Grant County Airport revisited

Nick had to travel back to Brooklyn in July and no sooner did he return than I had to go out to DC. We had 4 – well, actually 5 opportunities to visit our regional airport about which I’ve already told a couple of stories. I have a feeling that Grant County Airport will always be a source of stories – this time, corroborated with pictures.

. I remembered to take my camera so you could travel with me down the country road to the airport, see the welcoming committee, remark the size of the plane, note the airmail being passed up to the pilot’s window and Nick’s deplaning, and finally watch the plane take off over a member of the welcoming committee, her attention now redirected to a most preferred activity. Here, at flickr, is the story.

. Janey, one of the employees of the airline and airport, is a local animal rescue specialist. You never know what you’ll find when you visit her at the airport. When we dropped Nick off for his outbound flight, she let us know that the pilot was coming in quickly to see her babies. Too bad I didn’t have my camera that time – her babies were 2 month old skunks! Their mother had been killed while they were still nursing. We found them running loose in the back section of the airport. She moved the baby gate and the babies scampered out from the back into the ticket and waiting area. 5 baby skunks exploring the territory, eventually finding human shoes and toes, as well as more adventurous human hands trailing the floor to be sniffed. Janey scooped them up, one by one, to greet us. They “scoop” much like cats grabbed around the middle and held aloft. These were very cute little critters and would soon be ready to release or adopt. Fortunately for all noses present, they are acclimated to people, dogs, distractions and chaos – so they don’t get defensive and spray.

. Picking Nick up, I had my camera, only to find that Janey was not on duty, thus neither were her babies.

. Nick came home on Friday, and I was supposed to leave on Monday. We showed up Monday to find the flight had been canceled. It seems that the lightning storm the evening before had taken out the airport’s one light/power pole on which hung the airport’s communication system and the airport’s approach and landing lights. FAA requires both for commercial flights to operate. The power company hoped to have the transformer working again by mid-day and afterwards the communication and approach/landing systems could be restored. When was the last time you couldn’t fly somewhere because all the systems that made the airport functional were on one pole and that one pole was struck by lightning?! However, the babies were in the terminal. You should have seen the faces of the people not local, not knowing Janey’s penchant for critters in need, when they saw several small skunks with tails standing at high noon waddling around the waiting area checking out feet and bags. But you can imagine. Good news: two babies have been adopted (skunks, believe it or not, make excellent pets) and the others are almost ready for wild release.

. I flew out on Tuesday, spent a good and productive week in DC and flew back on Sunday last weekend. Monsoons are here. That means that, like DC on sultry summer afternoons, there are often storms moving through. We got out of Albuquerque ok, and flew through the overcast at an altitude of around 20,000. Looking out the window, I was struck by the experience of watching the cloud particles flowing past the plane’s window. We flew out from the surround of gray cotton, only to find ourselves surrounded by lightning cells. Off to the left, there was a very active cell – so fascinating to watch the electric discharges right to the ground. To the right, another storm cell was providing an impressive display. Ahead, toward Grant County, the mines, Silver City and the airport, was sunny, blue sky. But we had to get through the leading edge of the front to reach that calmer, brighter prospect. And so we hit the bumps. Once through, we sailed clear into the airport. I hoped that the plane would have time to land, shovel us all out the door and get airborne again, before the storms hit. Otherwise, those pilots would need someone’s living room couch for the night.

. Landing on time meant we got home just before the storms moved over Silver City proper. So we sat on the back patio and watched the most spectacular sky scenery that we’ve seen since moving here. Magical -- clouds, layered in purples and blues with coral bands where the cloud layer was high enough to reflect the setting sun’s light; deep windows into the strata of clouds with lightning running laterally across space against blue sky; almost black at the horizon with falling rain making indistinguishable the sky from the hills. We took Nutmeg for her evening walk, walking in circles and loops up the road and back again, with our heads craned back, trying to take in what was offered to us up above. And you know, for all of that, it never did rain here that night.

A Collection of Small Observations at Week's End

I have been collecting these small observations about visiting, being and living in Silver City.

