contributors MarGareT CheaSebro has been a freelance writer for more than 30 years. her articles have appeared in many magazines across the country, some of those articles have won state and national awards. She was a correspondent for the albuquerque Journal and worked for several local newspapers. She is the author of the young adult fantasy/reality novel, The healing Tree, set in aztec. She also wrote the non-fiction book, healing with Trees: Finding a Path to Wholeness. a retired elementary school counselor, she is also a reiki Master and practices several alternative healing techniques. She enjoys playing table tennis.
DoroThy NobiS has been a writer and editor for more than 25 years. She authored a travel guide, The insiders Guide to the Four Corners, published by Globe Pequot Press, and has beena frequent contributor to New Mexico Magazine.
Debra Mayeux, of Farmington, is an awardwinning journalist with recognitions from the associated Press of New Mexico and Colorado and the New Mexico Press association and the Colorado broadcast association. She has covered stories throughout the Southwest and in Mexico and Jordan, where she interviewed diplomats and the royal family. after nearly 20 years in the business, she recently opened her own freelance writing and media business. Mayeux enjoys the outdoors, reading and spending time with her family. She is the coordinator of Farmington Walk and roll, a Safe routes to School organization. She is married to David Mayeux and they have three children: Nick, alexander and Peter.
beN braShear has called the Southern San Juans home for most of his life. he holds a b.a. in Creative Writing from Fort Lewis College and has worked for Cutthroat: a Journal of The arts, as assistant poetry editor. he is currently working as a freelance writer and photographer based out of Durango, Colorado.
JoSh biShoP is a graduate of San Juan College with an associate degree in Digital Media arts and Design. he currently works at Majestic Media as a video producer and photographer.
WhiTNey hoWLe was born and raised in Farmington and is proud to call San Juan County home. The richness of the landscape and the diverse people, culture and traditions are a photographer’s dream. Whitney has his b.a. in Visual Communication from Collins College in Tempe, ariz. he is a co-owner of howle Design and Photography — a family owned studio offering graphic design, photography, market research and consulting.
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MAGAZINE Celebrating the Lifestyle, Community and Culture of the Four Corners Vol. 9, No. 1 ©2017 by Majestic Media. Majestic Living is a quarterly publication. Material herein may not be reprinted without expressed written consent of the publisher. If you receive a copy that is torn or damaged call 505.516.1230. 4 | MAJESTIC LIVING | SPRING 2017
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springfeatures: 8 Free birds From whale watching in Victoria, British Columbisa, to finding the studio where U2 recorded “Achtung Baby” in Berlin, Germany, Amanda Garcia and her mother, Bodine Jones, have traveled a lot together. By Margaret Cheasebro
14
The Air Up There
Pete Nadon of Aztec is a firefighting pilot, and he loves it. “It’s rewarding when you can see we stopped that fire, and the houses are still there,” he said. By Margaret Cheasebro
26 20 Keeping the Basin informed Randall Parker of Farmington distributes information about rig activity in the oil and gas field that no one anywhere else in the country is providing. By Margaret Cheasebro 6 | MAJESTIC LIVING | SPRING 2017
Food of gods Carley Snider, chocolatier and co-owner of Animas Chocolate Company, pulls a batch of cooled chocolate hearts from their molds and arranges them into rows on parchment paper in preparation for Valentine’s Day. By Ben Brashear
32 Extraordinary Little Church It was a brisk, chilly morning on December 10, 2016. A small pot-bellied stove was the only source of heat in the tiny Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church, just below Navajo Dam, east of Bloomfield. By Dorothy Nobis
38 Gene and Wendy Schmidt 41
Desire, dedication, discipline and determination
Wrestling changed Herb Stinson’s life. It not only inspired him to a lifelong career as an educator and coach, it became a family affair.
It might seem cliche to say that there is a woman who supports every good man in life and career, but in the case of Dr. Gene Schmidt and his wife, Wendy, the statement couldn’t be more true. By Debra Mayeux
By Debra Mayeux
43 Freenotes Harmony Park Donna Codd was in her late 40s when she and her family moved to Durango to retire. That was the plan. But it didn’t work that way. By Margaret Cheasebro SPRING 2017 | MAJESTIC LIVING | 7
birds Mother/daughter traveling companions discover the world together Story by Margaret Cheasebro Photos by Whitney Howle From whale watching in Victoria, British Columbia, to finding the studio where U2 recorded “Achtung Baby” in Berlin, Germany, Amanda Garcia and her mother, Bodine Jones, have traveled a lot together. “I know we are very lucky that we can travel together and do things together,” Amanda said. “I have had conversations with people who say I don’t think my daughter would ever want to do that with me.” Bodine is retired. Amanda is the business teacher at Piedra Vista High School in Farmington. She also teaches technology-related courses for Encore at San Juan College. They travel in the summer and during school holidays.
Travel part of family life Travel has always been a part of their family life. They often travel to visit Bodine’s two living sons, Tom and Charles Lynch. Her third son, Patrick, died in 2008. “It’s really cool when they travel around and go to 8 | MAJESTIC LIVING | SPRING 2017
places,” Tom said. “They go to the movies all the time together. I bought them a pass to Lions Pool for awhile. She and Amanda would go swimming all the time over there. They are pretty close.” When Amanda was born at San Juan Regional Medical Center in 1971, Bodine and her then husband wanted a boy. Bodine soon got over her disappointment. “She has been a blessing and a joy,” Bodine said.
New York venture They have become traveling companions who know how to get along and enjoy each other’s company. They often reminisce about a train ride they took to upstate New York to visit Tom when Amanda was still in high school. While on that trip, Bodine decided she wanted to learn to yodel. When they drove the 2,500 miles home in a car Tom gave to his mom, she practiced her yodeling skills. “It was one of our first scenic ventures,” Bodine said.
Five years ago, they returned to the area. They visited Washington, D.C., took in a Pee Wee Herman show on Broadway, visited the Arlington Cemetery, the capitol building, the Lincoln Memorial and the Holocaust Museum. Tom went with them.
record those songs, and I did.” One of them is called “Crown of Gold,” and it was written for her mother, Doris Neuen-
Writes country songs “At some point in my life, I wanted to be a country singer/songwriter,” Bodine said. “I have written quite a few country songs. I actually went to Nashville to do a recording.” Her producer sent out 45 rpm records of Bodine’s songs to radio stations. “Nothing really happened,” Bodine said, “but that was my dream at the time. My kids helped me out financially. They paid my expenses down there. That was my dream, to
Her mother died in 2011. At the time, Bodine was in Honduras with Amanda, who was deep sea diving on the island of Roatan. “She had to take a puddle jumper to San Pedro on the mainland of Honduras,” Amanda said. Guerilla warfare was common in the San Pedro area, and the day Bodine arrived there was a shooting in front of the airport. But she made it back to Farmington.
See Winter, the dolphin
schwander. Bodine can still sing the first line or two by memory. “I know that God has chosen in a place so far away a special place for mothers come the judgment day.”
On another trip they went to Clearwater, Florida, to see Winter, the dolphin made famous by the movie, A Dolphin Tale. “I scuba dive, and there’s some excursions we do in Honduras with dolphins,” Amanda said. “I think they’re amazing.” She did some research, watched the movie, Dolphin Tale, and told Bodine she thought going to Florida would be a great trip. Tom thought so too. By that time, he had moved to Alabama. Tom and his family met them in Clearwater, Florida, and they enjoyed the trip together. Bodine’s great-niece, Bella Sanchez of Farmington, who is now 10, accompanied them. “She has traveled quite a bit with us,” Bodine said. Traveling has been part of Amanda’s life for decades. “When I was away at college, I would come and visit,” she said. “Sometimes I would spend more time with my dad’s family, but my mom and I always took trips together, which seemed like it compensated for lost time. It’s hard to divide equal time when your parents are divorced, but you do your best. My mom always came to where I was and visited me. We always traveled to visit my brothers together. So I think it was just a natural thing that we’ve always done.”
Trip to Germany Their biggest trip was to Germany two years ago. They took a 10-day Globus bus tour, and they were on the go every day. Their biggest regret is that they had only two days in Berlin, 10 | MAJESTIC LIVING | SPRING 2017
a city they both loved. One of these days, they hope to spend more time in Berlin. In Germany, Bodine especially wanted to visit the Neuschwanstein Castle not far from Bulgaria. Her dad, Ed Neuenschwander, kept a picture of the castle in their home. “We always thought we were connected to the Neuschwanstein Castle and that was a part of my heritage,” Bodine said. “When we got there, we found it wasn’t true. Amanda did some research and said it wasn’t in our history. But I still like to claim it.” There were 190 steps one way up into the castle. “That was a slow journey,” Bodine said. “Amanda was right behind me in case I fell down.” They also visited the massive Cologne Cathedral in Cologne. It was one of the few buildings that was not destroyed during World War II.
“I had a preconceived notion when I got to Germany that I would be going into old churches and old buildings,” Amanda said, “but that’s not true. Most
studio in which U2 recorded “Achtung Baby,” Amanda’s favorite album. “They recorded it right after the fall of the Berlin Wall,” Amanda said. “We walked and got lost. Then we walked and got lost some more until we finally found the studio.” There was a bright side to getting lost. “I had to ask for directions on the bus,” Bodine said. “This nice German man was very helpful. The German men were all very well groomed. I loved to look at those German men.” Bodine and Amanda broke into laughter.
Take selfies
of them were leveled and had been rebuilt.”
