Rio Rancho

Rio Rancho (not to be confused with Albuquerque proper - it is a totally separate city and wants to be considered such) sits right in the middle of a sagebrush covered bowl of a valley on the north side of Albuquerque. The last time I was here, I was seriously unimpressed with the forbidding landscape, which appeared to me to resemble nothing so much as a moonscape. Silver green sagebrushy looking bushes called “chimisa” dot the powdery tan sand that serves as dirt, and not much else relieved the impression of total desolation.

It’s amazing how different things look when you look through different eyes and with a different perspective.

Bob and Diane took Trixie, Ginger (their furkids) and I on a nice walk the evening I arrived, on a path that had been constructed through what was supposed to be a new housing development. When the economy died, so did the housing development, and now it is nothing more than a wasteland of sand and dirt, crisscrossed with the tracks of coyotes. One or two houses sit like solitary sentinels, bravely holding back the sands. That walk was wonderful.


The landscaping, which was required to be completed by the developer before the houses were built, glowed in the late afternoon light; spindly yuccas sporting stalks of red flowers rose from the gravel between the street and the sidewalk, plumes of grasses softer than a baby’s hair waved in the breeze, inviting you to run your fingers through them and bright flowers sprouted from unexpected places.


The afternoon I arrived, Diane asked me, “What do you want to do? Do you want to go to Santa Fe? Harry would do so well in Santa Fe.”

I shook my head. “Diane, I don’t want to see what Harry would like. I want you to show me what you love about this place. Take me where you like to go.”


So that’s exactly what she did. The next morning, I awoke early (as usual). I got up, dressed and took myself on the same walk we'd been on the night before - but thsi time I took my camera. It was every bit as lovely in the early morning sunshine as it had been in the early evening light. When I looked up at the moon in the clear blue sky, I saw a launch of hot air balloons; a dozen of them rose slowly in the cool morning air, and as I watched, no fewer than four more joined them, rising ponderously from the horizon. They reminded me of the Galileo thermometer that Harry gave me for Christmas.

After a tasty breakfast of cinnamon coffee cake (straight from a church cookbook) and a hot cup of strong tea, Diane took me on tours through neighborhoods to look at interesting houses and residential areas. She showed me the Community College campus where she works.


We went to Old Town (where I managed to sail through my short list of souvenirs in three stops); and we ate lunch at Little Anitas (highly recommended by my sister). Then we stopped at the K-Mart to get me a swimsuit. When I left on this trip, I had no idea Diane had a pool. We floated lazily in the pool for quite a while before we headed out to the supermarket to prepare for the Memorial Day barbeque Diane planned. Diane is a party person, you see. She lives for people; thrives on socialization and get-togethers. That evening she had a nice little party that consisted of Diane’s daughter and her boyfriend, Diane’s husband Bob, and her long-time friend Betty and her husband and step-son, who happened to be in town. They live in Omaha. Small world, right?

The next morning was Tuesday - and Diane and Bob needed to get back to work. I knew I would be welcome to stay longer, but when I had spoken to Harry the night before, he told me that Winnie had had another “episode.” It was a bad one; and he was afraid she wasn’t going to recover. He stayed downstairs with her, so she could sleep on the couch. When I talked to Harry Tuesday morning, he said that Winnie was rallying again and was doing much better, but still I have an urgent feeling; a feeling that even though Winnie is okay, and Harry is feeling much better about everything, I should probably get a move on. I know there are lots of things that Aaron and Kristy want to show me, too!