whole community of these buildings around the visitor center and I got to see all the steps that go into the construction process. Volunteers are building a new building right across from the visitor center.

I drove west late that day past Tres Piedras and up into the mountains. It was a beautiful day but as I went up and up snow began to appear and then the road got covered in places. There was only one lane open in some of the high summits and the snowplow was working to open the road. I had the place to myself and stopped to take in the beautiful scenery. Boy what a cold blast of wind whenever I got out of the truck!

Deep Snow in the Mountain Pass

Beautiful Snowy Day in the Mountains

Monday the 28^th I stayed with Catherine in her office in Taos. She is an interesting hermit who does psychic readings and also does work for insurance companies. I got to help with reviewing the insurance information and identified all the types of plumbing in the buildings so it was a fun evening.  We slept on the floor in sleeping bags and had big cushions and the floor was warm and it was a neat indoor camping experience.

Tuesday the 29^th Catherine and I went to the Taos Senior Center for an exercise dance class followed by lunch. The class was a lot of fun and we were the youngest students in the class. We had to strap on big weights to our legs and arms which I had never done and it made the exercise class pretty hard. Everyone there is doing what they can to stay fit, I found it to be a very positive experience!

That night I headed for Albuquerque and am staying with Liz and Bill. They live in Rio Rancho and have two dogs and a big black and white cat who is afraid of me. This is the first time I have encountered a cat who won’t make friends.

Old Tipp and Herman the Kitty

Wednesday the 30^th I decided to take a hike in the Ojito wilderness near the Zia Pueblo on Bill’s advice. The Pueblo is north of Albuquerque on Highway 550 and is adjacent to the wilderness area. Very few people take the road to the wilderness so I had this beautiful area to myself. The hike leads to some interesting hoodoos which are a little like Bryce Canyon but not as numerous. I took these photos to show the hoodoos.

A delicately balanced hoodoo in the trees

Substantial looking mushroom hoodoo

Hoodoos on the March

I will be working at the Roadrunner food Bank as a volunteer on Thursday the 31^st and will be leaving Liz and Bill for a new host too.