Adventures with Murphitude

The San Francisco zoo

2007-08-27T19:58:00.001-07:00

Karla, Gavin and Ivan at the zoo. Maybe I could've finished the whole PCT if I had Gavin's setup!

Gavin at Crissy Field

2007-08-27T18:48:00.000-07:00

Visiting friends from college. Their son, Gavin, had a lot of fun playing on this hill.

My trip to San Francisco

2007-08-27T16:42:00.000-07:00

The Golden Gate Bridge from Crissy Park.

Crescent Oregon

2007-08-19T11:09:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite stores in town sells this delightful assortment of booze and bullets.

Near Crater Lake NP

2007-08-19T11:04:00.001-07:00

The first rainy day since we left LA prevented any view of Crater Lake.It's nice to be inside a warm,dry car.

Doe Campground

2007-08-19T10:08:00.000-07:00

This is our campsite at Fish Lake in Oregon.

Upper Klamath Lake NWR

2007-08-18T14:36:00.000-07:00

We're now in Oregon.Took a canoe trail through the refuge. Birds are amazing. Also saw 3 otters playing!

Burney Falls State Park

2007-08-18T14:27:00.000-07:00

Spent a couple days here fishing,canoeing,and taking showers!

Mono Lake

2007-08-15T11:32:00.000-07:00

Paddling through the south tufa at dusk.

Hot Creek

2007-08-14T12:35:00.000-07:00

Sunday at Convict Lake. Monday saw Devil's Postpile and Rainbow Falls.Today saw Hot Creek and will canoe at Mono Lake this evening.

Tom's Birthday Party

2007-08-09T21:03:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday, Tom! We had a great celebration at Tom's parents house with a pizza party, cake and presents. Unfortunately, the cake slid off the tray but landed face up on the ground (still on the cardboard). It was a little squished, but it still tasted great!

Tom with his sister Christy and nephews Troy and Ryan.

Ryan is performing his Happy Birthday dance.

Tom and Troy celebrate.

Happy Birthday, Tom!

Hooray for Mobile Blogger!

2007-08-07T17:10:00.000-07:00

As you can see from the previous post (the building of the computers), I have discovered Mobile Blogger. This is so cool! You can take pictures from your cell phone and send them straight to the blog website. Text is limited, unfortunately, but I can't type very fast on the phone anyway. Since I broke my phone, my wonderful sister-in-law, Christy, has loaned me her old phone which just happens to have a camera. Yippee! Stay tuned...

Building the new twin computers

2007-08-07T17:02:00.001-07:00

Tom and Mike are assembling their new computers.

Farewell to the PCT

2007-08-06T11:10:00.000-07:00

We have shifted gears and are no longer on the Pacific Crest Trail. If you've been following our PCT journal at Postholer.com, you already know about this. If not, click on the above link for the full scoop.

We are currently in Arcadia, California at Tom's parents house, regrouping for some hiking in the Sierras and Oregon. Stay tuned for posts and photos as we continue the journey...

Murphitude is going mobile!

2007-04-10T15:58:00.000-07:00

You've probably noticed that I haven't posted on here in months. Never fear, Murphitude is not dead. We're just temporarily relocating as we prepare for and execute our adventure of a lifetime -- heading southbound on the PCT! Check out our journal at www.postholer.com/murpheyk
Happy trails!

Day 3: Redding to Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park

2006-09-12T19:14:00.000-07:00

I only got to post one entry while we were in California. I've returned home, but unfortunately Tom remains in Oxnard with the camera and all the photos. So... while I still have all the memories and can write some riveting text (wait 'til you read about the elk!), I think the pictures may not be posted for another week or so.

Day 3 started bright and early. We left the River Inn and headed for our truck in the parking lot, only to find a group of homeless people camped out next to it, carefully guarding its contents, or so I hoped. We stopped for breakfast and groceries in Mt. Shasta (the town, not the mountain). Breakfast at Lily's was Eggs Arnold for both of us. This is code for jazzed up eggs benedict with some avocado. Although not extraordinary, it was tasty. The patio dining was very popular as well. We got some groceries for camp dinners at Ray's Food Place. We decided they must have named it so obviously in case the potheads, in a rough bout with the munchies, were having any trouble figuring out where to go. Strong work, Ray's!

We then had an incredibly slow and winding drive first along the Klamath River and then through the forest. I was instructed, as it was my turn to drive, to take it slow and not go careening through the turns. I did as I was told, but when it began to sink in that at this rate we would have many hours to go, impatience won out and Tom took over, careening around turns at breakneck speeds. Alas, I grossly exaggerate, but it sounded more interesting, didn't it? Don't ever let the truth get in the way of a good story.

We arrived at Jedediah, set up camp and took Olive the dog down to the river beach for a swim. (Don't tell the rangers!) It was cold and cloudy but we were all having a great time. The Jedediah campground was fabulously gloomy in the way that dark forests can get: not much light came through the canopy, it was cool and damp and the tree branches dampened most of the sound made by screaming kids celebrating the end of summer. The place was a zoo with kids whizzing around on bikes and scooters, and generators running until after 10pm. Amazingly, when we got up between seven and eight the next morning, all those little peanuts had either cleared out or were sound asleep, because the place was blissfully quiet.

Stay tuned for pictures of Jedediah, and "big blue", our new monster tent (or is it an igloo?)

California Road Blog

2006-09-07T10:01:00.000-07:00

Friday, September 1
Albuquerque to Flagstaff

Welcome to the California Road Trip Blog. Today is actually day #6 of the trip, and I am able to write these notes thanks to my husband's multitude of techno-gadgets that accompany us on the trip. I'll backtrack and start at day #1, but first a few announcements. To my friend Clay, I have only this to say: Ha! The blog is NOT dead! And I also want to say hello to Karla, Ivan, baby Gavin and cousins Marjorie, Cheryl and Virginia in San Francisco, who I deeply regret that we do not have time to see on this trip. We've been thinking about you and are very sad that we won't get to see you!!! Now to the blog...

Friday we left work at 5pm and made the long, straight, uneventful drive down I-40 to Flagstaff, Arizona. The highlight of the evening was dinner in Grants, New Mexico at a homey local place called what else but Grants Restaurant. From the moment we stepped in the door, we were marked as outsiders, especially while we waited awkwardly at the front until someone told us to seat ourselves at any empty, clean table. The tables were covered with plastic chili pepper-decked table cloths, and sketches of Elvis and Marilyn Monroe from someone's art class hung on the walls along with route 66 signs. Another hand painted sign warned us that the food might take awhile, but it would be worth it.The girl who took our drink order and brought us cans of diet coke along with big lime green plastic cups filled with ice and straws seemed to know everyone there. Grandpa was at one table and Aunt Edna was at another. It was a friendly crowd, for those who knew each other. And I guess that was pretty much everyone but us.When the food finally came, it did not disappoint, as promised. The specialty was good ol'New Mexican food. I had the enchilada plate with red chile and Tom had the combo plate (tamale, chile relleno, enchilada and taco with Christmas). For those of you not in the know, "Christmas" style is both red and green chile, not mixed together but side by side. The taco was the only thing that wasn't up to snuff. I've had better red chile, but this stuff wasn't bad. And you can't beat the price: less than $15 for two dinners and four diet cokes. I felt virtuous, as any good Scottish-blooded girl should.A few hours later we pulled into the Quality Inn on Lucky Lane in Flagstaff. There's nothing too exciting to say about the Quality Inn. The desk clerk was friendly, the room was clean and there was a hot breakfast including make-your-own waffles and scrambled eggs, definitely reconstituted from a powder. All for the mediocre price of $85 plus tax. And last but not least they had a pet area where our dog could do her thing, which interestingly enough appeared to be right in the front yard of the next door Howard Johnson. Hmm, does Ho Jo know about this?

Saturday, September 2
Flagstaff, Arizona to Redding, California

What a long strange day it's been.
In rare form, we were up by 6am and on the road by 7. I had never been on this route before, and was struck by the beauty of the area surrounding Flagstaff, which I couldn't appreciate in the darkness when we arrived the night before. Rolling hills and pine-covered mountains surrounded us, and yellow wildflowers of all kinds grew in vast fields in the roadside meadows. The air was cold and crisp with that hint of pine that always reminds me of summer vacations in the mountains. Gradually we descended, the pine trees fell away and we were entering the desert just below the Hoover Dam. First came the police with their road blocks and inspections. Then came the masses of tourists armed with digital cameras and small children dangling by their appendages. The tall, cold spires- towers built on the dam- had an eerie similarity to a backdrop from a Star Wars movie. We drove through the masses of people and cars without stopping.The rest of Nevada was equally bizarre. First came the oasis of Las Vegas, something of a sore thumb sticking out. Then was an amalgam of dry seemingly lifeless mountains with barren deserts spanning their vallies, dotted every now and then by a casino, a brothel, a military outpost, or a half-deserted mining town. To preface the high note of our day, I first need to explain our navigation system. "System?" you ask. Oh yes, this is not a simple map but a GPS receiver coupled to a small computer mounted on the dash that runs "Topo USA" software. Sounds fancy, right? Usually, yes. It would estimate how many hours and minutes until we would reach our final destination, it would beep and tell us where to turn. I was starting to think it was a flawless piece of ingenuity, until...You see, Topo USA had this quirky little habit of trying to find shortcuts. It would constantly reroute us when we were already on the major thoroughfare. It would tell us to take an exit, and immediately get back on the freeway at the same on-ramp because it saved maybe 50 feet. We hadn't quite noticed this little preference until it was far too late. We were in a small town in the middle of nowhere Nevada when it said to make a right turn onto a residential street. We were supposed to make another turn to reconnect, and it looked like it would save us two or three miles. This seemed reasonable, so we took the turn. About three blocks later, it turned to dirt. "Do you think we should turn around?" I said to Tom. "Where's your sense of adventure?" he replied. I shrugged, and since I was in no hurry, conceded to take this "shortcut". A few hundred feet later it turned from dirt road to rugged 4x4 trail. Still, we carried on. After about 20 minutes it turned into a cow path. "Should we turn around now?" "No, that will take a lot longer. We're almost to the end." We were no longer on any road that our GPS software recognized. We could only see where we were relative to where we were supposed to be. We continued on. After a sum total of about an hour, we finally returned to the road, having cut off, as promised, about two or three miles of paved road in exchange for our hour in the backcountry. We were dejected and irritable, and we had lost a lot of time on a day where we were supposed to cover more than 800 miles. We decided to forego dinner and hit the Wendy's drive through in Reno, eating our french fries and chicken sandwiches as we sped on down the road, finally cruising smoothly on a recognizable interstate once again. After a winding state highway through northern California, we finally reached the River Inn in Redding around 10:30pm.

