Albuquerque

It's the way that late sun hits those west facing mountains as the evening light somehow draws from unknown sources of violet and crimson; it's very reminiscint of my hometown, Boise. The high winds swirling against dry summer foothills comforted me as I approached another unknown city.

Luckily for me there was a very special individual in Boise that has recently migrated from New Mexico. I called Rick Kapalko when I finally crossed the state line from Arizona. With plans of camping out in the desert, I thought I would inquire about disc golf hostils. Within 20 minutes Rick called back with a phone number of a good friend in the area. Turns out he is the PDGA state cooridanator-John Hahn. He and Deena welcomed me as family and we proceeded to unwind in the hot tub where we shared stories of a common passion, and enjoyed spirits from a nearby fridge. These 2 were the most jovial and good humored of anyone in the country. The lightheartedness of the scene and those warm bubbles against my abused muscles helped me relax while we laughed into the evening. The night was capped with an offering of a, "2004 edition Duke Fest crystal challenger" and the insistence of sleeping inside opposed to the back-of-the-truck routine.

The next morning John and I got an early start so we could squeeze in a round before his late morning shift. I was excited with a chance to get to play with Mr. Haun because of the injury (he recently was twisted up from a hole in the ground!(or was it that attempted 360 degree drive?)). Regardless, John seemed to effortlessly produce birdies as the sun and shadows slowly stretched over the sandia mountains.
Just one of the Kapalko's immortal holes..........

Roosevelt disc golf course is in and around a big fat bowl. The elevation change is very fun, and the fact that baskets are relatively close to one another, allows safari golf(playing from tee pads to random baskets) for a variety of course looks. I found it very cool to hear that every league night the winner of the previous week has the option of choosing the course layout for the night. John said they have about 5 variations making an 18 hole course have 90 different holes. They simply print out maps of the different layouts and choose a different one each week. Very inventive for tournaments and for the sport in general. Rick Kapalko is sorely missed in New Mexico but they are not surprized and happy to hear that he is having a big impact with the gem state disc golfers in Boise. Thanks Rick, John and Deena!

A fresh morning round really loosened up my legs and brain for another drive eastbound..Haven't been to Texas yet but I've heard some crazy shit about the biggest state in the union............