Tuesday, 5/1/2016
Up at 6:30 to finish packing and prepping Windsong for my departure. Piled stuff in the Chevy, brought community laundry to the laundry room, took Indygo's laundry off the line. Would have done more things last night but Indygo wasn't available.
I'm happy to leave the laundry room behind. The first time I tried to wash a pile of community laundry, I didn't know I needed to open the door wide so it would hold. I also didn't know that it would lock from the outside when it closed with me inside. Hear resounding thud. Oh, shit. No! But, yeah. It was locked. And it was a dark, webby, mousy place to be stuck. I didn't have my walkie-talkie with me. Indygo might not come up here for hours, if even today! Gotta get out of here. There's a skinny-legged sink and a long, horizontal opening in the wall. Climb onto the sink, hold the ledge of the opening and see where that goes. Oh, cool. A hallway to somewhere. Okay, pull yourself onto the ledge and jump over the stuff on the floor. Indygo and Ruby enjoyed that story.
Now, I'm just getting ready to leave Outland. Bring some things to Ruby including the Suburban in case she has an emergency when she's here by herself. She says if she has to, she'll pull herself in and drive! I don't doubt her. I've not had enough time to empty the poop-pail because I couldn't open the rain barrel to wash it out. Also didn't fold the futon. Not the way I want to leave things but there is no more time. I realize a few days later that I forgot the magnet that Susan gave to me: "To dare is to momentarily lose one's footing. Not to dare is to lose oneself." Kierkegaard I need all the canned encouragement I can get. Indygo says she'll mail it to me.
The first time I meet the GF Tracy is when we're all piling into her Matrix to head out. Given my packs, I'm sure we'll bottom out on the rock river bed but she's sure we'll get through. She's right. Along the drive, Tracy relates the story of how she and Indygo met at the last MichFest. A sweet love story.
They drop me at Ruby and Juana's apartment before continuing to Albuquerque. I make calls about the Blue Bus and decide to bite the bullet and pay $55 for a shuttle to Taos. Too hard to manage the four packs on a bus.
Saturday, June 11, 2016
Tuesday, May 31, 2016
My Southwest Trip - The Gathering of Nations Pow Wow
Saturday, May 1
I head out for The Gathering of Nations Pow Wow with my daypack, taking nothing that the Suburban's mice will want. On my own, I get out at each gate and open, close, and lock. I drive the narrow dirt roads with the eroding arroyos ready to grab an unwarry tire and pull me down. I creep along the dry river bed, looking for the few and faded white marks that once blazed the trail and try not to bottom out. I drive by Grandmother Tree hoping she won't drop another limb. I get out to 25 South and head to Santa Fe.
Google Maps finds the Rail Runner Depot and I don't have a lot of time. I rush into the office and move rudely past a couple of Native American women. A microcosm of panic-induced carelessness for other people. I get to make up for myself when one of the women is struggling to lift her bags onto the train. I get the bags up the stairs and deliberately choose to sit across from her, hoping I might connect with her for real on the ride. We say a couple of things and then a man sits down with her. I can't figure out their relationship based on their conversation. She talks about her kids and grandkids but I don't think he knows them well.
On the train, I'm channeling Anna Boysen who travels the world easily by herself. Figuring out the transportation is big for this seldom traveler. Eventually the woman and I get talking. They are going to the Pow Wow, too, but later. They have people to see at an earlier stop. Her name is Elaine and she is hoping to find a shaman at the Pow Wow to help her with some health issues. She's had shamans since she was a child but the current one isn't helping her. She asks what brings me to the area. I tell her a few things and that I'm hoping to find some spiritual healing, too. She tells me I'm on the right path and am where I should be.
A while later we talk more and then she stops. "You're going to meet someone who will give you a bad feeling. Say nothing. Just walk away. And don't let it ruin your time here." Hmmm. Okay. I want to make sure I don't spend the day waiting for someone bad. Elaine suggests we might meet on the same train back to Santa Fe and asks if we can exchange numbers. Sure, and we do. I don't see her again because I leave earlier and she ends up not leaving until the early morning hours when the Pow Wow actually ends.
I take two city buses, both free, to get to The Pit, the venue on the New Mexico University campus. I get my ticket, one of few white people in the long line. Doesn't matter the race, it's fun to people-watch and I see much in the age demeanor and dress that is probably universal.
Inside, the stadium is packed and the usher keeps anyone from blocking stairs even if they're trying to find a seat. She thinks by 3 p.m. people will begin moving out having seen what they came for. That never happens. So, I stand for an hour and a half watching competitive dancers in many colors, designs, feathers, and beads. There are solo drummers between dance acts and on the Jumbotron I watch how their drum strike looks like one but sounds like two. The singing and the drums also remind me of the western shows and movies I grew up with. I'm amazed by the initial gut reaction of fear and difference elicited all these years later and I stare at my racism creeping out of a hole.
