Reznjun

we left our lodging this morning at 5 oclock. we had to catch a train to agua calientes which is at the bottom of the hill of machu picchu. the train followed the river. you could see the white water of the rapids. several years ago it rained so much it washed out the train tracks. we transferred to a bus that took us on a ride that had me wondering. it was back and forth up the mountain in a series of hair pin turns. we met other busses full of turistos. there was barely enough room to pass each other on the narrow road. the scary part was seeing straight down the mountain side. there were only a few places that had guard rails.

after the ride we finally arrived at machu picchu early in the morning. thats the reason we left so early. so we could beat the turistos to the site. we walked and walked and walked. we covered part of it and had lunch. our tour group has 14 people in it. after lunch about half went back to the hotel. i continued on with the tour. most of the tourists left early. it is considered to be the start of the fall season here. because the place became kinda deserted compared to the morning crowd our tour guide asked if we wanted to do something that wasnt on the tour. we said sure. so he took us on a hike up part of the incan trail.

that was quite a hike. we walked along just a narrow trail on the side of the mountain. you could look down and see the river way below. they said you had to lean back against the rocks or you could fall forward. we climbed higher and higher. i marveled that i made the walk. it is at altitude and is a steep climb. i figured the cheap cigars i smoked would prevent me from enjoying all of the tour. but i hung in there. we followed the incan trail until we came to a bridge. after the bridge the trail was covered over. that was part of the escape route the incans took back in the day. the trail was covered to prevent those following from catcing up with them. it was a good adventure to walk that trail.

so far on this trip i have taken over 900 pictures. i also shot video. i know i have taken many good pictures. maybe a few bad ones but probably not that many. photography has been a hobby of mine for years. i also bought a brand new nikon camera with an extra battery just for this trip. i didnt want to miss any shots because i had a cheap camera. or because the batteries died on me. i have been lucky in that i can charge my camera batteries every night at the hotels i stayed at. they are rather nice places to stay. plus i dont need a converter to use american products. i am on public access computers so i cant post any of my pictures.

another thing i am enjoying is the food. i am staying away from american type dishes. so far i have tried octopus, shrimp, trout, several kinds of potatoes, lots of fresh fruits, guinea pig, raw fish, and other dishes i dont even know the names for. it is all good. havent had one bad meal.

i wont get to go soak in the hot springs here. the locals say the place isnt kept clean. oh well.  i wonder what the rest of the  trip will be like. i will see…

it was another full day today. we got up at 5 and caught a plane to cuzco. we then took a tour bus up and around the mountains. we stopped a ruins site in the hills. it used to be where incan nobility lived up on the top. the commoners worked the fields below. and the soldiers manned an outpost over looking the river. it was a steep climb to the top. we stopped at various places to rest. i was tired the first one hundred yards going up. then i caught a second wind. maybe it was the coca leaves i was chewing. after that i was okay. i made it to the top and took over 100 pictures. i also shot some video. we stopped at two market places. i am trying to get good deals. i just dont know what i am looking for. it is hard for me to buy sweaters when winter is a long way off.

we stopped for lunch. it was a great meal we had. i am eating the local foods. there was a horse show going on while we were eating. we made it to where we are staying for the night. we each get a huge cottage instead of a hotel room. i went to eat and ordered the guinea pig.i had to try that while i was here.

tomorrow we take a train to machu picchu. it will be an all day thing. i will take plenty of pictures and video. we will stay at the foot of the mountain. they have hot springs there. i will work in a soak sometime. so far the altitude hasnt bothered me. i even smoked a cigar. i havent scored a cuban cigar yet. maybe later on the trip. will post again when i get a chance. i have to get up at five.

i traveled all day yesterday to get here. i was a bit tired last night but had no problem going to sleep. the flight from houston to lima was over 6 and a half hours. i watched a movie on the plane ‘i bought a zoo’. i started reading a book i bought at the airport. it is called buddha something. i just finished about half the book so i dont know the whole title. it is about japanese women that immigrated to this country in the early 1800s. it is about how they were treated, which was not very good.

today we had breakfast at the hotel. i am staying at the doubletree hotel. it is designed to accomodate turistos. we get free bottled water since they dont recommend drinking the local water. some say even that is probably not very true anymore. i got back from shopping early enough to write my blog.

