Tempted to go to the big RV show (and V/N tech rally) at Quartzite, AZ in mid-January. Eager to learn more and maybe get a few products for the RV (an awning for the dining room window, for example, and perhaps help installing single-handle faucets), but not eager for the desert experience of Quartzite. Hmmm. Maybe we can add some southern CA sites to lure us on a 2-week trip? California camping is not actually our favorite--state parks (even cruddy ones) are $50/night now and CA weather in January will likely be stormy (El Nino year). Hmmm. Thoughts?
A possible route:
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Fall 2009 SW Trip Wrap Up
Well, we've regained some house-based normalcy again (it sure took a few days) and have been reflecting on our most wonderful trip--the first trip without a single deadline or firm itinerary. We loved it!
The trip stats:
Distance: just about 5,000 miles in 40 days.
Average camping fee: $22.50 (which reflects only 4 free nights, lots of $14-20 state parks, but also a few doozy nights at $30-55!)
Maintenance: yikes. This trip wins for priciest maintenance outlays: new headlight bulbs, tires, oil change (with oil and fuel filters). But I will always remember Tire Rack with its reasonable 2-day FedEx shipping, should we ever be in need of new tires whilst underway.
Mileage: Hovering slightly below 15 mpg this trip. Didn't get great mileage given the tire problems and fall winds we faced on many days. We also traveled heavy this trip, with holding tanks and souvenirs ;-)
National Parks and Monuments: Boy, did we visit a ton of these!
1. Pipe Springs National Monument
2. Grand Canyon National Park North Rim
3. Mesa Verde National Park
4. Canyon de Chelly National Monument
5. Petroglyph National Monument
6. Navajo National Monument
7. Bandelier National Monument
8. Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument
9. Guadalupe Mountains National Park
10. Carlsbad Caverns National Park
11. Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge
Moral of the story: our national parks and monuments are always must-sees: educational, beautiful, and often inspirational.
Favorite State/County Parks: Lake Pleasant northwest of Phoenix--fantastic views. Brantley Lake State Park north of Carlsbad for coziness and ease of camping. Abiqui Dam (Corps of Engineers) for natural setting. Valley of Fire State Park (Nevada's first state park) for best facilities in most unusual setting. Coral Pink Sand Dunes for awesome hiking--Nick loved those dunes.
Best green chile cheeseburger: Manny's Buckhorn for balance of flavors (Double Eagle in La Mesilla in Las Cruces for hottest chiles).
Fanciest meal: Ojo Caliente's new restaurant/wine bar
Best meal value: Ghost Ranch lunch for $8 all-you-can-eat salad bar and lovingly made soups. But wait: those free pancakes at the KOA were pretty hard to beat.
Favorite Roadfood stop: The Range in Bernalillo (or Pasqual's in Santa Fe?)
Most educational tourist attraction: Los Alamos History Museum (or maybe the dowsing demonstration at the New Mexico Farm and Ag Museum. No wait: Pipe Springs National Monument. Or maybe Ghost Ranch. Yikes, but we learned A LOT on this trip.)
Most challenging activity: Hiking down into Carlsbad Caverns via the Natural Entrance (followed closely by the tire debacle)
Biggest surprise: Earthships outside of Taos for Julie; Chimayo for Lisa. Or maybe the free camping in a great campground at Navajo National Monument. No, it had to be the coyotes surrounding our RV at 5AM.
Biggest tourist trap: Four Corners. This is unambiguous.
We've already listed the must-go-back-and-see places in an earlier post--and we will. What a great part of the country and especially beautiful in the autumn. We'll see what we think in the winter/early spring if we're able to get back there.
The trip stats:
Distance: just about 5,000 miles in 40 days.
Average camping fee: $22.50 (which reflects only 4 free nights, lots of $14-20 state parks, but also a few doozy nights at $30-55!)
Maintenance: yikes. This trip wins for priciest maintenance outlays: new headlight bulbs, tires, oil change (with oil and fuel filters). But I will always remember Tire Rack with its reasonable 2-day FedEx shipping, should we ever be in need of new tires whilst underway.
Mileage: Hovering slightly below 15 mpg this trip. Didn't get great mileage given the tire problems and fall winds we faced on many days. We also traveled heavy this trip, with holding tanks and souvenirs ;-)
National Parks and Monuments: Boy, did we visit a ton of these!
1. Pipe Springs National Monument
2. Grand Canyon National Park North Rim
3. Mesa Verde National Park
4. Canyon de Chelly National Monument
5. Petroglyph National Monument
6. Navajo National Monument
7. Bandelier National Monument
8. Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument
9. Guadalupe Mountains National Park
10. Carlsbad Caverns National Park
11. Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge
Moral of the story: our national parks and monuments are always must-sees: educational, beautiful, and often inspirational.
Favorite State/County Parks: Lake Pleasant northwest of Phoenix--fantastic views. Brantley Lake State Park north of Carlsbad for coziness and ease of camping. Abiqui Dam (Corps of Engineers) for natural setting. Valley of Fire State Park (Nevada's first state park) for best facilities in most unusual setting. Coral Pink Sand Dunes for awesome hiking--Nick loved those dunes.
Best green chile cheeseburger: Manny's Buckhorn for balance of flavors (Double Eagle in La Mesilla in Las Cruces for hottest chiles).
Fanciest meal: Ojo Caliente's new restaurant/wine bar
Best meal value: Ghost Ranch lunch for $8 all-you-can-eat salad bar and lovingly made soups. But wait: those free pancakes at the KOA were pretty hard to beat.
Favorite Roadfood stop: The Range in Bernalillo (or Pasqual's in Santa Fe?)
