Politics

I decided to go to a political event that was here in town.  I felt compelled to go for some unknown reason . . . still don't know.  But, it was an interesting experience to be sure.  I won't say who it was.  I think I have friends on both sides of the bird and I don't want to be judged!  (You know . . . left wing right wing . . . bird!)

The event was at the local college, and since I had to do some research in the library (for my new Navajo book), I left a little early.  Well, it wasn't early enough.  While I drove around the parking lot futile-y (don't know if that's a word, probably not) looking for a parking space, I saw the line winding around before me.  I luckily found a parking space just outside the parking lot, skipped going to the library, and got at the end of a very, very long line.

After standing in line for quite some time, I realized that I knew the person in front of me . . . she's the one who scanned my pictures for my newest children's books.  We talked the rest of the time in line, which gratefully made the time pass more quickly.  I saw several people that I knew in line.  

We weren't allowed to bring water bottles in, and it was hot.  There was water, but it was down the way and I was too hot to walk down there to get it.  Luckily, someone came by and gave us some water . . . a couple times.

When we got to the front of the line, it was like airport security.  We had to empty our pockets, go through one of those security machines, and then I got wanded . . . don't know what I did to deserve that.  

I had asked the woman I was with to save me a seat, because she was a minute before me.  When I got into the gymnasium and looked around . . . there were no seats available!  It was standing room only.

I edged my way over to the side, and shortly someone official came by and asked if anyone wanted to get closer to the stage.  Although I had a pretty good spot, I gave it up hoping for better.  There were no really good spots. We were packed in there like sardines.  Most of you have read my accounts of India and thought I did some brave/dangerous/possibly stupid things there.  Well, this was dangerous in a somewhat civilized way.  Packed in like sardines . . . it would have been disaster if anything bad . . . fire, bad person, whatever . . . had happened.

We were so close that we were practically touching each other . . . well, many of us were.  I could smell the faint aroma of sweat on someone.  The air was stale, and I could feel people's breath.  I looked around for the door in case I had to run for it.  I was about fifteen feet away.  I had read somewhere that in an emergency situation where trampling was a possibility, the way to survive is to put your elbows out and lift up your feet.  That way, the crowd carries you out with minimal risk of being trampled.  So . . . I was prepared for that.

When the person finally came on stage to speak, late, I might add, the crowd went crazy.  The person said a few words, the crowd cheered, a few words, the crowd cheered, a few words, the crowd cheered.  I didn't even get to hear all that the person said because the crowd wouldn't stop cheering.  I think they would have cheered if the person would have talked about poop and barf!  What I didn't really understand is that the person was preaching to the choir.  Everyone in the audience was on this person's side.  So, why give the sales speech?  I don't get it.

The whole event reminded me of a religious revival that I went to many years ago.  But, I think the revival was more interesting.  And it wasn't my religion!  (Not that I have any . . . )  Today, I ended up standing in line in the hot sun for more than two hours for a half hour speech punctuated by cheering.  Was it worth it?  I needed to go, I don't know why.  So, yes, I suppose it was.  And after it was over, I dutifully went over to the library and completed my Navajo research.  No harm no foul. 

Kirtan Woo-Woo

I went to Kirtan tonight.  It's some chanting deal, and it was held at a local yoga studio.  It was really awesome.  I had to choose between Kirtan and square dancing.  Since square dancing has been lately giving me more grief than joy due to the lack of men situation, I chose Kirtan.  It was a good choice.

(I did have some extra time, though, stopped at square dancing and signed a couple books that a friend of mine bought for her grandkids.)

I walked in and on the floor were some mats to sit on, mats with pillows, floor chairs with backs, and chairs.  I chose a floor chair.  There were five people in the band.  They played one sometimes two guitars (depending on the "song"), one sometimes two drums, a xylophone, several didgeridoos, and one of those rain-sounding boxes.  The woman playing the main guitar had long dark hair.  As it began, the whole thing reminded me of my old hippie days in back of the cafeteria at school.  Someone would have a guitar, and we would sing peace songs and get high.  Yes, at school.  It was awesome.  How things have changed.

This group wasn't into that.  They got their kicks instead, as I now do, from meditation . . . from going within.  Instead of peace songs, they sang and talked of joy, gratitude, love, forgiveness.  The songs were chants . . . where they said the phrase and the audience repeated it.   Although each one was a little long . . . the same phrase went on and on and on . . . I thoroughly enjoyed the experience.  I will definitely go to this again.

Ten (count 'em) Ten Mile Hike

Bob tells me that this is a reverse hike . . . first you go downhill and then you go uphill on the way back.  When I try to decline, he assures me that it's a really gentle uphill.  The other thing is that you can hike as long as you want.  The "bridge" is about five miles in, but we can turn around any time.  Since I knew that I couldn't do ten miles, I figured we'd turn around.

When we started out it was thirty-eight (38!) degrees.  He told me that the whole beginning of the hike was going to be in the shade, but 38 degrees!  Brrrrr shiver shiver.  I wasn't prepared for that, but I pressed on!  There was water on the trail that was frozen.  Brrrr shiver shiver.  

