Petroglyph National Monument

Happy Leap Day everybody! Earlier this week I took the kids to Petroglyph National Monument. The volcanic rocks were amazing. See if you can spot the roadrunner in some of the landscape pictures. We also saw a cottontail, but it was too fast for my camera. The picture that looks like a small building is on fire, is really the entrance hut with the New Mexico flag flying. We listened but didn't hear (or see) any rattlesnakes, but we were definitely in their habitat. Take note of the one rock with the "stripes" of lava. Amazing. The petroglyphs were made by people carving (probably with flint) into the volcanic rock to expose the inner, lighter color. The Sand Dune picture is looking east toward the city of Abq and the Sandia Mountains. Note how close the "development" comes.

Winged Migration

Today we "attended the church that is choired by birds" as Wendell Berry the poet would say. We went back to the Rio Grande Nature Center and enjoyed hiking their trails, seeing the Rio Grande, and watching a seagull escape from a bullying crow. We also got to see our first Roadrunners in the wild. We heard them first and thought it was a woodpecker, but it was really the sound of their feathers when they fly a short distance. Then we saw three of them scuffling in the sagebrush. They were too fast for me to get a picture though. The highlight of the day- and maybe of my life-was seeing hundreds of Sandhill Cranes migrating today. They were flying north up the Rio Grande and would often stop near the nature center to drink from the pond or eat from the nearby field. We got lots of great pictures. Check them out. As soon as one group would fly over head and organize to go north, another would approach from the south. I think we could have stood there all day and enjoyed the show. Even diehard birders with their fancy cameras and binoculars were amazed by the show.
On a different note, the kids got haircuts this week. Check out Natalie's fancy hairdo in the pics. She also lost her 4th tooth AND we found a street in ABQ called Natalie Avenue!

ABQ Biopark

Here in Albuquerque they have a train that connects the Zoo to the Botanic Garden/Aquarium. The whole thing is called the Biopark It makes for a Grand Day Out, as Wallace and Grommit would say. We met our friends the Cochrans at the Zoo in the morning. After a thorough walk through the zoo, lunch, and some playground time, we took the train over to the Gardens. Of speical note were the miniature train gardens and Children's Fantasy Gardens. Note the pictures with the giant pumpkin, dragon, castle, and big vegetables. The kids decided they would like to live in it. Then we visited the Aquarium where Oliver hoped to find a squid. The only squid we found was a small one in the gift shop, but a good time was had by all.

Guide to Balloon Museum Pics

Karen here. On Friday I took the kids to the Albuquerque Museum of Art and History. Across the street was a great playground. The first few pics show the kids having fun with the Sandia Mountains in the background. The geodesic dome in the background belongs to Explora, the children's museum that we'll check out next week. On Saturday we got to spend the day with the Cochran family, our friends from Knoxville that now live in Boulder, CO. They drove down for the long weekend and went with us to the Balloon Museum. ABQ is know for it's Balloon Fiesta every October, but they also have this impressive museum open year round. The kids enjoyed climbing into the baskets, making their own mini balloon, and trying their hand at weaving. After the museum closed, we enjoyed playing outside and seeing our long shadows. Watching clouds change is a fun activity in the big skies of New Mexico and there was a particulary unique cloud morphing before our very eyes as we left the museum. Check out the pics of it by the New Mexico state flag. Afterwards we ate at Garduno's Balloon Saloon and Oliver enjoyed holding Riley's hand.

Guide to Rio Grande Nature Center pics

Karen here. On Wednesday I took the kids to the Rio Grande Nature Center. It is part of the New Mexico State Park system. We got a kick out of the geese and ducks eating from the bird feeder. The rabbit statue on the ground by the feeder seemed to confuse the one Canada Goose. The Cottonwood trees were amazing as were the views of the Sandia Mountains. I enjoyed taking pictures of the Cottonwood silhouettes. After living in Seattle and Knoxville which are so heavily wooded, it's interesting to see an entire tree standing alone and stretching itself in all directions, barely touching another and being completely backlit by the sun. The kids enjoyed the toad sculpture and the short hiking trails. We plan to come back on a Sunday morning for a bird watching hike while we are here. I want to see a Roadrunner and a Sandhill Crane if I can.

ABQ and the VA

I'm blogging from the VA Medical Center in ABQ. If you didn't know ABQ = Albuquerque. This is how everyone around here abbreviates it. I suppose this makes everyone's lives easier.

If there is a polar opposite to Seattle, in terms of climate, I think we couldn't have picked a better one than ABQ. The abundance of sun and the dryness are the most obvious differences. You can see for miles here in almost any directions. The land is smooth and flat, although with picturesque mountains jutting out here and there (especially the very close Sandia Mountains). There is a lack of tall trees and buildings. The temperature this time of year varies 20 degrees in the course of a day. Because of the flatness, I forget that we are nearly a mile above sea level. Our family are all experiencing our current altitude physically, with varying symptoms of altitude sickness. It is like jet lag that goes on for a week - fatigue, flu-like symptoms, headaches, irritability. So, ABQ has been taking some getting used to.

