Here are some excerpts of my favorite travel writings.
Wildcat Road Trip: Albuquerque, N.M
By: Kelly Lewis
Issue date: 7/11/07 Section: News
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Albuquerque is like escargot: Some people love it, and others won't go anywhere near it. After a weekend of poetry, music and dining at delicious little corner bistros, I can now confidently say that I love escargot … or, at least, Albuquerque.
Built similar to Tucson on a grid that extends into Downtown, Albuquerque's main road, Central Avenue, has just about everything you need.
Trying to find the University of New Mexico? Try Central Avenue. A hip and trendy clothing shop? Central Avenue. A little diner called Lindy's where the manager will scratch your itchy back and tell you horror stories about the way the police act toward Downtown drunkards on a Saturday night? Well … you get the idea.
In many ways, Albuquerque is still a town that's trying to figure out just what it is.
The people are either very friendly or kind of scary, and although the houses are nice in certain areas, you can tell that crime is a big issue there.
For example, a friend of mine from Albuquerque was blown away when he visited Tucson and saw that some of our parks kept their basketball nets on throughout the night.
But if you look past the feeling that you might get robbed if you wander into the wrong neighborhood, Albuquerque is a town filled with culture and pride.
Almost all of the poetry that I heard while attending an annual spoken word event called the Southwest Shootout Regional Poetry Slam centered on either the use of Spanish in poetry or the theme of reclaiming the land and identity that was temporarily taken after the Mexican-American War and the acquisition that followed in 1848.
And, boy, do they like their food hot. And I mean HOT. In a town known to some as the "chile capital of the world," you'd be hard-pressed to find a plate of food that doesn't make your mouth tingle. Or burn.
If you're looking for a giant plate of authentic Mexican food at a bargain, check out Los Cuates, 4901 Lomas Blvd. Careful, portions are typical of food in Albuquerque: large and slightly overwhelming.
If you're in the mood for something different, I recommend Central Park Deli, 918 Central Ave. Its French toast is to die for, and its breakfast burritos, complete with red or green chile, are only 99 cents.
There are a million different things that make Albuquerque awesome, but I most enjoyed hearing stories from the locals who have lived there their entire lives. Almost everyone I met had a memory they were anxious to share with me, and with so much history packed into one place, I found myself wishing I had a few extra days to absorb it all.
But, with only a seven-hour drive from Tucson, I guess there's always next weekend.
Built similar to Tucson on a grid that extends into Downtown, Albuquerque's main road, Central Avenue, has just about everything you need.
Trying to find the University of New Mexico? Try Central Avenue. A hip and trendy clothing shop? Central Avenue. A little diner called Lindy's where the manager will scratch your itchy back and tell you horror stories about the way the police act toward Downtown drunkards on a Saturday night? Well … you get the idea.
In many ways, Albuquerque is still a town that's trying to figure out just what it is.
The people are either very friendly or kind of scary, and although the houses are nice in certain areas, you can tell that crime is a big issue there.
For example, a friend of mine from Albuquerque was blown away when he visited Tucson and saw that some of our parks kept their basketball nets on throughout the night.
But if you look past the feeling that you might get robbed if you wander into the wrong neighborhood, Albuquerque is a town filled with culture and pride.
Almost all of the poetry that I heard while attending an annual spoken word event called the Southwest Shootout Regional Poetry Slam centered on either the use of Spanish in poetry or the theme of reclaiming the land and identity that was temporarily taken after the Mexican-American War and the acquisition that followed in 1848.
And, boy, do they like their food hot. And I mean HOT. In a town known to some as the "chile capital of the world," you'd be hard-pressed to find a plate of food that doesn't make your mouth tingle. Or burn.
If you're looking for a giant plate of authentic Mexican food at a bargain, check out Los Cuates, 4901 Lomas Blvd. Careful, portions are typical of food in Albuquerque: large and slightly overwhelming.
If you're in the mood for something different, I recommend Central Park Deli, 918 Central Ave. Its French toast is to die for, and its breakfast burritos, complete with red or green chile, are only 99 cents.