The Blogger Returns

2006-07-30T16:56:00.000-07:00

I am back from the dead! Actually, in the memorable words of that Monty Python guy, “I’m not dead yet.” No, the real reason that this blog has remained ignored and un-posted for so many months is because I have been studying for my board exams, virtually eliminating any chance at a real life. For the past six months, I’ve been stuffing my brain full of useless trivia regarding such thrilling topics as the myriad antigens present on your red blood cells, every kind of tapeworm in existence and what it’s life cycle and its eggs look like, and how the LIS (Laboratory information system) works.

As for the test, I would like to think that six months of studying actually made a difference, but it was truly so obscure at times, that my success or lack thereof may just come down to my lucky socks: Hot pink, lime green and yellow stripes on Wednesday, and frogs with sunglasses, floating in pool toys and sipping foofy drinks on Thursday. With socks like that, how can I go wrong?

In the meantime, life has been moving along without me. The soybean plants in the garden are producing bean pods. Edamame, here I come! And the green beans are forming nicely as well. Admittedly, the garden is a little heavy on beans this year. I’d say that it represents more than 50% of my total crop yield. Beans seem to grow very well in New Mexico. I have four varieties: soybeans, bush beans (your run-of-the-mill green beans) and two kinds of tepary beans: Mitla Black and Sonoran Gold. I’m not really sure what I’m going to do with the tepary beans, but they’re not ready yet, so I still have time to figure that out.

What else is coming up? We’ve got good food, we’ve got travels in the enchanting state of New Mexico and elsewhere, we’ve got artsy-craftsy things to check out. Can you tell how excited I am to be done with this test? Life is about to get good. Stay tuned…

The Garden Project

2006-05-01T19:27:00.000-07:00

I got all of my veggie and herb seeds from Seeds of Change, an awesome company that you should definitely check out if you don't already know about them. All of the seeds are certified organic, and many of the varieties are rare or unusual. I tend to be overly ambitious on many of my projects, and the garden is probably no exception. I'm growing about 15 different items in a pretty large space, and I've basically never done this before (or at least on this scale). But hey, I've got an automatic timer hooked up to an irrigation system. How hard can it be?

I'm running an experiment with the tomatoes and peppers. I've started some of them indoors, as recommended, albeit a little behind schedule. The rest are in pots outside on the patio. As expected, they are coming up much slower, but at least they're coming up at all. I wasn't sure if they would, since our nights here in Albuquerque are in the low 40s and maybe even high 30s.

Here are my happy little indoor tomato seedlings. I'd estimate they are 2-3 weeks old. They sprouted a little over a week ago. My only question now is when to transplant them? Do they need to move to sequentially larger pots before they can be moved to the garden?

And these are my not-so-happy little outdoor tomato plants. As you can see, the one in the lower right corner has sprouted one little seedling. Yippee! The seedling in the lower left corner is not a tomato plant, but a little squatter... a seed flown in by the wind from one of our many elm trees that seem to be shedding like a blizzard in January. You can also see several of these tan, round seeds lying on top of the soil.

This is also an outdoor pot, absolutely loaded with seedlings from the elm trees. (Note massive pile of seeds in background to the left.) There is also an occasional tomato plant. Interestingly, this bucket does not have any drain holes at the bottom, and you can see that things seem to be thriving far better than in the other outdoor pots. I know that all of the gardening advice out there poo-poos pots that aren't well-drained, but I swear it is of benefit in bone-dry New Mexico. Especially when you're like me, and you can't remember to water every day!

And last, but most certainly not least, here is the garden plot. It's a massive space for someone who's used to working in container gardens, but we'll see how she grows. The spigot with automatic timer is on the left. I installed 1/2" plastic tubing which runs down the left side, next to the adobe wall. Radiating from this at right angles is 1/4" laser drilled drip tubing, twelve lines total. You can see the dark stripes left by the water along these lines. I put all of the seeds in on Sunday, two days ago. Hopefully we'll start to see some seedlings by next weekend! My next dilemma is how to keep it organic. Thus far, I've used some certified organic liquid stuff that is said to be extracted from worm-infested compost. Yum. But what I want to know (and no one so far seems to know the answer) is if MiracleGro invalidates your "organic-ness"? The ingredients look like a lot of minerals. Is that all it is, or is there anything harmful in it (to me or my dirt)? Stay tuned...

Shameless Brewery Plug

2006-04-26T19:20:00.000-07:00

Here's a quick tip for beer afficianados passing through Albuquerque: You simply must stop in at the Chama River Brewing Co. (pictured above). My husband and I have rapidly converted to the status of "regulars". While we're not quite as enamored with the food (which is good but not amazing), we LOVE the beer. We love it so much, we want to marry it! (Okay, we're already married, but polygamy with a bottle of the most delicious beer doesn't sound too bad. We could move to Utah...)
Anyway, returning to the subject, the standard menu beers (all brewed on location) are good solid choices, but the best beers are the rotating seasonals. Last night we tried the double IPA (hoppalicious!) at a whopping 8.5% alcohol, and the ESB, also very good.
My all time favorite is the pumpkin ale, but I've got to make it until autumn to try that one again. Pumpkin spice just doesn't seem right on a beautiful spring day, when one should be sampling a hefeweizen with fresh lemon. Here's another good tip: Wednesday night is pint night and all pints (except a few special ones) are $2. Where else can you find a deal like that?
While you're there, try the cheese & ale fondue appetizer. Last night, it seemed like everyone was ordering it. And when is cheese ever wrong? I can't think of a single occasion.
Chama is located on the west side of I-25, just south of the Montgomery/Montano exit on the southbound frontage road. Until I learn to brew my own, I will be hanging out there!

Steer clear of the butterbur!

2006-04-19T20:00:00.000-07:00

I promise that this will be my last blog entry on the tea subject. One can only flog (or blog, heh heh!) an issue so much, and then one simply must move on to greener pastures and more fascinating themes. But in the meantime, I will share what I've discovered. For one thing, it seems to be much easier to find herbal decongestants that herbal antihistamines. You may not realize it, but you're already familiar with this stuff. Eucalyptus, peppermint and licorice teas are all good decongestants. And as it turns out, I don't have to grow the herbs in my back yard after all, because I already have a delicious Egyptian licorice tea, and a nasal passage-opening peppermint tea right in my very own cupboard. I don't know if they're going to get rid of the bags under my eyes (maybe the antihistamine is what I really need for that), but they sure clean out the old schnozzle. As for herbal antihistamines, I came across a plant called "butterbur". But I must caution you, everything I read said that certain parts of the plant are extremely toxic to the liver and can even result in liver failure. Thanks but no thanks, I say. I'd rather have the bags under my eyes. So... any requests for my next topic?

"Giant Butterbur" from http://www.nic.fi/~hit/digikuvia/kevat2004/DSCN0991.JPG

Maybe Western Medicine Ain't So Bad

2006-04-17T20:09:00.000-07:00

I really wanted to be able to say that the herbal decongestant tea worked great, but the truth is that it didn't do a damn thing. I'm still all plugged up, with those fabulous "allergic shiners" and the fluid in my ears. What's the next step? Well, before I give up completely on alternative medicine, I'm going to do a little research to find out which plants offer the best natural decongestants. Then, to ward off all of those potential contaminants that you can get in herbal supplements, I'm going to grow my own plants and make my own tea. Yahoo! Since I've just set up a drip irrigation system for my vegetable garden, and will be sowing the seeds within the next few days, I'll just add my herbs and voila! The experiment continues...

Anon, published by J. L. Marks, 27 Artillery Street, Bishopsgate, London. From the University of Virginia Health Sciences Library.

Tea For Two, and You Can Breathe!

2006-04-05T17:39:00.000-07:00

Today was my annual doctor's appointment. I have decided that no matter how old you get, it is never any fun to go to the doctor. In fact, it probably just gets worse, as they break more and more bad news to you about your aging body: "Your cholesterol is too high," "You've gained ten pounds since last year," "You've got arthritis," "You're one birthday cake away from senility," etcetera, etcetera.

This time, I was informed that I had fluid in my ears and "allergic shiners." These are puffy bluish bags under your eyes, not caused by some pop fly ball or a rough night at Fight Club, but by none other than... the dreaded allergies. Who knows which ones? Pet dander, juniper pollen, all that nasty dust from the carpets at work that look like they haven't been vacuumed in 20 years. Any of these could be the culprit. And I am simply not sick enough, nor concerned enough to get a skin test to find out.

You're probably wondering at this point why I'm talking about health-related issues on a food and travel blog. Fair enough. But there is a connection, I assure you, dear reader! My ever-so-cool doctor knows I am not big on taking medications. They're expensive, they're cumbersome (you have to remember to take them every day), they have yucky side effects most of the time, and they have a certain quality not unlike that creepiness of processed foods. You know, kind of chemical-y.

