Tent Rocks Archives – HIGH ON HOOKING

The rug I was working on as I moved last summer. "Welcome to New Mexico." — The rug I was working on during last summer’s exodus: “Welcome to New Mexico.” Since then I’ve been taking stock of our first year here.

Taking stock – that’s what I did with some of the time I took off from the blog these past couple of weeks (which passed by REALLY QUICKLY). July 30 held particular significance and not just because it was the day before my kid’s 19th birthday. This year it marked exactly one year since we rolled into the state of New Mexico to stay.

Wow! We can’t believe it either. At times it’s been tumultuous, there’s no denying that. The holidays, they were tough without family and friends. The kid crashing her car – no injuries other than to pride! – means that just like in high school, Tom’s stuck driving her back and forth to work till she saves for a new vehicle.

Big picture, though, the move’s been most everything we wanted.

Where Tynan and I walk in the Bosque along the Rio Grande. — Where Tynan and I walk in the Bosque along the west side of the Rio Grande. This is **city living Albuquerque style**.

CLIMATE:
Certainly, the weather’s wonderful: lots of sun, lots less winter (compared to New England). One day last January, we hiked in the snow on the east side of the Sandia Mountains then drove the 45 minutes to home where it was 55 degrees. No need for a stinkin’ snowblower here!

RUG HOOKING (this is a hooking blog):

You'll find many of AWAG ladies demonstrating rug hooking at Albuquerque's Biopark the first Tuesday of most every month. — You’ll find several of us AWAG’s ladies demonstrating rug hooking at Albuquerque’s Biopark the first Tuesday of most every month.

Who would’ve guessed that there’s such an active guild of hookers out here in Albuquerque? I’ve made some great friends this past year, even one, Melinda, who moved from New Hampshire about the same time I moved from Massachusetts. Now the two of us try to get a hooking afternoon in each week. Better yet, she and her husband are New England Patriots fans just like us. Tom and I are no longer alone in a sea of blue and orange Bronco fans.

"Desert Gone Wild" went to a good home just last week. — “Desert Gone Wild,” a table runner or wall hanging, went to a good home just last week.

As High on Hooking, I’ve managed to start selling pieces and been involved in not one, but two shows. The Adobe Wool Arts (ATHA) guild volunteered me as our representative to Albuquerque’s Fiber Arts Council which is currently planning next May’s Fiber Arts Fiesta. Then back in January, three of us headed down to Tuscon in Arizona for a hook-in with the Old Pueblo Rug Hookers. It was 80 degrees there! In January! I even managed a little sunburn!

You can't get much closer to a balloon without being in the basket. This one landed behind the house last fall. — You can’t get much closer to a balloon without being in the basket. This one landed right behind the house last fall.

HOUSING:
While we didn’t down-size like we planned (hey, with no cellar or attic, we realized we needed an extra room for the treadmill and bike), we found a great house close to the Rio Grande. That means the dog and I can head out to walk the scenic trails of the Bosque (the forest) whenever we wish. In summer this is best done in the early morning hours.) So far we’ve come across a snake, hawks and hummingbirds, lots of bunnies and geckos, two coyotes, and, just last week, a porcupine.

Tynan running free in the Bosque. Like, Just like New England, autumn is the best time to be in New Mexico. — Tynan running free in the Bosque. Just like New England, autumn is the best season to be in New Mexico.

PERSONAL:
I turned 52 this summer. Moving here signaled the start of the next half of my life. (You think I’m optimistic, but one of my grandmothers died as an active 93-year-old, and the other is still very much alive.) One reason we moved here — besides the BIG sky, the art scene, and there being less people — was for the outdoor lifestyle. We like to hike. Unfortunately, a couple of months before we left the east coast, I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. I won’t lie, it’s been a pain in my ass, amongst other places, but especially for my knees. That’s limited our hiking some. But I’m on a new med; here’s hoping it works without too many side effects (the scary kinds they recite to us in all the TV ads). And that the damn hot flashes stop soon. (I am 52.)

20160522_121931 — On the trail again at Tent Rocks.

Luckily, though, while my fingers have swollen some, they’ve suffered little pain. Maybe all the hooking keeps everything lubed up. Thank goodness. I know that most of you feel like I do: hooking is therapy. Without it, life would, to put it bluntly, suck.