· When you drive in Silver City, wear your seatbelt. Nick has the opportunity to support the state, if not the local, Motor Vehicle Department because he forgot to put on his seatbelt and got pulled over and ticketed. No warning for anything else – not going too fast, no rolling stop at a stop sign, no light burned out, nothing. Just the seat belt. I know small towns make a living on unwary drivers, but usually with out-of-state plates going 2 miles over the speed limit. But seat belts!?

· When you buy in Silver City, have cash. Many small business cannot afford the cost of credit cards, which can charge a business up to 5% or more (especially American Express) for a purchase. So many have instituted a cash/check-only policy – no credit cards at all. Others have set a limit of $10 or $15 dollars for credit card purchases. Not the big stores or businesses like WalMart or Micky-D’s – they still take your card for $3.15. But a latte? Or a tamale? Cash only, please.

· Javalina, one of the coffee houses, still posts people’s names who write bad checks. There’s someone who wrote them not one, but three bad checks. Dude’s from Colorado, so I doubt that Javalina will see the money. Again, the lesson, though – avoid embarrassment, cash only, please.

· “Yes, we have no tamales…” Oh, but we do – pork spiced with red chili and chicken spiced with green. Real corn husk. Large, plump; two will fill you up. Best part is – they’re a small unadorned storefront, which means the tourists won’t find them. That’s good because even without tourists, they sell out fast. Just increased, with apologies, the price for tamales to $1.50 each. They’re a small family-run business in a little section of a strip; the kitchen-side is screened by a table-cloth and the side you enter has no neon sign, no logo, no advertising, no testimonials – just handwritten signs on lined notepaper telling what they sell, which is about 5 things: tamales, tortillas, Menudo and home cut-and-cooked chips. All fresh. All handmade. All still warm from the fire. I don’t eat peppers. Or at least I thought not. But there’s a difference between bell pepper (don’t eat) and chili pepper (am learning to eat). Tried a piece of Nick’s pork tamale and was instantly hooked. Have been in most Saturday mornings since to purchase six tamales (half pork, half chicken) to take home for lunch

· Getting adventurous now – IF I can eat RED-CHILI PORK, what else might I be able to eat? I’ve been experimenting with some red chili powder given to me by a friend, different, lighter red chili powder purchased from a couple from Hatch – chili capital of the world, self-proclaimed – and green chili. To date, my gastronomical experiments: light red chili and key lime juice homemade salad dressing; dark red chili marinade for chicken breasts; chicken soaked in chili and lime juice on the grill; jicima (raw) with light and dark red chili and lime juice and tonight, a twist on an classic Southern recipe. I grew up with fresh cucumbers and onions sliced into a bowl and fresh pickled with oil and red-wine vinegar, with lots of dill, preferably fresh, plus salt, etc. A favorite! Tonight I soaked 3 dried green chili pods and when they were plump again, stripped out the seeds, chopped them up and mixed them with oil, vinegar tarragon and basil and put that on the cucumbers and onion. Even I liked it! Next time, I think I’ll use one green chili pod less – they were so hot, Nick got the hiccups.

· Learning to use chili, especially green chili pods, means also learning where not to put your fingers afterwards – Eyes! Nose! Although I had washed my hands carefully – I thought – I still had some chili under my fingernails. Scratched my eyelid! Oymygod! Blew my nose!! Ay, carumba!!

· Going to the local theatre means not having to wait in line, even for blockbusters. New mathematical relationship to master: blockbuster only as large as blocks from which to draw theatre goers . Harry Potter hit town. We haven’t been to a movie since we got here. Yes, there is a theatre – two screens, even. In a metal warehouse type building. No marquee to speak of, just an old sign for the Real West Cinema. Really! Real West… There isn’t a ticket booth. There’s a card-table where the lady sells tickets and only gives you one half, because there’s no ticket taker. We arrived ½ hour before the show. That would be almost too late for Harry Potter at 6 pm on a Saturday in Gaithersburg or Bethesda or Arlington. Not sold out, no siree. No line! 3 souls in front of us. No ticket lady yet – too early? Just making popcorn. Mmmm, fresh popped. Theatre seats about 200. But it was less than ½ filled.

