In a world of so many great photographers and writers, I am venturing into some unknown territories, leaving comfort zones, finally very willing to practice the art of seeing. By maintaining the practice of posting daily photos, I hope to continue learning about the possibilities that I trust are out there for the taking.
Sandi’s husband has been in the hospital the last 4 days with another bout of pneumonia. Jerry is disappointed he wasn’t able to sell Poppies with Harvey outside Pavilions today. Jerry and Harvey have been selling Poppies 5 days during the Memorial Day weekend at this location twice a year for as long as Ray and I have lived here in the desert.
While marketing, I ran into Harvey seated at the table outside Pavilions today. He’s missing his buddy. Hopefully Jerry will get out of the hospital tomorrow and be able to catch a day or two of selling Poppies this Memorial Day Weekend.
Hope you feel better soon Jerry!
By the way, I have started a Twitter on this blog site. Look for it on the right hand side directly above Friends’ Blogs. The idea to tweet (is that how you say it?) came to me when Jerry recently went into the hospital, again. I thought this would be a good way to keep friends up to date with current important on how someone is doing that has been sick, etc.
Ray has a pain in his lower back much like the pain he had one year ago that Dr. Dawson cured.
Dr. Dawson says my pain problem is complex. Great.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Look at the sweat on Paula’s face. That’s what caught my attention.
It’s hot out there on our local killer hill. We hiked this killer hill called the Bump and Grind yesterday also, but at 6:30am, much too late to hike these days.
When it gets hot here in the desert around this time of the year, people try to be done with any errands by 10am.
Thanks for the two great hikes Paula.
(These two journal entries and photos from the trail would have been a lot more fun if they’d been sent from the trail. But what the hell, I’m kinda cute aren’t I?)
Tailwinds spotted a cell station atop Mangas mountain so yesterday's journal will be sent off along with today's photo of me on our lunch break. Our elevation is 9268 feet. Being at this elevation takes my hunger away. Kinda.
Gotta eat now.
Gottago
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
I had blogged on my phone from the trail while on a CDT hike a couple of weeks ago but the blog entry wouldn’t go through. Now home, I am trouble-shooting why my phone wouldn’t send these phone trail blogs. After lots of failed troubleshooting, I just took the battery out of the phone and then put it back in again. I tested sending the blog entry and what do you know!!! – here is what I’d intended to send from the trail.
I will be posting this entry and and maybe one or two more here on my blog as I typed the first few entries on my phone and I don’t know how to get the entries off my phone without posting them here. But I intend to post the 5 or 6 trail journal entries on my website under my CDT 2008 Adventure.
Tailwind before we hit the trail inside my jam packed car with all our gear.
Day 1 on the CDT with Tailwinds
Tailwinds graciously offered to backpack the 91 miles from Snow Lake to Pie Town I skipped last year when I was backpacking the state of New Mexico. Once I backpack these miles I will have backpacked all of New Mexico.
Yesterday, all day, was spent dropping off Tailwinds’ car at Snow Lake. This was not an easy feat and because it was so time consuming. I hope I remember in the future that I don't want to skip sections on a long backpack again.
We also cached food and water for ourselves. Water is scarce on the trail in NM. Why we cached food rather than carry it for 6 days is simple….because we could.
Tailwinds and I left the Toaster House at 6:40am after having spent the night with Mrs. Gorp, Stumpknocker, Mike and Andy (north bound CDT hikers). Don and Nita, Pie Town residents, keep this second home of theirs for any and all hikers and bikers to stay in while on their adventures. The Toaster house is right on the CDT. Old toasters hang in front ot their home.
Neither Tailwinds and I are trained to do long miles carrying our heavy packs so we were overjoyed that our bodies held up today for the 16.4 miles we hiked. Now at our campsite (by 3:30pm!) we can barely walk without looking like we are terribly injured, but we are proud of the miles we did never-the-less. Our tents went up, dinner prepared even though it was only 4pm, and are now off our poor feet inside our caves for the night. I can tell Tailwind is already asleep. I'll close my eyes once I finish typing this journal entry.
Road walking is hard on the body. That was our trail today, a dirt backcountry road.
The weather was perfect, often overcast and breezy.
A highlight of the day was meeting a thru hiker named John. When I introduced myself by my trail name Gottago, John excitedly told me that my husband had given him a PCT bandana in Wrightwood in 2007. There are only a very few (maybe 30 or 40) CDT hikers who backpack the trail each year compared to the how many hike the AT and the PCT. What a coincidence to have run into John.
It's time for me to crash now.
Gottago
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Susan’s life mate, Rick, died of a masssive coronary heart attack a couple of weeks ago. Rick was Susan’s love, her rock, her everything. Susan is lost.