Here at the VA things are different as well. The first few days at any new job are always an adjustment. Getting to know my way around, remembering people's names and jobs, and figuring out how things are done here are my primary tasks. Figuring out the new computer system is often a job in itself. Well, they definitely do things differently here. This is what I have been able to piece together from the last two days:

1. The computer system is older, but very stable, and very fast. Cybersecurity is a big thing here, so one has to get a lot of training on security and go through lots of hoops and passwords to access the program that one wants. The system is a little archaic - it doesn't do all the work of data-entry for you. Today, I figured out how to create my own template for office notes - this is like a computer worksheet which allows me not to have to type as much for each patient visit. I am using all sorts of skills (but mostly typing).

2. I am only scheduled to see 15 patients a day - one every half hour. This seems very light, but consider this: I have one exam room (which also serves as my office). I don't have a dedicated assistant - I just grab one that isn't busy. The patients are generally complicated, but also very appreciative and friendly.

3. It is a lot easier to get lab, radiology, and medicines as every thing is here and you can order it on the computer. A lot of the time, someone, one of the nurses presumably, has already ordered labs and the results are available as I am talking to the patient. That's nice, but strange.

As time goes by, I am hoping to learn more about this institution, if people actually enjoy working here and why, and "service-related conditions."

I was able to figure out my bus route. I was hoping it would be as simple as in Seattle, but it wasn't. It was going to involve 2 transfers and a little more than an hour to travel 10 miles. Karen and I decided to simplify things by her driving me at 7:16AM about a mile to the stop of the bus that takes me right to the door of the VA, just before 8AM. I made the walk home from the stop last night, and I had gorgeous views of the mountains colored by the sunset.

Safe Arrival and the Sunport

We arrived safely in Albuquerque Sunday afternoon. The airport here is called the "Sunport" and was filled with lots of beautiful public art. We ate a quick lunch at Fuddruckers and I decided to eat like a local and order the "Fudd 66" burger. (Route 66 runs through town). Anyway, I found out that a little green chile goes a long way and had to scrap 2/3 of them of my burger! We are laughing at how opposite of an experience we are having here as compared to Seattle. It's so dry here that our allergies are active, we shock ourselves every time we touch a light switch,door knob, or each other AND we are constantly putting on lip balm and hand lotion. The high desert climate is giving us lots of sunshine for our bodies to produce vitamin D. Oliver has noticed how much different his shadow looks here in the sun. CD started his job at the VA today. More later.

Eastside Community Health Center, Redmond

It’s been about a week and a half since I last worked at ECHC. My current duties have involved cleaning and fixing our house and learning the rhythm and routine of homeschooling our children. Homeschooling has been fun, but also a challenge as I figure out how to juggle the requirements and personalities of the two kids. But it is always amazing to see what concepts they can handle. I have started teaching Natalie some Spanish, so that she can now tell time in Spanish. Oliver just picked up the basic rules and strategies of “Chest”(chess), but prefers his own variation where pawns can jump like checkers pieces.

Back to ECHC. I have to say I miss my little routine in the Eastside. I miss getting up to take the bus. I miss the occasional day of being able to see the mountains on the way to work. I miss my tiny little clinic and the walking path, shops, and restaurants of Redmond. I even miss my tiny little work area and computer, where I would handle my flow of tasks and chat with my friends while drinking really good coffee (for an office). In fact, there is not much that I do not miss about my experience at ECHC in Redmond.

From Day 1 (actually Day 3, after my orientation to computers), I could tell working here would be a new challenge. I had never worked in such cramped quarters. I usually had my own office to retire to since residency. A place to escape the hubbub and handle the workflow in private. At ECHC, I worked in a workroom which I shared with the average of 8 others. But in the cyberworld, you don’t need a lot of physical space. Also when got really busy and in a groove, it got so that I didn’t even miss it.

How did computers affect my practice of medicine? Overall it was a timesaver. I did add some conveniences, such as ease of writing and faxing prescriptions. But you were also tied to a computer terminal most of the day. Some days I felt like a data entry technician. Some days I really appreciated having this tool to access medical information with ease for medical decision making. So maybe the utility of computers in the exam room depends more on the user and the user’s frame of mind. And of course, there were the days that power failed or the whole system crashed – we still managed to survive and help people at the same time.

I really enjoyed the variety of cultures and ethnicities I came in contact with at ECHC, among my coworker and my patients. I progressed rapidly with confidence in my Spanish. I especially enjoyed all the different type of foods we had at our potlucks.

I would have like to learn more how every one functioned at ECHC. I got to know just about everyone(which was about 25 people), but I was still a little fuzzy on some of the roles people played. I was definitely confused about how the whole organization operated and why some functions (such as scheduling and answering phone calls) were handled off site. I also wish I had more time to glean wisdom off of our naturopathic physician, Dr. Chris Krumm.

Well, we are getting prepared for Albuquerque. Until then, I leave you with at new album of our Return Trip/Back Home. This features our stay in the Gaylord Opry Hotel in Nashville, and wild turkeys in our back yard, among others.