Kurt’s Camera Corral on Central Ave (old Highway 66) in Nob Hill — serving Albuquerque since 1950.
Tag: Albuquerque
Bold, Fearless & Funky
Marble Brewing Company, http://www.marblebrewery.com, is another award winning craft brewery in Albuquerque. Awarded the 2014 Great American Beer Festival Small Brewing Company Brewer of the Year award by the Brewers Association, they have an impressive operation with the brewing, tap room and bottling all on site at the corner of Marble and 1st Street near downtown Albuquerque. A food truck was parked on the street serving hamburgers and French fries to the patrons spending their lunch or a leisurely Friday afternoon at the brewery.
I took the title for today’s blog off of Leah Black’s business card. She is the events & social media coordinator for Marble, and a pro at drawing drafts. After Ben interviewed Ted Rice (head of Marble) for The Beer Trale, http://www.thebeertrale.com, Leah was very accommodating and allowed us to roam freely in the brewhouse to observe, film and photograph the operation.
Taqueria Mexico
Cumulonimbus
Dude! Like…
Downtown Books
While you can’t quite get out the door of Downtown Books with a nicely broken-in classic in your hands scot-free, by handing Scott Free a couple of bucks on your way out the door, you will have acquired a great read for a modest price. And that’s how it is at Downtown Books at 108 8th St, SW in Downtown Albuquerque, its rooms filled with shelving, stuffed with books that cover just about every topic, genre and discipline imaginable. Downtown Books is in a building that was Albuquerque’s attempt at row houses in the early years of the last century, and collectors can find books of the same vintage as the architecture. It’s a bit of an understatement to say that Scott has just about everything anyone might want in books, including a kitchen sink full of children’s books. There are areas where you can sit down and peruse books at your leisure in the laid-back, welcoming atmosphere of the shop.
Ironically, Scott and I and both our wives had studied flamenco dance together in the early 1990’s. Scott had the bookstore on 6th Street for some time, but then when he moved just two streets to the west, we lost track of each other. We happened to cross paths on Monday when I was out front of our building talking to Nina and Greg from Cafe Fino. Scott walked by and we said “I know you!” so we talked a little while, and he mentioned he had moved his bookstore to 8th Street. So for the past 8 years or so we were working just 6 blocks from each other, but had lost track of each other.
If you are in the Albuquerque area, Downtown Books is worth taking the time to visit. The web site is www.downtownbooksabq.com and you can find it on Facebook at www.facebook.com/downtownbooksabq. If you are looking for a that special, hard to find book, you email Scott at dtownbooksabq@gmail.com he might just have what you are looking for.
Head-on
SURPRISE! At La Orilla and Coors.
Not Even
This truck is so Burqueño — not only is it “not eeeven”, it doesn’t have a license plate, and the bumper stickers are perfect: “UFOs are REAL The Air Force doesn’t exist” and “We all live in a watershed”. I have to admit that Laurie and I do live in a watershed, and our watershed is around 10 feet below the riverbed.
Broken Truck Breakdown
We watched the movie “Broken Circle Breakdown” the other night. It’s a very good movie, filmed in the Netherlands, with fantastic blue grass music. The movie is sad and melodramatic, but we were drawn in by the characters as the story went back and forth between past and present. Herman recommended the movie on his Hands On Bowie blog.
A sink I ordered for my up-and-coming darkroom came in on Friday, earlier than I expected. After my run to the dump in the morning, Laurie and I headed down to the office in the truck to pick up the sink which was in a very large 7 foot by 36 inch by 12 inch box. Then we were going to drop by Tristan’s house and pick up some stuff she wants to get rid of. The truck was running rough like it normally does, but as we got near the office it started acting like it was vapor locking — almost dying and then it would start running again. I left the truck idling, ran in and got the box, threw it in the bed of the truck, and then we decided to just try and get back home. We made it to 4th Street and Griegos, where a car that was two cars in front of us at the light died. A couple of kids got out and pushed the car out of the street into the bank parking lot on the corner. Then our truck died in the same spot the other car had died, and the kids helped us push the truck into the bank parking lot next to their mom’s car.
We called Laurie’s mom and she drove their van down to pick us up. We transferred the sink to the van, and got it home. After we got the sink unloaded, I grabbed some tools, and Laurie and I drove back in her car where I performed some basic troubling-shooting on the truck. I discovered the fuel pump I had replaced a year ago had quit working. I called for a tow truck, and he took our truck to a shop where I asked the mechanics to figure out all the things that are wrong with it besides the fuel pump.
Even with all the frustration of getting stranded, three good things came out of our adventure: 1) I got my new darkroom sink home. 2) After we got home, Laurie sent her mom home with cake and cookies that she served to their house guest. 3) We didn’t total the truck* and maybe we’ll finally get it in decent running condition so we can sell it.
*Last August we had a car adventure that left us stranded in the middle of nowhere. Luckily we had cell phone coverage and got the car towed to the dealer for repair — but then my insurance company ruled the car a total loss.
Trees in the Mist
When we left early in the morning there was a mist that gave the trees a ghostly look. As we headed out to Paradise Hills, the mist turned into a thick fog, which is quite rare for the Albuquerque area. When we got to Paradise Hills, a couple hundred feet above the Rio Grande Valley, the sun was making its first appearance above the fog blanketed the valley below.
Off Center & Not Even 