Lovelace Hospital

I just finished my first week at Lovelace Hospital.  It was slightly overwhelming as I am used to practicing out of a small, private outpatient orthopedic setting.  My first travel assignment in Rumford was also in an outpatient setting at a small hospital.  Fast forward from August to September and I am in a whole new world at Lovelace Hospital in Albuquerque, NM.  First of all, Lovelace is in the heart of the city.  To get to work, I have gone from biking on a single lane road to fighting 6 lanes of traffic (as I mentioned previously, a blinker is merely a flashing light here!).  Although, I must admit this has improved my defensive driving skills tremendously!

Lovelace

Lovelace Hospital is a ten floor acute care hospital.  The floors include: Neuro, ICU, telemetry, oncology, behavioral health, cardiac, ortho and a general floor that patients go to before being discharged.  I have had to become oriented with all of the floors, but have mostly been working on telemetry and neuro until the position on the ortho floor opens up in two weeks.  I have learned a lot having to treat all of the different specialties but have been most surprised by the amount of equipment patients are on.   I have to carry a portable telemetry box and notify a group of people watching monitors two floors down when I switch patients from the main telemetry to the portable when walking them.  At first, I was a little freaked out by all of the equipment but soon realized as long as I carefully monitor them before unplugging anything and plug patients back in when we return it is OK! I was only oriented to the neuro floor so I have had to learn a lot on my own, but luckily I work with a very helpful group of therapists! The behavioral health floor has been interesting.  I had to learn how to use many different types of restraints as some of these patients are in isolation and are restrained.  I work with 6 other travel PT's from all across the U.S. along with permanant PT's so it has been nice having other people new to the area to explore with!

'I have been invited by important people to sing...'

My great aunt and uncle, Jo and Bobby live in a nursing home in Albuquerque.  I have not seen them for roughly 20 years.  So, Chris (their son, who I am staying with) cooked up a spectacular spaghetti sauce with lamb, pork and sausage and invited them over.  It was great catching up as well as highly entertaining.  I got to hear a lot about Jo's singing and how she has been invited by 'important people to sing.' A few examples included the White House and Lincoln Center.  You have to take it with a grain of salt though as she is 88 years old and has some dementia.  Great to see them again and hear all about New Mexico's history and the fun things to do in the area.

My great aunt and uncle Josephine and Bobby

Dinner with Nansi, Chris, Nansi's 2 daughters and grand daughter

I have been amazed at how great the biking has been in Albuquerque as well as how bike friendly the city is.  It gets a little hairy crossing 6 lanes of traffic at times to connect to the bike path but overall, the bike route is good.  Drivers here are a little crazy.  I continue to exhibit my courteous driving skills from Maine, however on my commute to work I find the opposite to be true here in New Mexico.  When you put your blinker on to change lanes, the drivers speed up.  Makes for a rough and crazy commute (not to mention the very high rate of accidents).  Along the bike path there are numerous white bikes with flowers.  These are memorials for bikers that have been killed in the area...a little crazy how many there are but I find myself taking extra caution and stick to the bike path.  Sunsets continue to be gorgeous each evening...

Bike friendly community!

The bike path for my daily ride-Sandia Mtn range in background

One of the many memorial white bikes

Rattlesnakes and Rodeos

I am all settled in Albuquerque, NM.  I will be staying with my mom's cousin Chris and his wife Nansi whom I had never met before the trip-they have been kind enough to allow me to stay in their finished basement (which is beautiful!) for 13 weeks.  More than likely exchanging shipped seafood for rent.  I have been spoiled by this outdoor playground we will call 'Albuquerque' since my arrival on Thursday.  The house sits atop a small hill with a deck overlooking the city.  The sunsets are amongst the most beautiful I have ever seen.  My first full day here I explored the Sandia Foothills which is in Chris and Nansi's backyard.  I was a little freaked out when Chris's last words were 'watch out for the rattlesnakes.' When I arrived at the trailhead there was a sign reiterating this statement.  I have yet to see one though.  The hiking is amazing.  The Sandias are a small range consisting of a single north-south ridge with two major summits: Sandia Crest (10,670 ft) and Sandia Peak (9,072 ft).  This mountain range has four different life zones. The desert grassland and Savannah at the western base of the mountain is where I have been doing most of my hiking given that Albuquerque is set at an elevation 6,000 ft.  The cacti are beautiful!

