Canyonlands & Dead Horse Point

Got up for breakfast and tried the Moab Diner (down the block from my motel). Classic breakfast - and I could not finish it.

Found the Moab Regional Hospital - needed a blood draw. Napped in the room until temperature got nice (60s). Loaded the trail bike and riding gear.

Plan was to check out Canyonsland - Island in the Sky. Then Dead Horse Point for a bike ride and photos. There was a knot in my left calf, so figured I would do what I could. Tried to walk it out, but no luck.

Stopped at almost all of the turn-outs, taking photos. One big omission was Upheaval Dome. The parking lot was fill and I did not want hike up to the view point. My legs have been about toast every night.

When I got to Dead Horse Point, I checked in with the ranger. Getting directions to the trailhead. Unloading the bike, asked a couple of biker to take my photo. Seems that the Gal was from Omaha!

Was not that good of a ride. Seems that I had forgotten about riding rocks and slickrock. That, an my A-Fib, left knee and altitude. Made a 1 miles ride/hike on the Intrepid Trail.

Ended up at the Dead Horse Point view area. Took some photos at the lower view point. Just not enough energy to haul the tripod.

Had dinner at Eddie McStiffs (was my plan). For many years, any time I came through Moab, I stopped in at Eddie McStiffs. Not looking for a big meal but needed my salad and a brew. Opted for a burger.

Thanks to Jill for buying me a birthday beer. Ended up having 2 - Rock Amber Ale. Soon bed time (see if I can complete the blog posting before i crash).

Mom called for my birthday. So, the day is complete. Will process photos in the morning. Night-night...

A River Walk

Time to re-do the Museum Reach/North Riverwalk Volksmarch in San Antonio. We have only done it once before and that was July 8, . I think we'll be walking it more often because it's such a beautiful part of the city.

The north part of the Riverwalk is called Museum Reach because it passes directly next to the San Antonio Museum of Art. All along the path are different types of art: faux bois (false wood) grotto, art on bridges, art under bridges, sound art, and metal art.

Plus, the city does a wonderful job with landscaping, so there are small waterfalls, ponds, and lots of flowers along the San Antonio River. Employees are out working and cleaning up along the path every day of the week.

Water lily

Momma duck and ducklings

Part of San Antonio Museum of Art - reflected

More water lilies.

Some kind of wasp on the flowers?

Baby swallow under a bridge.

San Antonio River Tunnel Inlet Facilities

Bob getting totally tubular in San Antonio - watch out surfer dudes

Brackenridge Park Waterworks Trail

Turtle - dive, dive!

Stray lynx point Siamese. Isn't he handsome.

Petrified wood

Dad in front, two kids, then dog in the caboose.

Photos in her wedding dress at Pearl Brewery Complex.

Hibiscus on steroids!

What a gorgeous flower!

Purple water lily opening up for the day.

On our way back to the start, we ran into two people looking lost. I asked if we could help them. They wanted to know where the dam was. I asked if they meant dam or locks. "Oh, locks," they replied. We told them they were really close. I saw a map in her hand that looked just like mine and asked if they were Volksmarching. Yes, they were. In fact, they're in San Antonio for an American Volkssport Association National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting. He's Bob Morrison, treasurer of the national association, and she's Nancy Wittenberg, Northwest regional director. They're both from Washington state. Small world. You never know who you're going to bump into.

Nancy and Bob on North Riverwalk Volksmarch.

Bob Morrison and Nancy Wittenberg

Nancy, Bob and Bob at the end of the walk

What a nice finish to our walk this morning. Bob and Nancy, enjoy the rest of your time in San Antonio!

Travel Bug out.