Most educational tourist attraction: Los Alamos History Museum (or maybe the dowsing demonstration at the New Mexico Farm and Ag Museum. No wait: Pipe Springs National Monument. Or maybe Ghost Ranch. Yikes, but we learned A LOT on this trip.)
Most challenging activity: Hiking down into Carlsbad Caverns via the Natural Entrance (followed closely by the tire debacle)
Biggest surprise: Earthships outside of Taos for Julie; Chimayo for Lisa. Or maybe the free camping in a great campground at Navajo National Monument. No, it had to be the coyotes surrounding our RV at 5AM.
Biggest tourist trap: Four Corners. This is unambiguous.
We've already listed the must-go-back-and-see places in an earlier post--and we will. What a great part of the country and especially beautiful in the autumn. We'll see what we think in the winter/early spring if we're able to get back there.
Home!
Found a great new overnight spot in Bakersfield last night: A Country RV. Easy on/off freeway, immaculate grounds, and pristine showers (for Lisa). Nick enjoyed having an enclosed dog run to play in after 2, 10-hour driving days. Poor guy. But he sure knew when we were getting within 10 miles of home today ;-) He snapped out of his passenger coma and got down off his dinette perch when we started down Carmel Valley Road.
We are all happy to be home. Our 1800 square foot house feels ENORMOUS (and needs cleaning!), but wonderful. We got all unpacked and have even started playing with where to hang/put the neat art we got along our trip. Danger, though. Martha the New Mexican cow skull can NOT sit on the floor of the back deck with our cactus collection. She must, unfortunately, hang HIGH up on a wall somewhere. Nick thinks she's a giant chew toy. Seriously. So, now we know the skull is a REAL skull at least....
Will do a wrap up post in the next few days. First, laundry, cleaning, and COOKING with real pots and pans.
We are all happy to be home. Our 1800 square foot house feels ENORMOUS (and needs cleaning!), but wonderful. We got all unpacked and have even started playing with where to hang/put the neat art we got along our trip. Danger, though. Martha the New Mexican cow skull can NOT sit on the floor of the back deck with our cactus collection. She must, unfortunately, hang HIGH up on a wall somewhere. Nick thinks she's a giant chew toy. Seriously. So, now we know the skull is a REAL skull at least....
Will do a wrap up post in the next few days. First, laundry, cleaning, and COOKING with real pots and pans.
Arizona {Hearts} AT&T
We pulled over 500 miles today, most of which was "in network" on AT&T. I think AT&T does not like New Mexico, but it loves Arizona. We were up and out of Oliver Lee SP by 8AM today. Interesting park, but full of partying tent campers and, as we noted yesterday, rocks. Time to go. So, we hoofed it on I-10 till noonish (around Lordsburg, NM) and then impulsively headed north on US-70 because we'd had enough interstate. Lovely ride up to Globe and the part of US-60 that we weren't able to take earlier this year. We LOVE US-60. Made it through Phoenix--we wanted to push beyond it on a Sunday--and to a delicious county park about 30 miles north. Note for fellow RVers: Stay at Lake Pleasant. Full hookups, $20, views to forever. We finally got sort of level as the sun was fading. We could see hot air balloons far off in the sunset, mountains, and tons and tons of saguaros standing guard over us. It was worth the extra detour to stay here, rather than a snowbird RV park. (We aren't over 55 anyway and so many of the RV parks in AZ have age restrictions.)
We pushed hard today and will do so again on Tuesday--we'll cut NW up to Kingman, then over Tehachapi down to Bakersfield, which makes Tuesday's trip a 4-hour cruise home. Plenty of time to clean the house and grocery shop and cook the feast on Thursday. (I'll try making Mom's stuffing in the 2-quart $12 Walmart crockpot in the RV another year.) Just keep your fingers crossed that we can get the #*$&! propane company to come out and relight our pilot lights on Wednesday. Tough to cook a turkey without the gas.... But I could always use the grill. Good to have a Plan B.
We are seriously talking about coming back to the southwest again soon--maybe in January for the View/Navion Tech Rally at Quartzite? (Icky place, but great people and products.) Maybe for spring trip to SW NM sites that we missed? Who knows? We haven't invented 2010 yet, but will put this in the pot. We want to visit Bisbee, AZ, for the mine tour; Tucson for a Sonoran hot dog at El Guero Canelo; Frank Lloyd Wright's architecture school, Taliesen West, in Phoenix; Sedona for a Pink Jeep tour; the Catwalks in western NM (metal catwalks bolted to the canyon walls--they were old gold mining equipment!), Silver City and Gila Cliffs National Monument, and the rocky state parks we just couldn't stomach this week: City of Rocks SP and Rockhound SP (where you can keep whatever semi-precious stones you find/"mine") near Deming.
Without further adieu, a catch-up on photos from the last week.
CARLSBAD CAVERNS: Natural Entrance
For those of you who have always been fit, it probably is a big yawn, but for someone like me who has not been athletic, it was a feat to tackle a hike labeled "strenuous" and with tons of warnings. Turns out it was Lisa who was freaking out as we descended the VERY steep trail into the dark, humid (90% humidity) cave.... Both of our legs were a bit sore the next day, but what a blast to actually descend without an elevator almost 1,000 feet below the surface. Hyperventilation was avoided, but after we took a second trail around the actual cave, we were happy for that elevator. (All cave photos were on the iPhone; I didn't want to manage the big camera with the slopes and dampness.)