Life here in Albuquerque definitely does NOT suck. There are all kinds of new experiences:

Wineries and old ruins and Indian pueblos and Petroglyph National Monument that puts volcanoes practically in our backyard!
Hot air balloons that float right over our house and sometimes land on the street right behind it!
Gardening in the desert – we’re not in Massachusetts any more where missing a day of watering isn’t be much of a problem. Worse, we pay for water here! But we’re learning all about drought-tolerant plants.
Meeting all kinds of fiber artists like weaver Donna Loraine Contractor.
Tapestry artist Donna Loraine Contractor in her booth at the 2015 Rio Grande Arts and Crafts Festival (Thanksgiving weekend). We met online well before I ever got here.
Cool nature stuff like Tent Rocks.
Attending rattlesnake aversion training with the dog. And a live rattlesnake!
Chiles, chiles, chiles!
Navajo woven rugs. Rugs hooked out of t-shirts by Guatemalan women and sold at Santa Fe’s International Folk Art Market.
Santa Fe and all it has to offer just an hour up the road.
Museums like the one dedicated to Georgia O’Keefe.
Mass Ascension at Balloon Fiesta!
New Mexico’s food scene rocks!

Tom posing in Tent Rock's curves. — Tom posing in Tent Rocks’ curves.

I could go on, but I won’t right now. There’s too much to do. Rugs don’t hook themselves. Plus, we have company coming early September through mid-October. I can play Julie McCoy to the relatives.

How’s your summer been going?

Mass ascension at Balloon Fiesta 2015. Have you ever seen so many balloons in one place? — Mass Ascension at Balloon Fiesta 2015. Have you ever seen so many balloons in one place?

"Welcome to New Mexico", 29.5"x20", $225, Recycled t-shirts — High on Hooking says “Welcome to New Mexico.” Stay for a while and see why we love it here.

"Kasha-Katuwe" means "White Cliff" in the native language of the Cochiti pueblo people. The tapered rock formations are called hoodoos (or tents). Some still retain their "boulder caps." — “Kasha-Katuwe” means “White Cliff” in the native language of the Cochiti pueblo people. The tapered rock formations are called hoodoos (or tents). Some still retain their “boulder caps.”

“Make sure you visit Tent Rocks,” both friends and acquaintances told us. “Go now, before the it gets too hot.” Actually, they said that back in March. We finally made it Sunday even though we couldn’t take Tynan (the dog) which was what made us hesitate earlier. He loves going to new, outdoorsy places. But even without him there, it was easily the BEST, MOST INTERESTING FIELD TRIP since we moved to New Mexico back in August.

Tent Rocks are the products of volcanic eruptions that happened 6 or 7 million years ago.

Technically, the national monument is Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks. It’s located about an hour north and west of Albuquerque. There are very cool geologic formations as well as a couple trails with wicked vistas that include views of the Sandia, Sangre de Cristo, and Jemez mountains and the Rio Grande River valley.

Entrance to the slot canyon portion of the Slot Canyon Trail.

According to the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (because why should I re-write the wheel?):

The cone-shaped tent rock formations are the products of volcanic eruptions that occurred 6 to 7 million years ago and left pumice, ash, and tuff deposits over 1,000 feet thick. Tremendous explosions from the Jemez volcanic field spewed pyroclasts (rock fragments), while searing hot gases blasted down slopes in an incandescent avalanche called a “pyroclastic flow.”

Precariously perched on many of the tapering hoodoos are boulder caps that protect the softer pumice and tuff below. Some tents have lost their hard, resistant caprocks, and are disintegrating. While fairly uniform in shape, the tent rock formations vary in height from a few feet up to 90 feet.

The view from the top of the mesa. Very satisfying. I'm not sure if those are the Sangre de Cristos or the Jemez mountains. — The view from the top of the mesa. The climb there was quite satisfying. I’m not sure if those are the Sangre de Cristos or the Jemez mountains. Either way, we were jiving on the undulating cliffs.

What are the cool, touristy places you can visit in your area? How do they provide inspiration for your art?

It's as if the trees grow right out of the rocks! Check out those gorgeous stone curves. — It’s as if the trees grow right out of the rocks! Check out those gorgeous stone curves. They encourage you to wend your way to the right, to keep following the path. And maybe even to create an abstract rug based on them.

Unfortunately, I'm not up on my high desert botany yet, so I can't give you a name, but aren't these gorgeous? Who says the desert is boring and...brown? — Unfortunately, I’m not up on my high desert botany yet, so I can’t give you a name, but aren’t these gorgeous? Who says the desert is boring and…brown? I see bright orange flowers in a near-future mat…

HIGH ON HOOKING

Tag: Tent Rocks

Taking stock

Tent Rocks rock!