One August in the late 1980s, I traveled with a group of mycophiles (mushroom lovers) to New Mexico to see the sights and, yes, look for mushrooms. I had anticipated heat, but we ended up being at high elevations much of the time, so, surprisingly, even in the Southwest in August, we were quite comfortable, and evenings, even a bit cool. We visited such places as Santa Fe, Chimayó, Los Alamos, and Taos, of course, but we also ventured to the southern parts of the state.
A highlight was an overnight in White Sands National Monument, down near Alamogordo, Las Cruces, and Hatch of pepper fame. We arrived shortly after a monsoon rainshower, which flooded the brilliant-white parking area briefly. We stopped for lunch and a quick game of
pétanque (the French version of
bocce, played with metal balls). That's a sun shade and barbecue in the distance. As a friend commented about this picture, "a game of pétanque played by yves tanguy, man ray, and de chirico : )" Pretty much!
That night was a lunar eclipse. After dinner, we played another game of
pétanque sauvage, chasing the balls up, down, and over the dunes. The combination of full moon and white white sand was spectacular: we almost forgot it was night. Eventually we settled onto a dunetop to watch as the earth's shadow rendered the moon a deep crimson. Then, as the moon's brightness returned, we too returned to our game, and kept at it into the wee hours.
I love this photo as a memento of that exhilarating day.
1 comment:
thankful you offered the definition of mycophiles
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