we went to a cathedral today. we toured the catacombs. that part wasnt real cool with me. i dont like to be around the bones of 25,000 people. they were stacked up in places as a display.  after we left there we went to a museum. we seen lotsa of artifacts. we went to a part of the ceramic displays to view the erotic section. it showed pottery that had pretty sexually explicit scenes. it was quite a change from touring a cathedral. i took pictures of them for my twisted friends to view when i get   home.  i probably took over 150 pictures today as well as taking video. i tried to take pictures of people on the streets. i am amazed that most people here are brown people. but i havent seen too many indians yet. the tour guide said that being called an indian was a derogatory term. i said yeah kinda like in america. several people has recognized that we are indians from north america. one said they kinda figured that. musta been my cheek bones.

we went to a market to shop. i bought a t shirt with peru on it. i bought a t shirt and hat for my grandson. i really miss that little guy. i also bought a straw hat that i will probably end up wearing to pow wows or our dance. it is not a bad looking hat. just needs an eagle feather in it. and a beaded head band. i will wear that hat when we go on tours.

the hotel has a casino in it. i will play a few bucks. i noticed a couple more around town. i wont spend myvacation in them. i could have stayed home and gambled. but then i do have to try.  i better get busy because the tour group has to meet for supper. i will have sea food. i could have hamburgers in america. i am enjoying the food so far. well i better get going. will keep my blog going if i can find a computer to get on. my phone dont work. i wont get to post pictures either. at any rate i gotta go….

yesterday i went out and picked nenwuzhek. i washed and cut them up and put them in freezer bags . freezing them aint native but neither is eating big macs.  ended up with 3 and a half gallons. that is a good start. last year i picked 6 gallons. the plants are still young. i can pick some more when i get back.  everything is early this year because of the weather. i talked to a lady  that asked if i would can the nenwuzhek. i said no. i am ready to adios on out of here. canning takes some time to do.  i had to finish packing.

i am getting anxious to go now. i board a plane tomorrow morning. it will seem like forever before i go. i have one more day of work today. it may or may not drag on. probably just feel like it. i hope i havent forgotten anything. i got someone fixing my tiller.  my son will watch my house. my sister in law will feed my animals. my still and video cameras batteries are charged.  i got my passport out of mothballs. it hasnt been used for 7 years. not since the european vacation. it only has three countries stamped in it. i still have to swing by the clinic to pick up my meds.

i checked the weather in peru. temperatures will be in the 60s and 70s. i will be at altitude. i dont know whether to pack a jacket or not. i wouldnt mind buying one there. i wont take my hoodie. you can get shot in america for wearing them. i packed a rain poncho instead of an umbrella. i was hoping to have room to bring things back. i may have to repack with that in mind. i even may take some of my clothes out with the idea i can buy some there. but i wonder if they have pow wow size. down in mexico they used to look at me and say ‘grande’.  i just hope they have plenty of columbian coffee there and hopefully cuban cigars. i called my phone company and they said my phone wont work there. but if i am near a wifi connection i can do email and web browsing. and most importantly facebook. i will definitely miss my grandson andrew. i just hope the little guy dont forget me.

when i am in machu picchu i promise i wont do any hippie stuff. like ‘i can feel the energy’ this is some kind of vortex or something. nor will i be like the wacko experts that swear everything there was built by space aliens since the indians couldnt possibly do that. perhaps i may chew on some coca leaves. like maybe a gunny sack full. anyway……hope this day flies by.

people have been asking me if i am all excited about going to peru. you get to a certain age and there arent many things to get all excited about. i started to pack yesterday so yes i am getting ready. i have looked forward to this trip for the past few years. i started saving for it for that long. i dont think of it as a bucket list because i am not preparing to die. i have alot of life left to live. my only concern is where will i go for the next trip.

