May 13, 2003. Tuesday. Taos NM
1043pm Taos, NM
I am irked. When I
checked into the Hampton Inn here, it seems that a woman came in around 430 and
cancelled my reservation. She had my confirmation number and last name. I would
really like to meet this person and find out what the blazes is going on. I can
think of no logical explanation. Hopefully this won't keep me up at night and
will either solve itself or be a one-time fluke happening. I've been perturbed
all night. 3 things have helped: Simpsons, great Mexican food at Taosnos (?)
and the cute girl who checked me in, even though she left and I didn't ask her
out for a drink. Maybe I'll be here one more night before Jess and Ryan find a
condo here so they can have a kitchen.
All the work here
will suck and its either on Reservations or 10 surveys in a small overlapping
area. Not fun times, though 1/2 can be done from Santa Fe instead of her and SF
was OK. Maybe I can pick up my Ansel Adams print there.
Everclear was an
average show--it took them 4 songs to get the levels right and only at the end
did things get energetic.
It
was a good time--Vicki came along, so did Ryan's friend Byron, who is
absolutely hilarious.
She came back to my
place. I took my time on my way South, and once again she disengaged and I got
messy. Almost shot in the face.
That was the last I talked to her--I
told her I'd call for the weekend, but didn't--things were solo, and besides,
there's no spark there, just passed the time till the clothes came off.
I'm looking for
something more, which is why--if I see her again--I'll behave with Natalie and
really see what happens there. Any 2 people
can mess around--it takes more to sit and talk. And I want a 'matching'
relationship with her--equal footing on physical and emotional, otherwise the
unbalance messes with my head and I wonder what I really want and if the side
lacking (usually emotional) is possible.
The previous pages'
playbill was from a hilarious
show [I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change]. Well-written and very true. I
might have to look into purchasing the script/book--however those things work.
Wonderfully acted and choreographed, good actors--one had a Carol Burnett award
for humor. Esp good was 'Because I'm a guy' and the 'sexual satisfaction
lawyer.' After seeing it, I don’t know if I'm excited or scared about a family.
Definitely scared over the notion that baby takes precedence over everything
and that the parents speak Baby-talk to other adults and lose real conversation
and interaction with peers. And then there's the whole Busy Busy Busy when you
have kids and end up too worn out for 'special activities' and pass out at
930pm.
There was also a funny scene about
being too buys for a first date, and in the course of conversation, went
through the whole relationship, breakup, awkward meeting, etc. Clever.
So I drove to a bunch of those little
towns on I-70 W and took a bunch (20!) of pictures, went to Coors for the
brewery Tour (all the hot girls weren't in my group). It's the largest single
brewery and the tour was good--short and just enough information. Plus, free
beer at the end!
I bought some postcards and a poster of
the twins though I'm not sure what I'll do with it.
Afterwards it was a
gorgeous day but too late to hike even though the snow from Friday already
melted. Instead, I saw X-2: X-Men United. Great women--Rogue (Anna Paquin) and
Jean Gray (Famke Janssen). Wow. I need super powers.
Really good movie--maybe better plot
than last time, more minor characters--and more Wolverine. I'm 1/2 temped to
grow out my chops if I guide this summer.
I had to get a jump on the summer movies,
otherwise I'd fall behind on the ones I really want to see--like
Matrix:Reloaded is coming out this week. Really pumped for this one.
My first hike on
Sunday (after Church of course) to Chasm Falls was a bust. Shorter than
expected (that was good), but I was expecting frozen Falls, not thawed and
flowing. And the hike itself was only moderately scenic.
Hike II to Gem Lake
started too steep for me (wuss) at the Twin Owl trailhead, so I drove to the
actual Gem Lake trailhead and started there, threading across a relatively flat
piece of land, broken by private residences.
Only a few minutes into it, my path was
blocked by a huge bull elk. He was young--no antlers yet, but stood on the
trail between a small granite hill and a barb-wire fence.
We regarded each other a while, he
chewing slowly, me videoing and taking pictures, before I decided to go up and
around. If he didn't like me, I figured 'too bad' elk can't climb rocks.
It was a good steep climb up to the
lake, which was nestled between 2 granite 'mountains.' I followed the opp trail
to find the 'Balanced Rock Trail' but everything was snowed under. After
following another hiker's trail 15-20 min, I decided to go back to the lake
since it would be dark soon.
Trail notes:
The Southern
approach, gaining elevation, was cut and criss-crossed by melting snow streams,
while the Northern approach was thick with snow--past my ankles--yet to see the
sun.
The cold lake lay in
an imposing granite fortress, protected and cold, like it had melted only
yesterday and the stones and branches marking the bottom were still frozen.
Granite slept, but
oh! The waking hours must've been ferocious, cut by wind and rain, chiseled by
expanding ice, disfigured and folded upon itself by its faults.
Gem Lake was serene,
but not unprotected--forces were only dormant. The altitude and climate and
landscape discouraged lengthy visits, as the wind stirred its surface in
through the South and out through the North.
The sky cleared in
the West--enough so that the sun peaked its head beneath the blanket of clouds
and cast the faintest palest light on facing snow-covered peaks opposite the
valley of me. The sleeping sides became bluer and grayer, depending on snowy or
rocky exposure.
Estes Park laid sleepily in the valley between the stone guards of Gem Lake and Twin Owls, and the sharp peaks of the Rocky's Ridge. Streetlights below appeared as sparks thrown from a kicked fire.
The 3/4 moon grew
higher and brighter. It would've been a beautifully cold night which I wanted
no part of, other than to sleep in a bed insulated from it. So I ran the 2
miles down to the truck. I didn't want to navigate the granite steps, loose
gravel, or sharp turns on the trail (though well-maintained) at night in the
cold. Running kept my heart rate up, increased energy consumption and therefore
BTU's so that by the time I reached the truck, I could've been shirtless in
shorts.
It was 830pm by the
time I got my gear up, drank some Power-Ade and took off my shoes--my fav part
of the hike sometimes--to stretch and air out white damp toes in the fresh air.
830, the time of evening (this part of year) when the color seeps out of everything
and all that's left is contrasting shapes of darkness and light.
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