· We’re discovering that, without an acre and half of grass to cut, trim, sometimes-rake, plus bushes to prune, mulch or otherwise tend, we have quite a bit of leisure time. If we don’t have a plan for the weekend days, we have time to just be. Novel experience – one I’d recommend everyone try out from time to time. This evening, we sat on the back patio sheltered from the rain, and fell into a drowse watching the thunder storms move across the sky. Woke up in time for dinner and walk the dog. And now time to get ready for the week to come.

Barbqued Eggs, Anyone? Grilled Grits on the side!

I continue to learn the idiosyncrasies of the weather of the southwest – at least our corner of the southwest – and in the context of monsoon season. I imagine I’ll be learning for a long time before I really know much, based on what I hear from other folks.

Yesterday was a good example of the importance of learning weather patterns and planning around them, because the weather sure isn’t going to pay attention to minor human concerns like dinner. I had invited a friend over for supper; Nick’s gone this week so this was an opportunity to sit and visit and watch the world settle for the day. Promised to throw something on the grill and fix a salad. She was coming about 5—I hoped to serve supper, oh, 5:30 or so. Watched the clouds start to build up over the Pinos Altos mountains a little after noon . By 2ish, it was looking pretty dark and by 2:30, the breeze was pretty breezy. By something after 3 pm, lightning was snapping and leaving large claps in its wake. It poured solid for about 15 minutes, then stopped. 20 minutes later, it poured again for 15 minutes. So began my rather anxious sky-watch. I had everything ready but for starting the grill. When my friend arrived we made a joint decision that we’d risk it, since we have the outdoor room and the clouds were moving in from behind us. So I started the grill, sizzled a few raindrops and got supper going. We were fine, as it ended up. But this was the second time I had planned to grill for company and just about the time to light the charcoal, the clouds opened up.

When I lived in DC and traveled a lot, I learned never to try to fly into DC in the summertime between 4 pm and 7 pm because of the likelihood of thunderstorms. Here, I need to learn not to plan to grill after 3 pm during monsoons if I don’t have a backup – meaning I can put that chicken breast in the oven or on the grill: let Mother Nature decide. Or, I’ll plan all my barbques for breakfast, when it’s sunny, bright, cloudless and cool. Barbqued eggs, anyone? Served with mesquite flavored bacon and grilled grits!

Speaking of Mother Nature, here’s the conversation I had with her recently (me is me and MN is Mother N…)

Me: Have you been a little confused here lately, MN? You’ll forgive my asking, but…
MN: (Tall, white cumulus beginning to gather on the horizon…)
Me: Now, I mean no offense, but what I’d heard about May and June and July isn’t the way it seems to be this year.
MN: (Cumulus beginning to get a little gray; low, warning rumble…)…and just what have you heard?
Me: Well, (slight tremor in voice) that May is pleasant if breezy, and June is when it gets hot for two or three weeks, and then at 3:55 pm on July 4, you announce the monsoons by drowning out Independence Day…
MN: (Seriously dark clouds) Go on…
Me: (plunging ahead heedlessly) But this year, you got it all – I mean, it turned out all – I mean, maybe things are a little…backwards?
MN: Backwards? Confused? What do you know, you silly little Easterner (loud thunder claps deep in the clouds)
Me: But this year, it rained in May, was cool and sunny and pleasant in June with occasional showers. It did rain right on time on July 4, and we got a hint that the monsoons were starting on cue.
MN: (Laughing with glee – which looks suspiciously like lightning flashing across the sky)…and then I broiled you!
Me: Well, yeah, that’s the point. Suddenly it dried up and heated up and we’ve been roasting with 95 to 100 degree weather the last couple weeks. What’s up with that, anyway? People turning on air conditioning, complaining about the heat, dragging around looking a little fried. Poor dog doesn’t want to walk outside after about 10 am and it’s too hot to go out again until 7:30 or 8. I’d like the monsoons back again, please?
MN: (Clouds caving in with torrents of rain)…sure thing, girlfriend, but be careful what you ask for. Remember the old adage about me? I’ll paraphrase it for you: “You don’t insult Mother Nature” Next time you invite folks for dinner and you’re getting ready to fire that grill….