I made this selfie while hiking in Hidden Valley Regional Park a few weeks ago. It seems like it was another lifetime, but it was only in March.
One of my favorite places in the Reno/Sparks area is the Hidden Valley Regional Park. It is a gem of a place, with a fenced off-leash dog run, many trails on the flats, and many trails in the mountains east from the park. The Girl and I spent many mornings there, first in the dog park, but later (and better) hiking the mountain trails. Climbing up on those trails and tramping around, either along the ridge or side-hilling, was soul-feeding for me. The Girl didn’t care what we did, so long as she could range out, hunt, and play.
We had many good days in those mountains. Now we’re stuck in suburbia and our “trail” is a loop around the subdivision. We still walk it twice a day, but I long for open space, mountains, and a vista. I miss the mountains.
Many years ago, I read a book — A Wizard of Earthsea, by Ursula K. LeGuin. It was partly for fun, for I enjoyed the best works of fantasy and science fiction, and partly a class assignment. For my university literature elective I sat the Science Fiction and Fantasy as Literature class under Eugene Warren. Although the class was for credit, it was for fun that I sat it. In the process, Mr. Warren taught me a few things about literature.
I met Eugene Warren and his wife, Rose, sometime in the early 1970s. I think they were involved with the Intervarsity Fellowship group on the University of Missouri — Rolla (now Missouri University of Science and Technology) campus. But, I cannot recall.
What I do recall is that they were different than anyone else in my experience. On looking back, I think they might have been part of the Hippie Movement from the 1960s. That is what I think, but I am not sure. That they were very different than me was clear. But, they believed God and trusted Jesus and that was all I needed to know.
My interaction with them was episodic, but always pleasant. When I learned that Warren would teach the literature class, I was intrigued. I am so glad that I sat that class. I was introduced to LeGuin and other great authors and still appreciate it.
So, it was a little surprising to me that I noticed an old copy of A Wizard of Earthsea on Daughter’s bookshelf. I had been thinking about the book because Older Son and I watched a Hayao Miyazaki rendition of Tales of Earthsea while I was in Denver a few weeks ago. I pulled the old paperback from the shelf and opened it.
My name was lettered inside the front cover. I had forgotten that these were my books, given to Daughter during one of my recent purges of things. I set the book aside to read it.
Yesterday afternoon I spent some time with Older Grandson. I asked if he had read the book.
“No,” he responded.
“You should.”
“What’s it about?”
“It is the tale of a young wizard learning to be a man. It is a good story and you will like it.”
I began rereading the book, now after nearly 40 years, last night. I woke early this morning, agitated and restless from my dreams and picked it up again. I didn’t want to turn on a light, so I bought a copy for my Kindle. I listened to music and read for a bit.
Then I set it aside and rolled over to return to sleep for a few hours. I remembered Warren and the class I sat so long ago. I decided that the story was worth telling — and the book well worth rereading.
I captured this image through la ventana on our way over Bolivia from La Paz to Santa Cruz. The morning colors were gorgeous and the rugged terrain invites hiking and exploration. I wonder who lives down there.
On the leg from La Paz to Santa Cruz, I was too pumped to sleep any more. I spent too much time looking out la ventana, amazed by what I saw. What an experience it was to see Bolivia as my first (real) time out of country — to be looking at the foothills of the Andes Mountains. It was difficult to believe I was actually there, actually looking at Bolivia, and that in a few minutes I would land at Viru Viru in Santa Cruz.
I was tired from riding in airplanes all night. I was tired of sitting in cramped seats. But I was so excited by what I saw it didn’t matter that my ass complained the last hours on the trip. It was worth it.
A very early morning shot from la ventana of my aircraft as we flew over La Paz. We were there only one hour in the aeropuerto and never left the aircraft. I want to return.
Although we flew over Bolivia for several hours before landing, this was my first real view of the country. It is an aerial view of La Paz just before we landed at the La Paz airport. It was only a layover, though, and we never left the aircraft.
At over 10,000 feet, it was an elevation greater than I’m accustomed to. I didn’t notice any altitude problems, although I did not have the opportunity to move around. I’m told it will take me a week or so to acclimate to the altitude, should I ever have the opportunity to visit again.
I was messing around with my classical guitar the other morning and made a short video of a favorite song, Lagrima. It’s a favorite Francisco Tarrega song and one I started playing many years ago. I want to simply share this piece.
The view from my window at the Los Tajibos Resort, Santa Cruz, Bolivia
I’m going to begin posting images and snippets of story from my Bolivia Experience. I’ve been back in the Estados Unidos for a couple of weeks, nearly. The FHWA project meeting is behind me. I’m recovering with Daughter and her family in Pennsylvania. It will take me a few more days to get my feet under me, deal with the backlog of tasks that need my attention, and figure out what I want to post.