GUADALUPE MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK
What a lovely park this is, out in the middle of nowhere (literally)! We actually drove back down to the park from well north of Carlsbad so that we could dry camp here and do some of the hikes. However, the camping STINKS! Just a parking lot. So we didn't end up staying but we did do a few of the shorter trails (since we'd done the cave the same day!). This place looks like a dry, rocky, inhospitable place; turns out that the reason it's a national park is that there's a "bowl" inside the jagged mountains that catches any rain and is bursting with biological diversity. We got a small taste of the diversity (all kinds of cool bugs and birds and mammals) without hiking the 3000 feet up to the "bowl":
ROSWELL, NM
These folks are just proud of their wacky reputation. We love it.
The lady at the Visitor Center insisted. She did. Really.
BITTER LAKE NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE (near Roswell)
Well, we missed Bosque del Apache, but we found another, possibly better, spot: a national wildlife refuge. The visitor's center was brand new, gorgeous, with lovely displays. The park has 110 species of dragonflies--who knew there were such robust wetlands in New Mexico? There are deep artesian springs in this area--lots of water, reeds, protective hills, and no predators. Perfect place for birds. On the day we visited, around 24,000 sandhill cranes (the peak). Gorgeous. But unfortunately, some of the nature trails were closed because it was a hunting day. (In a wildlife refuge? Whatever.... But I've now got a killer craving for duck.)
LINCOLN, NM
Quite the wild west town--the entire place is on the National Registry of Historic Places. Had a really great lunch (another great green chile cheeseburger) at a historic hotel and a nice stroll down this old street.
Drove through the mountains down through Ruidoso (another place to put on the must-visit list for the next trip) to Oliver Lee State Park outside of Alamagordo. A very funky park, but up a hillside with commanding views of all the jagged mountains down around Las Cruces. I realized how very much I like the cottonwoods/river valleys. There wasn't a tree in sight.... Part of the cause for homesickness, I think.
Now here's a sunrise saguaro photo, courtesy of Lisa, who was out walking the dog today.
We pushed hard today and will do so again on Tuesday--we'll cut NW up to Kingman, then over Tehachapi down to Bakersfield, which makes Tuesday's trip a 4-hour cruise home. Plenty of time to clean the house and grocery shop and cook the feast on Thursday. (I'll try making Mom's stuffing in the 2-quart $12 Walmart crockpot in the RV another year.) Just keep your fingers crossed that we can get the #*$&! propane company to come out and relight our pilot lights on Wednesday. Tough to cook a turkey without the gas.... But I could always use the grill. Good to have a Plan B.
We are seriously talking about coming back to the southwest again soon--maybe in January for the View/Navion Tech Rally at Quartzite? (Icky place, but great people and products.) Maybe for spring trip to SW NM sites that we missed? Who knows? We haven't invented 2010 yet, but will put this in the pot. We want to visit Bisbee, AZ, for the mine tour; Tucson for a Sonoran hot dog at El Guero Canelo; Frank Lloyd Wright's architecture school, Taliesen West, in Phoenix; Sedona for a Pink Jeep tour; the Catwalks in western NM (metal catwalks bolted to the canyon walls--they were old gold mining equipment!), Silver City and Gila Cliffs National Monument, and the rocky state parks we just couldn't stomach this week: City of Rocks SP and Rockhound SP (where you can keep whatever semi-precious stones you find/"mine") near Deming.
Without further adieu, a catch-up on photos from the last week.
CARLSBAD CAVERNS: Natural Entrance
For those of you who have always been fit, it probably is a big yawn, but for someone like me who has not been athletic, it was a feat to tackle a hike labeled "strenuous" and with tons of warnings. Turns out it was Lisa who was freaking out as we descended the VERY steep trail into the dark, humid (90% humidity) cave.... Both of our legs were a bit sore the next day, but what a blast to actually descend without an elevator almost 1,000 feet below the surface. Hyperventilation was avoided, but after we took a second trail around the actual cave, we were happy for that elevator. (All cave photos were on the iPhone; I didn't want to manage the big camera with the slopes and dampness.)
GUADALUPE MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK
What a lovely park this is, out in the middle of nowhere (literally)! We actually drove back down to the park from well north of Carlsbad so that we could dry camp here and do some of the hikes. However, the camping STINKS! Just a parking lot. So we didn't end up staying but we did do a few of the shorter trails (since we'd done the cave the same day!). This place looks like a dry, rocky, inhospitable place; turns out that the reason it's a national park is that there's a "bowl" inside the jagged mountains that catches any rain and is bursting with biological diversity. We got a small taste of the diversity (all kinds of cool bugs and birds and mammals) without hiking the 3000 feet up to the "bowl":
ROSWELL, NM
These folks are just proud of their wacky reputation. We love it.
The lady at the Visitor Center insisted. She did. Really.
BITTER LAKE NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE (near Roswell)
Well, we missed Bosque del Apache, but we found another, possibly better, spot: a national wildlife refuge. The visitor's center was brand new, gorgeous, with lovely displays. The park has 110 species of dragonflies--who knew there were such robust wetlands in New Mexico? There are deep artesian springs in this area--lots of water, reeds, protective hills, and no predators. Perfect place for birds. On the day we visited, around 24,000 sandhill cranes (the peak). Gorgeous. But unfortunately, some of the nature trails were closed because it was a hunting day. (In a wildlife refuge? Whatever.... But I've now got a killer craving for duck.)
LINCOLN, NM
Quite the wild west town--the entire place is on the National Registry of Historic Places. Had a really great lunch (another great green chile cheeseburger) at a historic hotel and a nice stroll down this old street.