Loves Berlin In Berlin they got lost trying to find the
It was on their Germany trip that they started their selfie tours. “Now we take selfies of us together wherever we travel,” Amanda said. “I am so glad my mother and sister have been able to travel together,” said Charles, who takes care of Bodine’s dog when they’re
SPRING 2017 | MAJESTIC LIVING |11
on a trip. “They really have a great time and get along remarkably well on the road. I especially like the selfies they post to their social media pages. They make me feel I am right there with them.” Last summer they went on a five-day trip to visit the Redwood Forest. They flew into Medford, Oregon, and traveled through the Avenue of the Giants, where all the big trees are. “I love the Redwood Forest,” said Amanda. “It’s a place I would go back to. We stayed in Humboldt County in a little hippie town called Garberville.” They also spent a couple of days by the ocean.
Fly to Victoria Last Christmas they flew to Victoria in British Columbia, Canada, and visited the Butchart Gardens. “It was wonderful,” Bodine said. “Of the trips we’ve been on, I think I enjoyed that probably the most.” Though the roses had been cut back for the winter, they stayed in the gardens until evening when the Christmas lights went on, calling it a beautiful sight. “We went whale watching,” Bodine said. “We saw a killer whale and a couple of humpback whales.” On other journeys together over the years, they’ve been to Sedona, Arizona; Austin, Texas; and several places in California. Amanda will take her 10th deep sea diving trip to Honduras this summer, but Bodine doesn’t think she’ll go along. “There’s not a whole lot for me to do when she’s diving,” Bodine said, “and I have a tendency to eat too much and drink too much beer.”
Planning next trip They’re not sure where they’ll go this summer, but they’re talking about renting an RV and driving to Yellowstone National Park. Then they can take some relatives along. Traveling together has its challenges. “She’s always afraid we’re going to miss the plane,” Amanda said. “She likes to be at the airport super early.” “I would rather sit in the airport for an hour and half than be worried about getting
there on time,” Bodine replied. Amanda hates to sit and wait in airports. “Nothing is ever perfect,” Bodine noted. “Every now and then we have a bit of an upheaval, but we’re intelligent enough and heartfelt enough to talk about it and resolve it.”
Trips for traveling Over the years they’ve discovered some things that help to make their trips more enjoyable. “Pack lightly,” advised Bodine. “Pack comfortable shoes and appropriate clothing. Be sure to check on the weather. Know whether you are going to rent a car or have a taxi.” People who rent a car have to pay for parking at hotels, and that can get expensive. If you rent a car, don’t drop off the car and leave the keys. “Make sure you talk to somebody and have them sign a statement that there’s no damage to the vehicle,” Amanda advised. “Be relaxed. Go with the flow,” she said.
* Free Birds 50
Photo by Mike Eliason
The air up There Aerial firefighter Pete Nadon combines his love of flying with saving lives and property Story by Margaret Cheasebro Photos by Whitney Howle Pete Nadon of Aztec is a firefighting pilot, and he loves it. “It’s rewarding when you can see we stopped that fire, and the houses are still there,” he said. Fire seasons typically run from about May to October or November, but they’re getting longer. “With the climate change it’s now becoming more of a 12-month-a-year deal,” he said. 14 | MAJESTIC LIVING | SPRING 2017
In October 2016, he returned home from firefighting season. Then he was called to Tennessee after Thanksgiving to help fight a fire that burned most of Gatlinburg, a tourist town. “They didn’t fly us, because the winds were too bad,” he said. “It was a very unusual situation to have things that dry in the southeastern part of the United States so late in the year.”
Challenging flying conditions When he does fly, conditions can be challenging. Pilots feel turbulence and heat in the plane. They have to adjust for changing winds and limited vision due to smoke and ash, and they must constantly be on the lookout for unexpected circumstances that require an immediate response. “I worry about him,” said Pete’s girlfriend,
Margie McGrath. “It’s a very dangerous job. They can’t see when they’re flying in all that smoke. But I feel proud to know that Pete may be saving lives.” Pete returned home from Tennessee on December 1, 2016, and began catching up on chores around his property north of Aztec. Finding time for those chores can be difficult, because during winter months he trains to maintain and enhance his firefighting skills. Since 2011 he has been employed by Neptune Aviation Inc., an aerial firefighting company with bases in Missoula, Montana, and Alamogordo, New Mexico. The company has contracts with both the U.S. Forest Service and the state of California.
Winter training Winter training includes ground school, a refresher course on operating the aircraft, meeting fire operation standards, and satisfying forest service requirements. The second training is in a simulator in England for a week followed by aircraft training in Montana, which includes weather instrument training. He also has drop training when pilots drop water in the mountains of Montana. Once the forest service is satisfied with their skills, pilots are issued a cardeach year. “It’s kind of an amendment to your pilot’s license,” said Pete. He carries a captain’s card, which is hard to get. “It takes 100 hours of actual dispensing material as the pilot and command,” he said. “You’ve got to have extensive firefighting experience.” Most fires he fights are benign fires that don’t threaten structures or large acreages. “Most fires are small enough that we almost consider them training throughout the year,” he said. “It’s the big fires in the big neighborhoods that we’re training for, to go in there and try to save homes and save people.”
Tankers hold retardant Neptune has 14 planes that are especially modified to hold tankers full of retardant, which is a mixture of water, fertilizer and chemicals that are not harmful to the environment. Because they contain properties than can be challenging for fish, retardant is not dropped on watersheds or into water. Instead, pilots drop water on those areas. “Generally, we’ll come into a fire at 1,000 feet above the ground,” Pete said. “When we make our drop, we’re 150 feet above the ground and flying at around 125 to 130 knots. That’s pretty slow for a big airplane. When you’re close to the ground in a large aircraft like that, it’s unforgiving of any mistakes.” Though some pilots have lost their lives while fighting fires, the job is becoming safer all the time. There’s increased emphasis on safety and on allowing a freer exchange of ideas and suggestions.
Good safety years “We’ve had some pretty good years of safety,” he said. “For the amount of operations and the amount of retardant we drop, it’s getting safer and safer. A lot of that has to do with better and safer equipment that’s more capable than it was in the past.” The culture of firefighting is becoming more conservative with an emphasis on getting the job done without undue risk to pilots or to people and structures on the ground. “In aerial firefighting, you’re got to keep yourself in checks and balances, especially when homes are burning,” he said. “I’ve been on some fires where whole neighborhoods are being completely incinerated. You don’t want to get in a rush and let that affect your judgment.” One of his biggest fears is having a mid-air collision when people get focused on something and don’t look outside. They have equipment that tells them where other aircraft are located, which helps to reduce the danger. Photo by Les Stukenberg
8
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Risk from drones Even so, pilots are at increased risk because of drones. “People with fancy radio controlled drones want to get footage of the fire,” he said. “They’re not supposed to be there, and they know they’re not supposed to be there. We’ve had several close calls with drones. There have been some fires where firefighters were making good headway on the fires, but they had to stop aerial operations because drones were flying. A collision with a drone and an aircraft could be disastrous.” The loss of aerial operations can make it harder to contain a fire. Firefighting pilots are well trained to surround a fire with retardant to stop its progress. Without their assistance, firefighters on the ground make less headway. Ground crews use bulldozers, back burning fires, hand tools such as shovels and other techniques to cut a fire line that will contain the fire. It’s a group effort, and they need each other to contain a fire effectively. Pilots are acutely aware of the importance of ground crews, who take great risks to battle fires. “Pete loves to fly,” said Tom Loedhe, who is
Pete’s chief pilot. “He enjoys the challenges and rewards that come from aerial firefighting. He’s a great example of ‘Do what you love and the rewards will follow.’ One of the things that stands out about Pete is how passionate he is about doing the job right. Not only is he a great pilot, he knows that his work makes a difference.”
Four-person crew When Pete flies on a firefighting mission, he’s part of a four-person crew that includes
himself as a captain, a first officer, a crew chief who is the head mechanic, and a second mechanic, who drives a van with parts, spare tires, tools and other supplies. The second mechanic “follows us around the country in the van,” Pete said. “He and the crew chief maintain the aircraft. They have a very difficult job. We can’t do it without the mechanics. They work on these airplanes every single day without the benefit of a hangar or a supply of parts like they would have at a maintenance base. If they need another part, they have
to get it flown in. The second mechanic may drive all night long. When he gets there, the airplane is broke, and he’s got to work on it. It’s tough. A lot of credit goes to those guys.” The four-person team works with a number of other people. They include the incident commander, who is in charge of the fire and is usually ground based. Then there’s a lead plane occupied by the lead plane pilot, who guides the air tankers into the fire, and an air attack, who is in charge of the strategic supervision of all aerial resources, including helicopters and planes.
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Hazardous conditions “Their job is to make sure the air is stable,” Pete said. “The conditions around fires can be hazardous. There a lot of up and down drafts, a lot of crazy winds, hot temperatures, poor visibility, debris in the air. They do a great job, and they make it more efficient.” Sometimes firefighters can’t wait for such help. That’s when people – like Pete – who have a captain’s card step in. “The captain’s card shows that you are certified to do that by yourself,” he said. “Sometimes you can’t wait for a lead plane if structures or people are threatened. They want to start working the fire right away. So you have to have enough training to go in and assess the situation and begin fighting that fire by yourself. The whole system is spread very thin. We have big fires and not a lot of guys fighting them, so it’s been pretty busy the last few years.” During the last 100 years, a fire suppression philosophy held sway. “If you look at 18 | MAJESTIC LIVING | SPRING 2017
old photographs, you’ll see places where there’s not much timber,” Pete said. “They’re completely wooded now. So all these years of fire suppression has made more timber to burn. That, in conjunction with a little bit of rising temperatures, made for some bad fires. It’s controversial, with climate change, but whatever the cause, it’s happening, and our fire seasons are getting longer. The fires are getting bigger and they’re getting more violent with faster spread and higher winds.”
