Tent Rocks

This post if for my Uncle Glen & Aunt Mabel. I had heard they did their annual Turkey Run trip the weekend before I went to Tent Rocks. I thought we could compare trips.

While I love Turkey Run, especially in the fall, I think Tent Rocks - well rocks. Even without fall foliage to liven everything the rocks formations are amazing. And they seem to change depending on the light. You also notice different things walking back.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words so I'll be quite now and let you enjoy these. I highly recommend the trip if you enjoy hiking.

Mountain States Relief Sale

October 17-18 we went to the Mountain States Relief Sale in Rocky Ford, CO. Liane and Kate had never been to a Relief Sale or auction before and Tim hadn't been to one in a while. Eric and I are kind of spoiled by the Michiana Relief Sale in Goshen because it's so big.

We camped out on Friday night. For some reason the tent poles for the guys' tent did not make the trip with us so while the Kate, Liane & I slept in a tent, Tim & Eric roughed it in the van.

The first item to be auctioned is a loaf of bread. The bread was bought for $1,850. It's then sliced and each slice is sold with a jar of apple butter. The slices sold for a combined amount of $2,400. Between the loaf itself and the slices earned $4,250. Crazy.

We didn't really do a lot during the day. We had volunteered to help clean up after the sale so much of the day was waiting and eating - which is a mandatory activity at a Mennonite gathering. Kate, Liane, Eric & Tim did get a ride in the barrels.

More pictures.

Balloon Fiesta

Balloon Fiesta. Even though this is my second one, it still amazes me.

Susan, the Service Adventure Director, visits our unit the first weekend of Balloon Fiesta. Saturday morning we got up around 4:45 a.m., met several friends, and left around 5:30 a.m. to make it to the park to see the balloons take off. Balloon Fiesta Park is about 15 minutes from the unit house. The first balloons of the morning lift off around 6:30 a.m. There are so many balloons taking off that even though we had to wait in traffic for about 2 hours, we still saw hundreds getting ready and taking off.

One of the things that makes Albuquerque an excellent place to hot air balloon is the location. Because of the mountains on one side and the valley on the other, when the wind conditions are right, balloons can head towards the Sandia Mountains at one altitude, drop to a lower altitude and the winds will carry them back to Fiesta Park. This was the first year I saw it and it was crazy. About an hour after the balloons left, they were returning really close to the ground. That day they did a bean bag drop - trying to hit a target as they pass. It's very bizarre to see balloons going two different directions when they look like they a few feet apart.

I volunteered at the fiesta five days this year at the Balloon Discovery Center. It's an interesting experience and I learn a lot about ballooning. Plus I get in free, get free breakfast and get to see all the balloons. Liane volunteered Sunday with me. She was going to be there Saturday night as well but the event was canceled due to inclement weather.

The entire unit got up early on Sunday morning - Liane and I to volunteer and the rest of them to visit the Discovery tent as a learning component. The unit is ready to recruit for Service Adventure in space now.

Here are some more pictures from the whole week of Balloon Fiesta.

Creation Retreat

I know, I know - I haven't been updating my blog but life has been crazy. I'll try to do better. FYI - I will be dating these posts based on when they actually happened, not when I'm writing them.

The last weekend of September we went to Heron Lake for a Creation Retreat with the church. On Friday night we sat around a campfire, made stone soup, shared stories and songs and generally had a good time.

Saturday we went kayaking on Heron Lake. Not only was it a beautiful place but motorboats are not allowed on the lake so it's very peaceful as well. I could have stayed all day. Liane and I went Geocaching with Warren & Carol Siemens - a couple from church. We ended up at the Rio Chama Trail. The river is 150 feet down from where we started. That's a lot of steps. Totally worth it though. Once we got to the bottom we walked about half way across the suspension bridge. Absolutely beautiful. If we would have kept walking, we would have reached reached El Vado Lake, about 5 miles away. Instead we made the hike back up to the top and returned to the campground. We stayed an extra night - along with Warren & Carol - who invited us over for dinner Saturday night.

We left early for home early the next morning. I have to say camping in New Mexico is awesome because there's no mosquitoes, during the day it's warm because the sun is shining and because you're at a higher elevation it's really nice to have the campfire at night but I'm always glad to get back to my bed.

Here are some more pictures.

Peeling Chilies

Green chilies - so fun to eat, somewhat fun to peel. Every year on Labor Day - Jeff & Donna host a chili peeling party. They buy bags of roasted, green chilies which people then help peel - and chop if that's how you want yours. The best part - there's a carry-in with quesedillas being served with the fresh, roasted chilies. Yum!!



Some things to note about peeling chilies.
1. Have water to rinse your hands in - supposedly salt helps cut the sting.
2. You may need to wear gloves.
3. If you wear contacts, don't wear them to peel chilies. In fact, it's best not to even touch your eye area for a couple of days.
4. Your hands will "burn" more about 15 minutes after your done peeling than they while you are peeling. And they may sting for a day after that.
5. Fresh chilies in recipes is totally worth whatever you go through for them.

peace

Climbing trees and eating treats

I know, I know - it's been two weeks since I've last posted. What can I say? Time gets away from me sometimes.