i grew up on this rez when we had nothing. and i mean nothing.  i read about places while growing up. they seemed like a distant world. since then i have visited a few of those places.  i was lucky enough to climb the pyramid of the sun near mexico city. and i climbed the pyramids in copa and chichen itza. i toured tulum. i got to see stonehenge, the roman coliseum, the fountains of trevi, the louvre, the eiffel tower. i rode a double decker bus in london and ate fish and chips. i climbed the mounds in cahokia and the serpent mound. i got to smoke my pipe on mounds over looking the mississippi river and a mound where a potawatomi chief is buried. not bad for what was a backward rez injun.  now i get to add machu picchu.

i went to kansas city to get a pair of light weight hiking boots. i found a pair that are comfortable. i have been wearing them this week to break them in. i bought some slacks too. i will eat at a few fancy places on the tour so i dont want to look too much like a country injun. i will also pack some jeans and t shirts. i do want to be comfortable too. i threw in a ribbon shirt and vest in case i get to meet some indians down there. got to be down with my southern bros.

while in the big town i found a place that served cajun food. i had to stop there. i ordered blackened catfish and cajun frog legs. it was served with dirty rice. i switched the vegetables with red beans and rice. while i ate they had live music. it was billed as jazz but i thought it was a medley of several styles. yuppie malls dont know diddly about jazz.

i am hoping i can find a public access computer while on my trip. that way i can continue to write my blog. it wont be a gidget goes to rome thing. more like a country injun gets off the rez and sees the world kinda thing. so my next blog should be coming from south america.

only six more days on i will be on a jet to peru south america. i havent had time to think about it since i have been busy. i wanted to make sure we were done with our spring dance. i figured that would be good mojo to have riding with me.

i am heading to a big mall in kansas city today. i need a pair of light weight hiking boots. i would prefer a pair that look like tennis shoes but be ankle high. i have two pair of rugged leather boots i wear to the timber and walking but they are way too heavy. i may also look for some comfortable slacks.  we will eat at some nice places so i dont want to look all rez. if i look like a hippie the federales will check me out. so i will semi dress up. i know i will be ‘randomly’ searched when i board the plane. absolutely no racial profiling there. just a coincidence i am brown, got a moustache and long hair. i guess they dont have records of my safe travels with no incidents.

i went mushroom hunting again this morning. i found a little over a half gallon. i have my fill. i just like to walk in the timber with my dogs. i took the last two to the vet to have them fixed. now they all are. i wont be running a puppy mill here. the vet said they were full of ticks. i said yeah we went mushroom hunting. so they gave (sold) me some tick stuff. i have to put it on the dogs. i may use alittle on myself too. jk.  i found several crawling on me each time i went out.

i went to to the camera shop where i bought my new nikon for the trip. i needed a plug in for the rechargable batteries. i tried to charge them off my computer with an attachment but that didnt work. after paying 50 bucks for a replacement i am good now. i will be able to take up to 1500 pictures of my trip. i think i can handle that. i will be able to put on a slide show of my trip. i cant wait to leave. i will have to find a computer so i can keep my blog up. maybe a daily trip account or something.

on the way to kc today i will stop and see noseme. i hope the little guy dont forget me for the short time i am gone. i think of him every day. little babies are such a blessing. after i get back i have to start packing. more than likely i will overpack. i always do. i do want to leave room to bring things back. cant go all the way there and not bring back some souvenirs. i dont know what i want til i see it. well better hit the road………

we finished our spring ceremonies so it is now officially spring. i will get busy on my garden now. i havent had too much luck in mine the past two years because i worked on the tribal gardens. i would be all tired from working in gardens all day. so i kinda neglected my own. i regret that since i usually grow enough to last all year. i  can, dry or freeze what i grow. then whenever i want i can enjoy something from the garden through out the year. my garden grew to 105 feet by 85 feet this year. that will be alot of indian corn.

we can now have other ceremonies. i already have plans to name my grandson. there should be about a dozen families that go in with us. so we will have a bunch of kids that get their name.

i gave away three gallons of mushrooms to some of our elders. i think that is good mojo. i am pretty sure i will find more after the next rain. if i dont find any thats okay too. i had my fill of them. i just like eating them every spring. i also had wild onions. i was telling a friend yesterday that it has been awhile since i had bullfrog legs. i used to hunt them every spring when i was a young lad. you dont see them like you used to anymore. i checked out a coupla ponds to see if there were any there. no luck. now i am on a mission. i will eat some bull frog legs this year. one of the local casinos serve them. but the tame ones dont taste like the wild ones. i prefer the wild indians over the tame ones too.