I ask where the vendors are and the usher points around the arena. Ruby suggested I should look for some horse energy, maybe mare's tail. I wonder if someone really sells that and how they got it. There are lots of vendors but nothing that calls to me. The first woman I see owns several horses and sells some strands of horse hair with feathers that she says mean this or that. It comes off feeling too commercial and I walk away.
I find out too late that there is at least one huge tent outside with more entertainment and vendors, including food vendors with options other than pretzels and hot dogs. Unsure how to get back to the buses I took here, I leave earlier than I would have. I call Uber after the cab wants to charge me $20 to go about five minutes to the RR station. Less than $7 later, I'm at the station. Somebody's gettin' street-wise. I never met anyone who made me feel badly so maybe it was the cabbie.
I leave messages for Kathleen, Meg, and reach Kate. I figured I'd call while I had WiFi but also don't want to feel the need to be so connected. I'm killing time in an Albuquerque noodle shop and can feel it getting cold again like last night. Since it's late and Juana gave her okay, I'm going to stay the night at her place in Santa Fe. No way do I want to drive those miles of arroyo-edged roads in the dark.
In the morning I take Juana to breakfast at Chris'. It's good and a fav of hers. We have some get-to-know you conversation, a reminder that she is generous with her time and space to have me stay over. I drive to the New Mexico History Museum on the Plaza to see the Lowrider exhibit which was a big part of Juana's life growing up. The parking is non-existent and it's raining, raw, and cold. I give up and head back to the "big box" area of town and decide to catch a movie. I see The Boss which stinks and for the first time in my life, walk into another movie without paying. I see Zootopia which I really wanted to see first. Enjoyed it.
I get the word that weather at Outland is bad. First, big rain followed by snow and the roads are impassable. Shit. Juana lets me stay with her a second night. She gets up around 3 a.m. because she's a baker -- I've tasted her delicious, melt-in-your-mouth pastry that tastes of chocolate but is a very light color. I spend too much time trying to get info on the Blue Bus to Taos on Tuesday.
Monday
Tracy, Indygo's girlfriend, had a drum fall on her head during the weekend and isn't feeling well but is putting off seeing a doctor until tomorrow. That's Tuesday when I'm heading to Taos so they'll drop me back in Santa Fe. Tracy needs a lot of time by herself or with Indygo when she's here on weekends so I've yet to meet her. I guess we'll meet on the ride out.
I head out for The Gathering of Nations Pow Wow with my daypack, taking nothing that the Suburban's mice will want. On my own, I get out at each gate and open, close, and lock. I drive the narrow dirt roads with the eroding arroyos ready to grab an unwarry tire and pull me down. I creep along the dry river bed, looking for the few and faded white marks that once blazed the trail and try not to bottom out. I drive by Grandmother Tree hoping she won't drop another limb. I get out to 25 South and head to Santa Fe.
Google Maps finds the Rail Runner Depot and I don't have a lot of time. I rush into the office and move rudely past a couple of Native American women. A microcosm of panic-induced carelessness for other people. I get to make up for myself when one of the women is struggling to lift her bags onto the train. I get the bags up the stairs and deliberately choose to sit across from her, hoping I might connect with her for real on the ride. We say a couple of things and then a man sits down with her. I can't figure out their relationship based on their conversation. She talks about her kids and grandkids but I don't think he knows them well.
On the train, I'm channeling Anna Boysen who travels the world easily by herself. Figuring out the transportation is big for this seldom traveler. Eventually the woman and I get talking. They are going to the Pow Wow, too, but later. They have people to see at an earlier stop. Her name is Elaine and she is hoping to find a shaman at the Pow Wow to help her with some health issues. She's had shamans since she was a child but the current one isn't helping her. She asks what brings me to the area. I tell her a few things and that I'm hoping to find some spiritual healing, too. She tells me I'm on the right path and am where I should be.
A while later we talk more and then she stops. "You're going to meet someone who will give you a bad feeling. Say nothing. Just walk away. And don't let it ruin your time here." Hmmm. Okay. I want to make sure I don't spend the day waiting for someone bad. Elaine suggests we might meet on the same train back to Santa Fe and asks if we can exchange numbers. Sure, and we do. I don't see her again because I leave earlier and she ends up not leaving until the early morning hours when the Pow Wow actually ends.
I take two city buses, both free, to get to The Pit, the venue on the New Mexico University campus. I get my ticket, one of few white people in the long line. Doesn't matter the race, it's fun to people-watch and I see much in the age demeanor and dress that is probably universal.
