Española, NM latitude 36°00′07″ longitude N 106°03′53″W elevation 5600’
April brought spring to the mountains of Northern New Mexico finding us in Española about 25 miles north of Santa Fe in a valley nestled between the Jemez and Sangre de Cristo mountain ranges. Española was founded in 1598 by Spain as the first capitol of New Mexico. We chose Española for its mild weather and proximity to the extensive ATV trail system in the nearby Carson National Forest.
The Colorado Court of appeals ruled in our kids favor in Diamond’s adoption process. The Northern Cheyenne Tribe, the plaintiff, can take this decision to the Colorado or US Supreme Court, both of whom choose the cases they hear. I do not see this as likely as no Court in this adoption process has found anything worthy of reversing the adoption process our kids started more than two years ago. We all love Diamond and are delighted with this last legal decision. It’s not over till it’s over, but this is a big step in the right direction.
I rode wheelers with the Director of the YMCA Youth program one day in the mountains north east of Española. We collected lots of rocks, mostly agate, and saw some elk in a high mountain meadow. I was surprised to see a butterfly over a snow drift at about 8,700 feet. I didn’t know that butterflies would hatch and live at that elevation and temperature. The snow became impassable at about 9000 feet depending on the exposure to the sun.
Susan flew back to Eugene early in April picked up her car and drove back all in about a week. The cacti were blooming during her trip and reportedly beautiful. Sorry, no pictures. Our house in Eugene is still on the market.
A surprise snow fall thwarted our plans to ride wheelers on my birthday, April 12th. We had a quite day and dinner at Gabriel's, one of the best restaurants in New Mexico. Their specialty is making guacamole at your table. Yes, I wore the hat, and they sang. Susan has pictures to prove it. There are lots of great Mexican restaurants near here. I’m developing a taste for shredded beef enchiladas with red chili, but the green chili chicken enchiladas are running a close second. A friend taught us how to make chicken en mole which is great. Who would ever have thought about chocolate sauce with chilies on chicken?
Metal Detecting turned up a very beautifully detailed St. Benedict Jubilee Medal in an old high school football field that is now home to prairie dogs and red ants. The local sports fields yielded a brass heart shaped medallion, a silver crucifix, and a brass crucifix. I’m finding enough quarters again to keep up with the laundry. I bought another metal detector with assorted coils from a friend in Oregon. One of these coils is very difficult to find and is destined for my business partner in Las Cruces.
We moved the mobile mansion to Buena Vista, CO the first of May. Susan’s allergies were in full revolt at something in the Española air. We hope the change in location will help that issue. We are anxious to start looking for some land to build a permanent base. We plan to spend summers in Colorado and winter in Las Cruces to enjoy the warm dry climate and allow my engagement with the new metal detector business.
Two bird feeders now adore the front of the mobile mansion. We get a variety of finches feeding at any given time. The goldfinches are most interesting, because the hang upside down to feed. The male house finches have beautiful red feathers on their head. The most beautiful bird yet was a spotted towhee on the ground under the feeders. A friend gave us a bird book while we lived in Montana we use to identify our new visitors. The front window, where the feeders are located, is reflective allowing us to see out to get a very close look but not allowing the birds to see in.
I did a meteorite and a metal detector presentation for some at risk kids that were at the YMCA teen center. Espanola recently made the front page of the New York Times for its drug and gang issues. Evidently Espanola is one of the first stops on the drug highway from Mexico to the US. Some of these kids ask good questions about astronomy and meteorites. I passed around my meteorite collection which helped put some reality in the
presentation. I think the thought of handling 4.5 billion year old rocks is enough to impress anyone. The metal detector presentation had fewer participants, but there was a lot of enthusiasm digging coins in the park afterward. We detected until dark that night. If I just sparked one thought with my presentations, my time and effort was worth while. The Director of the program gave me a unique gift that I just have to share with all. It’s a 175 million year old dinosaur turd. This is truly a treasure that I will cherish from now on. Thanks again Ben!
April brought spring to the mountains of Northern New Mexico finding us in Española about 25 miles north of Santa Fe in a valley nestled between the Jemez and Sangre de Cristo mountain ranges. Española was founded in 1598 by Spain as the first capitol of New Mexico. We chose Española for its mild weather and proximity to the extensive ATV trail system in the nearby Carson National Forest.