Alternative medicine to the rescue! My ever-so-hip doctor steered me away from all of those expensive antihistamines and recommended, drum roll please... tea! Now you see what this has to do with food. Unfortunately for anyone who is seeking a little more detail on the tea, I read the list at the herb store, and have since completely forgotten all of the ingredients. The label just says "decongestant tea". What's more, I haven't tried it yet. But if it works, I will head back to the store and write down all of those wonderful ingredients and let you know exactly what's in it.

Before I sing the praises of herbal medicines, however, I always feel it necessary to mention a couple of caveats and words of caution. First, beware expensive prices. Depending on the medicine and where you purchase it, you can easily blow as much or more on alternative medicines as you would on the prescription ones. Second, just because it's "natural" does not mean it's safe. Allow me to illustrate a few examples: black widow spider bites are very natural, sasparilla (or sarsparilla) root is a potential carcinogen, banned by the FDA, but still available as an herbal. Many plants have serious toxic properties. My point is to do your research before you dive into something of this nature. Most herbs are not regulated by the FDA, meaning that they haven't been tested, the method of processing is unknown and can occasionally contain other contaminants that may be harmful to you even if the herb itself isn't. Find a trusted source, and do your homework! I'll let you know how the tea works. Stay tuned...

Fancy Shmancy Cocktail Sauce

2006-03-05T21:47:00.000-07:00

I felt like a crazy cajun chef in the kitchen tonight. I had the zydeco music cranking. I was dancing around the kitchen with the dog. And we were having scallops and corn on the cob. A bit eclectic, but it was what we had in the fridge. I needed a marinade/sauce for the scallops. I found a recipe for "barbecue" sauce for scallops, and decided to go for that. Of course, we were missing half of the ingredients, so I improvised. After tasting it, I decided that it would make a much better cocktail sauce (for shrimp, or whatever else you like to eat with this sort of zesty tomato-based sauce). I like my scallops rich and buttery, sans zip. But it was not bad. Here's my recipe. Sounds weird but tastes delish!

1/4 c. ketchup
1 T. lime juice
1 T. raspberry preserves
2 T. orange fruit spread (ours is from Trader Joe's... now in Albuquerque. Yeehaw!)
1 T. bottled teriyaki sauce
1 T. horseradish sauce
1/8 t. freshly ground black pepper

Mix everything together and serve with chilled shrimp (cooked, of course) or whatever you fancy.

Try it and post your evaluations!

Spring Has Sprung!

2006-03-01T19:56:00.000-07:00

Now that my muscles have finally recovered from the incredible beating they took at Snowbird (or as my friend Ivan puts it, "I felt like I needed bilateral ankle transplants.") I am moving on to bigger and better things. Thanks to the Murphey clan who has supplied me with multitudes of gorgeous beads to continue my start-up necklace-making industry. Truthfully, it's not much of an industry. More of a hobby yearning to be so much more. But Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither is the case for my jewelry business. But I digress.

For the past two days, it has been balmy in Albuquerque. Spring is in the air. Just the little taste of delectable warmth has sent my imagination flying... I am envisioning barbecues, camping trips, riding my bike everywhere, sitting on the patio at Kelly's, sipping a tall cool IPA. Going running on the bike trail at 9pm because it's still light out! Well... maybe I don't typically run at 9pm, but it sure sounds good.

So on that note, I have received my Seeds of Change catalog, and am eagerly planning this season's vegetable garden. Two years ago, we had great luck with tomatoes, green beans, radishes and basil. Other things (peas, peppers, carrots) didn't do so well. Keep in mind that was two years ago. Last year, on the other hand, we got a big fat zippo, zero, nada. Not for lack of planting, either. Oh no. We spent an entire weekend slaving away, tilling, weeding, and planting corn, sunflowers, melons, beans, peas, radishes, even brocolli. Some of these things, admittedly, were poor choices for this region. But that has never stopped me before. The fatal blow was when we went on vacation only about a week after planting, and like an idiot, I left no water timer whatsoever. Everything wilted and died, or never came up in the first place. It was a disaster. Suffice it to say, I have vowed not to repeat the same mistake. This year will be different. Nevertheless, I will remain a wee bit more cautious in my selections. This is why my favorite selections for this year are... drumroll please... the Sonoran Gold Bush Tepary Bean and its partner in crime, the Blue Speckled Tepary Bean. These guys are dry soup beans. Maybe not the height of culinary bliss, but they are drought tolerant, and when you're a brown thumb like me, you've gotta like that.

Sonoran Gold Bush Tepary Bean, from Seeds of Change catalog. Yum!

Pow Pow at Snowbird

2006-02-22T17:12:00.000-07:00

Alas, my dear readers (all two of you), it may seem like I have abandoned the blog altogether. Not so! I have a great trip to Salt Lake City to report. Unfortunately, not a single photo was taken the whole time, so you will just have to use your imagination.

We spent the President's Day weekend snowboarding at Snowbird. It was fantastic. 7" of new snow between our first and second day, and my legs were jello by Sunday afternoon.

The hype on Snowbird: This place is great for advanced skiers and boarders, but be forewarned... There are more double black diamonds than Liz Taylor has ex-husbands. If greens are your thing, this may not be the place for you. Mineral Basin, the network of trails on the backside, has excellent deep powder, but we didn't really get to enjoy it simply because the visibility was so bad that I felt like I might accidentally plunge over a cliff at any minute. One run of that was enough to seek a clearer spot.

See what I mean? Go to their website (www.snowbird.com) to check out the full size views of these bad boys.

In other reviews, I give the hotel we stayed at (Hotel Monaco in downtown Salt Lake City) five stars. The price was not cheap ($169 a night), but the service was impeccable, and the place was charming. My only complaint was that the breakfast service at their restaurant was extremely disorganized and slow for run-of-the-mill, overpriced food. My hubby, however, was not so taken with this place. He found it a little too "festive" with the touches such as leopard print bathrobes and funky bright couch draped in tulle in the lobby, not to mention the bright green striped wallpaper in our bedroom. Although I was pleased, if I had to do it over again, I would probably devote a little more time to web surfing in order to find a good ski package deal. Another tourist we spoke with told us of a deal at Holiday Inn where one night, including two lift tickets was $140 (not verified by moi). If that is the case, then I am sold.

I give the UTA ski bus three out of four stars. There could not be a cheaper way to get up the mountain. $3 per person each way. It takes about an hour to get from the downtown area to Snowbird. Shortcomings include crowded buses at the end of the day, and drivers who don't like to turn the heater on. But otherwise, it is an efficient and reliable way to go. The bus makes two morning stops on the weekends at most major downtown hotels, and heads back down the mountain at the end of the day, one bus at about 4pm and the other at about 4:45pm. Check schedules for exact times. The other thing that you need to know is that this bus only goes to Snowbird and Alta. There are buses that transfer to Brighton and Solitude, but this will take awhile longer. If you want to get to Park City or some other ski area, I don't think these buses will go there.

And last, but certainly not least, my restaurant reviews:

Two thumbs up for Squatters Pub Brewery. This place has wonderful microbrews, including choices from the nitro tap and cask-conditioned hand pump style. The food is great, too. Both DJ Melly-Mel and I think they have the best turkey burger ever. Not that you would expect much from a turkey burger, but this one is awesome!

Would I return to SLC next year to do another ski trip? Absolutely! This place is friendly, easy to navigate, and probably has some of the world's best snow. I would consider going a different weekend, though, to avoid the crowds and pick up some better deals on lift tickets and lodging.

When you can't ski, the obvious choice is spelunking!

2006-01-16T16:05:00.000-07:00

It has been a rough year for snow in the Northern New Mexico/Southern Colorado region. If the sky had graced us just a few times more with those sparkling white crystalline beauties, you can bet we'd be hitting the slopes this weekend. But seasons change, and plans can too...

For this Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday weekend, we packed a rather full schedule of exploring Carlsbad Caverns National Park and camping and hiking in the Guadalupe mountains into three short days. The weather cooperated, and we stayed toasty warm the whole time.

This is a great trip for a three day weekend for those who live nearby, from Albuquerque to El Paso. I'll spend the next few blog entries hitting the highlights, and giving you the low down and all the gory details, so you can plan a trip of your own.

From Albuquerque, it is about 3-4 hours to Roswell (204 miles), depending on how fast you drive. It is another hour to hour-and-a-half (76 miles) from Roswell to the town of Carlsbad. The Carlsbad Caverns National Park is another 20 miles up the road, just past White's City.

Day 1: You can leave after work, and if you're heading down from Albuquerque, you can have a leisurely dinner in Roswell and still make it to Carlsbad by 11pm. We decided to stay in a motel for the first night, since we were arriving so late.

Roswell eats: The Rib Crib. Let me just say right now that this place gets a lot higher murphitude rating than the motel I am about to review next. Keep in mind, the Rib Crib is a chain, so be prepared for that Appleby's/Chili's/TGIFriday kind of crap on the walls and the same style of menu. Fortunately, I could look past all of that in my weakened hungry state to realize that the food was yummy. I recommend the spare ribs. They are tender and juicy, and most importantly, they have great barbecue sauces to smother all over them. The ranch style beans are hearty and flavorful with a litle kick, and I'd be shocked if they weren't stewed in some kind of pork product, so vegetarians beware. I ordered the chicken strips, which were just your average chicken strips... not amazing, not bad. The service was incredibly attentive, if not overbearing. Twice I had a diet Coke refill brought to me before I had even taken two sips of the first. I would definitely revisit this place (given the limited, but improving, number of options in Roswell.) Last time we were there, for the alien festival (see "Costume Crunch Time" from the September 2005 archives) we ate at Farley's, where the atmosphere was hopping, the live music was good, but the food simply sucked.

