The Moon And Me

I stood on the porch
outside our rented cabin
in the mountains
smoking a cigarette.

I looked up
at the foggy sky
wishing
I could see the stars.

Then for a moment
a break, a glimpse
a tantalizing ten seconds
of the full and shining moon.

I wondered
who else was looking up
during this brief
sliver of time.

Who else
saw the moon I saw
perhaps no one
no one at all.

And the thought
did not fill me
with loneliness or ennui
but a deep and abiding comfort.

For a moment
it was just the mountain
the forest, the moon
and me.

Gypsum

White Sands
dry heat
rolling dunes
sweating feet
rationed water
periodic snacks
untrod path
cutting tracks
one step
then another
all hail
Earth Mother

White Sands

Hiked through White Sands National Monument today. Another gorgeous and bizarre slice of nature. The park is surrounded by military bases and periodically in the distance you could hear the roar of jets. White Sands was the thing that made me want to go to New Mexico in the first place and it didn't disappoint.

Carlsbad

Into the cavern mouth we strode
seeking answers in the halls of stone
surrounded by the silent dark
a forest of rock, sharp and stark
deep beneath the surface gleam
with blinded fish & bats that preen
enclosed in the womb of Earth
waiting on a second birth.

Carlsbad Cavern

Got up early and drove to Carlsbad Caverns, the #1 on Nicole's list. One of the towns we drove through was an oil town with a refinery right off the main rode, across the street from the McDonald's and just out of town there were oil derricks and off in the distance flaming plumes, it was all very surreal. When we got the park they told us you could either take the elevator down or hike which we did.

The hike just doubled down on an already surreal day. It was dream-like, you're instructed not to speak above a whisper and most of the visitors oped for the elevator so we were virtually alone walking down.

Descending into the dark surrounded by these huge monolithic formations. It was awe-inspiring.

 Once you get to the bottom there's a loop of the main chamber which was much more populated, still very cool and beautiful, but nothing like the eerie transportive feeling I got on the way down.

Any phrase that is used enough to become a platitude has a tendency to lose meaning but visiting the caverns was and definitely felt like a "once in a lifetime" experience.

The Mountains In Fall

Frosted pines
rolling out
into the chill
time trapped
by boundless fog
crystalline forest
hidden peaks
and we
the only two
who see it.

Grindstone Lake

Nicole and I are in New Mexico for the week, staying in the mountains. It's about 20 degrees colder than it usually is here this time of year but we came prepared with many layers and are enjoying the truly awesome beauty around us.

 Went on our first hike today. Chilly but really wonderful.

First Meal In Ruidoso

As the old woman
next to us
with purple streaked hair
sent back her latte
for the second time
because it "didn't taste right"
I realized
people are the same all over.