2016.06.12 New Mexico
Several unforgettable experiences.
BIKE RIDE: Otero Canyon
My brother-in-law, Jesse "GAP" Bock, invited me down to ABQ to ride Otero Canyon with him and his friends Paul (AKA: "Gnar-Lord") and Jack (AKA: "REVEREND"). Of course I obliged (with massive logistical support from S - far beyond the possible explanations of this simple narrative).
Borrowed for me was a shiny new Kermit-green YETI SB4.5C. Shiny.
Completely ignoring the respiratory effects of elevation shift, I followed them up. I almost kept up - even through the section called Gnarly-With-A-Gee (Gnarly-WAG). Until my uncouth riding style sliced the sidewall of one of the 29-er's tubeless wheels, and I had to pause and stuff in a tube.
Then we came down.
Holy hell, what an awesome crew to descend such a fun trail with. I've ridden it before with Jesse, but I had forgotten what kind of speed the rocky/jumpy/flowy downhill section of the loop can allow. It's the kind of riding that feels like your hand is on a dial, deciding exactly how alive you want to feel in a given instant.
There are also long, rambling thoughts about the YETI specifically, but I predict there being ample time to address such considerations in future bike-centric posts.
MEOW WOLF
I've tried to describe this to several people now, and my spirit feels bruised for how I've failed to convey it. Google it. Which, hopefully, might inspire you to visit it (if such a thing is possible). It's an experience to keep.
It's like a mystery that stumbles into dreams, and would be bottomless fun for anybody with an imagination. It was extra-special for me to be able to appreciate it alongside Simon and his cousins Caleb and Josiah.
JESSE and CAMILLE
The "real" reason we came to New Mexico was to bear witness to the wedding of BiL Jesse, and the wonderful Camille. It was a very special gathering of people, perhaps not to be repeated again.
As the ceremony got underway in earnest, "Reverend" Jake came to the part where he admonished that in life there could be adversity - and that was the cue for a downpour of fat lazy drops. It drove the assemblage under cover. And when we turned back to regard the couple-to-be, they were framed under a rainbow. The poignancy of the image is seared into my mind's eye forever, and only faintly caught by my phone's camera. Unforgettable.
Undaunted, the ceremony resumed after the cloud had scudded past, and they read their vows to each other. To know them both was to realize, through the unique beauty of their promises to each other, how utterly fantastic they are for each other.
I am so incredibly happy to have Camille as a new sister. We have plans for pulling each other in a wagon, rollerskating, and something else I forget to catch her up on having a brother.