Lodging in Carlsbad: Best Western Stevens Inn. I give this place 2 stars out of 5. I was incredibly disappointed. For starters, we get to Carlsbad, we're tired and we just want to find a clean, decent inexpensive place to stay. We drive through most of the town, past seedy little run down motels (which in retrospect were probably just as good as this place, and at half the price), and finally stop at what we assume, or at least hope, will be a nice reputable place. The woman at the desk was an absolute witch, but whatever, I'll chalk that up to her having a bad day. In the middle of January, not exactly peak tourist season in Carlsbad, she quotes us a rate of $80. I was appalled. She asked if we had AAA membership, which we did, and she lowered it to $70. We were too tired to keep looking, a fact she was probably counting on, so we took it.

The room badly needed a renovation. It was spacious, but standard. The bathroom tub needed the enamel redone badly. The bathroom fan sounded like a helicopter that could take someone's head off if you gave it enough time. There was no coffee to accompany the in-room coffee maker. The bed made a taco out of my husband and I. And we could hear every conversation in the rooms on either side of us. I do not exaggerate! Paper thin walls.

The highlight of the place was the free buffet breakfast. There were scrambled eggs, biscuits and gravy, potatoes, pancakes, juice and coffee. Nothing was gourmet, but a good solid breakfast, at a good price (free). If it weren't for that, I would truly not have one good thing to say about the place.

We got up early Saturday morning, and headed up to the caverns, about a 45 minute drive from the town of Carlsbad.

Stay tuned for Day 2!

Amazing Muffins

2006-01-08T13:48:00.000-07:00

In the midst of a severe muffin craving, I hopped onto the Cooking Light website yesterday, and found a muffin recipe that used not only my leftover carrots in the fridge, but also that extra can of yams in the pantry that didn't get used for Christmas dinner. They are so moist, they taste like your average sinfully delicious pumpkin muffin, but these guys are much lower in fat.

I used decorative pans including the hearts pictured below (thanks, Mom!) and the bouquet cake pan (roses, daisies and sunflowers) from Williams-Sonoma.

Top them off with a little powdered sugar after they have cooled. They are great for brunch and would also make a nice gift basket, if you don't eat them all first!

Click here to go to the Cooking Light webpage for the recipe for Carrot-Sweet Potato Muffins.

Christmas Recap

2006-01-07T19:10:00.000-07:00

Alas, at this rate I will never be a true blogiste.

But we have been so busy for the holidays, blogging has just not been on the radar. For Christmas, the family came down to Albuquerque and we ate and ate and ate, and then hiked a little out of guilt and remorse. There was also a lot of board game playing in the evenings, since the chances of us agreeing on the same movie were like George Bush having a change of heart and pulling the troops out of Iraq tomorrow. I am one of those geeks who loves boardgames. My sister, on the other hand, was ready to chuck the damn thing across the Rio Grande by the third night.

Here are the highlights:

Favorite hikes:
1. La Luz trail, just north of the tram at the base of the Sandias.
2. Bosque, the "forest" (aka scattered cottonwoods, russian olives and scrubby stuff) bordering the east side of the Rio Grande as it passes through Albuquerque.
3. Walking Olive the dog along the irrigation ditches in the North Valley, Ranchos de Albuquerque.

Favorite games:
1. Cranium. We were pretty decently talented at this game, with the exception of the "zelpuz" word scrambles, which absolutely blew. Melissa, where are you when we need you?! On the other hand, Tom was a genius at "sculpturades". I'd pick him first for my Pictionary team any day of the week.
2. Imaginiff. The box in the store had lots of little gold stickers on it that said they had won lots of awards, so I bought it. The premise is this: everyone writes their name on the board, and when that name is landed on, you use it in the blank on the game card, such as:
"If ____ were a color, what color would he/she be?"
a) beige
b) lime green
c) hot pink
d) royal blue
e) pure white
f) black
You all vote, and those who picked the most popular choice get a point. Some people are shocked at how others see them. I remain shocked at how my dad remains in his own world. When everyone else voted that my sister would most likely spend new year's eve "passed out at 11:59pm at a raging party" my dad was the sole voter that she would "spend a quiet evening at home with the family". Go figure.

Stay tuned for posts on New Year weekend in Estes Park, Colorado.

To Infinity and Beyond!

2005-12-21T11:50:00.000-07:00

A shout out to my good friend Melly-Mel (That's your alias. No one will ever figure out who you are. Heh heh.) who just got her dream job in the Big Apple. So, it's not Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, but just you wait. That will be next year. Congratulations!!!! Can we go see Cats now? How about something with Bette Midler?Just kidding.

Christmas in New Mexico

2005-12-18T08:17:00.000-07:00

I cannot think of a better, more magical place to spend Christmas than New Mexico. (Except maybe Florida, as I glance at the outdoor thermometer registering 25F here in the balmy North Valley of Albuquerque.) The snow on the pines in the mountains of northern New Mexico, the luminarias on Christmas Eve lighting up entire neighborhoods, the brilliantly lit botanical gardens, the Christmas pageant in Taos.... There is so much to see and do, one would be hard-pressed to get to it all. But here is a sampling if you ever find yourself in the Land of Enchantment over the holidays.

For starters, where are you going to stay? I am a big fan of Bed & Breakfasts, and there are many charming ones right here in the Albuquerque area (don't pass us up on your way to Santa Fe!). A personal favorite of my family, and where they will be staying again this holiday, is the Hacienda Antigua. Although not inexpensive, the place is extremely charming, well furnished, and serves delicious breakfast. It has a rich history as well: it was built on El Camino Real (the original trade route between Mexico City and Santa Fe) and was a trading hub and stopping point along the route. The building is over 200 years old. As with traditional buildings of its time, it has an inner courtyard, with the rooms situated along the sides.

This is one of the bedrooms with fireplace.

The patio along the inner courtyard is a lovely place to eat breakfast in the summer. I don't think we'll be doing that in December, though.

As for activities, the luminarias in the Country Club area of Oldtown Albuquerque are not to be missed. The entire neighborhood puts these traditional paper bags filled with candle lights all over their front lawns. We used to live in this neighborhood, and in fact, we were warned that, more or less, there would be a lynching if we did not participate. These folks take their luminarias very seriously.

The celebration begins Christmas eve after dark. There are many ways to view the lights. The city buses do a tour if you don't want to fight the traffic. There are lots of cars and they move very slowly. Other popular options include riding your bicycle (decorated with lights, of course) or parking a little farther away and walking through. Don't forget your camera!

After all of the gift giving and eating on Christmas day, you may be ready for a little exercise. My favorite way to burn off that turkey is to take a short hike at Tent Rocks. The name was given to these teepee-shaped rocks because of a geological phenomenon where boulders perched atop the "tents" protect the softer rock below as it slowly erodes, forming this conical shape. When the boulders are displaced, the whole formation gradually erodes, and will eventually lose its unique shape.

The park is open in the winter from 8 to 5, and costs $5 per vehicle. Here are the directions according to the BLM website:

From Albuquerque, take the exit for Santo Domingo/Cochiti Lake Recreation Area (Exit 259) off I-25 onto NM 22. Follow the signs on NM 22 to Cochiti Pueblo and Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument. Turn right off NM 22 at the pueblo water tower (painted like a drum) onto Tribal Route 92, which connects to Forest Service Road 266. Travel five miles on a gravel road to the national monument’s designated parking/picnic area, fee station and trailhead.

There are gobs of other great things to do in the state in the winter months. It's impossible to list all of them here, but check around and take advantage of the ample opportunities for fun and adventure if you happen to find yourself in New Mexico this holiday season.

For those of you who celebrate other holidays or no holidays at all (bah, humbug!), be forewarned that New Mexico is largely catholic, and thus all of the Christmas happenings are hard to avoid. Nevertheless, despite the occasional blustery cold, this is still a great place to visit in winter, whatever your inclinations.

I highly recommend a weekend trip of skiing, either at Santa Fe ski basin or at Taos (although I actively boycott, as they don't allow snowboarders). Pajarito in Los Alamos is another great local area. Head to Ten Thousand Waves, an awesome Japanese spa just outside Santa Fe, for an hour soak in one of their amazing private outdoor hot tubs. By this time, your tummy should be grumbling. Stop in at El Farol for an excellent dinner of tapas and nightly live music in the cantina.

Shake your bootie in the cantina at El Farol. Doesn't that look like fun?

The KitchenAid is resurrected

2005-12-18T08:09:00.000-07:00

Sure, it's the wrong holiday for resurrections, but who cares. Soon I will be back in the kitchen, flour flying everywhere, dog happily gobbling up scraps of dough on the floor, and me with a dazed smile on my face as I finish my twelfth batch of cookies for the day. It may be a wee bit optimistic, but a girl can dream.

Here is the wounded beast in the "before" picture. I don't have an "after" picture, but go to any of those department stores and look at the nice shiny new ones, and that's how my baby now looks. Minus a little shine, from all the grease and flour that went flying at one point or another. Folks, we are back in business!

Baby, It's Cold Outside!

2005-12-07T20:32:00.000-07:00

There appears to be some kind of cold snap going on across the country. The number of tongues frozen to light poles in Wisconsin has reached a record high. Here on Horton Lane, where all of the houses use passive solar heating (alas, I do not exaggerate) we are freezing our tuchises off. (I had to look up tuchis. I had no idea how to spell it, even though I say it all the time. I'm just a yiddish copping shiksa.)

Anyway, here's the deal. We do have backup heating, but it's those electric baseboards. They don't do much, but cost a small fortune, so we really don't use them at all. This makes our electric bills blissful. Less than $80 a month for all of our electricity and heating needs (there's no gas line into the house). But the kitchen, when I came home this evening, was 50 F. It will most likely be down to 45 F in the morning. These are the times when you can't cook with the olive oil, because it has already solidified in the bottle. Oh yeah, it's bad.

