I just checked the weather in the Vegas area and it is HOT! It looks as if the heat wave won't leave the area until late September. The temperatures in October begin to appear more reasonable, based on a chart I found here.

Albuquerque weather has been setting record highs, too. With highs in the low to mid 90s, folks around here are lamenting the sweat-inducing heat. But for me, someone who grew up in the Texas heat, the heat here is rather pleasant. Take the 94 degree high here and transplant that to Texas and it feels like 104 degrees. The dry air makes the heat much more tolerable here.

I'm in no real hurry to leave for the Vegas area, not yet anyway. I'm enjoying my stay here. Albuquerque has so many attractions and things to do, it may take me a while to get to it all. In early October, the 2007 International Balloon Fiesta will be spectacular as always. I may wait to see it before I pick up and move on Westward.

But then again, I may leave tomorrow.

Today's ABQ Stats
Stops for gas: 0
Cups of coffee: 2
Trips to Starbucks: 2
Hail storms: 1
Personal items lost/stolen: 1 pair of sunglasses

Albuquerque on $4 a Day

I hate to admit this, but I have watched my share of Rachael Ray’s $40 a Day show on the Food Network. Yeah, her voice is annoying. But she is cute. If you've not seen the show, let me briefly describe it. Rachael spends the day in some luxurious location like Monte Carlo, or Kansas City, and attempts to eat three nice meals and a snack with only $40.

Not to be outdone, I came up with my own challenge of sorts. I called it Albuquerque on $4 a Day. I hope someone at the Food Network tunes in.

The rules for the Albuquerque on $4 a Day Challenge were as follows. First, I had to eat at least three meals. Second, I had to eat enough to feel satisfied and feel like I had eaten something. I cannot just fast for the day. Third, I can not spend more than $4. That's right. Just $4.

Why did I do this? I needed something to write about and thought this would do it. I’m wanting to know if someone on a very strict budget can survive a day in Albuquerque and so I put myself to the test.

Rachael Ray gives herself $40. Well, I can beat that! How about $4, Rachael? Can you swing that?

Here’s how I did it.

Before breakfast I must have my coffee and newspapers. I always read a local paper plus the U.S. Today. The Sandia Resort is kind enough to furnish my coffee and both newspapers free of charge. I grabbed my papers, poured myself a to-go cup of coffee and drove directly to a neighborhood Starbucks to start the day. So far, I’ve spent zero.

After my morning coffee and papers, I walked next door to a grocery store and purchased a Yoplait yogurt (Strawberry flavored) and one banana. Since I had filled out a “reward card” application, I was able to get a discount on the yogurt. Total cost of my breakfast: 64 cents.

Back at Starbucks I ate breakfast and worked until almost 1 p.m. I was ready for lunch and knew where I was going next: the Whole Foods Market on Wyoming Blvd.

The Whole Foods Market is a wonderful place. As I looked out the front windows, the majestic Sandia Mountains in the distance hung like a painting in the sky by a very big artist. I felt healthier just by being there, surrounded by fresh breads, organic fruits of every kind (the employees), and all kinds of apples, pears, grapes, and assorted green vegetables.

I immediately began looking for free samples. I am on a budget, you know.

As luck would have it, free samples were located throughout the store tempting the taste buds of the large lunch crowd. I tried a few chunks of pepper jack cheese. Very nice. How would this taste on a nacho? Down the next aisle by the processed seafood, I noticed a display of crackers and some kind of shrimp spread. The sign said, “Try me!” So I did. If fact I ate three crackers with shrimp spread before moving on.

I made my way across to the other side of the store to find the prepared foods and deli. I hit a gold mine of free food samples here. My favorites were the cinnamon crisps, honey muffin, and mango fruit salsa. By the time I was through tasting samples I was already satisfied. Feeling guilty, I did purchase a raspberry bran muffin to eat out on the patio. I grabbed a free glass of iced water and took my muffin out on the patio to enjoy the mountains and fresh air.

After eating my muffin, I strolled back into the store and made one more stop by the food samples. On this trip I had pimento cheese with crackers, a bite-sized cupcake with white icing, another chunk of pepper jack cheese, and a Brazilian nut cookie. On my way out, I made one last stop by the shrimp spread. I couldn't resist.

Total cost of lunch: the $1.89 I spent on my bran muffin.

As Rachael Ray might say if she were me, “After a nice breakfast and a wonderful light lunch, I’ve only spent $2.53. I have $1.47 left for dinner and a late night snack.”

What did I do for dinner? I took the easy way out and went to McDonald’s and purchased a double cheeseburger from their “dollar menu.” Not the most nutritious meal in town, but it was cheap. It was enough of an early evening snack to satisfy any hunger I may have had. At the Sandia Resort I found some other snack items that were free for the taking, so I took.