Drove through the mountains down through Ruidoso (another place to put on the must-visit list for the next trip) to Oliver Lee State Park outside of Alamagordo. A very funky park, but up a hillside with commanding views of all the jagged mountains down around Las Cruces. I realized how very much I like the cottonwoods/river valleys. There wasn't a tree in sight.... Part of the cause for homesickness, I think.
Now here's a sunrise saguaro photo, courtesy of Lisa, who was out walking the dog today.
We {Heart} Roswell, but Hate AT&T!
Short post to let y'all know that we have been having a blast.
--Loved the Caverns and took the scary Natural Entrance in. Adored Brantley Lake SP.
--Loved Roswell (again). Can't wait to share the photos.
--Explored Billy the Kid Scenic Byway, including Lincoln.
--Must go back to Ruidoso when it's warmer.
--Overnighting tonight at Oliver Lee SP. Got the last spot.
We are now thinking we might abandon the SW NM touring for another day (we WILL be back--love this state) and head home in time for Thanksgiving. Lots of snowbirds and the upcoming holiday week have us worried about our strategy of no reservations. Plus, we love the high desert, but all 3 of us have sort of had our fill of rocks.
Now, AT&T is another matter. They asked us not to use the iPhone when we are "off network" and we have been "off network" for a week. So, I'm using the laptop on roaming mode to make this quick post and check email. I need to have a long chat with them about prohibiting me from using my phone, which we need for family updates, checking weather, mapping, email, locating a laundromat and grocery store, geocaching, etc., etc., etc.
Lots of photos to post...at some point when AT&T won't threaten me. We may wake up tomorrow and feel OK about staying in NM this week (Silver City, Deming, et al), or we may hotfoot it west. We'll see. I have to admit to pining for my own washing machine.
--Loved the Caverns and took the scary Natural Entrance in. Adored Brantley Lake SP.
--Loved Roswell (again). Can't wait to share the photos.
--Explored Billy the Kid Scenic Byway, including Lincoln.
--Must go back to Ruidoso when it's warmer.
--Overnighting tonight at Oliver Lee SP. Got the last spot.
We are now thinking we might abandon the SW NM touring for another day (we WILL be back--love this state) and head home in time for Thanksgiving. Lots of snowbirds and the upcoming holiday week have us worried about our strategy of no reservations. Plus, we love the high desert, but all 3 of us have sort of had our fill of rocks.
Now, AT&T is another matter. They asked us not to use the iPhone when we are "off network" and we have been "off network" for a week. So, I'm using the laptop on roaming mode to make this quick post and check email. I need to have a long chat with them about prohibiting me from using my phone, which we need for family updates, checking weather, mapping, email, locating a laundromat and grocery store, geocaching, etc., etc., etc.
Lots of photos to post...at some point when AT&T won't threaten me. We may wake up tomorrow and feel OK about staying in NM this week (Silver City, Deming, et al), or we may hotfoot it west. We'll see. I have to admit to pining for my own washing machine.
The Mesilla Valley
On Sunday, we finally tried geocaching. Found it pretty quickly (it was an easy one!), but think we might be hooked.
Then we drove down to Las Cruces via NM 187, instead of I-25, taking a scenic country lane through Hatch (chile capital of the world). Love the little roads. Got to see field after field of red chiles, acres of pecan groves with golden leaves, cotton fields, and lettuce fields--very colorful red, yellow, white and green. Toured the New Mexico Farm Museum, a AAA "gem." It was indeed really neat.
We attended a dowsing demonstration, led by a 39-year Army veteran (and a civil engineer). Wow. I found out that I have a knack for it, so I spent $10 and bought a little booklet, some L rods, and a pendulum, and intend to practice this every day.
We visited the resident blacksmith, big Bertha the demonstration milking cow, and learned all about NM agriculture. Interesting factoid: one bale of cotton weighs 500 pounds and can produce 1200+ T-shirts, or 2000 socks, or 275 pairs of jeans. There was also a special exhibit on the history of NM schools....
Got the laundry done along with some necessary chores, and then Monday we decided not to drive. We were able to walk about 1.5 miles to the old plaza in Mesilla. A beautiful plaza, lots of neat shops, and a really great lunch.
When we got back today, we met Navion owners FROM GREENCASTLE, INDIANA. They saw "DePauw" on Lisa's sweat pants and stopped to say hello. Talk about a small world. And they're V/N Yahoo! group members, too.
We plan to head out early tomorrow for Carlsbad Caverns and another state park.
Then we drove down to Las Cruces via NM 187, instead of I-25, taking a scenic country lane through Hatch (chile capital of the world). Love the little roads. Got to see field after field of red chiles, acres of pecan groves with golden leaves, cotton fields, and lettuce fields--very colorful red, yellow, white and green. Toured the New Mexico Farm Museum, a AAA "gem." It was indeed really neat.
We attended a dowsing demonstration, led by a 39-year Army veteran (and a civil engineer). Wow. I found out that I have a knack for it, so I spent $10 and bought a little booklet, some L rods, and a pendulum, and intend to practice this every day.
We visited the resident blacksmith, big Bertha the demonstration milking cow, and learned all about NM agriculture. Interesting factoid: one bale of cotton weighs 500 pounds and can produce 1200+ T-shirts, or 2000 socks, or 275 pairs of jeans. There was also a special exhibit on the history of NM schools....
Got the laundry done along with some necessary chores, and then Monday we decided not to drive. We were able to walk about 1.5 miles to the old plaza in Mesilla. A beautiful plaza, lots of neat shops, and a really great lunch.
When we got back today, we met Navion owners FROM GREENCASTLE, INDIANA. They saw "DePauw" on Lisa's sweat pants and stopped to say hello. Talk about a small world. And they're V/N Yahoo! group members, too.