All of this long-winded verbage was to justify why I am still not making cookies. The replacement gear did come today, so I don't have that excuse anymore. But the mixer is still in a million pieces on the counter. Actually, turning on the oven might be just what that kitchen needs. But no, I say. Not tonight. I am tired of my teeth chattering. I am tired of wearing my wool coat around the house. (I am wearing it right now.) I am tired of living in one room. At least it's the computer room, heh heh. Oh sun, couldn't you move just a little bit closer?! In the meantime, I am going to don my jammies and read more Julie & Julia, curled up in my bed. The cookies will just have to wait. Sigh.

Okay, Tom has just informed me that there are not enough pictures on my site as of late. What? Aren't you all just enthralled with my prose? Well, to humor you I have included a picture of me in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, summer of 2002, to really give you the sense of how cold I am feeling right now. I'm the one in the middle. Doesn't it just look bone chilling? Believe me, it was. In eleven straight days, I never thawed out. The shower at the end of that trip was one of the most precious, satisfying, delightful gifts I have ever received. I would've cut off my pinky in exchange. But back to the picture. Perhaps you are wondering what the heck we are all doing. Well... we had spotted some young carribou who had never seen a human before. They looked at us like we were space aliens. (Kang and Kronos, if you're a Simpsons fan.) We thought we would put them at ease by pretending we were carribou, too. Our arms are supposed to be a rack of antlers, get it? It didn't really work, but it was fun trying.

Tin Can Christmas Lanterns

2005-12-06T15:14:00.000-07:00

All family members: DO NOT READ THIS ENTRY!!! (You don't want to find out what you're getting for Christmas, do you?!)

I'm taking a break from this cookie business while I wait for replacement parts for the mixer. In the meantime, my holiday home-ec inklings are still holding strong. I have decided to embrace my southwestern location, and make some tin punch lanterns. Perhaps you have seen these. They're pretty simple to make. Any kid could do it, as long as they don't have the propensity to smash their fingers with a hammer. (Actually, many of us adults have that problem as well. Especially after a pint of Jack Daniels. Just kidding!)

Here's all you need to do to make your very own old-timey tin lantern. Save all of your old veggie cans (that is --gasp!-- if you eat CANNED vegetables, god forbid.) Or your Folgers coffee cans (even worse, I know.) Wash the inside of the can, remove the label, fill the can with water and freeze it overnight. Now you get to be creative: design your own pattern on a piece of paper. Simple line drawings and geometric shapes work best. Then, using a hammer and nail, after you've taped your pattern onto the can, punch the holes following your pattern. Remove the pattern, remove the ice, add a candle, and admire your fine craftsmanship.

At this point in the process, I was noticing that my lantern still looked a lot like a vegetable can. I'm going to the hardware store tonight to see if I can find some spraypaint that will give it an antique finish. Black paint also works well to bring out the pattern in dimly lit areas.

Send me pictures of your designs!

The Cookies Have Crashed and Burned

2005-12-05T16:26:00.000-07:00

I honestly tried to keep the cookie project going. I made it three days. Out of 25. Maybe I'm just not cut out for insane cooking jags. Last night I just couldn't bring myself to bake gingerbread men (and women -- even baking must be politically correct these days), so I made spicy shrimp with udon noodles instead. Asian comfort food was far more satisfying after a hard day of internet Christmas shopping and addressing 50 Christmas cards by hand. I also made stockings. Look out Martha Stewart, here I come! Not to fear, there will be more cookies, but no longer at the insane pace. Besides, I am still waiting for the replacement gear to fix the KitchenAid.

Tea and Strumpets

2005-12-03T14:03:00.000-07:00

Day 3 of the 25 days of cookies: The KitchenAid mixer is still broken. None of the appliance repair places around here seem to be able to fix it, so Tom got curious and took it apart. I always thought that KitchenAid had a bombproof reputation, but there was a plastic (!) gear inside, and of course that was the one that broke. We found a replacement part online for $14 (plus $15 shipping and handling to get it here in two days). In the meantime, my noodle arms are holding strong. I find that a wire wisk does wonders as a mixer substitute.

I had to play catch-up today and make day 2 and day 3 cookies. The "raspberry strippers" turned out pretty darn good, and I made a batch with some orange fruit spread from Trader Joes as well. Those were spectacular.

The day 3 Junior Mint brownies required some improvisation as I had no Junior Mints lying around the house, but I did have some peppermint patties left over from last Valentine's day. There weren't quite enough, so I threw in a couple of milk chocolate hearts. You are supposed to melt them with some butter in the microwave, and then stir the whole thing into a smooth, creamy consistency. I ended up with liquid chocolate with glops of minty stuff that would not dissolve, no mater how much I waved it. But I pushed onward anyway. I haven't actually tried it yet. It's still on the counter cooling. The middle is a little collapsed, and I don't know if that's because I used a 9-inch pan instead of an 8-inch pan (I can never remember which one I have, and I'm far too lazy to actually measure it.) or because I live at 5,000 ft elevation. Hey, as long as they're chocolatey, I really don't care if they collapse in the middle.

I peeked ahead to tomorrow's recipe: gingerbread men. We are planning to do all of our Christmas shopping tomorrow (online, of course). I really don't have time for gingerbread men. I am beginning to doubt the complete-ability of this project. Perhaps I will just swap oatmeal spice cookies for gingerbread men, but when am I ever going to have time to do gingerbread men? Only time will tell... For now, I have a big tupperware full of macadamia butter blueberry cookies, "raspberry strippers" (the name never ceases to amaze me) and mint brownies to pawn off on my husband and coworkers. It should keep them happy and complacent for awhile, until I can get to those @#$^%$#!! gingerbread men.

Julie & Julia Wanna-Be

2005-12-02T18:54:00.000-07:00

We've spent enough time talking about travel. Let's get back to the important stuff: food. But first, some background. I have found the greatest book. Probably many of you have heard about it or read it. It's getting a lot of press lately. Julie & Julia is a fabulous example of how one quirky blog can win you a book contract. Moreover, I am especially in love with this book not only because it is incredibly entertaining, but because Julie Powell, the author, is living my pipe dream. Stuck in a dead end job & generally in a rut, she takes on a bizarre year-long project, to cook every recipe in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. She blogs the whole project, resulting in a small cult following, and eventually landing her a sweet deal to write a book about the whole thing. I am so insanely jealous. Words simply cannot express the pangs of longing I have for a deal like this. But alas, I have no quirky project. I do have a blog, but there are a few problems. Number one, I am not even close to writing daily entries. Who can hope to sustain a loyal blog audience if they have to wait two weeks to read another entry? And number two, I am all over the road when it comes to subject matter.

So, enter my new plan. It is pathetically wimpy when compared to the scope of the MtAoFC project, but for a pathology resident who is supposed to be mastering cytopathology, applying for boards, finishing a research project, and writing a manuscript, this is the best I can do at the moment. Perhaps when I retire from pathology, and take on my fantasized Martha Stewart persona, I will tackle something much more epic. For now, I am content with my cookie plan. It's not even my own original plan, I confess, but who doesn't love cookies? Yeah, I was browsing on the Cooking Light website when I noticed their "25 days of cookies" link. I love Christmas, and I love cookies, so I simply could not resist the 25 days of cookies project. And it started on December 1, yesterday, the day I was browsing the website. Perfect timing. So I printed up the first and second recipes, and made a trip to the grocery store after work.

The first recipe, "Macadamia Butter Cookies with Dried Cranberries," was hilarious because of the reviews on the website. The recipe very clearly states "Place nuts in a food processor, process until smooth.... Combine Macadamia butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar..." Surely any simpleton can deduce that Macadamia nuts processed until smooth equals Macadamia butter, right? But there were about 20 comments on the website saying, in essence, 'where is the butter in the recipe? I can't find the butter!' Ugh. Those who were not fooled by the 'Macadamia butter' instructions declared that the cookies were yummy, sealing my fate that, yes, this was a good idea to dive into the cookie project.

I made the Macadamia butter, I combined it with the granulated sugar, and some very old, very hard chunks of brown sugar. And then I turned the KitchenAid mixer on. One nanosecond later, kachunk. The engine was still desperately grinding, but that blade was locked against one giant rock-hard piece of brown sugar. I shut off the mixer, pulled out the brown sugar, replaced it with some other smaller, but still rock-hard pieces of brown sugar, and turned the mixer back on. Nothing. I had killed it. Crap! How am I going to make 25 days worth of cookies without my mixer? I cannot possibly do this the old fashioned way of stirring the dough with a spoon. I have noodle arms. Well, more like noodle arms in a layer of fat, but noodle arms, nonetheless. Maybe this could double as my new workout.

Before I gave up on the mixer entirely, I removed every screw I could find on it, in the hope that I could just remove the cover, slip some gear back into place, and voila! I'd be back in business. No such luck. No matter how many screws I took out, I could not get the cover off. I put them all back into place, and sulked. I felt like a failure. I couldn't even get the first batch of cookies done. I thought, there has to be some way I can still do this electrically. So I finished the job with the dough attachment on the food processor. That did a mediocre job, and I finished adding the rest of the ingredients with, yes, none other than the wooden spoon and my noodle arms. I do believe I'll be able to enter one of those body building contests by the end of the month. Well, maybe not, but one can always dream.

Another funny thing about my cooking "style", if you could call it that, is that I am really into substituting ingredients for the sake of using up weird leftover foods lying around the house. It must be my frugal Scottish heritage. This recipe calls for dried cranberries, but I decided to use our leftover dried mini blueberries instead. The recipe called for 1/2 cup. This probably would have been the right amount for the cranberries, but with those teeny tiny blueberries, you can pack a lot into that space. By the time I mixed them into the dough, I had more blueberries than dough. Forming them into little balls was an interesting process. I had to squish each individual blueberry into the dough just to get it to stick. The final product was admittedly a bit bizarre. Sweet, but weird. I probably won't make those again, but it has not deterred my will to finish the 25 day cookie project.