Thrives on the challenge Pete thrives on the challenge. “I always wanted to fly,” he said. “I don’t know why. I always was just interested in it.” He loved to watch planes fly out of Stapleton Airport in Denver near his home, but he didn’t think he could fly because he’s always worn glasses. In college, he pursued a geology degree while playing electric bass in a bar band. “That whole market fell apart when they had the oil crunch back in the early 1980s,” he said. “I had friends, excellent students, who were going to the Colorado School of Mines. They couldn’t get jobs, so I figured I had to do something else.” He met a couple of pilots who told him that he could become a pilot even if he wore glasses. So he attended college at Metropolitan State College in Denver, where his father was an English professor, and got his aviation degree in 1989. He has worked as a pilot or flight instructor for several businesses in Colorado and New Mexico. He’s flown air ambulances, commercial planes, and planes that deliver packages all over the world. Firefighting always intrigued him, so when a friend who flew air tankers told him that Neptune needed a pilot, he signed on in 2011. He’s worked for them ever since.
fatiguing, and it’s hard on families to have somebody gone that long,” he said.
“The fires are getting bigger and they’re getting more violent with Great career opportunity faster spread and higher winds.” Pete sees aerial and ground firefighting as a — Pete Nadon great career opportunity. From hotshot crews, restricted. “The Grand Canyon is a whole different set of airspace rules,” Pete said. “You have to comply with both Grand Canyon rules and fire rules. You have special corridors you have to fly through.” After he fought a fire there, he and his crew were dispatched to Timberon, New Mexico, a remote mountain town southeast of Alamogordo. “We flew all the way from Prescott to there with a load of retardant and dropped it on that fire,” he said. “Then it got dark. We only do daytime operations.” It’s all in a day’s work. The toughest part of the job is time spent away from home. He’s often gone from April through August or later with only one two-week break. “All that time is
who help manage complex wildfires, and smoke jumpers to Bureau of Land Management and city firefighters, job opportunities are growing as the number of fires increases. “There’s a tremendous opportunity to move up,” Pete said. “You don’t hear a lot about this industry, but if you got involved as a young person, you could write your own ticket.” Though his job can be challenging, Pete loves the chance to hand fly airplanes. “Most of the airplanes nowadays are computer controlled,” he said. “To me, that’s not really being a pilot. We use our stick and rudder skills, which is your basic seat-of-the-pants flying. It’s one of the last jobs where you’re still able to do that. And you’re making a difference in protecting and helping people.”
Fought fires in Grand Canyon The work involves a variety of different firefighting challenges. He’s fought fires in the Grand Canyon, where commercial tour operators fly planes and general aviation is
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Keeping the basin informed Randall Parker’s reports have kept the oil & gas industry up to date for more than 20 years Story by Margaret Cheasebro Photos by Whitney Howle
Randall Parker of Farmington distributes information about rig activity in the oil and gas field that no one anywhere else in the country is providing. And he does it for free. His rig reports cover activity in the San Juan Basin of drilling rigs and workover and completion rigs. The single page report contains a lot of information. It lists the name of contractors and the rigs they have drilling at specific locations. At a
glance people can tell how many rigs are drilling and how many are parked in the yard. It also shows which contractors have workover or completion rigs in operation and how many are sitting in the yard. Workover rigs pertain to rigs that are working over a well again in the hope of getting more production from it. A completion rig refers to a rig that has drilled the well, and that rig has just completed the job. SPRING 2017 | MAJESTIC LIVING | 21
Keep it to an area
Companies make it possible
“It would be really hard to do a report like this in a lot of areas in the country because of the amount of activity going on,” Randall said. “You just have to keep it to an area, and we are isolated here.” The January 18 report showed that out of 20 rigs available among contractors in the San Juan Basin, two were drilling wells. It also showed that out of 78 rigs available contractors were using 21 rigs for workover or completion jobs. There have been weeks when no rigs were drilling anywhere. Oil and gas activity in the San Juan Basin is probably at its lowest ever, Randall said, based on the reports he has been collecting since the late 1990s. “You can see a little pickup, but it’s not enough to brag about. Is it going to pick up? Who knows?”
He credits the companies who send weekly information to him for making the rig reports possible. “The only way this report works is if companies will let me know who they are working for,” he said. “If it wasn’t for the contractors out there being supportive and being willing to report their activity, all it would be is just a blank piece of paper. I start getting reports on Mondays from companies. I put out the rig report on Wednesday. Is it one hundred percent accurate? No. When I put out the report on Wednesday, they could have finished that job that morning and the rig could have gone to the yard, which I wouldn’t know until the next week. It’s as close to what’s going on in the basin as possible.” Randy Pacheco, general manager of A-Plus Well Service, said he looks at the rig report
22 | MAJESTIC LIVING | SPRING 2017
every week. “We’re very fortunate to have that information because it helps us gauge what’s happening in the industry,” he said. “When we know the rigs are busy, it helps us see where we’re at.”
Email list grows When Randall started the reports almost 20 years ago, there weren’t many people on his email list. As people learned about the reports, more and more people requested them. His personal email list for the reports has grown to more than 300 addresses. He works on the reports at home on his own time. “He’s got such a system set up,” said his wife, Karen Parker. “He never complains. He has guys leave messages on the answering machine saying, ‘Hey, can you add me to your email list?’ It doesn’t bother me at all to have
him do it at home.” The list goes to companies in and out of the San Juan Basin who want to know what’s happening here. It also goes to Four Corners Economic Development. “People look at what’s going on out there in the field and if it’s enough to create jobs,” Randall said.
seen a rig report like his. “I see companies like Chevron that put out reports daily about where their rigs are working. I’m sure other companies put out daily reports about where their rigs are working. But as far as seeing a report where it shows the different companies, I have never seen that.”
Takes 10 minutes Idea came over coffee The idea for the report began over coffee. “I was at a coffee shop one time eating with a bunch of other guys,” Randall said. “We were just talking about how Baker puts out a rig report for the United States on drilling rigs only. They were talking about how it would be nice to have something for the San Juan Basin. I thought about it and started out very small, just a few companies in the late 1990s. It went from a small report to what it is now.” He worked in the oil and gas fields for many years until he retired in 2014, and during his travels for work in many states he has never
It was initially hard to get the rig report started, but now that he has everything set up on an Excel spread sheet and companies report to him every Monday, it takes him about 10 minutes to put the report together. Six or eight years ago when oil and gas activity was brisk in the San Juan Basin, it took him two or three hours a week to put the report together. “I thought about stopping it then because it was taking more of my time than I really had,” he said. “Plus, I was working out of the area, so it was a little harder to keep up with things. Now it’s just a matter of doing it. It’s not a big hassle.”
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The information on the rig report is personally interesting to Randall because he spent a long career working in oil and gas. But he didn’t start out there.
Grocery store family He grew up in Littlefield, Texas, where he graduated from high school in 1974. His father ran a grocery store in nearby Amherst, Texas. “He sold groceries out front, and our living quarters were in the back,” Randall said. He and his siblings helped out in the store. When he attended South Plains College and Texas Tech, he did so with the intent of getting into the grocery business. He worked at Furr’s Supermarket, climbing the ladder from sack boy to stocker and checker and later to store manager in Hobbs and Artesia, New Mexico. “I knew nothing about oil and gas,” Randall said. “I never even thought about it. I always heard about the good money in it, but I just followed how I was raised.” When he was in Hobbs, someone asked him
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to put in an application for work in the oil field. He thought about it and decided to do it.
overseeing multiple rigs to be sure everything ran smoothly. “I didn’t do a whole lot of work,” he said. “The contractors out there are the ones doing all the work. Contractors make the ones that are over the projects look good. We’re just in charge to make sure everything runs smooth, and we just hoped that everything went well.” Even though he was working at many different job sites in Texas and elsewhere, he continued to put out the rig report every week. When he retired in 2014 from the drilling and completion side of the industry, he took time off from work but never stopped churning out the rig reports.
Started as roustabout “I started as a roustabout for Texaco in 1982 in Sundown, Texas,” he said. “As I got further into it, I went back to school and got the knowledge to continue on.” After three years as a roustabout, he advanced to a production tech job which involved checking on wells. From there, he worked in the safety department, then in the facility department where he helped to design well locations. “What drew me to the oil and gas more than anything was the drilling side of it,” Randall said. “Something about seeing a drilling rig or workover rig or completion rig always had my interest. It was what I wanted to chase after.” In 1990, when there was a downturn in oil, he moved to Farmington, where natural gas production was up.