We plan to head out early tomorrow for Carlsbad Caverns and another state park.
Of Chloride and Chlorox
Let's see...to catch up...we spent our first non-moving day on Friday at Elephant Butte State Park, waiting out the 25-35 mph winds blowing through with the big storm that was delivering snow up north. Temps were lovely here, though--near 70--so we managed two good-sized hikes. Walking up the sand dunes from the lake against the wind, with tumbleweeds attacking, is not much fun, though. But it sure is pretty here. The Rio Grande is dammed here and the water is a lovely shade of green. We even saw wild pumpkins clinging to their withered vines. (Nick took a yellow, tennis-ball-sized one--of course--back to our campsite.)
New Mexico has some of the nicest state parks you'll find. We opted not to buy the annual pass, as we aren't staying enough nights to make it worthwhile (it's something like $250/year and makes every night only $4; it's $14 otherwise), but just love the electric and water hookups for that nice, low price. Most have recycling (a rarity on the road, unfortunately) and shower facilities. But we are glad to be self-contained:
Saturday we toodled up to Chloride, NM. What a trip back in time and into the boonies this was. We passed through Cuchillo, which we thought held some tourist attractions (per the Las Cruces Visitor Bureau), but alas the town was in serious decline. (And the Bureau denies any responsibility for accuracy--lovely!) We did see some fun things, though:
The view into town (see the police car looking like a speed trap?):
There are dummies inside the car, which I couldn't capture, but which made us laugh out loud.
These folks don't have much of a town, but they do have a sense of humor (another sign said, "Welcome to Chloride. Now Slow Your [picture of a donkey] Down!") and a pretty little church.
As we kept traveling up and up in altitude and farther out and out into the boonies past a whole lot of hunters and lots of blind curves at cattle guards marked for 10mph, (and they MEANT 10 mph), we were getting discouraged. What if Chloride was as big of a bust as Cuchillo? We pressed onward.
What a find.
The town of Chloride, once population 3000 during the silver boom, is now home to 10 full-time souls. 10. And two of those souls have made the town a labor of their love. They were weekenders for many years, bringing up groceries to the old folks in town every Friday night, until they were able to retire (he from IBM) and move up full time. (Keep in mind that the nearest anything is well over an hour away.) They bought the two remaining historic buildings in town from a real old timer (many folks were in their late 90s and were able to tell tales from the old days--the town shut down as a town in 1923).
One building, which was once one of 9 saloons in town and had become the school at one point, is now an artists' coop, featuring the work of 30 "local" artists.
Some things were pretty crafty (a "cake" made of ribbons and silk flowers ;-) and some things were really quite accomplished. The quilts--wow. The photography? Stunning. We ended up buying 2 paintings for our still-bare walls at home, a cowgirl necklace for Lisa, and a Christmas ornament made by our sales lady. They had told us on the way in that it was "Yuletide in Chloride" weekend (!), so for every $25 purchased, you got a special treat. We declined to take all that we had "earned," but we did take a peanut brittle and a fudge. Unreal. These ladies know how to make candy. And the pecans in both were local and harvested this fall. So fresh.
Then, the REAL treat began. The woman who'd done the restoration gave us a tour of the next-door museum. (The sign on the front says that if no one is around, go down 3 doors and knock.)
This building was the mercantile for the area and had simply been shuttered in 1923, with everything in side left as it was. The bats and rats had free run for 60 years and along came this retired couple to clean it up. They spent 3 years shoveling and hand cleaning (with Chlorox bleach or just even damp cloths) the amazing items inside--all of which have been restored and actually work! I've never seen a McClaskey credit machine (made in Dayton at turn of 20th century). An ingenious, fire-proof, and semi-automated device made for keeping each customer's credit record and printing out daily receipts. I've been searching the web a bit, but can't yet find anything on this. Really interesting contraption. Suffice to say, we were in this museum for quite a while, like kids in a candy store, asking questions and listening to the most fascinating stories. (I was reminded of the antebellum house in Mississippi, in which the 80+ year old owner and restorer gave us all his stories ;-) People are just amazing with what passions they follow and share with the world.
So, our visit was definitely worth that washboardy, winding, and beautiful drive. And put this on your list, Nancy :-)
We ended up heading back into T or C for lunch at the Full Belly Deli (the name turned out to be the best thing about the place) and walking around the funky little downtown's first annual "Hot Springs Festival." The festival was intended to accomplish many purposes: provide vendors a closed street on which to sell all manner of tchotchkes, provide tours of the 10 hot springs downtown (we missed that tour, unfortunately), honor the almost-centenarians in town (?), and generally provide live music, a beer garden, and a bouncy house. We do love small town festivals. Ended up buying one more souvenir. (I think we have shopped more on this trip than any others because we aren't driving like madwomen every day.) Can't believe we did it. And I didn't get a photo before Lisa packed her (her name is, inexplicably, Martha) away. We bought a bleached old cow skull. Yup. Sure did. Can't wait to find the right spot for her when we get home.
As the afternoon wore on, we decided we needed to find a new state park. (The last one had been ruined by a hideous family moving in next door to us. The husband was some kind of Neanderthal beer belly redneck, the helpless wife got dragged for walks by the untrained beast of a dog, the little girl threw tantrums wailing at the top of her lungs, AND--get this--they tied up the dog and left it outside ALL night. Did you know that the car horn doesn't honk when the engine isn't on? Yes, I got a bit steamed with the dog's barking at one point and tried the horn....)