Total cost of three meals and a snack: $3.60.

So, Rachael, you can spend $40 in one day and visit restaurants in Paris, or Sao Paolo, or Houston, and have three nice meals and a snack, and make it entertaining. Try taking your act to Albuquerque and only spend $4!

Now that the Albuquerque on $4 a Day Challenge is over, I’m going to the Olive Garden.

Edward S. Curtis: "Shadow Catcher"

By accident I became reacquainted with Edward S. Curtis, entrepreneur, photographer, and writer. He published a 20-volume set of photographs and text called The American Indian, from 1907 to 1930. His mission was to record the life and images of the American Indian, whom he believed was vanishing into the landscape of history.

He began as a portrait photographer in Seattle, creating images of waterfront Indians. Following the photographic technique called "photogravure", his images were intended to promote photography as legitimate art. His methods were questioned by some, believing he perpetuated untruths and myths about the plight of the American Indian in the early 20th century.

In 1930, worn out and out of money, his work ended. However, he did complete 40,000 images from over 80 tribes.

His original goal was to sell 300 sets of his 20-volume work, but actually sold only 220. They were expensive, leather-bound, books produced for the serious collector. The photogravure process was a painstaking endeavor and expensive, but produced the highest quality of photograph that could be easily reproduced. Photogravure practitioners such as Peter Henry Emerson and others brought the art to a very high standard of expression in the late 19th century. This continued with the work of Alfred Stieglitz in the early 20th century.

Today, the photogravure process is flourishing in the hands of a few artisans practicing the art in dozens of studios around the world.

Here is a short list of links about Curtis and his work:

American Masters Documentary Resource Page

Northwestern University's Digital Library Collection

"The North American Indian" Photographic Images

Some samples of his work:

The dapper looking fellow on the right is Edward S. Curtis. I became reacquainted with him while I was researching the Pueblo culture in New Mexico. Having touched on his work while studying photography in college, I had forgotten about him.

I'm traveling across the Southwest on my way to Las Vegas, stopping to study and write about what I find along the way. My curiosity has always been peaked by the Old West and Southwestern life. Indians and the Puebloans are at the center of history here.

So when I stumbled upon Curtis I had to get to know him. His writings and photography were controversial when he published his work The American Indian, 1907 to 1930, as a limited edition. Curtis said his goal was to document "the old time Indian, his dress, his ceremonies, his life and manners." Some of his contemporaries questioned his methods, however, and many on the reservation doubted his sincerity.

A resurgence of interest in Curtis took place in the 1970s, and one can find a lot online about his life and work. I recently noticed an Edward S. Curtis 2007 Calendar at a bookstore, available with wonderful photographs of Indian life in the early years of the last century.

For more information and links visit my blog at Photographium.

Plug Me In

I don't demand much. I'm not someone who needs a lot to be happy (thank God, because I don't have much). Anyway, I'm really bugged that so many coffee joints and bookstores offer me internet access but no electrical plugs.

Who's the genius that decided to offer laptop users a place to work, drink overpriced coffee, read overpriced books, yet not provide them a place to plug in?

I visited a Border's Bookstore yesterday that had two plugs in the entire sitting area of their cozy cafe. Nice chairs, tables, coffee, thousands of books, two plugs. This particular store's cafe was in the back, with tables and chairs arranged neatly to the side and back right. A small nook hidden in the far corner looked promising. As I looked for a place to sit among the many tables in the open area just in front of the coffee bar, laptop upon shoulder, I could find no plugs. Finally, in th back corner nook I found two plugs available, one behind an end table and one behind a chair.

Many Starbuck's Coffee shops are also plugless. One of my favorite places to write, read, and netbrowse is Starbucks. I have unlimited net access at all Starbucks (and Border's locations), so I'm either drinking coffee or reading a book, sometimes both, almost every day at their stores. Why are plugs so hard to come by?

I visited a Starbucks this morning that had two plugs. Nice chairs, plenty of tables, expensive coffee, two plugs. Two table lamps were plugged into one of the outlets forcing me to unplug them to use my laptop and printer. So now I'm in the dark. Starbucks, you can certainly do better.

I know what you're thinking: they don't want to pay a high electric bill. More plugs equals more users equals higher bill. Border's Bookstores and Starbucks Coffee shops make a huge profit by charging a small fortune for a cup of coffee and can afford a few cents of electricity. They offer internet access for a fee, which I gladly pay. I'm only suggesting they also offer enough plugs so we can actually get some work done.

Oops, my battery is just about dead. I've got to go.

"Finger of the Week": August 20, 2007

Irene Hull, a Democratic supporter from Seattle, was keeping her fingers crossed on election day last year hoping to see the U.S. Senate and U.S. House come under Democratic control. With the Democratic party recently coming under attack for ineffective leadership after taking over Congress, I wonder if Ms. Hull's fingers are still crossed.