The Colorado Court of appeals ruled in our kids favor in Diamond’s adoption process. The Northern Cheyenne Tribe, the plaintiff, can take this decision to the Colorado or US Supreme Court, both of whom choose the cases they hear. I do not see this as likely as no Court in this adoption process has found anything worthy of reversing the adoption process our kids started more than two years ago. We all love Diamond and are delighted with this last legal decision. It’s not over till it’s over, but this is a big step in the right direction.
I rode wheelers with the Director of the YMCA Youth program one day in the mountains north east of Española. We collected lots of rocks, mostly agate, and saw some elk in a high mountain meadow. I was surprised to see a butterfly over a snow drift at about 8,700 feet. I didn’t know that butterflies would hatch and live at that elevation and temperature. The snow became impassable at about 9000 feet depending on the exposure to the sun.
Susan flew back to Eugene early in April picked up her car and drove back all in about a week. The cacti were blooming during her trip and reportedly beautiful. Sorry, no pictures. Our house in Eugene is still on the market.
A surprise snow fall thwarted our plans to ride wheelers on my birthday, April 12th. We had a quite day and dinner at Gabriel's, one of the best restaurants in New Mexico. Their specialty is making guacamole at your table. Yes, I wore the hat, and they sang. Susan has pictures to prove it. There are lots of great Mexican restaurants near here. I’m developing a taste for shredded beef enchiladas with red chili, but the green chili chicken enchiladas are running a close second. A friend taught us how to make chicken en mole which is great. Who would ever have thought about chocolate sauce with chilies on chicken?
Metal Detecting turned up a very beautifully detailed St. Benedict Jubilee Medal in an old high school football field that is now home to prairie dogs and red ants. The local sports fields yielded a brass heart shaped medallion, a silver crucifix, and a brass crucifix. I’m finding enough quarters again to keep up with the laundry. I bought another metal detector with assorted coils from a friend in Oregon. One of these coils is very difficult to find and is destined for my business partner in Las Cruces.We moved the mobile mansion to Buena Vista, CO the first of May. Susan’s allergies were in full revolt at something in the Española air. We hope the change in location will help that issue. We are anxious to start looking for some land to build a permanent base. We plan to spend summers in Colorado and winter in Las Cruces to enjoy the warm dry climate and allow my engagement with the new metal detector business.
Two bird feeders now adore the front of the mobile mansion. We get a variety of finches feeding at any given time. The goldfinches are most interesting, because the hang upside down to feed. The male house finches have beautiful red feathers on their head. The most beautiful bird yet was a spotted towhee on the ground under the feeders. A friend gave us a bird book while we lived in Montana we use to identify our new visitors. The front window, where the feeders are located, is reflective allowing us to see out to get a very close look but not allowing the birds to see in.I did a meteorite and a metal detector presentation for some at risk kids that were at the YMCA teen center. Espanola recently made the front page of the New York Times for its drug and gang issues. Evidently Espanola is one of the first stops on the drug highway from Mexico to the US. Some of these kids ask good questions about astronomy and meteorites. I passed around my meteorite collection which helped put some reality in the
presentation. I think the thought of handling 4.5 billion year old rocks is enough to impress anyone. The metal detector presentation had fewer participants, but there was a lot of enthusiasm digging coins in the park afterward. We detected until dark that night. If I just sparked one thought with my presentations, my time and effort was worth while. The Director of the program gave me a unique gift that I just have to share with all. It’s a 175 million year old dinosaur turd. This is truly a treasure that I will cherish from now on. Thanks again Ben!
1 comment:
My experience in meeting John I must say was at the very least enlightening and inspirational. I have met many people in this endeavor in establishing a teen center for the YMCA here in Espanola, but not anyone quite like John. John was/is a man with a large heart and gives back to the community. It was great fun to ride wheelers in the mountains of northern New Mexico particularly when we saw the elk at the base of the Cerro Pedernal (John had quite a fun time saying that word!)The teens here at the center very much enjoyed John's presence and enthusiasm during his Meteorite/Astronomy class and the metal detector presentation. I felt that the dino turd was that special gift for that special person in John. My time with John were "mission moments" as we say here at the YMCA. Happy travels John and Susan....you both deserve the best!---Ben Sandoval and the Y family.
Post a Comment