There are a million different things that make Albuquerque awesome, but I most enjoyed hearing stories from the locals who have lived there their entire lives. Almost everyone I met had a memory they were anxious to share with me, and with so much history packed into one place, I found myself wishing I had a few extra days to absorb it all.
But, with only a seven-hour drive from Tucson, I guess there's always next weekend.
Burning Man!
Burning Man a mixed bag
Art festival offers best, not so good, of green living
By: Kelly Lewis
Issue date: 9/4/07 Section: News
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Either way, Burning Man, an art festival held in Black Rock City, Nev., turns a few heads.
For one, there are masses of people, about 45,000, decked to the fullest in costumes that consist of chaps, tutus, glow paint and full-frontal nudity.
And yes, there are a few individuals who party too hard and end up sunburned in the extreme heat of the desert, passed out in the dirt or whisked off via helicopter to the nearest hospital because they fell upside down from a multiple-story art sculpture and broke an arm.
After spending Labor Day weekend at my first-ever Burning Man and witnessing all that the event has to offer, I can tell you firsthand that it is not for the faint of heart.
To make it through Burning Man, you must be prepared to deal with extreme temperatures and powerful dust storms that reduce your line of vision to about one foot in front of your face. Not so fun.
Likewise, there are days when you have to be a trooper, enduring the joys of porta-potties and the smell of body odor.
The event is set up circularly, like a clock, housing most of the art sculptures in the center, which can make for a long bike ride or walk from the surrounding campsites. The event is a mecca for extreme art, including 30-foot art sculptures of welded semi-trucks stacked together to form an arced "S" and a crawl space for admirers, and intricate light installations digitally programmed to form different patterns in neon light.
During one week out of the year, Black Rock City transforms from a desert into a sustainable habitat for "burners," with a large emphasis on picking up after yourself as you leave.
This year's theme of the "Green Man" placed heavy importance on "leaving no trace" and living as environmentally friendly as possible.
Many individuals whom I spoke with traveled in vans that ran on vegetable oil, while others worked to reduce waste as much as possible by handing out trash bags or forming compost heaps.
Though the event culminates in "burns," which are not exactly environmentally friendly, Burning Man organizers donate excess wood to Habitat for Humanity.
Perhaps one of the most shocking things about Burning Man is the risk of injury.
In past years, individuals have been run over and killed by "art cars," or double- or triple-decker buses that roam around the desert blasting music and instigating dance parties.
This year a suicide by hanging, which was originally mistaken as an art project and went unnoticed for nearly two hours, pointed towards the dangers apparent at the festival.
Although many have pointed toward the number of participants and the number of injuries as proving the safeness of Burning Man, there are dangerous activities to beware.
I did not witness any injuries in my time at the festival, nor did I hear talk of the suicide among other participants. For the most part, Black Rock City and all of the "burners" who converge there once a year present a picture of members of a community helping one another out.
See someone who looks thirsty? Give them water.
Need a ride home from the event? Just ask around.
And while the dust storms have left me creased in desert powder that will not rinse out, the event left me stimulated by a community of individuals who seem to be more or less proactive about the kind of world they would like to live in.
Burners seem to show no fear of who they are or the ways in which they express themselves. That, in itself, was worth the money and time it took to make it to Black Rock City.
Perhaps one of the most shocking things about Burning Man is the risk of injury.
In past years, individuals have been run over and killed by "art cars," or double- or triple-decker buses that roam around the desert blasting music and instigating dance parties.
This year a suicide by hanging, which was originally mistaken as an art project and went unnoticed for nearly two hours, pointed towards the dangers apparent at the festival.
Although many have pointed toward the number of participants and the number of injuries as proving the safeness of Burning Man, there are dangerous activities to beware.
I did not witness any injuries in my time at the festival, nor did I hear talk of the suicide among other participants. For the most part, Black Rock City and all of the "burners" who converge there once a year present a picture of members of a community helping one another out.
See someone who looks thirsty? Give them water.
Need a ride home from the event? Just ask around.
And while the dust storms have left me creased in desert powder that will not rinse out, the event left me stimulated by a community of individuals who seem to be more or less proactive about the kind of world they would like to live in.
Burners seem to show no fear of who they are or the ways in which they express themselves. That, in itself, was worth the money and time it took to make it to Black Rock City.