'Home' for the next 13 weeks... almond, pear and cherry trees!

Sandia Foothills

Cacti

Neat rock formation

Beautiful day for a hike!

Vegetation

View of the city from Embudo Canyon




Last night I met up with my friend Jess who is a travel physical therapist working in Santa fe, NM.  We experienced a big event here in Albuquerque-the state fair along with the rodeo and a Jarrod Niemann concert.  At the end of the rodeo a white buffalo was blessed.  These are very rare and are considered sacred to Native Americans.  Only 1 in 10 million are born white.  The white buffalo is a sign of good luck, happiness and growth for the tribes (photo below).  Lot's of dancing at the concert and I was amazed at how well some of the people could dance-very impressive!!

Missouri to final destination: New Mexico!

Wednesday morning I set out for the most exciting portion of the trip: Springfield, missouri through Oklahoma to Adrian, Texas (548 miles).  Oklahoma was the start of a long drive along open plains.  Although I am sure there are some interesting attractions, I chose to drive straight through Oklahoma (only stopped for gas!)

Add caption

A site to be seen for miles and miles and miles and miles...

Texas is a very cool state.  It is quite a surprise to go from seeing green grass and turbines to red rock and canyons! My original destination was Adrian, texas.  Upon my arrival I found a ghost town.  The population is 166 and while my research told me there was one hotel, the hotel was closed.  Outside the vacant hotel was an old car with torn rearview mirrors dangling agains the doors.  A 'vacancy' sign appeared lit although as it turns out this was just the mid day sun peering through the broken sign.  There was also one cafe "the Midway Cafe" which was also closed.  Adrian marks the half way point along Route 66 1139 miles from Chicago and 1139 miles to Los Angeles.

Adrian, texas...half way to CA on Route 66!

An old truck and bicycle outside the Midpoint cafe

Fabulous 40 Motel= not so fabulous!

The car with torn mirrors outside the vacant motel

Given that my original plan of staying in Adrian had failed due to lack of motels, I kept driving (there were no stores to ask for directions!).  I noticed as I was parkerd outside the motel (pictured above) that something was leaking from beneath my car...not surprising given the distance I had driven.  I convinced myself this was only condensation from the air conditioner (but was not certain since I very rarely use the AC!).  It must have been condensation...
My driving led me to another old Route 66 town, Vega Texas.  Population less than 500 which meant that there was at least one hotel!! There were two restaurants here: the local saloon and Roosters cafe.  I headed to the Saloon for dinner where I met a guy that was temporarily staying in town working on building wind turbines.  Come to find out, the building of the turbines has been great for the economy of this small, agricultural town because of all the external people it has brought into town.  The next morning I decided to head to Roosters cafe for breakfast before my last day of driving (a short one with only 244 miles to Albuquerque, NM).  I went in, sat down at a booth by myself.  There was a long table with 6 locals.  They struck up a conversation with me as I probably looked a bit out of place in this quasi ghost town.  We were talking from across the room and they invited me to sit at their table.  I sat with them and I learned a lot about the town as well as the locals.  As we were sitting 4 more locals showed up and also sat at the table, including the sheriff in his cowboy hat.  The table banter was priceless.  One guy in his mid 80's sat next to me and said "you know, according to the obituaries, I am over-due." The whole table just laughed as he kept a straight face.  A man from across the table replied "well, I know more people in the cemetary than I do in town." Then, the topic moved from death to politics...a local sitting next to the sheriff said "why don't we change the topic of this conversation...I got a new gun yesterday." He pulls out an old revolver and explains why he carries a gun but keeps it unloaded.  Everyone laughed yet again and the sheriff stated "that'll keep you safe Loyd."As the far end of the table discussed guns and agriculture and the fact that the jail is at full capacity with 10 inmates, the man across from me took out a photo from his wallet, it was his deceased wife.  He explained how they met in Pueblo, CO and he brought her to Vega Texas where they owned a ranch.  She dies last year and he has been going to the Roosters Cafe ever since. He set a trend, and all of the locals come and join him every morning for breakfast.  I got invited back on my way back through to Maine...hopefully I can make it happen! Arrived in Albuquerque, NM on Thursday afternoon...total trip distance: 2,467 miles.

