Spring & Summer 2020 Reflections and the Lincoln National Forest (NM)

By the end of January, Cara and I had finally decided on what our summer adventure would be.  The plan was to combine the best of both worlds and take a road trip to visit friends and family and go camping while also going on an international adventure.  We would drive west and then book a flight from San Francisco to Japan for a 2 week trip abroad.  We started saving money in earnest and acquired a passport for Parker.  We were ready to go and starting to look for airline tickets to Japan.

Around March 18th, during Spring Break, we found out that Austin ISD had extended our break by one week in response to the outbreak of the Corona virus (COVID 19).  As the outbreak would quickly become a worldwide pandemic, our school was conducted online for the rest of the school year.  Cara and I were juggling teaching our classes while caring for and teaching Sybil and Parker at home.  

Given the new circumstances and the new normal of quarantine, we changed our summer adventure plans and decided on escaping to the US National Forests of New Mexico to enjoy the outdoors safely.  Dispersed camping is not something we can do easily in Texas because almost all of our land (besides our few national and state parks) are private.  We are hoping the higher elevations of the New Mexico mountains will provide some relief from the summer heat and an opportunity for us to challenge ourselves by "being bored" with plenty of time to be with the girls without an agenda.

On February 23rd Ahmaud Arbery (a black male) was murdered by two white civilians while jogging in Georgia.  It took over two weeks for the civilians to finally be arrested.  On May 25th, Amy Cooper (a white woman) called the police on Christian Cooper (a black man) over an argument about her dog being off leash and lied saying that he was threatening her and to send the police immediately clearly showing she understood that she had power over him when it came to police protection and the benefit of the doubt.  On the same day, George Floyd (a black man originally from Houston) was killed by a Minneapolis police officer setting off nationwide protests and unrest.  

It is odd sitting down to write a post about the amazing week we just had in the Lincoln National Forest while the country is grappling with tough questions about policing and facing our racist past and present.  We recognize that a part of why we can have these summer adventures is due to the privilege we've experienced our whole lives.  Financially we are able to enjoy these adventures because we have good jobs and a home that were easier for us to come by because of the hard work but also privileges our parents experienced while seeking their careers and providing for us.  We also have the privilege of traveling anywhere in the country and feel comfortable because we can expect to find others that look like us and that locals will give us the benefit of the doubt that we are not a threat and that we should be welcomed in to any situation.  These are huge privileges that are not experienced by a lot of our minority communities and needs to be recognized.

We believe our sphere of influence is mostly through teaching, but if you are interested in learning more about the issues which are being debated and protested right now I encourage you to watch and read the following.  I've been interested in equity as it pertains to education, and these are a few of the most influential books and a movie I've consumed to help inform me.

• Watch 13th (Available on Netflix)
• Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.  This is a powerful documentary that describes how the legal system and police force have been utilized in our systems to continue to enslave black americans through punishments for crimes and the legal system.  
• Trevor Noah's reflections on the riots spurred by Ahmad Arbery, Amy Cooper, and George Floyd
• The Autobiography of Malcom X: As told to Alex Haley
• Self-Portrait in Black and White: Unlearning Race by Thomas Chatterton Williams
• provides a great perspective on race.
• The First Next Time by James Baldwin
• Writings on the Wall by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
• I have so much respect for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and he has become one of my favorite thinkers/authors
• Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Given the current state of affairs in our country we loaded our car with reflective and appreciative hearts and hit the road.  First stop, the Lincoln National Forest of New Mexico.

We maximized every square inch of our Mazda CX-5 and got really close to the total allowed weight.  Our trailer hitch storage rack allows us to carve out a little space for Hudson.

Obligatory family photo to go on our National Parks hallway bulletin board!

Our first stop near Queen, NM had some pretty hot temps during the day, but the night and morning cooled off nicely.  Here is Sybil taking an early morning hike around our first campsite bundled up in Cara's vest.  We quickly learned we needed to bring in warm clothes for the girls the night before so that they could comfortably come out of their sleeping bags in the morning.

Enjoying a book after a mother skunk and her tiny kit came to say hello while we were eating breakfast.

Our first hike on Little Apache near Cloudcroft, NM.  We are discovering that 5 to 6 miles is going to be our limit, and that we travel on average, 1 mph, with all of the exploratory, snack, and bathroom related stops of a 4 year old.  Parker is in our hiking backpack and gets freedom to roam whenever we do stop.

Hudson enjoying a rare moment of comfort at our mountain top campsite near Cloudcroft.  He was filthy by the end of our first week and was always eager to go to sleep in our tent to get some relief from the elements.

Little Apache trail

Patiently waiting for breakfast on a chilly morning at our campsite near Ruidoso, NM.  We experienced our coldest night here, dropping below freezing.  It was 30º at 6am when Parker and I made it to the car to warm up.

Grindstone Lake near Ruidoso, NM

The girls love splashing in water.  This man-made lake was COLD.

Parker post swim loving life. :-)

That is a bag full of our dirty clothes after 6 nights of camping! And we had done laundry at our campsite only 3 days before. A good indicator that it was time to leave the woods for civilization and recharge.  We booked an AirBNB in Las Cruces to clean up, take naps, and refresh before heading to the Gila National Forest.

Hiking on the Argentina Trail near Ruidoso.