Move to Farmington “Texaco needed a production tech in
Works part-time at college Farmington, and they needed someone to watch over their rig sites,” he said. “That’s the reason why I came to Farmington.” Though he kept his home in Farmington, eventually the job took him other places. For the last 12 years of his career, he was officed out of Houston, Texas. His work involved
He began working part-time at San Juan College’s School of Energy in 2015 as an industrial safety instructor. Ken Johnson, petroleum technology coordinator at the School of Energy, gets a copy of Randall’s rig reports every week. He uses those reports as a tool to keep his students informed. “We’re able to tell our students how the oil and gas industry is reacting to the different things that are going on,” Ken said. “If the oil price goes up, we’re able to see if the rig count goes up. It helps us to show our students how it works. It also helps the college in terms of actually knowing what’s happening so it’s something we can forecast against. It’s been really good for us. And the industry itself uses that report to compare themselves against each other. It’s pretty cool.”
Report will continue Randall has no plans to stop putting out the rig report. “I’ll probably do it until who knows when,” he said. “It must be something that people really like because it seems like each week I get one or two more people who want to be added to the email list. Plus there are companies out there that rely on it to make rig graphs. They show how the area is up and down. It gives the companies an idea of what is going on in the San Juan Basin.” 24 | MAJESTIC LIVING | SPRING 2017
Company provides Theobroma cacao in many delectable forms
Story and photos by Ben Brashear
Carley Snider, chocolatier and co-owner of Animas Chocolate Company, pulls a batch of cooled chocolate hearts from their molds and arranges them into rows on parchment paper in preparation for the Valentine’s Day rush. The prep room is small and has Carley and her husband Marc, dreaming of their five-year plan to expand not only production, but the physical space of ACC. Several large sacks of raw sugar sit stacked atop one another, and a stone tabletop occupies the middle of the room where the chocolate is worked. Tucked neatly in the corner is a homemade contraption made from PVC- pipe and runs on a Shop-Vac to winnow cacao nibs from empty roasted shells. Two employees wrap chocolate and it seems crowded, yet they work seamlessly.
Maya Mountain cacao plantation Carley looks up from underneath her black ACC ball cap pulled tightly over her brow, and wiping her hands on the front of her red apron she smiles and threads her way between the cash register and truffle display toward a row of several small cafe tables bathed in afternoon sunlight. The shop is cozy with tin bins filled with raw cacao beans. The shelves lining nearly every wall are brimming with confections and chocolate bars. An antique Toledo candy scale weighs a cacao pod and large framed photographs document the Snider’s last visit to Maya Mountain cacao plantation in Belize lending a sense of the adventure that is artisan chocolate making. And at an average cost of $6 dollars per pound for raw cacao beans and with crop losses averaging 30 percent per year, it’s a risky venture. Marc Snider, head chocolate maker and co-owner, emerges from his office and offers
to grab water and hot chocolate. "It’s our European hot chocolate and it’s two times thicker than our traditional hot chocolate," Carley says as she takes her seat with her back facing a large picture window that looks out over North Main Street. “I like to call it the liquid S’more.”
Working with other local, small businesses Marc places the drinks before us —the hot chocolate, garnet in color, sits in stark contrast to the white espresso cup it occupies. The drink is accompanied by three marshmallows made by a local company, Cream Bean Berry, and a SPRING 2017 | MAJESTIC LIVING | 27
gluten-free graham cracker from Gluten Free Things located in Arvada, Colorado. Working with other local and small businesses is something Marc and Carley pride themselves on. “I like to think of it as cooperation and competition, or, cooperation,” Carley says. She wasn’t joking; these are drinkable S’mores, decadent and thick. She breaks her graham cracker into smaller pieces and dips a corner of it into the chocolate and then, slowly chewing, she disappears into thought and smiles at the indulgence. It’s always interesting to reflect back on choices and their outcome in our lives. For Carley, finding her husband to be and the startup of ACC all came down to the pivotal decision of “What next?” following her graduation from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2006. She majored in history and French and was either going to 28 | MAJESTIC LIVING | SPRING 2017
move to France and teach English, or head out west to the mountains—needless to say the mountains won that coin toss.
several of the old buildings and bunkhouses on the property and happened upon an old leather journal full of baking recipes and what she thought were recipes for truffles. It was then that the spark to her vision of running her own business and making chocolate ignited, but it would be another five years before her dreams would come to fruition. “I moved on to working at the Rochester Hotel, managing and helping with the books, but I could only go so far there. I also met Marc during that time, who owned his own company, and he really made it seem possible to make the push into starting my own business,” Carley says.
Carley’s What Now? She spent her first three summers working for Tall Timbers, a wilderness resort north of Durango that is only accessible either by the Durango Silverton Narrow Gauge or by helicopter. During her time there she explored
Buys chocolate company in 2011 It was 2011 and the market was prime for a new premium chocolate producer. There was, of course, Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory and then a small independent company,
Silverton Chocolates, owned by chocolatier Josh Galloway. But Galloway operated out of the commercial kitchen at the Smiley Building creating one-off chocolates and infusions such as his green and red chile bars. He struggled to make ends meet though and that same year he opted to sell his business, providing the Sniders the opportunity to take his niche. They did just that and soon opened the doors to ACC with only four chocolate bar flavors and four kinds of truffles. Today, they now have a staggering variety of truffles and chocolates with names that pay homage to the Animas River and are ranked like river rapids, Class 1 to Class 5, for their intensity. “The Animas has always played a role since I’ve been here, we even loosely translated the idea of the River of Lost Souls to our tagline ‘Lose your soul to chocolate’,” Carley says. “Oh, and our Absinthe infused truffle is definitely a Class 5,” she laughs.
“It’s our European hot chocolate and it’s two times thicker than our traditional hot chocolate. I like to call it the liquid S’more.” — Carley Snider
International Chocolate Award Also included in their selection is the International Chocolate Award winning Colorado Cache, a whiskey infused caramel incorporating whiskey from local honey producer Honeyville. In the last two years after taking Ecole Chocolat’s Chocolate Maker course, the couple have moved from solely chocolatier to chocolate maker, with their single origin bean-to-bar chocolates. “The International Chocolate award is like the Olympics of chocolate,” Carley says. “It takes place in Europe, Asia, the North Americas and last year I covertly entered into the Americas competition without telling anyone here at the shop. I entered our Bolivia bar that made it to the final round of judging but did not medal. It was still amazing to beat out so many, being such a small shop. And then our Colorado Cache won Bronze in the caramel category.” Carley calls out to Marc over the radio playing the latest Hozier song to see if he’ll bring over a couple samples of the Bolivia and Belize chocolate.
Mom and pop store “We really are a "mom and pop" shop, I couldn’t do it without Marc,” she smiles. SPRNG 2017 | MAJESTIC LIVING | 29
Marc hands over a small ceramic dish with two samples of each bar and walking away he runs his hands through his red hair and says over his shoulder, “I really don’t know that I like the nomenclature "pop" though. I want people to start calling me Big Boss Man.” “And I want to be called Captain around here,” Carley laughs. We start first with the Belize chocolate. After biting the chocolate there are invocations of raisin and citrus that ride a smooth finish toward cherry and tobacco. It’s shocking that such flavor can be found in chocolate. We then move on to the Bolivian chocolate and the flavor is not quite as bold. It is darker, earthy and fudgy the way one thinks chocolate should taste. “Two totally different tastes and that’s all derived just from the beans. It’s incredible, really," Carley says.
It’s all in the bean ACC sources their raw cacao through Uncommon Cacao, a distributor that provides Fair Trade and Organic cacao from Maya Mountain Co-op and other small plantations. The Belize bar is made from what is known as a Trinitario cacao and the Bolivian, Marc says, is probably a Trinitario and Criollo blend. Most chocolate makers will argue that the
varietal of the bean, although there are inherent flavor profiles to each, is not all that determines flavor, but that it is also the geographic area, weather conditions, fermentation/drying and roasting process that combine to create each distinct flavor. Think of it as similar to the relationship between vineyard and wine. “It’s hard to say exactly what the beans are. Most of what we source is a Trinitario and Criollo blend,” Marc says. "It’s really difficult to get a bean that might be a pure strain. Even on the same farm since the trees easily cross-pollinate.”
What is Trinitario and Criollo? What is Trinitario and Criollo, you may be asking. Although, Harvard and the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute are discovering hundreds of varietals, cacao beans are classified into three main categories that date back to the Spaniards first arriving to South America and commercializing cacao production. They are the Criollo or “native,” which is thought to have originated in the Amazon river basin and is known for its fruity and citrus flavor. Despite its rich flavors, however, Criollo is highly susceptible to disease. Unbeknownst, the Spaniards crossed a Forastero or
“Stranger” bean from the Northern Amazon – that has a more traditional chocolate flavor and greater resistance to disease – with a Criollo bean in Trinidad in the early 1700s. Doing so they created the third variety known as Trinitario or "Trinidad," which manages to maintain the spicy to fruity flavor of the Criollo without its susceptibilities.
With chocolate, taste is everything and it has the Sniders sampling artisan chocolates anywhere they may find themselves whether, it’s in Santa Fe or San Francisco and they hopeFrance. Until then the couple are focused on
Growing distribution “With the new wave in artisan chocolate making you don’t really want to add anything in, unless you’re making an infusion. I really want to make a coffee infusion and grind the coffee beans in with the nibs,” Carley says finishing the last sip of her hot chocolate. “We make all of our bean-to-bar chocolates with two ingredients— 75 percent cacao and 25 percent raw sugar. This really allows you to taste the flavors of the chocolate.”
growing distribution to Albuquerque, Farmington and Denver, and in doing so they intend to make the transition from using sourced Belgian chocolate in their confections
to producing all of their chocolate in-house from raw cacao.