So, we found another state park gem just a bit down the road: Percha Dam, also known for its birding possibilities. (We've heard tons of interesting ones, but really haven't seen too many.) These are just iPhone photos, but they capture the pretty late afternoon, autumnal light here:
Goodness, but we love fall travel. Gorgeous weather, clean air, colorful leaves. We are in the perfect spot right now--high of 60, no precip. Albuquerque is having a wintry mix today. Glad we got out of northern/central NM when we did.
Today, we're off to Las Cruces, since Lisa has made a request for civilization and possibly a movie theater and we need to do laundry again. Think we'll go back to the resort we stayed at last November--the one with the concierge, hot tub, and nice library/laundry room combo. We found out that we can actually walk to a historic plaza from there (Old Mesilla) and maybe, just maybe, we'll get our hair cut!
And happy 87th birthday, Dad! Calling soon....
New Mexico has some of the nicest state parks you'll find. We opted not to buy the annual pass, as we aren't staying enough nights to make it worthwhile (it's something like $250/year and makes every night only $4; it's $14 otherwise), but just love the electric and water hookups for that nice, low price. Most have recycling (a rarity on the road, unfortunately) and shower facilities. But we are glad to be self-contained:
Saturday we toodled up to Chloride, NM. What a trip back in time and into the boonies this was. We passed through Cuchillo, which we thought held some tourist attractions (per the Las Cruces Visitor Bureau), but alas the town was in serious decline. (And the Bureau denies any responsibility for accuracy--lovely!) We did see some fun things, though:
The view into town (see the police car looking like a speed trap?):
There are dummies inside the car, which I couldn't capture, but which made us laugh out loud.
These folks don't have much of a town, but they do have a sense of humor (another sign said, "Welcome to Chloride. Now Slow Your [picture of a donkey] Down!") and a pretty little church.
As we kept traveling up and up in altitude and farther out and out into the boonies past a whole lot of hunters and lots of blind curves at cattle guards marked for 10mph, (and they MEANT 10 mph), we were getting discouraged. What if Chloride was as big of a bust as Cuchillo? We pressed onward.
What a find.
The town of Chloride, once population 3000 during the silver boom, is now home to 10 full-time souls. 10. And two of those souls have made the town a labor of their love. They were weekenders for many years, bringing up groceries to the old folks in town every Friday night, until they were able to retire (he from IBM) and move up full time. (Keep in mind that the nearest anything is well over an hour away.) They bought the two remaining historic buildings in town from a real old timer (many folks were in their late 90s and were able to tell tales from the old days--the town shut down as a town in 1923).
One building, which was once one of 9 saloons in town and had become the school at one point, is now an artists' coop, featuring the work of 30 "local" artists.
Some things were pretty crafty (a "cake" made of ribbons and silk flowers ;-) and some things were really quite accomplished. The quilts--wow. The photography? Stunning. We ended up buying 2 paintings for our still-bare walls at home, a cowgirl necklace for Lisa, and a Christmas ornament made by our sales lady. They had told us on the way in that it was "Yuletide in Chloride" weekend (!), so for every $25 purchased, you got a special treat. We declined to take all that we had "earned," but we did take a peanut brittle and a fudge. Unreal. These ladies know how to make candy. And the pecans in both were local and harvested this fall. So fresh.
Then, the REAL treat began. The woman who'd done the restoration gave us a tour of the next-door museum. (The sign on the front says that if no one is around, go down 3 doors and knock.)
This building was the mercantile for the area and had simply been shuttered in 1923, with everything in side left as it was. The bats and rats had free run for 60 years and along came this retired couple to clean it up. They spent 3 years shoveling and hand cleaning (with Chlorox bleach or just even damp cloths) the amazing items inside--all of which have been restored and actually work! I've never seen a McClaskey credit machine (made in Dayton at turn of 20th century). An ingenious, fire-proof, and semi-automated device made for keeping each customer's credit record and printing out daily receipts. I've been searching the web a bit, but can't yet find anything on this. Really interesting contraption. Suffice to say, we were in this museum for quite a while, like kids in a candy store, asking questions and listening to the most fascinating stories. (I was reminded of the antebellum house in Mississippi, in which the 80+ year old owner and restorer gave us all his stories ;-) People are just amazing with what passions they follow and share with the world.
So, our visit was definitely worth that washboardy, winding, and beautiful drive. And put this on your list, Nancy :-)
We ended up heading back into T or C for lunch at the Full Belly Deli (the name turned out to be the best thing about the place) and walking around the funky little downtown's first annual "Hot Springs Festival." The festival was intended to accomplish many purposes: provide vendors a closed street on which to sell all manner of tchotchkes, provide tours of the 10 hot springs downtown (we missed that tour, unfortunately), honor the almost-centenarians in town (?), and generally provide live music, a beer garden, and a bouncy house. We do love small town festivals. Ended up buying one more souvenir. (I think we have shopped more on this trip than any others because we aren't driving like madwomen every day.) Can't believe we did it. And I didn't get a photo before Lisa packed her (her name is, inexplicably, Martha) away. We bought a bleached old cow skull. Yup. Sure did. Can't wait to find the right spot for her when we get home.
As the afternoon wore on, we decided we needed to find a new state park. (The last one had been ruined by a hideous family moving in next door to us. The husband was some kind of Neanderthal beer belly redneck, the helpless wife got dragged for walks by the untrained beast of a dog, the little girl threw tantrums wailing at the top of her lungs, AND--get this--they tied up the dog and left it outside ALL night. Did you know that the car horn doesn't honk when the engine isn't on? Yes, I got a bit steamed with the dog's barking at one point and tried the horn....)
