Santa Fe Conference – April 2019

Wednesday April 24: Leaving as early as possible, Clifford and I say good-bye to our campsite at Percha Dam New Mexico State Park and head north, arriving in Socorro, NM, by early afternoon. The wind really picks up the last several miles, so we are glad to have made it here as early as we did. We go to the best-ever laundromat, a pleasant surprise in this small town, then park in the Walmart lot. After purchasing some needed items in the store, we walk to a nearby Subway for dinner. Much easier than preparing and cleaning up after a meal when enroute.

Surprising beauty in the Walmart parking lot

Thursday April 25: It is steep climb from the desert floor to the foot of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains where Santa Fe is nestled in. I’m happy to see these great mountains that were the backdrop to our life in Santa Fe for over fifteen years. Topping the last rise, it is kind of exciting to see Santa Fe spread out before us at the foot of the mountains.

Sangre de Cristo Mountains in the background – steep climb ahead
Topping the last rise – Santa Fe before us

We make our way to Rancheros de Santa Fe, the RV park/campground on the outskirts of Santa Fe where a site has been reserved for us. Most sites are quite close together, so we are pleased that we have a nice front yard with trees and a picnic table. We run into town for errands, including Trader Joe, my favorite, for groceries.

Our campsite at Rancheros de Santa Fe

Friday April 26: We are busy this morning with CI business and trying out our Rhino (auxiliary sewage container) to see how it works, when a car pulls up. To our surprise and delight, it is our friend Diana who has tracked us down. We sit at our picnic table sipping ice tea with Diana and her housemate, Martha, talking over old times and current events.

Clifford finishes the final touches on his presentation and I help him organize his notes and trim his hair a bit. He has done a lot of work to organize his talk and prepare slides. We are feeling ready for tomorrow.

Saturday April 27: We are on our way by to the Women’s Center by 9:15 this morning, where we meet the lady who invited Clifford to this event and who made all the arrangements for us. We also join up with our long-time friend and fellow researcher, Elana Feeland, who will be the other speaker on the program.

The two hours of Clifford’s talk goes by quickly as he delves into Carnicom Institute Past and Present, from the beginning stages of research to the depth of where the research is at this point.

Clifford engages his audience

After the break for lunch, we listen to Elana’s talk on the dangers of electromagnetics in the environment. Once Clifford and Elana break free of all the questions that are being asked after the presentations, we follow our host to a retreat house in the mountains where we enjoy an amazing view and a fabulous healthy dinner. The talk at the dinner table is quite intense, as is fitting given the topic: Geoengineering-Bioengineering – The Unmistable Link.

Beautiful grounds at the retreat house

About sundown, we head back to our campground, a beautiful sunset in the background as we drive down the mountain. Two messages on my phone are of special interest: a photo from my daughter Ang of flowers blooming in her greenhouse and a photo of new snow sent by my sister, both from western Montana.

Sunday April 28: This morning we meet with friends for breakfast at one of our most favorite restaurants – Harry’s Roadhouse. We have a tasty meal and a great visit before heading to the Women’s Center for the final presentations: Carnicom Institute-Future, and Elana’s closing talk. Another hour is devoted to a Q & A session. When the session wraps up, people continue coming forward to ask questions. People are eager for answers to the current health and environmental ills.

Q & A following the presentations

Back at camp we are joined by a group of friends. It is good visiting with everyone, as we sit around snacking on the leftovers of yesterday’s fabulous dinner. What with one thing and another, it is after midnight before I get to bed.

We pay for a couple more days at the campground, as we still have friends to see, including CI’s webmaster who has made the trip to Santa Fe from Albuquerque in spite of the rather chilly weather. It is a good couple of days, well worth the extra time here in Santa Fe.

Rainy last days in Santa Fe

Road Trip – Ashland, Oregon – April 2015

Mount Bachelor
Mount Bachelor

Thursday April 23: We have breakfast with Lori on this overcast morning before we pack the Blazer. Although stuff is still not organized, it is packed neatly and fits just fine. We say our good-byes and then head west and south to Ashland where Clifford will be giving another talk tomorrow night.