A growing industry “The industry is really booming now. There were probably 50 bean-to-barmakers in the U.S. just five years ago and now there are close to 150. “With that, companies are starting to manufacture smaller craft machinery for small-scale chocolate production and that has been one of our hold-ups — where to fit commercial equipment” Carley says. “With our experience and ability to make confections, fudge and bean-to-bar chocolate we are prepared to be successful in bigger production. Our biggest hardship has been trying to keep up with demand. It takes everything we’ve got and, like I always say, ‘there’s no crying in the chocolate shop’.”
SPRING 2017 | MAJESTIC LIVING | 31
Extraordinary littlE church Historical Society dedicates Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church as historical site Story by Dorothy Nobis Photos by Whitney Howle It was a brisk, chilly morning on December 10, 2016. A small pot-bellied stove was the only source of heat in the tiny Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church, just below Navajo Dam, east of Bloomfield. The parking lot was full of vehicles – each of them bringing friends and family to the once-a-year service held at the church. This service, however, was more than celebrating 32 | MAJESTIC LIVING | SPRING 2017
Mass and the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. This time, a dedication of the placing of a plaque commemorating the site of the church as historical was planned. The San Juan County Historical Society was founded in 1988, but honoring the site is the first historical commemoration in San Juan County, said Patricia Tharp, a member of the society, in a letter to Majestic Media.
Built in 1920 “The historic little church was built in 1920 to serve the farmers and ranchers of Los Martinez, a community that was affected when Navajo Dam was built,” Tharp said. “The church and its adjacent cemetery are all that is left (after) residents were relocated by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation in the late 1950s, when the dam was under construction.”
The San Juan County Historical Society was made aware of the tiny church in 2015, when Tharp, who was interested in the church, called Father Jim Walker, who officiates at services at the church, and asked if members of the society could attend the annual Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, held each December. Father Walker, pastor of St. Mary’s Church in Bollmfield, was most happy to have the members attend, Tharp said. “Eleven of us attended,” Tharp said. “Never in our wildest dreams did we imagine what lay before us.”
Amazing find The members of the society were amazed at the altar, the wooden pews, the choir, which sang hymns in Spanish, and the history that surrounded the church. “After the service, the tradition of following the person designated to carry the statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe and circling the church three times, passing luminarias that illuminated the site when services were held at night,” Tharp said.
According to the Catholic Culture website, “Since 1531, Our Lady of Guadalupe, or the Dark Virgin, as she is often called, has become the patron saint of the Mexican Republic. Historically and emotionally, the Virgin is
deeply woven into the life of every Mexican. During the wars of independence, she was the patroness of the Mexican armies. Almost every Mexican town has a church dedicated to Our Lady of Guadalupe. And people turn to her SPRING 2017 | MAJESTIC LIVING | 33
for help and guidance on every occasion.”
The six families At a meeting of the San Juan County Historical Society in the spring of 2016, the members decided to honor the church with the
dedication and placement of the commemorative plaque at the celebration of the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Evelyn Archuleta has been a member of Our Lady of Guadalupe for more than 50 years. Her family, however, is one of the six families
that worshiped in the church when it was built in the little town that was once called Los Martinez. In addition to the Martinez family, Velasquez, Valdez, Jacquez and the Munoz families made up the population of Los Martinez. In an article, “Someday We’ll Meet Again and Talk It Over,” that is in the files of the San Juan County Historical Society, the writer states, “Los Martinez was only one of the villages relocated by the Bureau of Reclamation when the dam was built in the 1950s. Others were Rio de los Pinos, Rio Peninsulas, Los Fragua, and Rosa. The 1880 census listed eight predominantly Spanish settlements from Bloomfield to the Colorado state line, with a total of about 90 households.”
Los Martinez “In Los Martinez, a dirt road ran along the river terrace, connecting the scattered farmhouses,” the article said. “The road rounded a bend of the San Juan, forded it, then rose sharply to the mesa top, where it wound its way to the towns of Blanco and Bloomfield.” For Evelyn Archuleta and her family, Our Lady of Guadalupe is more than a piece of San Juan County’s history. The Archuletas – Evelyn, her parents, Max and Susan, her son, David, her aunt, Delia Velasquez, and Chris Velasquez and her aunt Connie Sandoval – have cared for 34 | MAJESTIC LIVING | SPRING 2017
the church for more years than any of them can remember. “We maintain the church,” Evelyn said. “I clean it and my family paints it (when needed) and we keep the grounds clean. We go every week to check on it.”
Checking on the church Checking on the little church became a priority for Evelyn when her grandmother, Amalia Martinez died. “She was raised in the area below the dam and she raised most of her children there,” Evelyn said. “Before she died, she said, ‘I want you guys to take care of this church and not let them tear it down.’ It was her final request before she died.” The family has honored Amalia’s request since her death, but there have been challenges along the way. Staying open for those who needed and wanted the solace the church offers ended when people went into the church and vandalized it, Evelyn Archuleta said. The church is still available for weddings, which must be arranged through Father Jim Walker at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Bloomfield. Services at the little church are held just once each year – to celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe – because of the lack of priests available to preside over Mass. It is the Archuleta and Martinez families that provide a meal for the annual service, held the first Saturday closest to December 12, which is the Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe and dates back to 1531 in Mexico. This year was no different, Evelyn said. With almost 100 people crowded in – and outside of – the church, that can comfortably hold between 30-35 people, food preparation began several days before the celebration. Enchiladas, posole, beans and lots of green chile were served to the congregation at the hall of Saint Mary’s in Bloomfield. This feast is usually held at Saint Rose Catholic Church in Blanco, but because of a remodeling project at Saint Rose, the lunch was held at Saint Mary’s.
Reconnecting and sharing memories “People we haven’t seen (regularly) come from different areas for this service,” Evelyn said. “It’s a tradition that we provide a meal, and people are invited to make donations to help pay for it.” If it’s the beauty and simplicity of the service in the little church and/or the dinner that follows the service, it is the reconnecting and sharing of ties that brings most of the parishioners to the annual celebration. David Aguirre of Bloomfield has attended the annual service for ten years and was part of the choir that sang Spanish songs at this year’s celebration. His mother, Alvina, has participated for more years than David can remember. “I think it is wonderful to have our little church honored in such a way,”
SPRING 2017 | MAJESTIC LIVING | 35
David Aguirre said of the recognition by the San Juan Historical Society. “We appreciate the great honor of giving us the first marker from the Historical Society of San Juan County. What a wonderful tribute to the community of Los Martinez. I was honored to be part of the dedication and more than proud of being part of our county’s history.”
Mass every Sunday in the 1950s to the 1980s Louella Flores was raised in Blanco and remembers attending Mass every Sunday from the 1960s through the mid-1980s. “Father Myron Uhl officiated over Mass at Our Lady of Guadalupe at noon for (local families) and for visitors to Navajo Lake,” Flores said. “The visitors liked it because they could go to the lake and camp and fish and still enjoy Mass.” The little church was always full in those days, Flores added. Evelyn Archuleta has fond memories of those days. “As a teenager, we also celebrated the night before the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe,” she said. “It was beautiful – people would sing songs, pray and carry statues and walk around the church. Luminarias were lighted and that ceremony started the celebration.” Those who packed the church in the days of the late 1970s and early 1980s, were invited to the then-caretakers, the Mayordomas family, Archuleta added. “The Mayordomas opened their home to the families and refreshments and memories were shared,” Archuleta said.
A God send Amelia David also has a special connection to Our Lady of Guadalupe. As a young couple, Amelia and her husband, Robert, were anxious to have a baby. They worked with state adoption agencies, but the challenges were many and the travel to and from Albuquerque was frequent. After two years of trying to adopt, and Amelia’s age becoming a problem, Amelia said she had decided if she didn’t get pregnant, she 36 | MAJESTIC LIVING | SPRING 2017
and Robert would no longer continue their dream of adopting either. “Then we got a call from the state adoption agency,” Amelia said. “They said they had a child abandoned at a church in Albuquerque and wanted to know if we still wanted to adopt.” Two women had gone to the Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in the South Valley of Albuquerque to pray early one morning. In the quiet, the women heard a soft sound – like that of a kitten. They looked around and, in a confessional booth they found a baby wrapped up and asleep. A box of blankets and clothing was left with the baby boy. “The women called the police department and they called the baby “John Doe,” Amelia said. “Then they called us and asked if we wanted the baby.”