I had a great time. I met interesting people. I talked about interesting water-related problems. I saw many interesting things, both about water and just interesting. I made a few images, but not nearly enough.
Bolivia is a fascinating place. I think Bolivia captured my heart while I was there.
Huari is a Bolivian beer. One of my favorite things to do is to sample the local wines and beers.
Monday was one of the big days. We held seminars all day, from about 0900 to 1500 hours. Breakfast was fairly early and just before the chef began cooking omelettes. I was disappointed, a bit, but the various breads were quite good.
I might remark that the coffee here is just OK. It is brewed in a way that is unfamiliar to me. I expect that if I lived here I’d have to find a good source of beans, learn to roast my own, and then grind and brew my own coffee.
Along that line of thought, coca mate is legal here in Bolivia. Coca Mate is made from the raw leaves of the Coca plant, meaning that it contains a small amount of coca alkaloids. While we were working on our presentations Sunday afternoon, I brewed some coca mate using the hot water and tea bags provided by the hotel and added just a bit of sucralose. It is a very good tea and I enjoyed it a great deal.
Unfortunately, I cannot bring the tea home with me. It’s illegal in the United States. Also, I’ll now test positive for cocaine, although I have had none of the refined drug. I don’t actually care because the experience of tasting this wonderful tea is worth the risk of not passing a drug test.
Back to my story — we had two translators provided by the US Embassy. They are sufficiently skilled to do simultaneous translation while we are speaking. Those speaking in Spanish are translated into English and vice versa. It works amazing well… if the speaker remembers to pace him/herself such that the translators can keep up.
The morning sessions went well. One of our speakers was the head of a local resource agency, SEARPI. He is an experienced, animated speaker who has good command of his material. Even without being able to understand Spanish, his delivery of his material was highly entertaining and I enjoyed his talk. The translation was good enough that I was able to follow along.
After his talk, he invited those of us from the States to his home for dinner. That will have to be another story, I think.
Lunch was also fun. He sat down with us and one of our hosts (from Tarija) is fluent in both languages. So we were able to have a lively discussion over sandwiches.
My talk came right after lunch. I learned that I can still put them to sleep with the help of a food-induced coma. The room was warm and I was working to pace my talk to keep from getting ahead of the translators. I listened to the translation in my right ear with the volume down so I could track the translator. That worked well, although my pace was a bit slower than I usually use. It worked, nonetheless (unless you count putting them to sleep not working).
After the talks, it was time to mingle. One of the professors from Catolica Universidad Santa Cruz greeted me and we chatted a bit (small bit) in his broken English and my broken Spanish. I have his card and if I get back down here will attempt to spend some time with him discussing his work and students. A number of others asked for a photograph and then we did a group photograph under the university emblem.
Ing. Aquilera volunteered to drive us back to the hotel and we graciously accepted. That meant we had time between the seminar and supper to rest a bit. I did and it was good.
Today I’ll meet with a group of students (with my colleagues), spend some time with the dean of engineering here in Santa Cruz, and fly to Tarija this evening for more meetings tomorrow. I will have to write up my supper story in a second entry. I also need to retrieve photographs from my camera and choose some of the best.
On final approach into Santa Cruz from La Paz, Bolivia.
It’s been a whirlwind of activity already. I left Denver at about 1300 hours, after arriving at the Denver airport, checking my bag, and working through security. My flight was delayed for two hours, first because of a maintenance problem, then because of weather in the Miami area.
Still, I arrived before the rest of the team and met them at their exit gate. We then wandered through the Miami airport until we found our connection, then got a bite to eat.
The flight to La Paz and then to Santa Cruz was a challenge. It’s about six hours from Miami to La Paz, which isn’t all that bad except the flight left Miami at 2300 hours. That meant sleeping on the aircraft, which isn’t that bad for a nap but is difficult for any decent sleep. Still, I cat-napped on and off all night.
We were handed immigration and customs forms, which I worked though. We left the aircraft at about the appointed time and worked through the system. I am now officially a world traveller, having left my country of birth and spent time in another country.
The weekend was a bit of a blur, trying to recover from the travel. But I had a great deal of fun with my friends and our handler, Ramiro. He knows his way around Santa Cruz and showed us some interesting things. The plaza was more interesting than the mall (ha!). The mall is the same as hundreds of them I’ve seen in the States. There was nothing there that interesting, yet the walk was still good.
Today I did my first presentation. I took my time so the translators could handle the flow. I think my pace was about right, although I put my audience to sleep. I’m not all that surprised, given it was a warm room and right after lunch. Yes, I can still put them to sleep.
I had a couple of good questions and enjoyed the interaction. I’m looking forward to more. We’ll spend time with the students tomorrow, then I’ll fly to Tarija while they go to Cochabamba for their next set of meetings. I’ll be able to spend some time with old and new friends in Tarija and will enjoy the higher altitude (and cooler air).