It is raining as we drive west on the north side of Crater Lake National Park. The trees on either side of the highway stand tall and straight, obscuring the view to the sides,

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Driving in the rain, the trees standing straight and tall.

but straight ahead are rain-shrouded mountains.

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Raining

We consider driving up to Crater Lake since we are so close, but the gate to the park is closed and we can see snow on the road that would be taken. Well, maybe on the trip home…..

After turning south along the west side of the park, we stop at Union Creek, a small village with a history and a cafe that is recommended. Indeed, they serve a good lunch here.In the continuing rain, I take photos of the creek that passes under the highway near the cafe.

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Union Creek

The landscape changes as we drive; we are seeing more oaks, but the forests are still so dense that one cannot see what lies beyond. Drawing closer to Ashland, oaks predominate the landscape as open rolling hillsides come into view.

The group that is sponsoring Clifford’s talk has reserved a room for us at Lithia Springs, a resort on the edge of town. The grounds are lovely: lawns, a great variety of trees, many in bloom, and flowers all all sorts add grace to the well-kept buildings.

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Lovely grounds at Lithia Springs

We walk beneath a wisteria arbor to a our room behind a bright yellow door.

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The yellow door

The room is designed for folks who are going to lounge around the pool and hang out in the spa, not for us with our laptops, books, and journals. The white rugs and coverlets make me nervous, but we adjust things a bit and soon we are set up to study, write, and use the internet for our projects. Dinner is whatever we can scrounge out of the cooler, as we don’t feel like going out to eat and there is no pizza delivery that we can find in Ashland.

Friday April 24: Something I’ve learned about staying in a resort is that the beds are really really comfortable. I’ve never slept in such a comfortable bed in my life. We partake of an excellent buffet breakfast that comes with the room and then I wander around a bit taking photos of the flowers.

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Breakfast at Lithia Springs

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Pansies at Lithia Springs

Back in the room, Clifford studies and I work on a blog and edit photos until our ride, Laura, comes to take us to lunch. Several members of the activist group have gathered for lunch so they can meet Clifford ahead of time. We have a most delicious mushroom/avocado soup as we talk about the environmental concerns that we all share. We will see these people later this evening, but it is nice to have a chance to meet them on a more informal basis.

We only have a couple of hours before it is time for us to walk down the road to the meeting place at nearby Jackson Wellsprings.  We walk to the community center and the chairs continue to fill as computer and recording equipment are set up for the talk. The talk is well-received, except by a couple of people who want all the answers now, having no idea it has taken 17 years of study and research to get to arrive at the present moment. The answer is not at a click of a button and in the swallowing of a pill. Clifford’s talk is an account of what he has been able to do on his own to this point, with an appeal for others to become involved, either with their skills or their pocketbooks.

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Clifford’s presentation in Ashland

After the presentation many people stay to talk to Clifford until the few remaining offer to take us out to a very late dinner at a sushi place. Sharing of information and ideas continues until quite late.

Saturday April 25: We sleep in a bit and then head down to another delicious buffet breakfast before we begin packing. Although we had intended to head to our next campground today, Clifford has decided to stay another day in Ashland for further discussion with a man who has shown a particular interest in the work. As we cannot stay at the resort, we move next door to Jackson Wellsprings, as supposedly there is a camping area there. We do a modified set up in the parking lot, as they do not even have a space for the Pony.

Panther Flat 1 - G1x 091We will not be using any of their spa facilities as we merely need a place to sleep, but we have to pay an exorbitant fee to camp here. The bathrooms are so musty smelling that I hold my breath when I go in and will not even take a shower there. We went from posh to rundown hippie-ville in less than a quarter of a mile. Such is life.

We spend the day with Rob, moving from one venue to another, sometimes running into other members of the activist group that we met yesterday. Sometimes I participate in the conversation, but for the most part, I write blogs and edit photos. Hopefully something helpful will come of the time spent with this interesting man. It is quite late by time we get back to Jackson Wellsprings. I am looking forward to heading back to the forests tomorrow.