Lady of Guadalupe The next morning, the Davids drove to Albuquerque to the home of “the most wonderful foster parents,” said Amelia. “We walked in and the baby was in the crib. It was the most joyful thing in my whole life.” Just days before, Amelia said she had a dream. “I saw the hand of the Lord with a baby in His hand,” she said. “When I saw this baby, I knew he was from the Lord.” Sean Michael Davis is now 30 years old and is as special to his parents now as he was back then. “I’m so grateful his mother gave him up and left him in the church (for us),” Amelia said. “It has been joyful.” While Sean Michael David wasn’t left in the Our Lady of Guadalupe Church at Navajo Dam, Evelyn Archuleta said Our Lady of Guadalupe looks over her followers, offering much needed help and guidance. “I hope we continue to have services at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church,” Archuleta said. “I hope the church always remains as a tribute to the history of the families who lived there and worshipped there.” If the attendance at this year’s Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe is any indication, the generations of families, who once called that area home, will fight to keep the tiny little church that is filled with countless memories. SPRING 2017 | MAJESTIC LIVING | 37
Gene and Wendy
Schmidt
Dedicated to each other and the commuity Story by Debra Mayeux Photos by Whitney Howle It might seem cliché to say that there is a woman who supports every good man in life and career, but in the case of Dr. Gene Schmidt and his wife, Wendy, the statement couldn’t be more true. Gene and Wendy came to Farmington a little more than two years ago, when Gene was named to head Farmington Municipal Schools as the superintendent, replacing Janel Ryan. They came to town and immersed themselves in the community. “One of the beliefs Wendy and I have is to be part of the community, the first thing we did was immediately buy a home,” Gene said. “Buying a home is really important to me,” Wendy added, as the couple sat at the conference table in Gene’s office at Farmington Municipal Schools. “It’s the community that pays your salary.” Gene got involved with Rotary, Kiwanis and the Chamber of Commerce, and Wendy decided to rent retail space at the Dusty Attic. “We went into the Dusty Attic, and I thought this looks fun,” Wendy said. “I thought it would be fun to have a little booth, and I’ve met people that way.” They volunteered at the Connie Mack World Series concession stand, and they joined Sacred Heart Catholic Church. “You don’t just come to a town and take the 38 | MAJESTIC LIVING | SPRING 2017
money, your community adopts you,” Gene said. Their desire to be a part of the community led to the couple being name co-chairs of this year’s United Way Campaign. “Wendy and I were very humbled to be United Way chairs – to have the respect of the community in a relatively short time,” Gene said. Their slogan is “If our hearts are right,” and having their hearts in the right place is something they have strived for throughout their 38-year marriage. “The strength of our marriage has seen us through,” Gene said. Gene and Wendy met in the 1970s in a small town in Eastern Washington state, where he was a high school teacher and a coach and she was a hairdresser. They became partners in a life that would be a journey of hard work and dedication through the ins and outs of education.
Gene’s early life Gene knew about work. He grew up in St. John, Washington, on a “little hard scrabble farm” – a dirt farm, where the family raised cattle on the side. “If we didn’t grow it, we didn’t eat it,” he said. There were seven children in this strong Catholic family. The children worked in the family businesses, which included a small
insurance company, a laundromat and a youth center. “We were the first ones to hook the St. John’s kids on pinball machines,” Gene said. “They were a nickel then.” Gene not only worked for the family, he wrote stories and took pictures for the local newspaper, servicing a town of 400 people. His parents instilled the ethics of hard work and the value of education in their children. “His dad would say, you’ve got to get that education, that shingle (to hang on the wall),” Wendy said. Perhaps it was this focus on the value of education that helped Gene decide in the fifth grade his career goal of being a teacher. “We’d play school, and it was my life’s hope to become a teacher,” he said. Gene credits this to his fifth-grade teacher, Mr. Mayo, who realized Gene needed glasses. “I will remember him forever,” he said. Once Gene was fitted with glasses, he began reading 800-1,000 words per minute. “My academic life changed in the fifth grade, and I became a voracious reader,” he said. “The bookmobile would come to town every Thursday. I made friends with the bookmobile lady, so she would let me get five books instead of two.” Gene’s teaching skills developed at a young age, and by the sixth grade he was asked to
teach some social studies classes at the middle school. He even worked as a teacher’s aide in college.
His career begins Gene’s career as a licensed educator began in Royal City, Washington, where he worked as an English and Social Studies teacher at the middle school. One year, he decided to follow his eighth-grade students to high school and moved to Royal High School. He continued moving up each year with that same class until they graduated. “While we were there the people said, ‘You’re doing so well as a teacher, you should become a principal,” Gene said, adding that people in education sponsored him to advance his career. He and Wendy were just married, and he began the journey of going back to college. Gene commended Wendy’s “willingness” to support this decision and keep the family going while he went to school. They had their first son a year into their marriage and the second a year later. She ran her hair styling business and watched after the boys, while Gene worked and went to back to college. “It was a four-hour drive one way to get to Washington University. I took eight years of night classes,” Gene said. “It was a wonderful commitment on Wendy’s part to take care of the boys.” His first principal job came at Whaluke High School, where Gene helped build a new high school. From there the couple moved to White Pass and Grand Coulee. “It was a very rapid race around the state of Washington,” he said. The Schmidts finally settled for 10 years in Bridgeport, where Gene became superintendent. When he took over, it was ranked as the sixth worst school district out of 296 in the state of Washington. There were a lot of English language learners from families of migrant workers in the district. Test scores and achievement were low, and it was Gene’s desire to improve the district’s standing. He implemented strategic planning and got parents involved in their children’s education.
“By the time we left it was one of the best school districts in the state of Washington,” he said. In fact, the kindergarten class from the year he started in the district saw a 100 percent graduation rate, by the time Gene left.
work being done for middle schools and branding strategies for school districts. In a partnership with San Juan College, Gene and 11 other educators traveled to the Nashville Academy studying Nashville, Tenn.’s career cluster high schools.
Coming to New Mexico Gene was doing so well in Bridgeport a national recruiter hired by the Los Alamos School District contacted him about becoming the superintendent there. The Schmidts had visited New Mexico before and the idea of moving to the state was intriguing. Los Alamos had some challenges but Gene was ready to build upon the positives there. He and Wendy moved to Los Alamos and got busy. Strategic planning began and parent involvement was encouraged. In six years, the number of advanced placement, or AP, courses increased at the high school, and there were increases in the number of students of color taking advanced placement courses. More students had passing scores on those tests as well. “Los Alamos was the first school district in New Mexico to be named an AP or College Board honor roll school,” Gene said. It also was named one of the Top 500 Gold Medal Schools in the nation.
Farmington Municipal Schools “We see some of the same possibilities here, as we live and work with a number of the top teachers in the nation,” Gene said. “Farmington Schools can be as good or better than top schools in the nation – greater things can happen.” And Gene already has garnered national attention in his short time here. He was one of 25 superintendents in the nation selected to travel to Washington, D.C., and speak to the Education Advisory Board. “We talked about educational issues – what keeps you up at night,” he said. The board wanted to know what opportunities there are for researchers to looking into certain issues and help public schools. Gene was interested in innovative 40 | MAJESTIC LIVING | SPRING 2017
Career cluster These “career clusters are organized into 16 broad categories that encompass virtually all occupations from entry through professional levels and are aligned with the U.S. Department of Education's structure of career and technical education,” according to the Tennessee Department of Education. “Career clusters identify the knowledge and skills needed to follow a pathway toward career goals and provide a context for exploring the many occupational options available.” Gene and seven other educators also went to the Darden School of Business in Charlottesville, Va., to better understand “big idea design thinking,” he said, adding it is “how to break down into small parts to make a
wonderful thing happen.” The group will go back to Virginia in May to work on the project to engaging parents in a more meaningfull way in school. Gene thanked the school district for understanding the importance of “human capital” and being open to investing in new ways of approaching education. And as Gene and Wendy help reboot Farmington Schools, they will continue to dedicate themselves to each other and the community. Gene said his wife has said, “I do,” to him seven times. “Every move was another I do, and she has reinvented herself with each move. From styling hair to running Weight Watchers and joining a Western Dance group at San Juan College, Wendy becomes a part of her new community. “I’ve just found jobs as we’ve moved around,” she said. “Now, I’m enjoying being retired.” Together they agreed, “We are very proud to be part of the Farmington community. We hope to give back as much as we are given.
Desire DeDication Discipline Determination Family, community helping Herb Stenson build new wrestling facility Story by Debra Mayeux Photos by Curtis Ray Benally Wrestling changed Herb Stinson’s life. It not only inspired him to a lifelong career as an educator and coach, it became a family affair. Stinson began his high school career in the late 1960s as a football player at Aztec High School. A Japanese-American, he was athletic, but a bit shy. Coach Jerry Parker, who was Aztec’s first state wrestling champ in 1959 and 1960, had returned to his alma mater to coach wrestling. He decided to plant a seed in Stinson. “I was a football player, and Coach Parker told me I needed to go out for wrestling,” Stinson said. “It was a life-changer for me. Being of Japanese heritage, wrestling helped bring me out of being a little withdrawn.”
Wrestling Nation Stinson wrestled through high school and graduated in 1970. Wrestling had become such an important part of his life, he knew he would return to Aztec as a teacher and coach when he finished college. He did just that, becoming part of the Aztec Wrestling Nation, which has a 60-year tradition of producing wrestling champions. The program started in 1957 as an off-season program for football coach Fred Cook. Aztec added a middle school program in 1970 and a youth program in 1979.
Stinson has been in the thick of it since the 1960s, and even after retiring from the head coach position in 2000, he continues to work on advancing the program. Stinson has coached for 43 consecutive years and is an assistant coach with Aztec Wrestling. He also helped found the Aztec Wrestling Nation to grow the wrestling program by providing area wrestlers with a place to practice and to compete. The grassroots organization is working to raise $32,000 to build a new 100-by-150-foot, state-of-the-art wrestling facility.
He was there when Aztec High School was built Stinson was there in the 1970s when Aztec High built its 40-by-50-foot wrestling facility, in which the wrestling teams from elementary, middle and high schools have been packing themselves. Stinson said it is time for a new facility. The current independent wrestling room 42 | MAJESTIC LIVING | SPRING 2017
was built in 1970, and was a state-of-the-art facility at that time, Stinson said. “We’ve outgrown the room. It’s too small,” Stinson said, adding that his vision is to build a community wrestling facility. This new building would have enough space for two wrestling mats to ensure for safe and adequate space for all of the wrestlers. It would have a viewing room to allow families and the community to watch practices. There also would be a study hall to promote the wrestling community’s commitment to promoting the student first. “Get a high school education. Then, you are an athlete,” Stinson said. “Being an athlete is a privilege.” The building also would have an area dedicated to Aztec’s rich history in wrestling, along with space for banquets and meetings. “It would be a gathering place for the community,” Stinson said. “We have 250 young men and women in Aztec who compete in wrestling nine months out of the year.”