while out hunting mushrooms i seen two quail. you dont see them hardly either. they used to say to rub a quails foot on a new born baby’s foot. that would make them a fast runner. i want to do that for my grandson. just got find me a quail. someone musta done that with me. cuz i was as fast as anyone. now i am an old guy. i only played a few minutes in the spring games. every year i say this is my last year. maybe this year is the last time i play.

this is an election year. i kinda like them. its when otherwise crabby people are nice to every one. i was a bit surprised we didnt have an army of candidates at our spring ceremonies. they usually pop up like mushrooms.

dont know what this week end has in store for me. probably will go hunt mushrooms again. then i have been putting off cleaning out my tool shed. i have to move a pile of firewood that i didnt use this winter. i have a cart to hook up to my riding mower. i sure as hell aint carrying it all by hand. just load up the trailer and drive it to where it will be stacked. then i have a sweat house to put up. maybe i need more than a weekend…..

havent had time to hunt mushrooms but one time.  been busy with spring dance. i knew people were finding them but i couldnt go look.   they have been selling mushrooms but i would rather get my own. kinda dont seem right that some would try to profit off things our people did just to get by. same with selling corn.

i went out this morning with my dogs and found 4 gallons of mushrooms. i gave away 2 gallons of them. gotta respect elders. and i was told if you give them away you will have good luck finding more. some had the tops slightly burnt but are alright otherwise. most were fresh ones. i know what i am having for supper.  it is suppose to rain so i will go look again after that. i noticed the weeds are growing. when they get too tall they hide the mushrooms so you cant see them.  i found ticks crawling on me too. not many but they are out. my poor dogs will have them too. i rarely run across snakes. must be my turtle bone i wear. i always wear it when i am out in nature.

we had a light frost lthe other night. i went out and checked my sema plants. they seemed to have made it. i also looked at my gooseberry bushes. they flowered already. the berries are already forming. they are smaller than a bb.  a killing frost would mean no berries or fruit. cant replant berry bushes or fruit trees.

i have eaten wild onions twice. i like the taste of them. not many people pick them anymore. i had some at our dance. i was surprised someone else brought some. usually people assume i bring them. i think of my mother when i go after them. she always wanted them. i would go pick them for her.

will see what this week brings…….

basketball season is now over. the jayhawks made it further than most people gave them credit for, so how could that possibly be a disappointment. that pompous ass vitale said it was our worst team in 20 years or something. the team came within a fraction of beating a team that everyone said was unbeatable. i think our season was a success.

the down side about no more basketball is i will miss watching the games with my grandson andrew. i had gone to lawrence for the last several weeks to watch k u play. i could have stayed home and done that but i wanted to hold the little guy. he has grown on me so much that i think about him all the time. i will still go see him. i probably will have to get a k tag since i will be on the road to lawrence all the time.

after k u got into the final four last saturday  i walked down to mass street to catch what was going on. there were people everywhere. many were drinking. many werent. i seen a vehicle that was all smashed up. i also seen some wanna be thug trying to act all tough going after someone. his friends were holding him back and they were putting on a show. i kinda chuckled at that.  if you really want someone, you gotta do it. other than these few incidents most of the fans were orderly. everyone was high fiving each other. i dont know how many times i had to do that on the walk down there and back. i liked that fellowship amongst the fans. i didnt go down to mass st. on monday though. i headed back to the rez since i had to work. there were people everywhere. i wondered what kind of celebration would have taken place if we scored 8 more points.

this early warm weather has lotsa things already growing, including my lawn. i finally mowed it for the first time this year. i had to buy another battery charger since someone glommed on to the one i had in my garage. i bought a cheap one in case they come back. i had to pick up alot of trash in the yard before i mowed. my dogs drag stuff around. and i live near the notorious n street dumpster. people think as long as they throw trash anywhere close to it. some just dumped it on the ground in front of it. so i see trash blowing around all the time. some people just dont care.

we have our spring ceremonies going on. i enjoy those times. i will be busy next few days…so i wont get to hunt mushrooms. i ate the last of the ones i found.