Susan is a beautiful writer who doesn’t usually write much, until now. The poem you’ll read below, written by Susan in about 5 minutes the other day, is a sample of the gift of writing she has been given.
Photo taken: August 17, 2006
HOLD ME
by Susan Alvarez
(copyright 2009)
I wonder where the memories go
If they fade away
Deep within a subconscious tomb
Never to see the light of day?
Your face is growing hazy
My tears not brushed aside
I might be going crazy
Some part of me has died
I’ve never known this feeling
that burns inside my soul
I’ll never be the same
I wonder if I’m whole
I wake to find the morning
has come and leaves me here
In sorrow and in panic
It’s all so very clear
I try to plant my feet
so deep into Your ground
I know You have the answers
You know this pain I’ve found
God send me mighty angels
So I can rest my head
My heart so badly broken
Perhaps it’s me who’s dead
I know I must walk through this
and find the light again
I know your love is mighty
My God, my love, my friend
So keep me close beside you
and walk me through these doors
my empty heart is bleeding
and lying on the floor
I have no arms to hold it
or legs to walk myself
I’d rather be an object
and sit upon a shelf
But alas your love awaits me
and I will reach my soul
I’ll follow every bread crumb
you leave to make me whole
God thank you for your patience
for loving me in spite
of all the wayward journeys
I’ve followed in my life
Please wrap your arms around me
and keep me off that shelf
my world’s still full of wonder
about you if nothing else
?
L-R Ray, Jim, Jim’s brother, Matt, and Perry hidden behind.
Ray and I picked up Perry in Palm Desert and we drove into the San Fernando Valley yesterday. We met Jim and his brother, Matt to drop Perry off with them.
I asked if I could take a photo of everyone right then instead of at the meeting later. Ray has just given Jim Jim’s 36 coin.
Matt, Jim, Perry and Ray
Jim and Perry. Perry had just given Jim his birthday card.
Perry and Jim
Five and a half days of dirt washed away in seconds. Aaaah. Cold but wonderful.
I couldn’t wait to finish our NM section hike at the exact point where my trail partners, Cookie and Paul, and I missed taking the creek to Snow Lake and hiked up the wrong creek the previous year. Long before I arrived at this spot I knew I’d strip down and get in the water at the confluence of Gilita Creek and the Snow Lake outlet/Gila River. I also knew I was going to ask Tailwinds to photograph me (once I was clean) holding up this year’s PCT Class of 2009 bandana.
At the end of each trail day after setting up my tent, I would spend the last half hour of light looking around for some camera playtime. I looked up and noticed my shadow (I can’t pass up taking a photo of my shadow) and knew I liked how my shadow looked on this tree.
p.s. Today was the day I could shower and get my sutures wet. Getting clean is such an attitude adjuster on AND off the trail. I’m over feeling sad about my face being cut on and feel hopeful my scar will be barely noticeable in the near future.
I still haven’t had time to go through all the photos I took while on the backpack with Tailwinds two weeks ago. But here are 3 photos from the last morning of our hike. I’m posting some of my last day photos first because seeing a wolf for the first time was the highlight of our 93 mile, 5.5 day backpack from Pie Town to Snow Lake.
Our last day of hiking was a 9 mile section north of Snow Lake. This is where we heard early morning wolf cries, noticed wolf tracks on this two track jeep CDT trail/road, and early after beginning our morning hike, actually saw our very first ever wolf sighting.
This is what the two track CDT trail/road we were backpacking on looked like. For miles and miles in all directions, all we saw were grasslands. We first spotted our wolf on the right side of the road, loping toward and then across the road, heading east/left, from about as far away as the pictured tree. He repeatedly loped on a bit, stopped and stared at us for about 30 seconds and then loped off again. He disappeared out of sight as he loped into a ravine about a 1000 yards or more away. As the wolf entered the ravine, an elk hurriedly ran out of the opposite side of the ravine, obviously not interested in keeping company with the wolf.
The wolf gifted us with more entertain as he ran back out of the ravine, in our direction, but safely well ahead of us. Loping and staring just as before.
All in all we had about 30 minutes of prime time wolf viewing before he left our sight. The wolf was not only far enough away for his and our comfort level, but he was far enough away that capturing and in-focus, unblurred photo was impossible with the small Canon, Powershot A640 I was using.
I’m paying the price for all those years in the sun sun bathing, playing tennis, paddle tennis, running, golf, horseback riding, hiking and backpacking.
I was a little freaked today (and so was Ray who was in the surgery room with me)after this surgery. The emotional stress knocked me out for the rest of the day after having been in the doctor’s office for 3.5 hours. Much of that time was waiting to see if after the first cutting I’d need more cutting which I did need. But all the yucky cells are gone.
I came home and watched TV and slept the rest of the day. Ray brought some Tylenol home for the pain after the Novocaine wore off.