Wrestling Coach from 1979 to 2000 Stinson was head coach from 1978 through 2000. He took the program over, when former Coach Jerry Parker retired. Stinson soon built upon Parker’s legacy. He earned Aztec 15 New Mexico championship titles and eight runner-up titles. There were 104 individual state champions, and the team was nationally ranked 10 times with a third place national ranking in the ’90s. Wrestling even became a family affair for Stinson. His sons Jeremy and Travis were on the team and his daughter Tonya was the team manager. It all started when she was in 8th grade. There was a wrestling meet at Farmington High School. “He didn’t have anyone to do the stats,” Tonya said. Her father called home and asked Tonya’s mother to bring her to the meet. “I learned that day on the spot and did it from that day on.”
Desire, dedication, discipline and determination Tonya loved doing this for her father, because it was a great bonding experience. Her brothers were on the team, and now she was a part of it. “Aztec Wrestling is all I’ve ever known – me and my brothers and my mom hauling us around to events. I loved everything about it and everything it taught to athletes.” Herb had his wrestlers live by the Four Ds of Success, which are on the wall in the wrestling room. They are: Desire, Dedication, Discipline and Determination. These are pillars of success in wrestling and in life, Tonya said. “Learning those things help you to be successful in life,” she said. In wrestling, athletes work for their team, but they go out on the mat by themselves. They have to be prepared to take on what is coming their way, and then have the desire, dedication, discipline and determination to win. Under Herb’s guidance and leadership, the team and his sons did win. Jeremy became a three-time state champion in 1993, ’94 and ’95; and Travis was a state champion in 1997. Stinson’s team earned state championship titles in 1982 and from 1990 through 2000. The team earned runner-up titles in 1980, ’81 and ’83, and third place titles in 1986, ’88 and ’89. The team was nationally ranked in 1991, ’92, ’93, ’94, ’97, ’98, ’99 and 2000 through 2002. Wrestling is so popular in Aztec, even Koogler Middle School has received 14 basin championship titles.
on the mat.” It is his goal to offer area youth a “safe, inclusive and fun learning and development environment in which athletes will be taught tools to be successful on the mat and in life,” according to the Aztec Wrestling Nation’s mission statement on the website, www.aztecwrestlingnationnm.com. That is why the new facility will be equipped with state-of-the-art equipment and a study hall. “Grades are very important for us,” Tonya said. She and Herb are leading the fundraising efforts, while also attempting to get the community involved in the wrestling program. There is a Facebook page and the website. “These are to share the success of all the programs and keep people connected while building a sense of pride in the program,” Tonya said.
Herb won’t stop until the building is complete So far the Aztec Wrestling Nation has re-
ceived more than 50 percent of the funds needed to complete the facility with more than $100,000 in donations from WPX Energy and a number of individuals. “There are so many people who have helped the program get to where it is today,” Tonya said. The wrestling teams also bring a suitcase to every event, and people can drop money into it. The goal is to raise $200,000 for the new facility. “Every dollar goes to the bank to build the building,” Herb said. “When that building is built it will be theirs. Everybody will be a winner. Everybody is going to get something out of it.” Tonya added, “My dad and I will not stop until this is done. It’s important to my dad, and it’s important to me.” Donations can be made to the Aztec Wrestling Nation by visiting the website, aztecwrestlingnationnm.com, or by attending a wrestling event and putting money in the suitcase.
The distant future needs your immediate attention. Successful people are often the busiest people. The day-to-day demands of their careers usually leave them little time to focus on their investments. And that’s where I come in. Ron Dalley
Wrestling sometimes is misunderstood Wrestling is an extremely popular sport for both girls and boys. Throughout the country there are 250,000 males and 12,000 females involved in high school wrestling. Stinson, however, believes that wrestling sometimes is “misunderstood.” “You have to have self-discipline to be a wrestler – to accomplish and set a goal in your mind,” Herb said. “The most important attribute is self-discipline, because you can’t hide
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SPRING 2017 | MAJESTIC LIVING | 43
Freenotes Harmony Park and Donna Codd Making music accessible to everyone in the community Story by Margaret Cheasebro Photos by Whitney Howle Donna Codd was in her late 40s when she and her family moved to Durango to retire. That was the plan. But it didn’t work that way. They settled in a house next door to Richard Cooke, a Grammy winning musician who built outdoor musical instruments in his 44 | MAJESTIC LIVING | SPRING 2017
garage. Richard, his wife and his nephew had become so successful at it that he was at a crossroads: start a business or quit making the wildly popular instruments. He had no marketing system or website. What he did have was the inventive know-how and the passion to
build outdoor musical instruments that anyone could play successfully without any previous experience.
Drowning in orders “He was getting so busy that he was just
drowning,” Donna said. “People were so taken with these instruments that they would track down the people who bought them. They would find out how to get hold of the guy who made them, and they would call him up and order some for their community.” As Donna and her husband, Mike Torres, got to know Richard and his family, they heard about his dilemma. They asked him, “Why would you not make a real business out of it? It sounds like it’s something people want, and it’s a great thing for the world to have.” Richard loved music, and he loved to invent, but the idea of managing people and running a company didn’t appeal to him. That was right up Donna’s alley. Since her late teens in Albuquerque, New Mexico, she had worked for startup software companies, helping them to build their businesses from scratch. She eventually began her own consulting company. After the family moved to California, Donna took a job with a software company in Del Mar, where she worked for six years.
Voluntary layoff “The company ended up having some major issues and laid off a bunch of people,” Donna said. “So I just took a voluntary layoff.” That was in the early 2000s. Because they had loved visiting Durango when they lived in Albuquerque, Mike and Donna decided to retire there. It was an easy drive to Albuquerque, where their grandkids live. What they didn’t realize was that they’d live next door to a man who really needed their business and technology skills. “I love Donna,” Richard said. “I can’t say enough wonderful things about her. She has so much caring, dedication and professionalism.” Donna began working for Richard part time. Mike helped too. He has an extensive background working for software and technology companies. “We did an accounting system and got that set up first,” she said. “Then we started working on a website and a catalog and actually putting their name and contact information on the instruments so people could find them easier. And it just exploded.”
On five continents That was 2010. Today, Freenotes Harmony
Park is located at 194 Bodo Drive in Durango. Its outdoor musical instruments are in parks, churches, schools, hospitals, day care centers, senior centers, assisted living facilities, and corporate campuses on five continents. They can be found in the United States, Chile, Peru, Australia, China, Taiwan, Canada and several countries in Europe. “The instruments bring such joy to people of all ages,” said Arlene George, who was Freenotes’ distribution sales manager until she recently moved to Denver. “They can be played by anyone with any ability. I have heard wonderful stories about kids with sensory processing disorders using the instruments to interact with parents when they normally can’t do so. I’ve heard stories of people walking a path with Freenotes instruments spread along a trail for their daily exercise.”
CEO for five years Donna has been the CEO of Freenotes for the last five years, and Mike handles their website, social media, and Internet technology. “Our website presence is critical to the company,” Donna said. “That’s how most people find us.” In the fall of 2016, Freenotes was acquired by PlayCore of Chattanooga, Tennessee. PlayCore’s goal is to build communities through play. Freenote’s goal is to build communities through playing music. “It was so great to find another company that had the same goals,” Donna said. “They own a lot of companies that make playground equip-
ment, shade structures and benches. It’s a really good synergistic acquisition.”
Designs new instruments Richard and his wife had always hoped the company would become successful enough that a buyer would acquire it. Then they could retire. But Richard isn’t retired. He has a consulting contract with Freenotes. “He still designs new instruments. I still run things by him all the time. We’re still neighbors,” said Donna. “He’s a brilliant, brilliant man. We keep Richard busy where Richard does his best work. He is great with the instruments and inventing new ones and figuring out the sound components and how to make them fun and easy for people.”
TedX Talk Last year, Richard gave a TedX Talk titled “When We Redesign Instruments, Everyone Becomes a Musician” www.youtube.com/ watch?v=04VbxnzUwes. In it, he explained how his own frustrations with learning the notes on a page and getting the fingering right led him to give up on music until he discovered the freedom of playing music instinctively. He wanted to provide others with that same joy. To do it, he had to knock down several barriers. To overcome the hurdle of wrong notes, he took out all the wrong notes. The instruments are built in a way that likens them to using only white notes on a piano with no black keys, sharps or flats. He built instruments that people could play without knowing anything about how to move their fingers. All they had to do was SPRING 2017 | MAJESTIC LIVING | 45
grasp a mallet and hit the instrument. Out came beautiful, resonant tones that made people want to keep playing. He chose building materials such as PVC pipe and anodized aluminum that never went out of tune and seldom needed maintenance. He designed the instruments so no difficult thinking was needed to play them successfully. He put them in public parks so everyone could use them. Then they could enjoy playing music with others and experience the delight of jamming. “Now,” Richard said, “there are no barriers between the one percent of people who can play music and the 99 percent who wish they could.” These days, he is in the process of creating a music curriculum for classroom teachers to help kids play their own music.