A recent Zogby poll (mid-July) gives the Democrat-controlled Congress a 15% approval rating. President Bush shouldn't smile too broadly, however, because his approval rating dropped another point to just 32%.

A Visit to the Route 66 Casino and Winrock Center

The drive to the Route 66 Casino is nice enough, with the looming mesas and distant mountains keeping you company. After visiting the Flying J Truck Center going west, I saw almost nothing of a civilized world. Once I climbed a huge incline and navigated the crest of a nice sized hill, I began driving down the other side expecting more hillside.

I was immediately struck by a view to the west that seemed to go on forever. “My gosh, what a fantastic view,” I said to no one. I was looking down into a wide, expansive, beautiful valley below me as I began my descent. I felt like I was on the rim of a humungous cereal bowl looking down at my breakfast, in this case a valley that stretched for miles below me in delicious splendor.

The entire panorama would have been breathtaking but for the site of the Route 66 Casino complex 4 miles away in the distance, dotting the landscape like some space ship that took a wrong turn and crash landed in the New Mexican desert. Still minutes away, I could see the casino complex surrounded by the desert landscape in the valley and thought, “What a way to ruin a majestic view and damage God’s handiwork.”

My thoughts of the landscape soon vanished however, as I was eager to check out the poker room. Beautiful landscapes are certainly nice, but so are well-run poker rooms.

The road construction at the casino was horrible. The section of highway directly in front of the complex was being repaved, in addition it looked as if a new ramp, service road, and bridge were under construction. A motel is also being built next door and looked like a mess.

I finally made it to the parking lot and looked for the entrance. My first impressions? Old, worn out, musty, the “old school”, not glitzy at all but rather a cheap imitation of nicer places—these were my thoughts as I walked inside. I’m not sure when the casino was built, but it must have been years ago. The smell inside was musty, carpets well worn, and I couldn’t help but think that I was going back in time to an era of gambling before the glitz mongers of Vegas began to add glitter and shine to casino properties. (I’m no expert on casino history, just giving you an idea of what I was thinking). Everything in the place seemed to speak of the old days, including the huge WSOP slots with Doyle Brunson’s face and Stetson cowboy hat staring at you as you walked by. I liked the place.

The poker room, however was a little disappointing because of its size. I had no idea it would be so small. I only saw 8 tables with no action. The room itself was old-style, with deep wood grains and comfortable chairs and a feeling of comfort and nostalgia. However, only one table was open, and even it was short-handed with only seven players. The game they were playing was $2/$6 limit with a 1/2 kill. I'm sure activity picks up at night and on weekends, but where will players sit?

“We got an open seat,” the lady at the registration desk said. “There’s plenty of room if you want to play.”

I looked a little dejected and replied, “Doesn’t look like much is going on around here.” The lady ignored my comment and went back to the crossword puzzle she was working on.

I walked out a little sad. I drove 18 miles to get here and found one game open with a small group of local players, probably waiting for a stranger like me to come in so they could empty his wallet. There’s no doubt I’d be broke had I sat down in that game.

I drove back to Albuquerque having wasted some time, but now looking for a shopping mall. While getting gas I asked the clerk for directions to a mall and she told me to head toward the mountains on I-40 and take the Louisiana exit. In a few minutes I was standing in front of a mall that was all but dead.

Ironically, the dying mall with just a few living renters left is called “Winrock Center”. I saw a Dillard’s, a Bed Bath and Beyond with a few other small retailers hanging on—and that was it. I walked inside the mall and it was a ghost town. Most of the store fronts had been boarded up or covered up with black curtains. This would make a great movie set for a horror film. “Bloodsucking Zombies of Sandia Peak” or “The Invasion of the Winrock BodySnatchers”. The Winrock Center was actually built in 1961 and was New Mexico’s first fully enclosed shopping mall. So I guess her time is up.

The action was taking place across the street at ABQ Uptown. A new retail center with street front entrances, franchise restaurants, and walking trails, the ABQ is sleek, inviting, and just plain fun. Now this is more like it. I parked in front of the Border’s Bookstore and strolled through the ABQ thinking about Southlake, Texas, and it’s Southlake Town Center. These kinds of developments are springing up around the country. Some say the indoor mall of my youth is dying, being replaced by outdoor venues that provide fresh air and sunshine for shoppers who crave such things. The evidence seems to be unavoidable here. Shopping is becoming natural, environmentally safe, healthy, sexy, and for the most part, outdoors.

I'm enjoying my stay so far in this "land of enchantment". I might hang out here for a while. Henderson and Vegas will still be there when I'm ready.