A stream ran beside us the whole way which was really nice.  Beautiful views all around.  When we got closer to the stream, there were some really nice rock formations.  I like rocks.  Big ones and small ones.  I like rocks.  At four miles, Bob asked if I wanted to stop.  Aside from the cold, the hike had been so gentle that I wasn't tired at all.  I musta forgotten that I still had to hike all the way back . . . gentle uphill and all.  And, being as goal oriented as I am, I said, "Let's go all the way to the bridge!"  It was only one more mile . . . not a big deal.

We had lunch sitting beside the stream.  It was very nice.  More beautiful views.  After lunch, we ran across a couple of bicyclists coming across the bridge.  The only people we'd seen all day.  If we had eaten lunch a couple minutes longer, we wouldn't have seen them at all.  Then, we started on the *gentle* uphill climb.

Yeah, it was pretty gentle, but five miles of even gentle up is still five miles and is still up . . . especially after you've already hiked five miles!  I was getting really tired.  I kept asking if we were there yet.  Bob would check his GPS and announce how much farther we had to go.  I took pictures.  I got tired-er.  Still more miles to go.

Bob and the two dogs.

Bodie swimming, Moki watching from shore.

When we were almost back to the truck, Moki disappeared.  He had gotten hold of a bone and kept stopping to chew on it.  This time he wouldn't come when I called.  Or perhaps we had gotten too far ahead and he couldn't hear me.  At least, that was his story and he's stickin' to it!  About the only part of the trail back that had a downhill slant . . . very close to the end of the trail.  So . . . I had to walk uphill to find the little turd.  About a half mile.  A half mile after you've walked about nine miles is an awful long way, especially when it's uphill!  I could've killed him when he finally came to me.  I leashed him, but at that point he didn't have the bone anymore, so it probably didn't matter.  Now that he's eaten the bone, he'll probably barf it up tomorrow morning.  

Finally!  The car!  We all got in, Bob drove us home, and Moki and I went into the house.  When I went to feed him an hour later, I noticed that he was limping.  I noticed that I was limping, too.  We were both limping!

Next day, I was exhausted and sore.  And yes, Moki had barfed up the bone.  BIG bones!  I don't know how he gets it down his throat or back up again!  I had already planned to go to town, so I went.  But, I got the brilliant idea to stop at the rec center and soak my aching muscles in the hot tub.  I got my little backpack out, and put my towel and beach shoes inside, then added the lock for the locker.  I even remembered to write the combination on my hand.  I thought I had everything. After going a couple places in town, I stopped at the library to catch up on the internet.  I was trying to plan it so I wouldn't go into the hot tub right after I ate.  I didn't think that was a good idea.

That's when I realized how tired I was.  My thinking was a bit awry.  I had forgotten my frickin' bathing suit!  OMG!

Square Tower House

I had an appointment at eight A.M.  Early.  And it was at Mesa Verde, which meant I had to leave about two hours before my appointment.  Dark thirty!  I had timed everything perfectly, but hadn't counted on one thing.  I left in the dark.  And usually at night, I only drive forty-five miles an hour.  I don't want to hit any animals, and there are a lot of them around here.  So, as tired as I was that early, I drove faster than normal and tried to pay even more close attention than usual.  It all went well, and I got there in plenty of time.  

Once in the park and on the twisty road, I slowed down for a coyote to cross the road in front of me.  He came really close to my car and then turned by the driver's side.  He was no more than six feet away.  I opened the window and told him how beautiful he was.  He stopped, looked at me, and tilted his head.  I'm sure he was wondering what another crazy tourist was saying to him.  Without further ado, he turned and ambled off in no particular hurry.  It was awesome!

My appointment was for a semi-private tour of a "closed-to-the-public" archeological site:  Square Tower House.  Anyone can take pictures of it from far above, but this special tour was for only ten people to hike right down to it.  My kinda tour!  At one of my favorite places:  Mesa Verde.

Square Tower House from above.  You can see how far down it is.

Our guide was incredibly knowledgeable and started off with a lecture on the history of the site and the area.  Then, we were off.  Almost immediately, we had to climb down a long wooden ladder.  One person freaked out and had to go back!  The rest of us walked on.  After a while, we came to another ladder.  I was the first down on this one.  On the side of the cliff, you could see the "Moki stairs" or the ancient handholds that the ancients used when they lived here.

See the little indentation right above the shorter ladder pole?  That's a "Moki" step.

Then, we came to a cool place.  Our guide said that it's the route that the ancients took, but that we didn't have to take it today.  It was a very narrow passageway between two rocks.  He said that you had to have the mentality of a ten year old to want to do it.  My hand was the first one up! He explained how to do it . . . because if you started off in the wrong direction, you would get stuck!  He spoke from experience!  

