spring break, phase 1 complete

after a few days of pure leisure, we drove up last wednesday to ABQ to pick up alex from the airport followed by an immediate drive back to old el paso to pick up ben. went home to cruces for a late dinner and a drink at el patio, which was short-lived because we had missed the jazz band.

woke up the next morning and went on a hike in soledad canyon, in the organ mountains. there was a threat of rain which never materialized, and in fact the skies opened up mid-hike. did a bit of rock scrambling and the boys had lots of fun throwing rocks.



decided to forego a trip to white sands in favor of camping that night at faywood hotsprings. didn't realize that we were driving straight into a severe weather warning in effect until 430am, got there at dark with some dark clouds looming overhead. despite this, we quickly set up camp and hopped into the springs. we lucked out because it only sprinkled a bit, and we spent several hours soaking and drinking in a couple different tubs. unfortunately, we didn't get any photos of that place, due to the darkness.

we woke up early-ish the next day and headed over to city of rocks to play around on the boulders. again, the guys were bouncing off the rocks and burning off some boyish steam. we did stop for a catnap:



we came back to cruces that night and headed out to chope's in la mesa for some sloppy mexican. then we went for a pitcher at high desert and brought home a growler. we watched eddie murphy's delirious, also a boyish activity.

next morning, we were lazy and joe cooked breakfast. the guys checked out the farmer's market, coas bookstore and then joe's studio. went to andele's for more mexican and stopped by old mesilla. then we hit the road for albuquerque, and got to the hotel just as the sun was setting. stayed downtown and went to the nob hill neighborhood for pizza and home-brewed beer. a local tipped us off to a pub called 'two fools' just down the street. after a few drinks we returned to the hotel. had to get up at 6am the next morning to drop alex off at the airport and then head to el paso to get ben to the airport by noon. had an interesting conversation with ben about religion on the ride home. got back to cruces and slept a lot, and watched 'in the mood for love' (very good, by the way).

overall we had a great time...thanks to ben and alex for making the trek down here. looking forward to phase 2: san diego, which begins wednesday night.

we have spent the first few days of spring break both prepping for guests and lazing around. saturday was yardwork all day, in the 85-degree heat. pulling weeds, raking, etc. felt good at the time, now 2 days later i'm still sore with blisters on my fingers. also, joe had an epic battle with the bush of death:



anyway, the yard looks much better, and now we have to try to nurse the grass back to life. not an easy task in the desert. the warm weather also brings a whole host of fun new insects, including this cuddly little fella:



contrary to their hideous appearance, these guys tend to keep to themselves, occasionally wanderning into the bathtub or landing on their backs in attempts to go down the steps. this is their cry for help, which calls for removal via overturned glass and piece of paper.

joe also had a black widow crawling on his arm the other day, which led to a complete freakout by both of us. somehow the spider, still alive, was lost in the shuffle. she is lurking somewhere in our living room, ready to strike us dead at anytime. well, not quite dead, just really sick. consquently, i had a dream last night that i was bit by a black widow/scorpion hybrid.

also last night, at about 1am, we heard some hooting from inside our house so we grabbed the binocs and went to investigate. we found an owl at the tippy top of this 100ft evergreen spire across the street from our house. so we spent a good 20 minutes watching wise old owly. his placement up there really got me.

more updates to come this week of ben and alex adventures.

radium

had a relaxing weekend...went on a retreat with my americorps program to a resort up in radium springs, about 20 minutes from cruces. this is the same place we brought jesse and katie over thanksgiving to soak one night in the hot springs. it was nice to finally see it in the light. it isn't open to the public due to fire truck access issues (have to get there via dirt road under a little railroad bridge). people who stay there or use the springs all have connections to the owners. they let us stay for free (super nice guys).




here's the resort and bathhouse as seen from the gazebo (visible on top of the hill in the photo above):


we basically just relaxed and stayed in the tub all night...i had a marathon soaking for probably 4-5 hours. next day we had massages. that place is amazing! plus, i was able to make up mad hours for work, which will hopefully tide me over for the couple days i'm taking off for san diego in a few weeks.


speaking of which, andy has announced this year's theme party: a twenties-style speakeasy! i'm really looking forward to getting a costume together...i've even tried this vintage store here in cruces twice this week, but it was closed both times. that is SO las cruces; no one is ever open. oh well, sometime i'll get inside.

we've also got to start planning for spring break, which is only a week's worth of work away. thank god. ben has been back and forth about making it out or not, depending upon his work schedule. but alex will be here for sure. hopefully we'll do some camping, and check out some areas we haven't been yet. we shall see.

nothing much else going on this weekend. we went to a potluck last night and joe made some hominy (sp?) chili for that, then we went to a party. today was lazy. i've been reading about hinduism.

that's about it. another week gone by, another photo set up on flickr. jesse and katie, you guys should check out the photos...don't think we got any the first time we went.

alameda district

on sunday, thought we'd take a cruise through the neighborhood and take some photos for those of you who only see cruces via blogosphere. here's a small sampling, and of course there's a set up on flickr. all photos taken within a couple block radius from our house.

