4 June 07
Santa Fe
Well, I’m back. The Santa Fe Science Writing Workshop was all I hoped for and more — a gathering of interesting, interested people. I hang around such types often but it’s been a long time since I found myself with fifty people who were so very curious about everything — from the instructors to the full gamut of freelancers, public information types, journalists, and students (including one undergraduate).
Our time started out at the Santa Fe Institute, a hotbed of interdisciplinary brilliance. We heard (not necessarily understood, you understand) talks by Bette Korber on a vaccine for HIV and Eric Smith on the origin of life and then attempted later on in the day to come up with an article lede for one of them. Our small groups numbered about ten; my group was facilitated by the inimitable Charlie Petit, formerly of the San Francisco Chronicle, now of Knight Science Journalism Tracker.
Santa Fe is a beautiful small city, but I was eager to get into the surrounding countryside. We took a trip to Bandelier National Monument, an archeological site where we ran into the bear I mentioned a couple of days ago.
It was lush and green after a wet spring in New Mexico. Birds were singing. I kept confusing warbling vireos with one of the red finches — Cassin’s at this altitude? (managed to leave my binoculars at home in the rush to get to the airport) — but had no trouble with the abundant and gorgeous violet-green swallows.
Our intrepid reporters climbed in and out of holes by means of ladders while others of us took photos or sketched them doing this.
The final night was spent at the home of one of the instructors, where we got the chance to watch the sun and Venus go down and the moon and Jupiter rise. This is a good state for skygazing.
Finally I spent a night with my cousin in the Jemez mountains, about eight miles above the town of Jemez Springs. She lives very near the Valles Caldera Numenius visited last year. We were able to catch up and go for a couple of hikes. The storm brewing pictured here spawned a couple of tornadoes and I was glad to get out of Albuquerque in a different direction than the storms were heading…
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It sounds like a wonderful experience, and your drawings are exceptional, even for you, full of the same spirit as your words.
Jean’s right—this is some of your best stuff! You captured at least some of the flavor of the place(s), esp. Bandelier! and the landscape is way fine.
Sounds fantastic. Great collection of sketches. Good to see the artist too!
Awesome sketches – color was exquisite!
Yes, awesome sketches. I love it out there – the sky is wonderful at night.