My name is Andrea. I live in New Mexico with my husband and my cat. We just moved to Los Alamos from Las Cruces and are learning to live our lives without all our old friends nearby. I'm a Starbucks Barista and am working on loving being in a small town.
Here you'll find an amalgamation of my many passions and pursuits. I am an aspiring photographer. Please check out my SmugMug and what you think of my shots. You can even buy prints for a nominal fee.
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Anyone else going with me?!?
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The Whitewater-Baldy Complex fire in New Mexico hasn’t just broken the record for the largest blaze in state history, it’s shattered it. An infrared reading about midnight Tuesday measured the fire at 170,272 acres, leaving last year’s 156,593-acre Las Conchas fire in the dust. That acreage roughly translates to 269 square miles, more than half the size of city of Los Angeles. “The fire seems to be growing in all directions,” fire information officer Gerry Perry told the Los Angeles Times. “It’s certainly been a complicated fire.”
(via New Mexico fire sets record, consuming more than 170,000 acres - latimes.com)
Fire is scary. Going to be a long dry summer..
I’m so fucking tired of this shit. I love New Mexico, and I love aspects of living in the desert. But all this does to me is make my desire to leave stronger. It’s just too heartbreaking, and too scary, and too stressful.
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Joe and I spent a day and a half in the Angel Fire and Eagle Nest area in northern New Mexico. I came back with a nasty sunburn- nastiest I’ve had since almost exactly seven years ago- but the views were worth it, and I just loved the fresh air up there. We’ve been living at such a high altitude for long enough now that 8500 feet is nothing. Anyway, here’s Joe delightful face when he was catching a fish! I’ve seen baby photos of him just as gleeful. Love it!
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New Mexico hike in the rain in a canyon. Seriously, just gorgeous. Also, there was a New Zealand sparkling Sauvignon Blanc. We had an amazing afternoon. This was just a quick snap from my little camera, which I’m glad I had when the thunderstorm really broke open on us later.
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GPOY. I’m a rock squirrel!
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Fuck yeah hiking! It’s National Parks Week, so here’s me (on the left) and Melissa (on the right) at Bandelier National Monument, near Los Alamos, New Mexico. We had a beautiful day at the cliff dwellings and in the shade around the creek!
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Happy National Parks week from Bandelier National Monument in Los Alamos, NM!
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Oh, hello spring! I feel like, with the constant flashes of cold here in northern New Mexico, I am constantly re-welcoming spring. Goddammit, let’s just have more of these little flowers all over town and get our green!
Fuller Lodge, Los Alamos, New Mexico. April 2012.
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Acid Canyon Loop Trail, Los Alamos, New Mexico. April 2012.
I discovered I have access to a vast network of hiking trails almost literally out my back door (okay, across the street, behind the church) and have been going out by myself. I had one of my worst days in a long time at work yesterday— all issues were beyond my control, thankfully, I was just damage control— and the hike today helped me calm my mind and feel like myself again.
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Absolutely can’t wait to get back out on the trails. Honestly, screw the new, random snow. I want to be outside, right now. Can’t believe I’d ever say that.
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Love the sunlight in the mountains. Sunlight through clouds and tree canopies… that’s how it should be.
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Out on a hike. Sometimes I really adore living here! I got to this place with only my feet and what is in my new daypack. Gorgeous day, gorgeous views… I could do this every day. Wish I’d brought my journal out…
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Preparing for a bit of a chill tonight here in the mountains.
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This weekend was a wonderful, much-needed trip away. I feel like I’ve been on “vacation” a lot lately, but none provided the rest I really needed. Sure, I went to Oregon, and sure, I went to Las Cruces, but those trips were so action-packed that I didn’t have any downtime and returned to work feeling like I needed a vacation from my vacations.
So on Saturday, Joe’s brother Zack drove over from Phoenix to visit us here in New Mexico to get some ski time in. He rented us a cabin for two of the four nights he was in NM for us in a wonderful spot just a mile from the Taos Ski Valley resort. I got a bit sick to my stomach the first day we were there, but I sat next to a window while Joe and Zack skied, and I got to see every skier and snowboarder who came down the mountain. I got some reading done (though I found after the first half of the day that focusing on Hawking’s “A Brief History of Time” would be impossible with the afternoon influx inside the lodge). I called my parents and caught up with them. And when I felt better, I had a couple beers.
The guys were so tired that night- as was I, just as a result of little sleep the previous three nights- that we were in bed by 9pm. We didn’t even have dinner, and the guys rather docilely watched “The Amazing Race” with me, which Zack would later accidentally call The Great Adventure (a name that has since stuck). The next morning was the best part of the trip. After getting the guys on their skis and seeing them off, I borrowed Zack’s car and decided to go to the city proper of Taos. I was nearly there when I remembered the Rio Grande Gorge was really close by, and I could probably see that all on my own. I am so glad I decided to check it out.
The Bridge, of course, was pretty cool. In 1961, it won an award for being a beautiful steel bridge. However, it is a bit dilapidated and having some construction done, so I wasn’t particularly taken by the bridge itself. But the Gorge was something to behold! I didn’t know something like that existed in New Mexico. Not like that. I’ve seen many photos of it here (a blog I have worked on in the past, though someone else is doing more of the legwork these days), but didn’t really think it seemed real, because so many of the photos are edited to make it look really crazy! I was amazed by the view from the bridge, but a bit disappointed to walk away from a view like that.
On my way back to the car, I saw a break in the fence with a sign that announced the beginning of the west rim trailhead! So I trekked on out into the middle of the freshly-powdered desert, where there were no other humans or animals or technology in sight. It only took me 20 yards to get far enough for that. I noticed then that there were several ad hoc foot trails over to the actual rim of the Gorge- and I was pleasantly surprised by how close I could get to the edge without feeling as though I might fall. So I sat quietly, enjoyed the cold, sunny desert, took a few photos, and left.
The rest of the weekend is a blur, to be honest- plenty of drinking (Mardi Gras, and, well, Zack around, necessitated both) and plenty of sleep. But I made sure to take Joe and Zack to the Gorge later on and it freaked the both of them out. Zack can’t stand the height of it, and Joe was quite worried by my being so close to the edge. I felt perfectly safe, and want to go back there any time I need a moment to myself! It was just gorgeous- I highly recommend the Gorge to you… but then again, I’d be happy if you didn’t go also, so that it stays nice and empty.