So, we found another state park gem just a bit down the road: Percha Dam, also known for its birding possibilities. (We've heard tons of interesting ones, but really haven't seen too many.) These are just iPhone photos, but they capture the pretty late afternoon, autumnal light here:
Goodness, but we love fall travel. Gorgeous weather, clean air, colorful leaves. We are in the perfect spot right now--high of 60, no precip. Albuquerque is having a wintry mix today. Glad we got out of northern/central NM when we did.
Today, we're off to Las Cruces, since Lisa has made a request for civilization and possibly a movie theater and we need to do laundry again. Think we'll go back to the resort we stayed at last November--the one with the concierge, hot tub, and nice library/laundry room combo. We found out that we can actually walk to a historic plaza from there (Old Mesilla) and maybe, just maybe, we'll get our hair cut!
And happy 87th birthday, Dad! Calling soon....
Mountainair, Salinas Pueblos, TorC
The last two days have been quite an adventure. We headed down from the Albuquerque area on scenic byways toward the Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument in central New Mexico. Had no idea what these were, except that Kate recommended a visit. Wow. What unspeakable cruelty and sadness: the conquistadores and Spanish friars basically wiped out a thriving civilization in less than 50 years. These places went from thriving to deserted from 1630 to 1670. No one ever came back.
This will give you a sense of scale--this was a BIG church, which even included 2 kivas.
The best part of the visit for me was the visitor's center--this National Park Service gift shop had the most amazing array of books. Not just your typical nonfiction reference titles, but honest-to-goodness classy fiction. I bought and devoured in less than 24 hours Willa Cather's Death Comes for the Archbishop. I adore Ms. Cather's writing--so poetic, so visual--and this book was no disappointment. In fact, it pulled together the history of so very many places we've been visiting: Canyon de Chelly, southern Colorado, Shiprock, the northern pueblos/Taos/Santa Fe/ABQ, and the Salinas Pueblos. I highly recommend this book if you're coming to (or have been to) New Mexico.
The 3 parts of the national monument are centered (sort of) around Mountainair, NM--a town that clearly was once quite a happening place, but is, alas, in great decline.
Anyone want to buy this cool little hotel that's on the National Register of Historic Places? We learned that the original ower was quite a folk artist. We loved his fence.
We camped at a lovely little state park up a mountain side: Manzano Mountain State Park. Never did find any manzanos, though. Lots of trails and electric hook up, and lots of Nick's favorite back-up toy: pine cones.
Tonight finds us in Elephant Butte Lake State Park, near Truth or Consequences, NM. We were going to stay near Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, but couldn't stomach the only RV park in the area--just a gravel parking lot. Since Friday is supposed to be a high-wind day, we thought we oughta be somewhere we'd enjoy being for a couple of days, so we headed south. What we're missing, we hear, is specatacular birding. (The Crane Festival starts next week.) But, we weren't willing to subject the dog (or us) to the parking lot/gravel vibe.
Before we left the area, however, we did achieve another objective: we had the famous Manny's Buckhorn Tavern green chile cheeseburger. The proprietor was challenged to a "throwdown" by Bobby Flay of Food Network earlier this year, and the tavern won! (That's rather unusual--Chef Flay usually wins.) It was pretty darn good. Not our favorite road food burger (that honor is still held by The Nook in St. Paul, MN--see July post from last year), but really tasty and very unusual. Crispy edges and almost Maid-Rite tasting but formed into a patty (but a patty with holes). Lots of mustard, pickles, and green chile. Too dark in there for the iPhone, so I've linked to another blog for photos and descriptions.
Tonight finds us in another lovely NM state park: Elephant Butte Lake State Park. We followed the Rio Grande down I-25 today--all golden cottonwood lined--and now we're at the lake formed by a dam on that once-fine river. Think we may stay here 2 nights, given the wind warning tomorrow. I still have 2 more books from the National Park bookstore to read ;-) We hear that the name of "T or C" as it's called now before it changed its name to that of the radio game show was "Hot Springs, NM." We tooled around town just a little this afternoon, but didn't find bathhouse row. Given that this is one of our themes this year (Tecopa twice, Hot Springs National Park, and Ojo Caliente), we just have to keep looking.
This will give you a sense of scale--this was a BIG church, which even included 2 kivas.
The best part of the visit for me was the visitor's center--this National Park Service gift shop had the most amazing array of books. Not just your typical nonfiction reference titles, but honest-to-goodness classy fiction. I bought and devoured in less than 24 hours Willa Cather's Death Comes for the Archbishop. I adore Ms. Cather's writing--so poetic, so visual--and this book was no disappointment. In fact, it pulled together the history of so very many places we've been visiting: Canyon de Chelly, southern Colorado, Shiprock, the northern pueblos/Taos/Santa Fe/ABQ, and the Salinas Pueblos. I highly recommend this book if you're coming to (or have been to) New Mexico.
The 3 parts of the national monument are centered (sort of) around Mountainair, NM--a town that clearly was once quite a happening place, but is, alas, in great decline.
Anyone want to buy this cool little hotel that's on the National Register of Historic Places? We learned that the original ower was quite a folk artist. We loved his fence.
We camped at a lovely little state park up a mountain side: Manzano Mountain State Park. Never did find any manzanos, though. Lots of trails and electric hook up, and lots of Nick's favorite back-up toy: pine cones.
Tonight finds us in Elephant Butte Lake State Park, near Truth or Consequences, NM. We were going to stay near Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, but couldn't stomach the only RV park in the area--just a gravel parking lot. Since Friday is supposed to be a high-wind day, we thought we oughta be somewhere we'd enjoy being for a couple of days, so we headed south. What we're missing, we hear, is specatacular birding. (The Crane Festival starts next week.) But, we weren't willing to subject the dog (or us) to the parking lot/gravel vibe.