With instructions in hand, I approached the narrow slit between the rocks.  There were a few people behind me.  At one point, I wasn't exactly stuck, but I couldn't go on.  I finally managed to raise my leg slightly and move on.  The whole way through you had to be sideways, and even then it was a tight squeeze.  But, the other cool part, besides being squished between rocks that ancient peoples had been squished between, is that when you came to the ruin, you came to it from above, rather than below like the other hikers.  The picture shows someone behind me coming through.  I had already come out the other side.

This isn't me, but you can see how narrow it is!

Square Tower House was awesome!  There was a nice kiva, and some pottery shards lying around.  Our guide told us more about the site and showed us different things.  When it was time to go back, he asked if anyone was going to go through the crack on the way back.  I said that I would if someone else would.  (About five people had gone through on the way there.)  Some young guy said he would, so up we went.  I started through first, and he got stuck about halfway and turned back.  He had to go around and when he joined up with the rest of the group, he said it was his hips and not his gut that had prevented him from going on!

After that, I went to the visitors center to sign up for a tour to my favorite ruin there, Balcony House.  They had one ticket left for the time I wanted!  I thanked them for saving it for me!

This was a huge tour . . . maybe thirty or forty people.  Before we got started, this new guide said he recognized me.  I said, "Yes, you've been my ranger before."  And he said, "No, we're neighbors."  I had forgotten.  He lived in Mancos where I used to live before I moved back to Durango.  I went to Mesa Verde right before I moved and he remembered that.  He asked about moving and about my dog and other stuff he remembered.  Why can't guys my age be that considerate?!  Well, they can . . . I just have to find 'em.

Anyway, the tour was as nice as always, including the twenty foot double ladder, and crawling through a narrow passage on the way out.  But, after slipping through that crack earlier that morning, the narrow passage felt really wide!

All in all, it was a wonderful day at one of my very favorite-est of places!

More pics

As you can see, I live WAY up in the mountains.

Couldn't resist these red clouds in the evening.

This is awesome, isn't it?

Look at the snow on the one peak in the background.

Hiking to Gray Rock

I went hiking with Bob up to a hike he calls "Gray Rock."  Bob is a hiking friend of mine.  He is seventy-eight years old and can out-hike people half his age.  His favorite hikes are what are affectionately known around here as "fourteeners" . . . the mountain peaks that are fourteen thousand feet high! Needless to say, I don't do those!

When Bob and I go hiking . . . on one of his hikes . . . for me, it is exhausting . . . I get home, and pretty much can't do anything else for the rest of the day . . . although I am getting better.  Sometimes, I can't do anything the next day, either.  Now, to put it into perspective . . . said hike that takes about everything out of me, is Bob's "rest day."  The following day he'll go on a hike that is twice or more long, and three times as tough.  Although, he doesn't take me on hikes that are too tough.

Our hike to Gray Rock . . . I did end up doing some complaining up the hill. The first part of the hike was all uphill . . . which I normally don't do, but Bob was sure I could do this one.  He wasn't so sure after I started complaining in the first five minutes!!  But, I made it, the views were spectacular, and the way down was easy.  Unfortunately, I knew it would be a tough hike, so I didn't want the added three ounces of my camera!  So, I didn't take any pictures.

It's color season here in Colorado.  And although we don't get the spectacular oranges and reds of Maine, it's still pretty durn beautiful.  These pics are taken close to my house.

Colorado Ashram

This was about a month ago.  My friend, Jennifer, and her friend, Lisa, and I went to see Tara Mandala, a Buddhist retreat/ashram about an hour from Durango.  It was located in a beautiful area in Pagosa Springs.  This was their open house day, and we received a tour of the whole complex, of which there are acres and acres.  People do come there to live for "retreats" and such . . . kind of sort of like what I did in India, but, I think without the dogma!  Catma, maybe, but no dogma.

We visited the residential quarters . . . very nice roomy but spartan rooms . . . and the meditation room . . . and our guide explained all the decorations on the main building.  I don't remember the whole story of Tara, but I'll tell you what I do remember.  Tara was a spiritual being, and all the men around her told her that in order to become enlightened, she had to die and come back as a man . . . because a woman could never become enlightened.  More patriarchal crap!  Tara said, "Frick this!" (well, maybe she didn't say exactly that, but I bet she thought it!) and then she proceeded to become enlightened, showing up all the sexist holy men!  Score!  I loved that story!

We also had a mini-meditation "example" . . . I have to call it that, because it was all of five minutes . . . and I wanted more.  We sat on cushions, which is not how I like to meditate.  My body doesn't like to meditate that way.  So, maybe it was good that it was only five minutes!  

After the tour, we were treated to a very nice vegetarian lunch.  There were beautiful paintings all around us.  Then, the three of us began the trek up to some significant point that I can't remember the name of.  We saw wild turkeys on the way . . . I loved that part!  From the point, you can see Chimney Rock, which is an ancient Native American sacred area.  In the picture, look kind of in the middle at the "chimney" . . . that's where it is.

Then, on the way home we stopped and had delicious caramels . . . my favorite!