Last weekend we went to AMC's Annual Retreat at Camp Oro Quay in the Monzano Mountains. It was a good time. Saturday morning we talked about the Enneagram and where we are on the circle. The Enneagram is sort of a personality guide but more about how you respond to situations. It's best used as a way to understand yourself and grow spiritually. I find it interesting and hopefully knowing that I'm a 7 will help me mature in all the ways I need to (although one of the 7's descriptions is Magical Child - which I try to live up to as often as possible).

We also participated in the ropes course - which I at least enjoyed thoroughly. Besides a couple of group activities which included walking across a low log bridge and swinging on a rope from one "island" to another over a river of evil chocolate - if you touch it there are dire consequences - there was a climbing wall, a high log bridge and a rope bridge. I elected to only do the log bridge section since that was my favorite last year. And because I wasnted to find out if I was in any better shape this year. When I tried it last year I thought I was going to die from climbing the extremely tall Ponderosa Pine. I could barely breathe. Besides not being in shape, I think I hadn't fully adjusted to the altitude - or drank enough water. This year I climbed the tree no problem. The guy on belay - the one holding the ropes that kept me from falling - said I was really fast. That made me happy. I wasn't as fast as one of the guys that works there. He can climb the tree, walk across the bridge and rapel down in 14.2 seconds. That's really, really fast. Kate & Liane also did the log bridge while Eric & Tim did all three climbing options.

In the evening there was a talent show with some very interesting acts. Tim also shared his guitar playing skills and we learned about wizard rock - songs that have to do with the Harry Potter stories. We also had some science lessons that I'm pretty sure should not be tried at home - or anywhere that fire or injury may occur.

To top the day off, we sat around a campfire and had s'mores. It was Liane's first one - and maybe her last. She thought they were very sweet which to me is the whole point of s'mores.

It was a very fun weekend - and tiring. I think we all took naps when we got home on Sunday. Luckily we didn't have to go to work the next day since it was Labor Day. Here are more photos from the weekend.

not much going on

Not a lot going the last couple of weeks. I think everyone’s trying to settle into their work routine.

We’re starting our cooking rotations. So far, so good. Of course, only one person besides me has cooked for a week but you know. It’s a start.

I do have a picture of all of us together. This was taken at the Hispanic Cultural Center when we were doing our tour of the city during Orientation Week.

Like I said - not much going on the last couple of weeks. This coming weekend is our church camp out. I should have some fun things to share after that. We’re signed up for the ropes course. Last year that meant I had to climb not 1 but 2 Ponderosa pine trees. We’ll see what this year brings.

Orientation Week

Orientation Week is over. For the past week Liane, Eric, Kate & Tim have been meeting new people, touring Albuquerque, visiting job placements, weeding and learning many things. All

while trying to adjust to the altitude and heat.

Monday we weeded the yard first thing. While this may seem mean, it should be the last of the yard work we do for the year. And unless there’s an unusual amount of snow this year, we won’t have to shovel snow either. We came up with a budget, filled out forms and visited Liane’s job placement at the Learn & Play Center - a low-income day care at Albuquerque Mennonite Church. The day ended with an awesome meal and games with Carolyn, Kenzie & Christopher.

Tuesday we biked to church, the grocery store and the bank. We then visited Tim’s job placement at Habitat - on the wrong day. Luckily the job site supervisor was there and met with us. This is what happens when you re-write your schedule five times. In the afternoon Anne & George discussed the Enneagram with us and we discovered our personality types. Josh brought ingredients to make calzones and then talked about conflict resolution.

Wednesday we toured Albuquerque with Sue and stopped at the Hispanic Cultural Center. We visited the Center for Action & Contemplation which is where Eric will work. We had dinner at a New Mexican restaurant. Very tasty, leftovers and sopapillas.

Thursday we biked again - this time to the grocery store. After resting for a bit we cleaned out the storage unit. While I took Kate to take a test for her job placement at Bandelier Elementary School, Eric & Tim planted a garden. Dinner was at Deb’s with Anelia, Matt, Katie, Dave & Andy. Wonderful vegetarian pizza and homemade ice cream.

Friday we had a half day retreat with Pastor Anita and then lunch at the retreat center. Most of the day was free time. In the evening we were going to the softball game and then have tacos with Steve & Gail. We still did that but Tim got recruited to fill in. Though the first inning wasn’t promising and then there was a half hour game delay in the middle of the game - AMC won by more than 10 runs. We ate at a little Mexican restaurant - very authentic since the menu was in Spanish - and very good food.

Saturday we went to the post office and got stamps. Went to the library and got cards and books.

Today we went to church, watched the Olympics and baked cookies.

After a busy beginning of the week, the last couple of days have been pretty relaxing. Tomorrow reality sets in and work begins.

peace