The instruments are still played there every day. Many people have discovered Freenotes as a result of that park. One of those people is Kody Farley, a freshman at Farmington High School and a member of Boy Scout Troop 151. When he picked his Eagle Scout project, he remembered how much fun he and his family had playing those instruments in Moab. “He loves music,” said Keely Farley, Kody’s mom. “He was looking for an Eagle Scout project he could do that would be music based.” Kody wanted every child to have the opportunity to make beautiful music even if they didn’t have the opportunity to take private music lessons. “I know what a powerful influence good music can be in a person’s life,” he said.
Farmington needs one! Moab, Utah Rotary Park The first public park to install the outdoor musical instruments was Moab, Utah’s Rotary Park in 1995. It is the largest music park in the world.
When he saw the outdoor musical instruments at Santa Rita Park in Durango, they reminded him of the park in Moab. “That’s it!” he thought. “Farmington needs one of these.”
He found the Freenotes website at www.freenotesharmonypark.com, and was surprised to learn the business was located in Durango. With his family’s support, he contacted Donna, and his Eagle Scout project took shape. “We actually get dozens of requests every year from Eagle Scouts,” Donna said. “Most of them want to have our designs so they can build an instrument themselves, which, of course, we can’t provide. That is our intellectual property. Nor do I think most of them would be able to build most of these instruments themselves. Kody decided he would take a different approach.” It was Kody’s plan to raise money and install some instruments at the E3 Children’s Museum and Science Center on Orchard Street in Farmington. He collected many items from family and church members for a yard sale, and he asked business people to donate money for the project. Their response was supportive and generous. With community support, Kody was able to install four outdoor musical instruments in front of the children’s museum.
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Freenotes was wonderful Kody was impressed with the people at Freenotes Harmony Park. “They were wonderful!” he exclaimed. “They took the time to sit down and talk to me and help me make this project a reality.” Donna encourages people who plan a fundraising event for the instruments to have at the fundraiser one of the instruments they would like to buy. Then people can see, feel, touch, hear, and play with it. “If they understand what the money is for, you’ll raise the money pretty much every time,” she said. “It’s never failed yet. We’ll ship you an instrument to have at the fundraising event.” Several area music parks Several area communities have installed Freenotes’ outdoor musical instruments in parks. In addition to the Rotary Park in Moab and the Santa Rita Park in Durango, there’s one at the Ignacio Community Center in Ignacio, Colorado. Rio Rancho has A Park Above near West Side and Unser. “I went and visited A Park Above because my grandchildren live right next to it,” Donna said. “They put in a music area as part of the park. It’s for anyone with any kind of abilities. I saw what I think was a young man who had cerebral palsy; in a wheelchair. His caretaker wheeled him up to a swing, and he got to swing. Oh, my gosh, the smile on his face! Then they went over to the instruments, where he could actually play them.”
Pretty soon there were boys all over the instruments. Some were playing them, others were dancing. They stayed like 30 minutes playing and having a fantastic time. Then they all together calmly and quietly walked away. They were so involved in using and enjoying the instruments that they didn’t vandalize them.”
Where’s your music park? Donna and her Freenotes staff members are convinced that having music in a community reduces vandalism. “I look forward to the time when there are instruments in every community,” she said. “Everybody knows about them and gets to enjoy them, and people ask the question, ‘Where’s your music park?’ It should be that common.”
Music reduces vandalism Further afield, a Rotary Club in Minneapolis, Minnesota, wanted to donate several Freenotes instruments for a park. The city discouraged the idea because they thought the instruments would be vandalized. But the Rotarians offered to donate the instruments and install motion activated cameras to record what happened. They believed that having music in a community would reduce vandalism. “It’s been five years now,” Donna said, “and no vandalism.” Not even when a group of teenage boys came into the park together. The cameras recorded what happened. “One boy started playing an instrument,” she said. “Another boy went to another instrument. SPRING 2017 | MAJESTIC LIVING | 47
M L
Coolest Things
We New Mexicans are never fond of cloudy days and there have been far too many this winter. Now it is time to shake off the gloom and look forward to brighter longer days, beautiful sunsets and a renewed sense of purpose. Here’s hoping for a kinder and gentler year than 2016. Hopefully, some of these Coolest Things can help along the way!
3
Spring is on the way
1 4 2 1
NO MORE TEXTING AND BIKING
2
DOES EVERYTHING BUT FLUFF YOUR PILLOWS
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BABY’S NEW BEST FRIEND
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CHECK YOUR WRIST BEFORE LEAVING THE BAR
LeEco smart bikes www.lemall.com/us/bike
Sleep Number 360 smart bed www.sleepnumber.com
Aristotle voice assistant www. Mattel.com
BACtrack Skyn buzz killer www.bactrack.com
Watching the bicyclists speed down New York streets while staring at their phones is scary enough. Integrating a 4-inch Android touch screen into the bicycle for navigation, music playback and walkie-talkie talking to other people not watching where they’re going, as LeEco has done, is just asking for trouble. But useful! LeEco smart bikes Pricing will be released in May
Not everyone has pets to lie on their feet and keep them toasty. So Sleep Number made a bed that knows when you’ve got cold feet and turns heat on at the bottom of the bed. In theory, the mattress changes its Sleep Number settings to compensate for changes in position, and while it can’t stop someone snoring, if it senses you are, it raises your head to reduce your volume. Price varies by the comfort padding material King-sized 360 starts at $4,000
It’s a baby monitor. It’s an Amazon Alexa voice-activated smart assistant. It answers your questions, and maybe your kids’ questions, too. It orders more diapers when you run out, and soothes babies back to sleep automatically. It’s the Aristotle, by toymaker Mattel, and it sounds like a new parent’s dream gadget. Available June 2017 $299
Breathalyzers are fine, but the Skyn band tracks your blood-alcohol content in real time and proves to you that you’re a lightweight. However, if you’re drunk, you just might not be able to read that screen. Give your bartender an extra tip to read it for you. $300
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5 6
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8 5
KEEP YOUR HOME CYBER SAFE
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GAMING AT HOME AND ON THE GO
Cujo, defender of networks www.getcujo.com
Nintendo Switch Pre-order at www.Nintendo.com
There is a boatload of companies offering firewalls to stand between your home network and the evil outsiders who want to compromise your security. At least this one is cute and relatively inexpensive. CUJO smart firewall brings business-level Internet security to protect all of your home devices. Mobile App monitors your wired and wireless network activity with a sleek iPhone or Android app. It connects to your wireless router with an Ethernet cable. Guard your network and smart devices against hacks, malware, and cyber threats. $92.47
Nintendo Switch has a screen inside the console itself. You can remove the handheld part from its cradle (the screen part looks a bit like a smaller Wii U pad) and continue your game on the move. So, you can switch (yes, the clue is in the name) from playing on the sofa to playing while you’re out and about. And there is a multitude of ways to set up your Switch, whether you’re letting it stay put or holding it in your hands. Switch launch date: March 3. You can preorder yours today. $299.99
7
SWIVEL, PLANT, AND REPEAT
Plow & Hearth Rolling Scoot-N-Do Garden Seat www.amazon.com Gardening is easier when you can sit, swivel and roll! Our back-saving Gardener’s Supply Tractor Scoot lets you work from a seated position virtually anywhere in your yard or garden. Thanks to your input, Plow & Hearth made this customer favorite even more comfortable and easier to use. First, they added a longer handle so you can pull the Scoot behind you like a wagon. Heavy-duty construction, with pneumatic tires and a swiveling, height-adjustable seat from 16" to 19" high Starting at $89
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BURN BEFORE YOU CHURN
Kickball Ice Cream Maker www.hammacher.com Ice cream is good, but the number of calories it packs is high. Simply put, you will need to burn the lot of those calories unless you want to pack on the pounds. This Kickball Ice Cream Maker makes sure you do just that. Just like a regular kickball, you can kick it around the park or the front yard, working up a sweat and burning some of those fat stores in the process. Unlike them, the ball actually makes ice cream while it gets played with, churning all the contents while it gets kicked, shaken, and rolled around. $34.95 SPRING 2017 | MAJESTIC LIVING | 49
Free birds
continued from 12
“Don’t bring any of that stuff from home where you have to have the house clean. When you get there, decide do you want or don’t want to do something. If one doesn’t want to, don’t be devastated. Just appreciate the time together rather than what you might be missing that day. With us it’s always ‘Do you want to do this?’ She might say I don’t feel like doing that. I say okay, that’s fine. Let’s go to the restaurant and get something to eat and come up to the room and watch movies. I never get upset if she doesn’t want
to do something, and she doesn’t get upset if I don’t want to do something and she does.”
Stay comfortable It’s important to take raincoats and umbrellas in wet weather. “If you’re warm in the cold, you’ll have a better trip,” Amanda said. “If you’re dry in rain, you’ll have a more enjoyable trip. It’s easy to get grouchy if you’re soaking wet or you’re too cold. Part of getting along is to be comfortable. When you’re tired, rest. When you’re not, go.”
Though tours have their advantages, they often don’t give you very long in any one spot to explore. Some of Bodine’s and Amanda’s most satisfying trips have been ones that are long enough that they don’t feel rushed. They plan to keep traveling together because they enjoy it. “Amanda and I have a very special relationship,” Bodine said. “I just love my daughter to death, and I’m glad I get to travel with her.”
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