BEGINNING THE TRIP

From previous page At first light I walked out along the main road which is graded and graveled. As soon as we walked off the road I saw that it was a mistake to have the dog with me. The ground was so soft, Lucy was tracking up everything in sight. There was no way I could work like that, knowing that any picture with a close foreground could be ruined. I also felt that confining Lucy to the car or tent for the four days of the trip was also wrong. So right then and there, I decided to cut my losses and drive the 3 1/2 hours back to Santa Fe to take my dog back home. I left the tent set up and my bedding at the Bisti since I would be back that night.

A broad area south of the Bisti and all the way to Santa Fe received a heavy blanket of snow. Due to the snow, accidents, and detours, it was a six hour drive back to Santa Fe. To make matters worse my alternator on my Subaru started going out and I watched the voltage meter steadily declining on my dashboard. I made it home before dark after finding a new alternator, put in the new alternator, and in about fifteen minutes, I dropped the dog off at my mom's, and headed right back to the Bisti.