Music of Silence

I've begun a new book called Music of Silence, A Sacred Journey Through the Hours of the Day. A little from the back cover says: "a noted Benedictine monk shows how to incorporate the sacred meaning of monastic life into our everyday lives. He demonstrates how to "be here now" by following the natural rhythms of the hours of the day.
This is from the chapter Vigils, the night watch. He's talking about affluence and how it always demands more. "The word affluence suggests that whatever flows in never comes out. Our affluent society stays affluent by making the containers bigger when they are just about to overflow, like a fountain with its lovely veils of water spilling over. The economics of affluence demand that things that were special for us last year must now be taken for granted; gratefulness is taken away from us. But if we make the vessel smaller and smaller by reducing our needs, then the overflowing comes sooner and with it the joy of gratefulness.
The less you have, the more you appreciate what you've got. With the extraneous stripped away, you begin to realize how you are being graced by life's gifts. This is at least one sense in which the poor are blessed. When your needs are limited, your vessel is easily filled, and you can delight in the overflow.
Monks experience the overflow sooner; poor people experience it sooner than wealthy ones, because the vessel is smaller. With monks, who by custom have few and simple possessions, it is artificially made smaller, and so the joy of overflowing comes sooner. If you normally have just soup for your meal, and all of a sudden you get a second course of potatoes, that feels like a wonderful gift, a blessing, and you are thrilled."
After my last bout of decluttering, I begin to see how true this is. I still spend way too much time going through papers, magazines, etc. I don't want to be a chronic paper shuffler. I want to be able to turn more outward and help the less fortunate, the young mothers, my grandchildren, and anyone else that needs me. And so the decluttering continues... will there ever be a time when I'm not a slave to paperwork? I hope and pray so.

The regulation ride

A day before the "harden the f*ck up" ride, I decided to do another mountain climb, to Springbrook. This is, of course, one of my regular rides, one that I've done many, many times over. However, today there was something different. This year we actually had some rain in October, which almost never happens. The rain re-invigorated some things, and caused the appearance of some that aren't normally there. You can never be sure what you'll see on a trip to Springbrook, which is part of what makes it such a special place.

It's A Long Story...

Fur some of you that asked about ma's book, I'm happy to let you know about it. In fact, I was just checking it out again today, 'cause my ma wants me to stay slim and healthy and that is what this book is partly about. If you go to this link, you can find out more.

Since I got mom to start this blog fer me, some furry favorite pups of ours have fallen prey to that nasty disease, cancer. If any of you are moved to purchase this book, my mom will give half the proceeds to The National Canine Cancer Foundation.
Unfortunately, my mom won't know about royalties of any purchases made between now and around the end of October until about mid-November, but will let you know prontissimo when she receives word of the amount. Immediately, she'll fire that check off! For those of you who asked about this in my comments, Ma says a grateful thanks - it is her first book and she's a bit shy about it.
Finally, it is actually my real birthday today, and I'm just relaxing and having a lovely day with mom, who, uncharacteristically, has the day off!
Hugs to all pups xo
Sammie

Prime Thyme Mysteries 3

Thank you, Karen, for hosting me today! This blog tour celebrates the launch of Nightshade, the sixteenth China Bayles mystery. China (for those who haven’t yet been introduced to this mystery series) is a former criminal defense attorney who has opted for a quieter life as the owner of an herb shop in Pecan Springs TX. Each book in the series includes a signature herb that has something to do with the story, the characters, and or/the themes of the book. In this post, I’ll be telling you something about the herbs in Books 7, 8, and 9. (For posts on other books, check out the tour calendar.)
Chile Death

In China’s seventh mystery, Pecan Springs is rattled by the news that somebody has put peanuts into an entry in the chili cookoff. Peanuts in Texas chili? All by itself, that’s a crime (Texans never put peanuts in chili)—but it gets worse when a cookoff judge dies. Was it a culinary error (bad enough) or premeditated murder (worse)? The investigation takes China into a couple of hot spots and nearly costs her life. But the good news is that lover Mike McQuaid (shot in the previous book) is on the mend. Are those wedding bells we hear, or the crackle of chiles roasting over an open flame?
The signature herb? Chiles, of course! Chile peppers are not only super in your salsa, but good for what ails you: poor circulation, headaches, stomach distress, and ulcers, maybe even as an alternative to Viagra. (Chiles have long had a reputation as an aphrodisiac.) While the heat of capsaicin (the chief chemical compound in this herb) can burn, it also takes the pain out of shingles, rheumatism, and arthritis.
There’s lots more about this hot herb—a member of the nightshade family—at Wikipedia. If you’d like to try one of China’s favorite chile recipes, add some jalepeno peppers to cornbread. Or put some chile powder in your hot chocolate for an exotic (and seductive) drink.
Lavender Lies

