![San Andres Meditations](https://cdn.magzter.com/1409082599/1663951110/articles/ch13O604W1665041086680/SAN-ANDRES-MEDITATIONS.jpg)
The view from my window seat on Alaska 3430 from Portland, Oregon, revealed the New Mexico landscape as we descended into Albuquerque: Shiprock in the Four Corners region, the Jemez Mountains, Mt. Taylor and to the northeast on the downwind approach, Sandia Crest, its granite walls glowing pink in the afternoon sun. Below was the desert around Albuquerque and the long valley of the Rio Grande sweeping south between the mountains.
Everything in New Mexico seems old. The architecture, the remnant sections of Route 66 in Albuquerque, the cottonwoods in the bosques, growing tall and falling along the edge of the river. In reality, New Mexico is old. It is one of the first places in the United States explored by the Spanish. Before them, there were the Apache natives whose pottery can still be found in the Rio Grande floodplain. Even earlier were the Clovis people with a subtle eye for art in their spear points. And, of course, there are the rocks 1.4 billion-year-old Precambrian granite the rocks of forever.
My friend Scott lives near Tijeras in the Manzano Mountains. The southern portion of the Rockies, these mountains are part of the Rio Grande rift that divides the southwest portion of the North American continent into distinct landmasses. East of the Rio Grande rift, on sparse plains of San Andres limestone, nameless canyons have been cut into the earth by wind and water. This is where we are going.
The canyons, arroyos in New Mexico that have adequate grass, some plum and sumac and a bit of yucca, usually hold scaled quail. Blue quail. Birds of the dry country. Birds that run. Birds that get a bad reputation among some hunters because they defy what quail should” do. Birds that melt into the sparse cover under blue sky.
Denne historien er fra Winter 2022-utgaven av The Upland Almanac.
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Denne historien er fra Winter 2022-utgaven av The Upland Almanac.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
![Tailfeathers](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/7434/1798214/CUbFfK6X_1723628574370/TAILFEATHERS.jpg)
Tailfeathers
The essence of fly fishing, I think I've decided, is time.
![Ten Questions with Tim Flagler, Fly Tyer/Cook Extraordinaire](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/7434/1798214/Cy2kZQTXN1723628280689/TEN-QUESTIONS-WITH-TIM-FLAGLER-FLY-TYERCOOK-EXTRAORDINAIRE.jpg)
Ten Questions with Tim Flagler, Fly Tyer/Cook Extraordinaire
Culinary Creations from Gordon Hamersley
![GREY on the Wing](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/7434/1798214/vH4BisIr61723627742625/GREY-ON-THE-WING.jpg)
GREY on the Wing
Hands clutching the wheel of a large, lumbering vehicle whose vintage and purpose partially prompted the invention of \"powering steering,\" disengaged the clutch and applied the brakes, bringing it to a stop.
![James Purdey & Sons Ltd.One of London's "Best"](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/7434/1798214/2iiHtftrq1723627559743/JAMES-PURDEY-SONS-LTDONE-OF-LONDONS-BEST.jpg)
James Purdey & Sons Ltd.One of London's "Best"
At the conclusion of a recent breakfast meeting of the Shrewsbury Men's Club of Massachusetts, I was packing up my show-and-tell aids after giving a presentation.
![WAWAWAI](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/7434/1798214/YhuSF0afh1723627325222/WAWAWAI.jpg)
WAWAWAI
I don't chase chukars anymore, but from the time I was 16, chukar hunting had been my favorite bird hunting endeavor.
![A FAIR EXCHANGE](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/7434/1798214/Rw2Bvrrkc1723627050142/A-FAIR-EXCHANGE.jpg)
A FAIR EXCHANGE
Among the concerns faced by many small community gun clubs here in the Northeast is our inability to attract and maintain new and younger shooters.
![Coming to Heel](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/7434/1798214/XmtA6RwJO1723626830675/COMING-TO-HEEL.jpg)
Coming to Heel
I'n the world of gun dogs, it's not unusual that retrievers are taught to heel.
![Bird Dogs - Health Matters](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/7434/1798214/-nM7XpITF1723626599895/BIRD-DOGS-HEALTH-MATTERS.jpg)
Bird Dogs - Health Matters
Avoiding Medical Mishaps on the Road
![MATT HART](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/7434/1798214/iKD2plnwK1723626175684/MATT-HART.jpg)
MATT HART
Matt Hart, owner, designer and artist of Hartist Metals, is a highly skilled metal sculptor based in the picturesque Catskill Mountains of New York.
![Luigi Franchi Imperial Monte Carlo Extra: One of Italy's "Best" SxS Doubles](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/7434/1351870/0SAiBgwJa1690522419485/LUIGI-FRANCHI-IMPERIAL-MONTE-CARLO-EXTRA-ONE-OF-ITALYS-BEST-SXS-DOUBLES.jpg)
Luigi Franchi Imperial Monte Carlo Extra: One of Italy's "Best" SxS Doubles
As on London’s gun-maker’s row, Italians had skilled craftsmen who made “Best” guns of superb quality