The Blog
Travels with Cats now available in paperback
By Anne Leonard |
A picture perfect day in the Sandias
Yesterday I did one of my favorite hikes up to the crest (Tree Spring and then a portion of the Crest Trail). Two years ago, I remember huffing and puffing up the nearly four miles. I was on the same pace as a young man from El Paso, who was hiking with his fiancee and…
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Celebratory drinks overlooking the Sandias
In a step forward, I not only talked a bookstore into carrying Travels with Cats, I got it into a bookstore listed in Atlas Obscura as one of the world’s best. (See https://www.abqjournal.com/1174544/sixth-taco-cabana-eatery-opens-in-cottonwood-area.html) And, I have a book signing scheduled for December 1. Owned by Jim and John Hoffsis, Treasure House Books has been operating on…
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New Mexico: Land of Diversity
Went to two parties in the greater Albuquerque area in two weeks. At one, I was treated to several arias sung by stars of the Southwest Opera (www.southwestopera.org). Also, the host had a collection of classic motorcycles and cars. The second party was in the home and garden of sculptor Ed Haddaway. Check out his…
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Monsoon Season
It is the last day of July and so far the monsoon season has been kind to New Mexico. Here in Tijeras, we’ve had two inches of rain in the last week. Even last night’s light shower was welcome. Not only do monsoons provide spectacular skies, but they also bring out the flowers. This morning…
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La Luz or Seeing the Light
Despite being in New Mexico for three full months last summer, I had not hiked the La Luz trail since 2016. Yesterday, I set out to rectify that. La Luz is perhaps the most popular trail in New Mexico. Located on the western side of the Sandias, it offers a seven-mile climb from about 7,000…
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Back hiking in the trees
“It’s so crowded you’d think we were in Colorado.” So said the woman at the end of a long line of hikers I was waiting to pass on a cat walk above the Jemez River. If it was this crowded on a hike that is not exactly near anywhere (over an hour’s drive from both…
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Hiking in ABQ and rain at last
The closure of the Cibola National Forest (and just about every other forest in New Mexico) has forced me down into Albuquerque to find open trails. Another incentive is I have two good friends from Colorado visiting me with a German Shepherd that requires lots of exercise. It has been rewarding, especially since high temperatures…
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Waiting for the monsoons
Virtually all of the hiking trails in New Mexico are closed due to extreme fire risk. This explains the elbow-to-elbow crowds my houseguests and I encountered at Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks between Albuquerque and Santa Fe on Tuesday. This slot canyon is maintained by the BLM and there is little vegetation to ignite, so it is one…
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Hiking in a mountain garden
Went on one of my favorite hikes in the Vail Valley yesterday, East Lake Creek. It’s been a few years since I’ve been on this trek through an aspen forest. I also don’t recall being on it when the wild raspberries were in bloom. I know they are raspberries because I’ve eaten many when hiking…
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