As for the mixer, I called KitchenAid, and they informed me that my $250 mixer only has a year warranty. What kind of crap warranty is that for such a pricey item? If you buy a $200 watch, you can get something like a 10-year warranty. But they still wanted me to pay $25 for a "shipping kit" to send it to their factory in Ohio (!) (I live in Albuquerque) where they could fix it in three weeks. What about my cookies?! I asked if they had a loaner mixer program. He said they used to (back in the good old days when people were kind, and did things out of sheer goodwill), but not anymore. So I found some appliance repair places here in town, and I'll take it in tomorrow to see if I can get it fixed a little faster. In the meantime, I'll carry on with my noodle arms.

So, alas, it is day number two and I have not made cookie number two. It is Friday and I am tired. I just want to curl up on the couch and watch the movie that we rented. My plan is to make two batches tomorrow, after I take the mixer to the repair place. After all, Saturday is a great day for two batches of cookies, don't you think? At this point, you're probably thinking that the 25 day cookie project is not going to fly. Have a little faith! Cookie number two is called, "raspberry strippers"!! I just cannot pass up a cookie with a name like that. I will prevail!

A Death Valley Thanksgiving

2005-11-29T19:06:00.000-07:00

I really like spending Thanksgiving with my new in-laws, because rather than sit around the house getting fat, we sit around and get fat in the great outdoors! We had the full turkey dinner, a la Weber grill and Coleman campstove. I have never eaten a more delectable turkey. And alas, I exaggerate on the getting fat part. We actually got in several good hikes as well.

Where, you ask, did this camping extravaganza occur? None other than the infamous Death Valley. Maybe it isn't the first place that pops into your head when considering thanksgiving vacation hot spots, but this place is crowded for the big turkey weekend! The entire campground was filled to capacity. That is, until the wind storms hit on Saturday. Then, pretty much everyone cleared out.

I have never been to Death Valley before, and I must say that I was suitably impressed. There is the obligatory amount of driving to get to all of the very spread out sites, but if you've got the time, it is well worth it. Sit back and take the photo tour of a Death Valley Thanksgiving to be remembered.

This is all of the gear you will need to prepare your thanksgiving dinner at the campground. Note the modification to the red grill in the foreground. It has a silver extender so that a turkey will fit on the grill. No joke, this was probably the best thanksgiving turkey I've ever had. Mashed potatoes and other sides were made on the Coleman stove, and my ingenious hubby made a delectable pumpkin pie in a cast iron dutch oven in the fire ring. Not bad, eh?

Badwater (pictured above) is the lowest point in the United States, just a little shy of 280 feet below sea level. It is a vast, flatter-than-a-pancake salt flat. And yes, my almost-4-year-old nephew did taste it and confirm that it is definitely salt. If you're ever lacking a shaker-full the next time you are making some popcorn, this is the place to come.

This is the Devil's Golf Course. Wind, rain and evaporation have created these unique crystalline structures on the salt flats. They are very sharp and difficult to navigate.

These hills are dubbed the Artist's Palette, for obvious reasons. The different colors are made by a variety of mineral pigments on the volcanic deposits. Maybe I was just hungry at the time, but it reminded me more of an ice cream sundae.

Behind the biker, you can see the ruins of the ghost town of Rhyolite. This town sprang up in 1904, spawned by a gold strike in the region. Between 1905 and 1910, Rhyolite may have had as many as 8000 citizens. But by 1914 the town was in rapid decline, and by 1919 the post office had shut down and Rhyolite became a ghost town. Most mining towns were built of temporary materials, but Rhyolite was built with the intention of a permanent settlement. In the end, though, it folded up just like the temporary boom towns. Some interesting buildings (or pieces of them) remain, including a house constructed entirely of glass bottles and mud.

Stay tuned for more pictures of Death Valley!

Bora Bora: The Food

2005-11-28T19:09:00.000-07:00

Le Meridien: I have but one piece of advice. Do NOT get the meal package! Fortunately for us, we did not, and were very glad. As it turns out, the meal package does not save you any money, but locks you into being forced to eat all of your meals at the buffet at Le Meridien. This buffet is monstrous for the amount you will pay. And I don't mean that in terms of portion. We found the a la carte menu at Le Meridien to be tasty and satisfying nouveau cuisine. Amazingly, the quality was far superior to the buffet, even though the price was actually less. The buffet touts an enormous salad bar (the best part of it, with many interesting seafood dishes), as well as a variety of breads, desserts and warm entrees. My two biggest complaints were that all of the hot food was overcooked and tasted quite obviously like it had been sitting under a heat lamp for several hours. The theme was overcooked meats in heavy sauces. We were especially disappointed on seafood night, when the all-you-can-eat crab and lobster all tasted like it had been sitting on the beach for a week, dead, before anyone came and collected it. They clearly got a discount on some past-its-prime seafood. For more than $60 per person, this is nothing less than highway robbery. Fortunately, you can make reservations at many good restaurants on the mainland, and they will provide free transportation to and from their facilities.

Lagoonside dining at Le Meridien.

Bamboo House: This place was recently renovated at the time we were there. It is run by a couple of hip French guys who make service and hospitality a priority, even if they take their time doing it. Plan to relax and spend the evening here. The bar is very chic, with all of the furniture, walls and lamps constructed of bamboo and other woods. The drinks were some of the most reasonably priced (and inventive). We each had local fresh fish for dinner, and were very happy with the place, although it seemed not to be one of the more popular restaurants. The bread fruit on the side is an acquired taste for the american palate. It has a consistency somewhere between mashed potatoes, sponges and cottonballs. Not to be missed, just to say that you tried it.

Bloody Mary's: Yes, it's owned by an American, and consequently is very Americanized. (It's probably the only place where you won't wait an hour for a drink or to have your order taken.) But it was still by far our favorite. There is no menu. At the entrance, you stare at all of the mouth watering fare laid out on ice, and order while you are salivating. The variety and quality of fish is unsurpassed. The drinks are pretty great too. The atmosphere is festive and fun, with sand floors and coconut tree stumps for seats. If you ever find yourself in Bora Bora, this place is not to be missed.

Check out the spread at Bloody Mary's!

Shameless Gushings on Le Meridien Bora Bora

2005-11-23T17:31:00.000-07:00

If you want some advice on planning your trip to French Polynesia, I can let you in on a few hints. Pretty much every tourist there is on their honeymoon, and we talked to many of them about their plans. We were in the minority, choosing to stay for a long week in one location. Many folks would stay 3 to 4 nights, and island-hop to another exotic locale. I can't speak for what these other islands were like, but we were very content to set up our tropical home base and spend our time relaxing rather than catching planes and taxis, packing and unpacking.

Although I've never been to any hotel on Bora Bora other than Le Meridien, we did drive around, and boat around, enough to see many of the popular hotels. Le Meridien has by far the best location. The food, on the other hand, is another story, which I will discuss in more detail when we get to the food section. Le Meridien is very private and secluded, situated not on the main island, as many of the other luxury hotels are, but on its own private motu, facing the main island across the lagoon.

Pictured above is our room, a premium overwater bungalow. The best part of these rooms, as you can see here, is the glass floor. We liked to leave the outdoor light (beneath the floor) turned on at night to illuminate the water and create beautiful patterns on the ceiling and walls. Contrary to what some people might think, there is no reef directly below the floor. This means that you won't actually see a lot of fish swimming below. But a puffer or an infrequent other meanderer did occasionally swim by.

Pictured above is the bed, opposite the sofa in the previous photo. At this time of year (October), the mosquito netting is strictly for decoration, as there were no bugs, and we needed to run the air conditioner at night. True to what I had read in previous reviews of this resort, the bed is actually two twin mattresses pushed together, with king sheets on top of them. This may not sound great, but it is really not nearly as bad as some people claim, and didn't bother us at all. Note the glass floor just in front of the bed.

Pictured above is the view of our neighbors' bungalow from our balcony. All overwater bungalows have a staircase leading into the water, so that you can go for a swim or snorkel any time you like. There is also a showering platform (difficult to see here) to rinse off the saltwater before you go inside.

From our bungalow, room 238, we had a fabulous unobstructed view of Mount Otemanu. Every morning, we would wake up early, around 6 a.m. (the time change helped considerably with this). We would make instant coffee with our little electric hot water pot, and wrapped up in our hotel bathrobes and slippers, we would enjoy the morning reading books as Bora Borans commuted past in their outrigger canoes and motor boats.

The bungalows and wooden walkway connecting them, lit up at night, seemed magical. We were living in a fantasy village, where the stresses and worries of our hectic lives back at home could not touch us. The islanders of Bora Bora truly appreciate and understand what a paradise they have, and we were privileged to share it, if only for one very short week.

Bora Bora At Last!

2005-11-19T12:27:00.000-07:00

After much delay, here are some pictures of Bora Bora that are not from a bird's eye view. These were taken using a Canon PowerShot S200 Digital Elph. As our wedding gift to each other, we purchased a Canon EOS digital Rebel XT, which frankly takes much better pictures, to be shown in the next installment. For an inexpensive pocket digital camera, though, the Elph does amazingly well.

Here's Tom on the walkway from our room (an overwater bungalow at Le Meridien) heading back to the beach and main grounds of the resort.

We took a 4x4 jeep tour of the island one day, and this is a spectacular view of the thin barrier reefs surrounding the island (or motus, as they are called in this region) with the Pacific Ocean in the distance.