Old Mongolia gas station on Route 66 in Vega

The saloon

Sitings of an old agricultural town

Roosters Cafe

Vega, texas...very rural!

The trek from Maine to New Mexico

On September 12th I found out I got a job in Albuquerque, New Mexico...start date: September 24th.  This meant some fast and furious packing, car servicing, preparation for the job, finding a place to live and a long but exciting drive.  Before the drive could begin, an important stop was made to marry my good friends Robb and Christen in Bangor, ME.  It was a wonderful weekend being reunited with  grad school friends and being part of a very special day.

Christine, Robb, Christen, Andrea and I at Bangor waterfront

On Sunday morning, I left Bangor and arrived in Syracuse, NY where I stayed the night (558 miles).  I took a wonderful detour to Niagra Falls and much to my surprise, did not get lost! It was a bit more touristy than expected, although not very busy given that it was a weekday.  The falls were spectacular and there was a small rainbow at the base of lower falls which was a sign of the positive trip that was yet to come.

Beautiful rainbow at Niagra Falls

Niagra Falls

On Monday morning I left Syracuse and drove 560 miles to Centerville, Indiana.  This was an interesting little town, although not much in the way of entertainment.  There were no restaurants so I ate at the truck stop next door with the numerous labor and construction guys that seemed to occupy every other room but mine at the Super 8.  I like Super 8 because even if there is no entertainment to be found in town, the motel itself (and the truck stops often nearby) are fun.

Perhaps the longest leg of the trip...a lot of construction!

The infamous Super 8...

Day three was a very exciting drive (haha) from Centerville Indiana through the beautiful states of Illinois and Missouri to the destination of the day: Springfield, Missouri (551 miles).  I pulled off an exit in Casey, Illinois and much to my surprise found "the world's largest wind chyme." Not nearly as fascinating as Niagra falls but it sounded beautiful in the wind! As one turns the corner on I-70 in St. Louis, Missouri, they are welcomed by a large arch.  Appears to be a nice city, although when I stopped for gas in the city it wasn't quite as nice as it appeared to be from the highway! Springfield was a fairly large city with a big mall complex and many good restaurants.  Ate at a great place called Cheddars.  I wished I had more time to explore, but I did not realize how exhausting driving 8-10 hrs a day could be so retired to bed early so I would be rested for the next day.

The arch in St Louis, MI

Casey Illinois

A quick glimpse of Illinois!

World's largest wind chyme in Casey, IL

Peak A Week Club

Rumford Hospital



I finished my 16 week assignment at Rumford Hospital/ Central maine Medical Center August 31st.  It was a great experience.  I wanted to touch upon a wonderful hiking group I found while in Rumford called the Peak a Week Club.  The club does just that: hikes one peak every week.  The group has been meeting at the Rumford Information Booth Wednesday nights for the past 26 years.  The group hikes from April through October, rain or shine.  The peaks get taller as the days get longer.  A trip to the local pub typically follows each of the hikes.  Suds Pub and Roosters Roadhouse were great! Below, I have posted some photos from my favorite hikes with the Peak a Week Club.  

Tumbledown 3,068'

Whitecap 2,197'

The mill from Whitecap 2,197'

Toshi on Eyebrow Loop, Grafton Notch 1,000'

Eyebrow Loop Sunset 1,000'

Mt. Will (Bethel) 1,350'