Embudito Canyon looking east —- That’s the arroyo trail you see in this shot —- There’s three trails up this canyon, the one I usually take is on the left (north) flank in this shot, and you can go all the way to South Peak if you’ve got the mojo (I never have) —- Last time I made it to Oso Pass it took 4 1/2 hours and I was humping! To go the last mile & half would take me another 2 hours maybe more ———— I’ve been hiking Embudito for 30 years, it’s about my favorite trail, if you visit, I’ll take you up, it’s magnificent, we can go to the Ponderosas and Barefoot Arroyo, that only takes 2 1/2 hours (at my speed)(I was only humping that one time as I wanted to get where I was going, had an objective —- Normally, I just meander take my time, loiter, stare at bugs and little things . . . .take my time, no big rush to get anywhere, read old Chinese poems written by mountain hermits) —- Sandia Mountains

Barefoot Arroyo ——- I named it this because I like to walk barefoot up this section —- This is actually the top end of Embudito Canyon if you want to be specific, but even the top end has two spurs, and I’m still pondering which is which, “Will the real Upper Embudito Canyon please stand up!” For years I used to lunch here, waste a couple hours loafing and reading, listening to the Ponderosa, or napping, doing nothing of import

Douglas Fir circling back

This is way up on the ridge I call Trail to the Land of the Dead —- a remote trail not on any maps, where you’ll find ten acres of dead Pinon trees, died during the drought of early 2000s

The upper Domingo Baca Trail becomes the TWA Trail, diverts up a steep side gorge, en route to the 1955 passenger plane wreckage —- About ten people lose their lives in these mountains every year but 1955 you can add 16 to that

TWA Trail —- November 19 —- This hike I was with Neal Mather & Lee Ann Parrott, a crew I’ve recently joined for more involved hikes, good people, stalwart

Grim reminders of that star-crossed day in February 1955 early flight fog & clouds & faulty guidance indicators —- Pieces of the plane are scattered all up this gorge at 8,640 feet

We’re on what I have named Fendlerbush Ridge in TWA canyon —- Lee Ann, Neal, and myself —- This is an “unmaintained trail” as the Forest Service calls it

I put on my 210mm lens to get this monster perched on our adobe wall out front —- Only the tourists love Roadrunners, we in the Southwest have their number —- This one is trying to figure out how to get into the Cholla cactus to kill our family of Curved-bill Thrashers —- Our turtles are now in hibernation so in no danger from Tyrannosaurus Roadrunnerus

Our backyard at 725 —- Normally, (normally?) the Mulberry loses its leaves in a two-day drop in mid-November when there’s an overnight freeze and then the warm morning sun hits and the green leaves fall in a dramatic torrent —- So, this is very odd, to see yellow leaves, that are falling slowly over the course of a few weeks —- Last year half the leaves never fell at all

Gambel Oak —- two years ago I bought a couple books on harvesting/preparing acorns, but it has not been a good mast year since —- Not uncommon, oaks do not always produce acorns every year —- I’m a fan of the theory that Homo Sapiens has been an acorn eater for 100,000+ years and being that I’m a Homo Sapien I thought I’d get me some, known by the Greek word Balanophagy > balanos = acorns; phagy = stuff your face

A major triumph for me this day —- I’ve been looking at South Peak for 30+ years wondering if I’ll ever make it ——- North Peak is relatively easy 2 or 3 hour hike from the Crest parking lot (see Sheila Jordan’s album THE CROSSING for a shot of Sheila standing at 10,679-feet at the Crest) but South Peak is a whole other basket of eggs, I’ve never made it in several attempts, so I asked Neal to take me, and he’s a guy who gets where he’s going! Here we are on top, yahoo! I picked up a souvenir limestone for my reading table — It was almost 9 hours with 3310-feet elevation gain, quite at the limit of my abilities these days, I was fairly exhausted, had to take 2 Aleve that night to quell leg cramps

Central Avenue, Albuquerque looking east toward Sandia Mountains

Jamie Baum Septet+ at Outpost Performance Space October 14: Jamie (flutes), Chris Komer (Fr-horn), Jonathan Finlayson (trpt), Brad Shepik (guitar), John Escreet (piano), Ricky Rodriguez (bass), Jeff Hirshfield (drums), Aaron Irwin (alto sax & bass-clarinet) —- photo by MW

This Douglas-fir spreading jazz pine cones all over the place —- That’s Doug Lawrence and his Sextet at Outpost Performance Space November 5 —- the smokety smokin’ ensemble this night: Paul Gonzales (trpt), Terry Burns (bass), Doug (tenor), David Flores (new in town on drums), Ricky Carrido (conguero), Steve Figueroa (piano & B3) —— That hat you see me in on trail that has the peace symbol over the visor, Doug gave me many moons ago, Hey DOUG, I need another! this one has been on 200 hikes over the Pandemic Lockdown and is showing a little personality

Tom Guralnick announcing the Bob Fox Sextet at Outpost Performance Space November 18: Bobby Shew (trpt & flugelhorn), Alex Murzyn (saxes & flute), Bob (piano & compositions/arrangements), John Trentacosta (drums), Terry Burns (bass), Chris Buckholz (trombone)

Jeanie McLerie & Ken Keppeler aka Bayou Seco at Albuquerque Folk Festival down in the Bosque this year —- October 9 —- They made the 5-hour drive up from Silver City —- I never miss their Saturday morning radio show Roots & Branches on KURU broadcasting from downtown Silver (“bosque” is Espanol = forest —- This being a 300-mile long Cottonwood bosque that runs along the Rio Grande)