Another view of the beach at Le Meridien. You can see a lot of the free water sports they offer here: open kayaks, paddle boats, and wind surfers. There is also free rental of snorkle gear, which you must take advantage of to view the turtles in the lagoon. We also rented a Hobie Cat for $20 per hour. Sailing is a lot of fun, provided someone in your party knows how to sail. Don't forget your sunscreen and sunglasses! The sun is incredibly intense and we both had peeling sunburns at one time or another.

This is the view from the boat dock at Le Meridien. In the distance is Mount Otemanu. This mountain is on the mainland of Bora Bora, and is one of the reasons why the location of Le Meridien, situated on a remote motu on the rim of corral surrounding the mainland, is so perfect. To the left you can see some of the overwater bungalows. All of these bungalows have glass floors, letting in the light that sparkles and reflects off the turquoise water below.

A closer view of the Le Meridien beach. The water in the foreground is part of the main lagoon of Bora Bora. The water in the background, behind the trees, is the private lagoon of Le Meridien. It houses many tropical fish and green sea turtles. We spent many hours snorkling in this lagoon, and never grew tired of the sea life. There is even a morray eel in this lagoon, although we never saw him.

This should whet your appetite for the beautiful sights of Bora Bora. More photos soon to come.

Politics Do Not Belong On This Blog!

2005-11-17T16:05:00.000-07:00

And religious propaganda has no place in a science class. Kudos to Dover, Delaware for electing eight new school board members, all of whom oppose placing "intelligent design" curriculum into the science classrooms. These people have so beautifully demonstrated that one can celebrate their religious faith in an appropriate setting, and still keep science classes talking about science. What a revolutionary idea! The plan is to teach "intelligent design" in an elective course on comparative religion.

Boo! to Pat Robertson, who not so subtly stated that the residents of Dover, in light of their turning against God (or so Pat would have you believe) would not receive any help from God should a natural disaster happen to strike their area. Pat, get your head out of the Old Testament! This is the twenty-first century. Vengeful God rants are sooooo first century BC. Get with the program, Pat: What Would [insert favorite celebrity here] Do? Boo! also to the Kansas folks who are planning to sneak creationist rhetoric into the public school science books.

Some of you are probably saying to yourselves (or maybe out loud, if you're that kind of person), "Gee, this is all very interesting, but WHERE ARE THE *%$&!@# BORA BORA PICTURES???!!!" Okay, okay, enough procrastinating. You will hear more about Bora Bora very soon. I promise!

Even the plane is turquoise!

2005-10-31T20:18:00.000-07:00

You have probably heard of the amazing turquoise blue waters in the South Pacific. No photograph could ever do them justice. But even more charming is the way that Tahiti Nui airlines has decked out their fleet in the same tropical hues, preparing you for oceanic bliss before you even arrive.

Our first stop was the Sheraton hotel, just outside of Papeete, Tahiti. It was a very nice way to start the vacation, but in all honesty, did not remotely compare to what remained ahead. We got on the plane the next day, bound for Bora Bora. A short stop in Moorea, no more than 5 minutes away from Tahiti, allowed us to pick up dozens of other honeymooners, filling the plane to capacity. We also flew past Raiatea and Tahaa (please refer to map in previous blog entry). The sights were spectacular, like nothing I have ever seen.

The approach into Moorea.

Leaving Moorea, and the houses below.

Raiatea.

Raiatea and Tahaa.

I know, I know. You are salivating for pictures of Bora Bora. But alas, dear reader, I must keep you dangling for yet another installment of the Adventures in Bora Bora. Stay tuned...

Honeymoon in Bora Bora

2005-10-23T18:24:00.000-07:00

The blogger is back after much delay. Out of respect for a proper remote island vacation, I vowed to stay away from all forms of electronic/mobile communication during the honeymoon (even though, as it is all the world over these days, there was plenty of internet access). Only messages in bottles floating on the ocean tides for me!

But alas, we have returned to the "real world". I miss this beautiful tropical island paradise already, and eagerly await our next trip back to Bora Bora, maybe in twenty years or so. (You will understand when I get to the cost section.) Photographs simply do not do this island justice. Simply put, it is the most beautiful place on earth. I do not exagerate.

Let's first address the question, "Where exactly is Bora Bora and how does one get there?"

It is not as far as you might think. French Polynesia is actually east of Hawaii (but much farther south, in the southern hemisphere), and is only 3 hours earlier than the Pacific time zone. From the LAX airport, it is a 5 hour flight to Papeete, Tahiti. From there, it is a 45-minute flight to Bora Bora.

The island of Bora Bora was formed by a volcano that was active 3 to 4 million years ago. Bora Bora is surrounded by coral reefs, as well as two "motus" (small islands) to the southwest that are actually the remnants of the rim of the volcanic caldera remaining above sea level.

We stayed on a motu to the east side of Bora Bora, called Motu Piti Aau. This is the perfect location, a short boat ride from the main island, but otherwise completely isolated with our own private beach and gorgeous view of the mountain, Otemanu.

Stay tuned for the next chapter in the Bora Bora adventure!

No Glowdeo for Working Stiffs

2005-10-09T13:39:00.000-07:00

Today marked the last day of Balloon Fiesta here in Albuquerque. Since this is only my fourth year living here, I remain immune to the jaded sentiments of most long-timers and natives. With our enthusiasm strongly intact, tripods in hand and camera bags dangling, we piled in the car Friday night and battled the traffic to get to the balloon park for "Glowdeo." This is the time when all of the special shapes balloons light their burners after sunset and just, well... glow.

Unfortunately, for those of us with regular eight-to-five jobs, Glowdeo appears not to be a viable option. By the time I left work, battled the balloon traffic all the way home, grabbed hubby and cameras, and battled the traffic once again, it was 7:00 pm and one lone humpty dumpty balloon remained. The rest of the balloonists were packing up and heading out for margaritas. But fortunately for you, my readers, there was a stellar fireworks display that we did not miss.

After the fireworks display, we felt obligated to sample the state-fair-style food. Two green chile cheeseburgers and one frito pie later, we were happy, stuffed and ready to call it a night. Maybe next year, if I leave work after lunch, I might make it in time for the Glowdeo.

Why tripods are great and hand-held shots are not:

This one looks like a set of kidneys, ureters and bladder. Clearly I've been spending too much time at work.

And these are just plain pretty:

Behind the curve on Crazy Fish

2005-10-06T16:20:00.000-07:00

I may not be a sushi afficionado, but I would definitely qualify as a sushi junkie. So it is more than a little embarrassing to admit that Crazy Fish has been open for several months, and I just got around to trying it less than a week ago. (Actually, I didn't even know it existed until about two weeks ago. At least my response time was respectable.)

Word on the street is that the owner of Crazy Fish was the head chef at Japanese Kitchen, another highly regarded sushi joint here in Albuquerque. He has now opened Crazy Fish, and it was definitely a step in the right direction.

Crazy Fish has a prime location, next to the Lobo theatre in Nob Hill. The decor is sparsely chic, with red tabletops against black decor and minimal artwork. But, as it should be, the food is what sold me on the place.

Sake is served in a champagne-style flute, an interesting twist. The miso soup is your run of the mill miso soup, except it had no tofu, a minus in my book. But hold on, it gets better. The mushroom and broccoli appetizer was delicious. A variety of different mushrooms were sauteed in a garlicky-lemony sauce that was delecate and never overpowering. The ceviche was amazing -- sashimi marinated (or whatever you call the ceviche soaking process) in a citrus-jalapeno-cilantro juice. It will be the first thing I order the next time I return.

For the main course, we ordered a variety of nigiri sushi and rolls. Both were excellent. The fish was fresh, full of flavor, and generously cut. I was hoping for more unusual rolls on the menu, but they seemed to have the usual selections. The crunchy roll that I ordered was very tasty.

We ordered the ginger ice cream for desert. Having received an ice cream maker as a wedding gift, we've dabbled with our own ginger ice cream recipe and prefer ours to theirs. The Crazy Fish ginger ice cream didn't have abundant chunks of fresh or candied ginger, and for some reason (perhaps purposefully) tasted a little bit like paper. There may even have been a hint of soy sauce flavor. Interesting, but not something I would add.

If you like to frequent the Nob Hill scene, you simply must check out this place. Although you may find an item or two that seems a bit off, the vast majority of the food here is simply fabulous. You'll be planning your next trip back before you even walk out the door.

Costume Crunch Time

2005-09-30T18:32:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is October 1. Do you know what you'll be wearing for halloween? The pressure can be a bit daunting. You sit at your desk, staring at your computer in your teeny-tiny cubicle five days a week, 52 weeks a year (well, almost), and let's face it... you've forgotten how to be creative.

Don't cave in and buy those plastic costumes at the grocery store! Start planning now. Here are some inspirational ideas to get you started:

1. Funny hats

If you can't think of a real person, a character, a theme, an animal, etc., just wear a funny hat. Sure, it's a bit of a cop out, but it's better than nothing. Maybe you can come up with a story as weak as your costume to go with it.

2. Scary hair cuts

Hey, you can always shave your head into a mohawk. "I'm a punk rocker, man!"

3. Psychiatric patients

Okay, I'm back to the theme of hats again. For this one, just tell everyone that you are a schizophrenic for Halloween, and you're wearing a tinfoil hat to protect your brain, so that the aliens can't read your brainwaves.

You still have a month left. There is plenty of time to sculpt your papier mache favorite-political-figure mask, or knit that furry animal suit. Good luck and may the force be with you!

Smurfy in Seattle

2005-09-26T17:53:00.000-07:00

Boy, did I pick the right time to come to Seattle. Fall is in full swing here, and many of the trees are alight with translucent jewel-toned leaves. After the sun sets, the air is crisp and cool, though days are still warm and sunny. Not a raindrop to be found! I cannot complain, especially since I forgot to bring my raincoat.