I always think of this book as the “wedding” book—although between a murder investigation (a local real estate broker is shot to death in his garage) and a surprise guest named Hurricane Josephine, China’s wedding almost doesn’t happen. But it does, and of course it’s an herbal wedding, with rosemary for remembrance, thyme for courage, sage for long life and happiness, and lavender for devotion.

If you’re devoted to lavender, you're not alone. The clean, refreshing scent of its delicate flowers was cherished by the Egyptians (who used it, with other herbs and spices, to make mummies), the Phoenicians, the Greeks, and the Romans (who called it lavender, from their verb lavere, to wash), and by gardeners everywhere. Lavender is used to scent soaps, cosmetics, potpourris, and sachets. You can also use it in your bath, or put a few drops of essential oil on your hair brush. To help you sleep, put a few drops on your pillow. You can even use lavender flowers to flavor cookies and cakes, make tangy vinegars and punches, and brew fragrant teas.
For recipes from China’s and Ruby’s tea room (newly-opened in Lavender Lies) and ideas for a lavender tea party of your own, check out this page. And for a very good review of lavender’s medicinal properties, read this article from the University of Maryland.
Mistletoe Man

It's Christmas, and China has opened her home for the annual Pecan Springs Holiday Home Tour. But she's also worrying about her friend and partner Ruby Wilcox, who hasn't been herself lately. To further complicate matters, China has to round up a supply of mistletoe, the season's most popular herb. It seems an easy enough task—until her chief mistletoe supplier turns up dead.

Mistletoe is rich in lore, mostly due to the unusual growth habit of this parasitic herb. (In fact, some linguists trace its name to the Old English word mistil, meaning different.) Mistletoe grows on host trees, from seeds planted in the bark by the birds who feast on the white berries that ripen during the winter. The plant has been a part of Yule or winter solstice celebrations since the Druids, and the "kiss of peace" that was once exchanged under this plant by warring North Country clans has now evolved into the Christmas kiss. In folk cultures, mistletoe has been used to enhance fertility and to treat epilepsy; medicinally, European mistletoe is used as a sedative and to slow a rapid heartbeat. Recent research suggests that it may also slow the growth of cancerous tumors, and it is employed in Germany to supplement chemotherapy. Mistletoe is not a culinary herb, but the berries are not deadly, as is popularly believed. Please note that European and American mistletoe are not the same species. Many traditions link the two, but they are very different.
For a serious discussion of mistletoe’s medicinal properties, go here. For a more general overview of the plant (and another view of its cancer-curing properties), check out this page.
Readers often tell me that they enjoy learning about herbs while they are entertained by the story. But I have to say that China Bayles has taught me so much about herbs. For instance, I don’t think I would ever have taken the time to explore the herb mistletoe, if China’s supplier hadn’t gone and gotten himself killed!
Thanks again, Karen, for hosting me here at Rurality. And thanks to all you folks who are trekking through cyberspace with me on this blog tour. I appreciate your notes and comments—I’ll be gone for a couple of days this week, but I’ll be dropping in again when I get back.
About the book drawing and Susan’s blog tour

If you’d like to enter the drawing for a copy of Nightshade go here to register. But do it now, before you forget. The drawing for Rurality closes at noon on April 4, ...
Want to read the other posts in Susan’s blog tour? You’ll find a calendar and links here.

Cycling Project - Slioch

Day 2 and the cyclists were amongst the hills. The peak in the shot above is Slioch, 981 metres, which stands above Loch Maree. The loch apparently has its own monster, related to the one in Loch Ness. No sign of it when the Edinburgh group passed by - it probably had more sense than to show itself.
Edited to add: Day 2 - Contin to Kinlochewe 32 miles
For what the 'Project' is all about, see the first post here.