While hiking Friday about noon, the Girl and I hit the summit of the mountains east from Reno near Hidden Valley Regional Park. While walking the ridgeline, we came across this beat up old tree that asked me to take his picture. So, I did.
Yesterday morning, right after my Bolivia Skype session, the Girl and I headed out. I needed food; she needed out. So, after doing her morning toilet, we loaded up in the rig and drove over to Black Bear Diner on South Virginia Street. I’ve eaten there a couple of times and the food is plentiful and decent. A small omelette and a huge biscuit later, I was more than full and more than ready to be outside.
Outside time is critically important to my mental health. I get too much computer time and not enough outside time. The weather is stunningly beautiful — cool, sunny, not a lot of wind. My favorite place here in Reno is Hidden Valley Regional Park. The doggie play area is just OK. We did that a couple of times and then realized that hiking was much better, even if the Girl can get some focused play in the fenced area.
So, we parked the rig at our usual staging area. I got my walking stick out, stowed my sidearm, and thought about taking the X-T1. I decided I didn’t want to carry it. (Pity, though…) I started my tracking app and off we went.
I’d tracked up the north path along the nose toward the first summit of the mountains before, but gave up before I got to the top. Yesterday, I decided to pace myself a little more, pause to let my heart rate slow, and see if I could make the top.
Snort! It wasn’t that difficult. Yeah, it’s plenty steep and there are lots of rollies… But with a pause now and again to let my CV system recover a bit, I made it to the top without a big struggle.
I found Max’s Lookout near the top and was so pleased. Another hiker told me about it a few days ago. I am honored to have visited the place where Max and his handler found a place they loved. There is a grave and marker at the site, as well as a bench for visitors to take a break. The Girl and I spent a few minutes there and I could feel the combined sense of loss, love, and honor the two of them felt for each other. I loved that about the place.
Renewed, we started off again and humped it up to the top. The first summit is not the highest. I paused a few minutes to make a couple of captures with my iPhone and decided to hike on. I felt good and it was so good to be outside.
We walked the saddles and ridges for the next hour or so, working our way south. We came on an improvised campground and gave the makeshift tent a wide berth. I didn’t expect any trouble and didn’t want any. After crossing the saddle, we hiked up another 50 feet or so, then began the long descent down.
There were places it was easier for me to jog than walk, so I did. The Girl trotted ahead or fell back, but never got too far away. I think she was tiring already. There were some pretty steep descents that made me wonder if I’d slide out and bust my ass. But, some side-hilling and some hill-bombing made the descent work and worked these old legs well.
Wife would have pooped herself if she saw where I was and what I was doing! “David!” would have been the remonstration. I laughed as I thought about her giving me a hard time about the hike. There were certainly spots where a fall would not have been good… as in “Oh God, Oh God, we’re all gonna die!” [Hat tip to Wash in Firefly.]
It was not much longer before we were back on the flats again. I noticed a few walkers and smiled to myself smugly, thinking “I’ve been to better places than you!” We walked out the rest of the way back to the rig, then between the two of us killed a liter of water. (Man that was good!)
I made maybe 40 captures on the trip. I need to get them sorted and share a few more. The views were spectacular and I’m so glad I made the effort to get to the ridge. It was fun, the Girl is broken (a tired dog is a happy dog), and I’m pleased.
A few months ago, an old friend and colleague called me and a couple of others for a meeting. He retired from Texas Department of Transportation a few years ago and returned to his home in Bolivia. Now he’s the equivalent of a dean at the Catholic University in Tarija.
His interest was in having one or more of us come to Bolivia to talk about our research work in Texas. We chatted over appetizers at one of the restaurants in Lubbock and then went our separate ways.
As time passed, the workshop began to develop. Now all three of us are traveling to Bolivia for a set of workshops. The U.S. Embassy in Bolivia got wind of the project and decided to participate. I’ll be doing talks in Santa Cruz and Tarija. The others will have talks at those locations plus Cochabamba.
Now this is a Big Deal. The Bolivian government is interested in our seminars. Many professionals and policy makers are interested in our talks. The press is showing interest.
I should be trepidated by all the attention that will be directed at me. I am not. I find this very exciting and am so looking forward to the trip, to meeting people interested in the work, to seeing a place very different from my home, and in finding out what they need. It’s possible they might need what I do.
When I returned to Reno from Mount Vernon, I immediately retrieved the necessary papers from my lockbox and applied for my passport. It was returned in a couple of weeks, so I turned right around and applied for a Bolivian visa. That was returned to me on Tuesday. I have the paperwork in order. The flights are booked and reservations are made. I’m beginning to assemble things I need. My talks are nearly done.
I depart in a week. Older Son and DiL will keep the Girl for me while I travel. I will miss her terribly. But it’s only a couple of weeks and this is important.