Last night we ate dinner at Ivar's, on the water just between Lake Washington and Lake Union. My colleagues report that the salmon was excellent. I ordered the scallops instead. They were a little bit overcooked for my taste, but decent. Ivar's has solid food, but is really just a tourist boondoggle. There must have been 40 blue hairs, fresh off the cruise ship, sitting at a multitude of tables adjacent to our not-so-petite group of 20. Needless to say, there are not a plethora of dining options when you are a group of 20.

There was also an Oktoberfest in Fremont yesterday. Aside from beer-a-plenty, there were kiddie rides, booths pedalling various wares and great live music. I was on a jog, and thus was ill-equipped to partake of the offerings, but boy was I wishing I had brought my wallet and my beer stein (and perhaps a few of my closest beer-loving buddies.)

Seattle doesn't seem to have changed too much since I lived here seven years ago. The (infrequently) beautiful weather, eclectic shops, trendy restaurants, and abundant activities make me very envious that I don't live here anymore. Those are the things that are making me want to go to monster.com and see what kinds of jobs are available here right now. But then I remember the traffic, the ridiculous housing costs, the way that everything feels so crowded and packed together, and the infiltration of a more snobby, competitive mentality among the locals (and by that I mean those who were transplants not so long ago). Seattle is beautiful, but for those of us who have grown to love the wide open spaces of the wild west, it may not be the perfect fit.

Solarama!

2005-09-25T18:31:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, we hit the Solar Fiesta at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque. There were a few dozen booths set up outside, as well as numerous workshops on topics related to solar power and sustainable living.

While the masses weren't exactly clamboring at the gates to get in, it was great to see a fair amount of support for these small businesses and grass roots organizations.

We spent some time studying the adobe wall builders, as our own adobe wall behind the house is in a state of disrepair. Who knew that mud and water could be so durable? I can tell you that my mud pies and mud castles of childhood certainly did not hold up to the torrential downpours of a Nebraska springtime. But there are ways to get this stuff to last for decades. Certain additives in the mortar can add durability in inclement weather, including lots of rain.

Now that gas prices are sky high (and will probably continue to climb toward celestial bodies), hybrid cars have gotten very popular. We had to check out this cute bug-green Honda.

Additional oddities included the giant solar oven, complete with free chocolate chip cookies samples. You could buy your own smaller version (about a foot and a half in width) as well, perfect for camping trips, or just fun in the backyard! There were battery-powered bicycles, a car that guzzled leftover french fry oil, solar powered fountains and organic apple cider to quench your thirst when all of that solar heat just got to be too much.

Ambrozia is Divine

2005-09-24T07:03:00.000-07:00

If you ever find yourself making a left in Albuquerque, take a break first to stop at one of our favorites: Ambrozia Cafe & Wine Bar. This eclectic little restaurant, tucked into the west end of Old Town, has the most creative menu in the city.

The must-try item is the lobster corndogs: lobster tails on sticks, dipped in the most delicate, fluffy, melt-in-your mouth corn batter. I thought I had died and gone to heaven. State fair meets Martha Stewart.

The menu changes frequently, always playfully pairing new and interesting flavor combinations. Last night my husband ordered the "Elk filet mignon wrapped with bacon served with a truffled potato and tomato stack, asparagus, frizzled fennel, Ambrozia steak sauce and horseradish hollandaise". We both puzzled over what "frizzled" meant, and decided it was the favorite word of the day. The elk was tender, lean and cooked to perfection. The Ambrozia steak sauce unfortunately tasted like barbecue sauce and overpowered the flavorful, rich elk meat. The "frizzled fennel" ended up being something like fennel tempura, somewhat akin to onion rings, and was a fun treat.

I ordered the special, some kind of fish I had never heard of before. I think it was copia. It was a firm flaky white fish with a nice buttery garlicky finish, with some extra large couscous. Nothing so exotic as my husband's fare, but quite delicious. Oh, and there was rapini, broccoli's cousin, on the side.

The best part, after the lobster corndogs, was desert. We had the "Piñon caramel tart served with candied apple ice cream and hot buttered rum sauce". Oh my stars. Can I just buy the whole tart and take it home? If you like pecan pie, you simply must try the pinon version. Fabulous!

While the table next to us was woefully disatisfied with their meal (cranky, crotchety old east-coasters, need I say more?) we found the atmosphere warm and intimate, the service friendly, attentive and prompt, and the food whimsical and solidly good. This remains one of my favorite restaurants in Albuquerque.

Where can I get pizza, pizza pie?

2005-09-22T11:39:00.000-07:00

Let's leave the world of travel for a minute to discuss more important matters: pizza. Although some people consider this an Italian invention, there is no doubt in my mind that pizza as we know it is a uniquely American food. And as such, I am giving out my Smurfy Murphey Award for Best Pizza in totally random cities across the United States.

Lincoln, Nebraska (my hometown): Valentino's Pizza

This is an easy one. No contest, hands down, everyone in Nebraska knows that Valentino's simply cannot be beat. Most of us were weaned on the stuff. Soft thick crust, plenty of secret recipe sauce and loads of mozarella cheese, plus all of your favorite toppings. I have been told by those from elsewhere that this is a weird Nebraskan obsession, but I challenge you to try this delectable treat and judge for yourself.

Idaho Springs, Colorado: Beau Jo's Pizza

Ah, Beau Jo's. Another classic. This is the place to stop when you are headed down I-70 after a long day of skiing. You may have to wait to get in, but it is worth it. And I guarantee, you will leave stuffed. My favorite thing about Beau Jo's are the bottles of honey on every table. You'll have lots of big, poofy crusts left that you can smother in honey and eat for dessert (if you can make room in your tummy).

Seattle, Washington: Atlantic Street Pizza

This one is hotly contested. While my buddy Sam insists that this is the place, I personally have a second favorite, My Brother's Pizza, which serves cute little individual pizzas that they bake in bowls and then flip upside down. Atlantic Street does make a mean crust, but if you are not into spicy sauce, this may not be the pizza for you.

St. Louis, Missourri: Racanelli's Pizza

If you like greasy, drippy, floppy New York-style pizza, this place is not to be missed. While Racanelli's may not win my vote for the country's best pizza, it is heads above what I easily consider to be the worst pizza in the whole country: Imo's. Now I know that many St. Louisans (or whatever they're called) will heartily object to my poo-pooing of Imo's, but no one should be subjected to rubbery cheese atop saltines and ketchup.

Runner up: Pointer's Pizza, home of the Pointersaurus. This place is open late, and they have huge pizzas. They don't taste bad, either. As an aside, I also really like the turkey club sandwich.

Bozeman, Montana: Mackenzie River Pizza Co.

This place has great pizza AND great beer. A combination not to be overlooked. Try the lodgepoles, too. They're dee-licious.

Albuquerque, New Mexico: Saggio's

This was a tough choice. While I think that Il Vicino has fabulous wood oven pizza, and a killer IPA (Wet Mountain IPA), I defer to maximum amounts of cheese, in which case Saggio's wins by a few pounds. It should be noted, however, that pizza in general is substandard in the southwest, where enchiladas rule the universe! (Stay tuned for a later edition discussing the merits of enchiladas and chile).

Vacay Numero Uno

2005-09-21T19:56:00.000-07:00

As you will soon find out, the adventures on this blog are not limited to the local hotdog stand, nor to the exotic and far-reaching edges of the globe (although, technically, globes don't have edges). We begin with a hidden treasure of New Mexico, nestled in the Carson National Forest. We spend the Labor Day weekend in the Cruces Basin Wilderness. But stay tuned next month for none other than... Bora Bora!!!

The Cruces Basin Wilderness is more or less in the middle of nowhere. From Albuquerque, we drove up to Taos, hit the fly fishing store, and then headed west to the Cruces Basin. There aren't too many places where you can still find a campsite late Friday afternoon of Labor Day weekend, but this is one of them. Only one message of caution: BEWARE OF BOW HUNTERS! Not that I am normally an advocate of hunter's orange, a fashion faux pas if ever there was one, but I would hate to have one of those pointy things in my derriere.

But first, on the way to Cruces Basin, we stopped at the Rio Grande gorge. Note slightly suicidal doggie in photo.

That night, we camped "boonie style." (This, I am told, means not on a designated tent pad in a designated campground.) "Dispersed camping" is another less fun term for it. We were right next to Los Pinos river. We had read about potentially good fishing here, but no such luck tonight. We settled instead for a quick bike ride, a grilled chicken dinner and a hot game of "DaVinci's Challenge."

When you're married to an engineer, you often get the best of both worlds when camping. Check out the lights! They're hooked up to a transpondster which runs through the discombobulator and finally you can plug them into the gigamatrix. Very cool. You can't see it, but the lights are actually little chef pigs with their grills and margarita glasses. I tell you, it just doesn't get any better than this.

The next day, we hit the trail. The hubster caught some fish in a creek branching off Los Pinos. Beautiful brook trout. We decided to "bushwhack" our way back to the trailhead, testing out the GPS. Lucky for us, we found the main trail just as the batteries were sputtering and the screen went blank. Shortly thereafter, we witnessed a small cow stampede. This is definitely one of the downsides of this portion of the Carson National Forest: cows everywhere. You know what they say: "Land of many uses." Don't get me started on that one.

On our last day, we went for a mountain bike ride on forest road 87. The highpoint, our lunch spot, was over 10,000 feet, and believe me, I could feel it. Lungs on fire! There were beautiful views of the valley below and San Antonio mountain. It was the perfect way to cap the weekend. If you love biking forest roads, this is a great ride. The dog, now feeling much less suicidal, gleefully galloped along for nearly 15 miles. Not bad!

Interesting camping food worth trying:
1. Mandarin chicken foil packets
2. Ham and sweet potato foil packets
3. Pita pizzas

Check out this link: www.camprecipes.com