March 2017

Greetings!

With a certain amount of regret, we left the vibrant city and amazingly bountiful desert of Tucson behind us. Now we sink into the subtle majesty and stately grace of New Mexico. True to its motto, New Mexico is a "Land of Enchantment" and we adjust our pace to the easy saunter of Albuquerque. It is fully the time of spring renewal here: buds have transformed into blossoms, dead-looking trees are finding their leaves again, bulbs are sending up hopeful green shoots, and the bunnies, well they're doing what bunnies do. We hope your life also becomes the best it can be as the end of winter becomes the optimistic promise of spring.  ~  Brian and Andi

Wish You Were Here

"Oh, no, the sign says they're closed."

"No, look, the door is ajar and someone just went in. Let's check and see."

This is how our brief visit began to a 93-year Tucson institution known as Poblano Hot Sauce Inc. Hidden in a series of clean but nondescript warehouses is the business begun by Nicolas Segura back in 1924. His son and now his grandson have carried on the tradition of grinding, concocting, bottling and shipping various red and green hot sauces, the family business producing about 1000 bottles a day. On the morning we let ourselves into the dim, boxy room, only grandson Oscar Segura and his sister were there. They were not really open to the public at that moment because their inventory was low, but they were glad to sell us 6 bottles of green sauce, placing the shrink-wrap collars around the bottle necks and

heating them with a hair dryer to seal, then dropping them into a divided shipping box. At that moment, the one-room factory only had one bottle of red jalapeno sauce available, so we bought that, too. After all, we have to get it while we can because the recipe is a secret, a secret that very nearly died with Grandpa Nicolas, who passed away only three days after finally explaining his methods to his son. Although some enlightened stores around the country carry these special salsas, we enjoyed going to the source and consider this another reason to anticipate our next visit to Tucson. If you can't make it to Tucson, you may order your own bottles of hot sauce here: https://www.acaciart.com/galleries/poblano/

Life on the Road

Laugh if you must, but we are not ashamed to say that we enjoy learning a good deal of what we know about the areas we visit by reading regional fiction authors. Our introduction to the Navajo culture was courtesy of Tony Hillerman's fine tribal police mysteries featuring Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee. Ditto the Ute detective series with big Charlie Moon written by James Doss and the Thurlo books about Navajo investigator Ella Clah, whose badger totem around her neck warms when danger is near. The "Anasazi Mysteries" trilogy by the Gears alternated between the past and present, bringing the intriguing and spiritual ruins at Chaco Canyon to life for us. J.A. Jance writes about many locations but as we were driving through southern Arizona, we listened to an audio book starring Joanna Brady, the fictional sheriff of Arizona's Cochise County. Now that we are in Albuquerque, we are drawn to Adolfo Anaya, highly respected for his contributions to Chicano literature and author of local mysteries that swirl between the spirit world and our own. Thoughtful, well-informed fiction is a fun shortcut to understanding customs, cultures, locations and histories of different people and lands. But if you just want a fun romp in Key West, try a little something by Laurence Shames.

Did You Know?

Albuquerque is located in the Rio Grande Rift, a valley formed tens of millions of years ago by geologic forces that pulled the earth's crust apart, creating a lower, thinner area. The rift reaches from southern Colorado to northern Mexico and is one of only about four active rift valleys in the world. Active, yes, but widening at a rate of about .5 to 2 millimeters per year. By comparison, the San Andreas Fault out west slithers about 4 inches every year.

Adios, California!

Coffee Chat

St. David's Day is observed on March 1st by those of us who chose to celebrate their Welsh heritage. For the rest of the country, St. Patrick's Day on the 17th is the party excuse of choice. We are in the habit of boiling up some cabbage, onion, carrots, potatoes and meat, a tradition we maintained even during the years we camped for long periods in our VW bus. During the 13 months of our initial US tour, St. Patrick's Day found us at the Grand Canyon for the first time. We had not realized what an impact the 7000-foot elevation would make on the climate and found ourselves cooking outside in the falling snow. Undeterred, we not only prepared a hot, tasty meal but we had the good fortune to be camped near a group of cheerful, tenting college kids on spring break. In a spare bowl, we dished up a generous serving of steaming food, which they gratefully shared around their campfire. Sharing the bounty; that is the most rewarding part of any St. Patrick's Day tradition.

Now Hear This!

Good news – our new Native Flute CD is selling well at our concerts. In case you missed the announcement in our last Buzz, you may check out the CD "Canyons and Crossroads" with a free listen on Spotify. Discs or downloads made be purchased from CDBaby.

Albuquerque then and now....