#46 / 2004 Tour 3: Tent Rocks

HIKING TENT ROCKS

#46


I know I am changing. I can laugh so much easier. That's one way to tell. But something else is going on inside of my heart.

I have never been the kind to tolerate animals - never liked dogs that didn't know their station in life. So I never felt comfortable when I visited homes where there were animals, dogs, cats, horses, iguanas, anything. I just didn't have a lot of time for creatures.

But having spent so much time with my son's dysfunctional dogs, I truly came to love them and see them for individuals. And to tell the honest truth I believe I have come to appreciate their little souls.

So now that my heart is more open, I find the hair on the back of my neck doesn't stand up like it used to when I saw a big dog. 

Now I can just hunker down to their size and give them a big hug. 

Our friend Tom has a sweet dog, reserved thought young. "Ralphie" doesn't lick all over you uninvited. But he does have a cold wet nose he will use to demand your attention.

Joe, Tom, Ralph, and I all went hiking today. I sat in back and spent the hour-long ride just hugging up on Tom's dog. 

"If he's gettin' in your way, just move him over to the other side of the seat."

"No," I said. "Ralphie's not bothering me at all. I 'm just getting me a good dose of doggy love." 

And I think we all could use some. It really feels good to hug and pet on a dog. And there they sit so content just to bask in your attention. Wow, what have I been missing all these years?

So, we all went for a hike just under an hour's ride from Tom's place in the South Valley. The range is on an Indian reservation, "tent rocks" is what these formations are called. Apparently 100,000 years ago a huge volcano exploded and all the soot, ash, and lava from this explosion compacted into a mountain range. 

The formations are eerie, looking just like someone had dripped mud down an embankment. These cone-like structures often have a little dome-like hat. Over the years the wind and rain wear down the cones, but these small blobs remain on the top. It's a little hard to describe but it makes for the most interesting hike you can imagine.

Our living accommodations are a little easier to describe. Luxurious. Tom has built an apartment beside his house, vaulted ceiling, sky lights, kitchen, bath, it is truly luxurious.

Outside is a huge patio of hand-placed tiles, a complete work of art. Tom just finished his pagoda over the patio, with a large hole section open so the fire pit can blaze to a gazer's heart's content. So I guess our time of hard living in the van is over for now.

Oh, speaking of the van, it won't start at all anymore.  We just started parking on hills and that worked fine, but by the time we got through visiting all Joe's buddies in downtown Albuquerque and headed out here, the van seemed to be on its last leg. 

The moment we pulled into the driveway the generator light came on. And that hasn't happened in five years. But around here I embrace the "manana" theory. I will deal with that when I get back from Mexico.

Today is December 13, we have already been to the Mexican consulate for our paperwork and tomorrow we will purchase our bus tickets for El Paso. We leave on Wednesday the 16th. We probably won't stay as long as we first intended because I have had a string of good luck looking at property and even job hunting. 

So I don't want to stay gone for three months and let all my opportunities evaporate. But we will surely be gone at least one month, and for sure we will be spending Christmas "south of the border."