Inside, the stadium is packed and the usher keeps anyone from blocking stairs even if they're trying to find a seat. She thinks by 3 p.m. people will begin moving out having seen what they came for. That never happens. So, I stand for an hour and a half watching competitive dancers in many colors, designs, feathers, and beads. There are solo drummers between dance acts and on the Jumbotron I watch how their drum strike looks like one but sounds like two. The singing and the drums also remind me of the western shows and movies I grew up with. I'm amazed by the initial gut reaction of fear and difference elicited all these years later and I stare at my racism creeping out of a hole.
I ask where the vendors are and the usher points around the arena. Ruby suggested I should look for some horse energy, maybe mare's tail. I wonder if someone really sells that and how they got it. There are lots of vendors but nothing that calls to me. The first woman I see owns several horses and sells some strands of horse hair with feathers that she says mean this or that. It comes off feeling too commercial and I walk away.
I find out too late that there is at least one huge tent outside with more entertainment and vendors, including food vendors with options other than pretzels and hot dogs. Unsure how to get back to the buses I took here, I leave earlier than I would have. I call Uber after the cab wants to charge me $20 to go about five minutes to the RR station. Less than $7 later, I'm at the station. Somebody's gettin' street-wise. I never met anyone who made me feel badly so maybe it was the cabbie.
I leave messages for Kathleen, Meg, and reach Kate. I figured I'd call while I had WiFi but also don't want to feel the need to be so connected. I'm killing time in an Albuquerque noodle shop and can feel it getting cold again like last night. Since it's late and Juana gave her okay, I'm going to stay the night at her place in Santa Fe. No way do I want to drive those miles of arroyo-edged roads in the dark.
In the morning I take Juana to breakfast at Chris'. It's good and a fav of hers. We have some get-to-know you conversation, a reminder that she is generous with her time and space to have me stay over. I drive to the New Mexico History Museum on the Plaza to see the Lowrider exhibit which was a big part of Juana's life growing up. The parking is non-existent and it's raining, raw, and cold. I give up and head back to the "big box" area of town and decide to catch a movie. I see The Boss which stinks and for the first time in my life, walk into another movie without paying. I see Zootopia which I really wanted to see first. Enjoyed it.
I get the word that weather at Outland is bad. First, big rain followed by snow and the roads are impassable. Shit. Juana lets me stay with her a second night. She gets up around 3 a.m. because she's a baker -- I've tasted her delicious, melt-in-your-mouth pastry that tastes of chocolate but is a very light color. I spend too much time trying to get info on the Blue Bus to Taos on Tuesday.
Monday
Tracy, Indygo's girlfriend, had a drum fall on her head during the weekend and isn't feeling well but is putting off seeing a doctor until tomorrow. That's Tuesday when I'm heading to Taos so they'll drop me back in Santa Fe. Tracy needs a lot of time by herself or with Indygo when she's here on weekends so I've yet to meet her. I guess we'll meet on the ride out.
My Southwest Trip - On My Own
Friday, April 30
Nice surprise this morning - sometimes, just sometimes, the stars are aligned, the waves are in sync and a call or text can come or send! Hell for some and not so for others. I'm bundled in my parka and Bethie calls from Falmouth. So good to talk with her. Of course, she says I'm where I need to be, nothing happens without a reason, and that it takes time to settle in. The call drops.
I cook my first breakfast at Windsong; three eggs, avocado, a piece of Indygo's cornbread, and OJ. The sun is beginning to come out and still there are rain clouds all around the blue.
I'm supposed to print my Astrological chart today so Ruby can read it for me.
Ravens or crows fly even with Windsong and me on this crest. According to Ruby, either a Raven or Crow has a fan tail and the other a wedge tail but I don't recall which is which and they aren't still long enough for me to see. They tell me Ravens are believed to be ancestors.
Time to wash dishes outside with the rain barrel water.
Hail Storm 11 a.m.
Indygo and I are just about to hike in the arroyo to the mountain when I see some mean clouds moving fast. I start back up the dirt hill to check windows at Windsong and the thunder starts as the black mass broils close. I hesitate. Go back to Mi Casa or get to Windsong? Hail begins blowing sideways. I start running up the hill and get inside to close Windsong's windows. I watch the hail pile up on the deck like styrofoam balls an inch deep. I dislike that I have such
a miserable environmental association with this natural occurrence. It's still blowing horizontally. So strong. And it ends as quickly as it began, thunder still banging in the distance. Sun is melting the white covering. Blue sky in the west. We can hike now.
And hike we do wearing gloves just in case. Indygo had indicated a short hike to the Yoni Tree and Snake Rock but changes her mind to the long and round about route. I have plenty of water but would have brought more snacks! She lost a pair of gloves up here and a walking stick and hopes to recover something. The hail is still evident on the shaded side of the arroyo and between rocks. There are cool boulders, blooming cactus, and vistas along the way including an overview of Outland.