mural wolf


mode of transport


springtime


we just bought tickets for san diego, going out there the end of march. yay!

kilbourne hole

went on a hike yesterday to kilbourne hole, a maar volcanic crater about an hour southwest of here, in the middle of nowhere basically.



the crater doubled as a shooting range.



in fact, the only other person out there was an ATV enthusiast with a gun on his belt. however, he was kind enough to offer us water. even though he was sitting on his running 4-wheeler on the edge of a cliff wherein a nesting owl was perched. that was weird. snapped a few photos of the owl, but they didn't turn out too well. here is the cliff (sans gunman), with owlie somewhat visible in her hobble:



we took another one through our binoculars...it is posted on flikr. with many other photos of the hike.

this place is a bit of a geographic anomoly. click here for more info about kilbourne hole



in related news, a black widow spider decided to set up shop behind the tank of our toilet.

tree

got my phone back. yeehaw. now everyone, don't all call at once... the line'll get all gummed up. just kidding.

so, back to the daily routine. our minnesota trip was a bit of a blur. joe's blog captured the essence of that. not sure what else to say, except that it was great to see everyone, albeit under such terrible circumstances.

andromecus--or, andy hurt, as he is more commonly known--wrote a touching bit about chase on his blog recently. these kind of personal testimonies filled several hours of the memorial service. everyone had something different to say, and i was blown away by each and every one of the stories. really each speaker did such an amazing job. they really captured the essence of chase.

we had to wake up and rush off to the airport sunday; unfortunately, our plans to meet up with jaimi, dwyer, ari, jesse, nick and some other folks for breakfast didn't work out due to the early-ish flight. and that was a disappointment. didn't get the time to check in with the fam, either. but, as joe said, it was an ultra-condensed trip. may have spent more time in transit than waking hours in MN, or at least it seemed that way.

um. back to working with the kiddos. which i probably shouldn't call them that because most of them are bigger than me. back to frustrations with my job. and yet, time is flying by.

want to start gardening, not sure if it's too early or what. it's definitely some type of spring here, as evidenced by my lack of socks. i want some new shoes. see how interesting blogs can be ?

see, look: here's an interesting diagram:



where do blogs fit on the tree diagram of human knowledge?

currently, i am on branch: reason - philosophy - science of man - logic - art of remembering - memory - natural

and, howard, did you like the decisions diagram i sent you ?

just a quick note to say that i left my cell phone in minnesota this weekend, so i won't be getting any calls for a little while.

reflections on the weekend forthcoming. it was difficult but amazing. we are so glad we were able to make it back.

shine on you crazy diamond

as many of you know, we'll be flying out for the memorial service tomorrow morning. probably have to leave about 5am from home, and will be in mnpls @340pm.

it has been a long week, and it is starting to catch up with me...and joe too. we are both emotionally and physically exhausted.

sunday night, when we first heard chase was missing, and then later heard he was found dead, it was just too unbelievable. we had no details at all, so i was holding out for the chance that there had been a misunderstanding. mainly i was shocked and in denial i guess. the second day, when the horrifying details started to emerge, that was when it definitely hit the hardest...talking to friends to the first time, breaking the news, imagining how it happened. it was all too much.

i know it sounds corny, but for me, listening to 'shine on you crazy diamond', i had a breakdown monday night. one thing about chase was that he was really intense about his music...so things like neil young and pink floyd have a particular resonance right now with this whole mess. ben and jim, also so far away from everyone, had a similar monday: listening to music, reflecting, drinking.

it'll be a difficult weekend, but it is so very crucial for us to connect with everyone...and to have some kind of closure with chase. obviously it won't be over after this weekend, but it will bring some element of concrete reality to the situation. it's hard to be down here, so removed from everyone at a time like this. it just seems unreal.

thank you to all who called/wrote/etc. this past week. the outpouring of support is incredible. for those of you not active on myspace, take a look at chase's profile. he's got people around the globe expressing their grief & love for him. myspace can be pretty silly most of the time, but i think in this instance it has proved to be a really valuable resource for people to connect. there are also so many videos online of his work; i was talking to dwyer about this...it's just amazing that he is there. his voice is there.

well, joe just got home so we'd better get to the laundromat...so we can pack for the morning. more later...

chase korte

chase,

to me, you are an inspiration. you were a force of nature. with boundless energy for life...

you followed your heart, and you had more drive than anyone.

you were rugged, with your beat up old boots and worn leather jacket. we knew you as 'the perfect human specimen'...those calves said it all.

at the U sometimes you'd come up in random conversation, and people would say, incredulously, 'you're roommates with chase korte !?!?' [pronounced kore-tay]. because you were legendary, and universally loved.

nothing was better than to be with you when you were excited about something (which was often). such exuberance! and you would stutter a little, maybe shout a little, and always maintained eye contact.

this is the chase i love. warm, rugged, driven, intense.

your energy lives on in all of us. i love you.

Happy Birthday, Grandpa !

My Grandpa Hatch, my Mom's Dad, is awesome ! It's his 80th birthday today ! hurrah!

Here's a pic of him and my wonderful Grandma at Eric's wedding last September:


Sorry i can't be there for the big party. I love you, Grandpa!