keepitwild's WunderBlog

A Horrible Traverse

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 19:13:00 GMT

Ever since the Bureau of Land Management and the local university started managing my favorite exercise spot, Tortugas Mountain, there have been incremental improvements over time. First, they built actual parking areas. Then shade structures, new trails, seating areas, informational kiosks and most recently, maps of the mountain and surrounding area. I’ve been hiking the new Turtleback Trail for a while now, preferring it to the old route used by the students ...
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Snow?

Fri, 4 Dec 2009 02:45:00 GMT

After dire forecasts of 3-6 inches of snow for Tuesday, not much happened (though they did delay school opening for 2 hours): three days of mostly drenching rain, light dusting of snow when temperatures neared freezing, and some very picturesque snow-covered mountains, but really not much.However, now a fast-moving front is coming our way and snow is starting to fall. Wonder if this one will really cause some accumulation, while the dire forecast of Tuesday ended ...
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An (Incredibly) Rare Treat

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 15:06:00 GMT

Last Thursday, we were in the middle of our Airport Advisory Board meeting and I had just finished giving the airport manager's report when we were suddenly jarred by the loud growl of unfamiliar aircraft engines. An audience member who had a view out the window said a P-51 Mustang had just flown by, making a low pass. Involuntarily, I leapt up from my seat and the board meeting was temporarily suspended as I led the whole board and audience outside, hoping that t...
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An Interesting Phenomenon

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 23:39:00 GMT

A few days ago I was in the house while my daughter was playing outside with some neighbor children. Suddenly, their frantic calls lured me outside. It was a nice, sunny day with a blue sky and a few wispy cirrus-type clouds. When I went outside to find out what was going on, the children told me there was a rainbow! "look, up there!" they were shouting.Now there was no precipitation or even much moisture in the air that I was aware of and conditions really didn...
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Celebrity Encounters

Mon, 2 Nov 2009 19:21:00 GMT

Usually working at a not-so-busy general aviation airport can be pretty routine and quiet, but recently we have been inundated with celebrity encounters due in part to the burgeoning southern New Mexico film industry. First, a couple of months ago, Linda Hamilton was here at the airport to film scenes from an upcoming movie. She was nice! She actually talked to me and was friendly and not celebrity-like at all. My assistant is fearless and bold when it comes to ...
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