The climb is loose rock and soft clay - poor footing and my now fav hat feels like it will choke me in the wind. The steepness and poor footing puts me in mind of OLP's Devil's Hopyard. It's been a while since I was so challenged by my fear and I appreciate Indygo's hug at the top. We find Snake Rock but not without a few slide-on-your-butt moments that put a hole in my pants.
We stop at Ruby's on the way back. She's comfy reading and had fun watching the wild menagerie out her sliders. She's worried about a baby cotton-tail that seems alone. I go back a little later to pick up the latest copy of Maize. End up staying while she helps me check schedules for the Rail Runner (RR), the train that runs from Albuquerque to Taos. Incredibly inexpensive and comfortable commuter transportation! Incredibly difficult to read schedules, even for a local!
She and Indygo have talked about The Gathering of Nations Pow Wow happening in Albuquerque this weekend. But Indygo is staying here with Tracy and Ruby isn't up to the travel. I'd like to go but hesitate about taking the gas-guzzling, honkin' Suburban for my own use. Ruby tells me not to think of it that way but as a community vehicle. With her valued permission, I make plans to leave the Chevy in Santa Fe and take the RR. Ruby checks with her partner Juana to see if I can stay overnight at their apartment if it's too late when I get back. I hope she doesn't feel pressured to agree and I'd really rather get back to the land if I can.
Nice surprise this morning - sometimes, just sometimes, the stars are aligned, the waves are in sync and a call or text can come or send! Hell for some and not so for others. I'm bundled in my parka and Bethie calls from Falmouth. So good to talk with her. Of course, she says I'm where I need to be, nothing happens without a reason, and that it takes time to settle in. The call drops.
I cook my first breakfast at Windsong; three eggs, avocado, a piece of Indygo's cornbread, and OJ. The sun is beginning to come out and still there are rain clouds all around the blue.
I'm supposed to print my Astrological chart today so Ruby can read it for me.
Ravens or crows fly even with Windsong and me on this crest. According to Ruby, either a Raven or Crow has a fan tail and the other a wedge tail but I don't recall which is which and they aren't still long enough for me to see. They tell me Ravens are believed to be ancestors.
Time to wash dishes outside with the rain barrel water.
Hail Storm 11 a.m.
Indygo and I are just about to hike in the arroyo to the mountain when I see some mean clouds moving fast. I start back up the dirt hill to check windows at Windsong and the thunder starts as the black mass broils close. I hesitate. Go back to Mi Casa or get to Windsong? Hail begins blowing sideways. I start running up the hill and get inside to close Windsong's windows. I watch the hail pile up on the deck like styrofoam balls an inch deep. I dislike that I have such
 |
| Hail still in the arroyo. |
And hike we do wearing gloves just in case. Indygo had indicated a short hike to the Yoni Tree and Snake Rock but changes her mind to the long and round about route. I have plenty of water but would have brought more snacks! She lost a pair of gloves up here and a walking stick and hopes to recover something. The hail is still evident on the shaded side of the arroyo and between rocks. There are cool boulders, blooming cactus, and vistas along the way including an overview of Outland.
The climb is loose rock and soft clay - poor footing and my now fav hat feels like it will choke me in the wind. The steepness and poor footing puts me in mind of OLP's Devil's Hopyard. It's been a while since I was so challenged by my fear and I appreciate Indygo's hug at the top. We find Snake Rock but not without a few slide-on-your-butt moments that put a hole in my pants.
 |
| Cool rocks |
 |
| Blooming cactus |
 |
| Me at the rocks w/my borrowed cowgirl hat. |
 |
| Indygo in the sun |
 |
| Me post climb on the mesa |
 |
| Outland buildings in the distance |
We stop at Ruby's on the way back. She's comfy reading and had fun watching the wild menagerie out her sliders. She's worried about a baby cotton-tail that seems alone. I go back a little later to pick up the latest copy of Maize. End up staying while she helps me check schedules for the Rail Runner (RR), the train that runs from Albuquerque to Taos. Incredibly inexpensive and comfortable commuter transportation! Incredibly difficult to read schedules, even for a local!
She and Indygo have talked about The Gathering of Nations Pow Wow happening in Albuquerque this weekend. But Indygo is staying here with Tracy and Ruby isn't up to the travel. I'd like to go but hesitate about taking the gas-guzzling, honkin' Suburban for my own use. Ruby tells me not to think of it that way but as a community vehicle. With her valued permission, I make plans to leave the Chevy in Santa Fe and take the RR. Ruby checks with her partner Juana to see if I can stay overnight at their apartment if it's too late when I get back. I hope she doesn't feel pressured to agree and I'd really rather get back to the land if I can.
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