Before we left the area, however, we did achieve another objective: we had the famous Manny's Buckhorn Tavern green chile cheeseburger. The proprietor was challenged to a "throwdown" by Bobby Flay of Food Network earlier this year, and the tavern won! (That's rather unusual--Chef Flay usually wins.) It was pretty darn good. Not our favorite road food burger (that honor is still held by The Nook in St. Paul, MN--see July post from last year), but really tasty and very unusual. Crispy edges and almost Maid-Rite tasting but formed into a patty (but a patty with holes). Lots of mustard, pickles, and green chile. Too dark in there for the iPhone, so I've linked to another blog for photos and descriptions.
Tonight finds us in another lovely NM state park: Elephant Butte Lake State Park. We followed the Rio Grande down I-25 today--all golden cottonwood lined--and now we're at the lake formed by a dam on that once-fine river. Think we may stay here 2 nights, given the wind warning tomorrow. I still have 2 more books from the National Park bookstore to read ;-) We hear that the name of "T or C" as it's called now before it changed its name to that of the radio game show was "Hot Springs, NM." We tooled around town just a little this afternoon, but didn't find bathhouse row. Given that this is one of our themes this year (Tecopa twice, Hot Springs National Park, and Ojo Caliente), we just have to keep looking.
Taos, Las Vegas, Sante Fe, Los Alamos
We're writing another "catch up" post from Bernalillo, NM--the same campground where we stayed about 10 days ago (the one with the free pancakes that I'm in danger of missing if I don't write efficiently this morning).
So, after we left Ojo Caliente on Sunday, we weren't sure of where we'd stay. We knew we needed to at least go through Taos while we were so close, but we didn't think we wanted to stay there since it's at a pretty high elevation and the only RV parks that are open say "Work crews welcome!" Yikes. Those are the places where the diesel pick up trucks start idling at 5:30 or 6AM and look like parking lots. But off we went, through a very scenic byway. Our first stop was:
Rio Grande Gorge Bridge
This rusting, not-very-attractive (despite the placque) bridge stands 650 feet over the gorge. Vertigo, for sure.
Earthship Community outside Taos
Just a mile or two beyond the bridge we started seeing very odd houses--oh, the Earthships we've heard about! Well, in typical NM fashion, there was no advance warning and we boogied past the visitor's center at 55 mph. We have become quite proficient at the quick curse and then safe U-turn here in New Mexico.
How marvelous (if sort of run-down and dated) the "model home" was. We'd love to imitate much of the engineering (with 21st century, not 1970s, taste) some day and live totally off the grid. Here are some of the techniques we marveled at:
thick adobe walls made of recycled materials (tires, bottles, glass) that retain heat in winter and coolness in summer
southern-oriented walls of windows to capture winter heat (which the darkly painted interior adobe walls retain and release at night) and to grow plants and produce using the gray water
3,000 gallon cistern that makes a lovely waterfall in the center of the home and a hyper-efficient water system that reuses water ingeniously: first as fresh, 2nd it's filtered by plants, there's a 3rd use we can't remember, then it's ready for the toilet, and then the black water goes into the septic.
combinations of active solar, wind, and geothermal with a clever "systems room" where all the batteries, water filters, etc. were located. There was also a very clever ventilation/skylight system. We felt as if we could understand the water and power systems, since they resemble--a little--the motorhome's.
At any rate, very cool homes. The group trains people to build these all over the world, since Third World countries certainly have recyclable materials and adobe. I'll post this one landscape photo, but you really can't see the hundreds of homes that are built out in this community. They just blend into the landscape...sort of.
Taos
Of course, what we wanted to see (the Pueblo and the Church) were both closed--and for some reason, the area didn't pique our interest--so we did basically a hit and run. The "most photographed church in New Mexico" was indeed beautiful from the outside. I don't recall ever seeing a Catholic Church closed in the afternoon--especially not on a Sunday....
Las Vegas, NM
So, we kept driving to Las Vegas, NM, as we'd read and heard that it was home to 900 historical buildings. Apparently, when the railroad (sing it with me, "The Atchison, Topeka, and the Santa Fe") came through here, the town just exploded. We stopped at the lovely visitor center at the train depot (the lady was leaving for the day since it was so slow, saw us driving in, and re-opened--how nice!) and got a map and drove around town a bit.
Now, they just HAVE to be filming a movie here. Or else, how did Las Vegas, NM, get on the border?
Since it was Sunday, there wasn't a shop open or soul around. So, we proceeded to a make-do campground--a KOA--as we really needed to do laundry and the state park nearby was just not our cup of tea. Up and at 'em early....
Santa Fe
We headed to Santa Fe, albeit reluctantly. I had just been there in September and was underwhelmed. Both of us had visited back in the 90s; again, not fond memories. But we felt, as with Taos, that we "should." We found a visitor center that directed us to appropriate parking (whew--one worry allayed. The streets in Santa Fe are a bit, well, narrow) and then we headed straight for lunch: Pasqual's Cafe: Recommended by Roadfood.com and gal at Ojo Caliente. Wow. Yum-o, as Rachel Ray says.
A festive interior
This is Lisa's squash-and-red-onion tamale
Definitely worth the trip, as this was a foodie's heaven: all organic, free-range everything with just the most delicious spices (they grow their own).
Then we did a bit of window shopping and looky-looing before we visited the two big tourist destinations: the basilica and the Loretto Chapel--the place with the miraculous staircase. The story goes that a carpenter (the nuns believe it was St. Joseph) built the spiral staircase with 2, complete 360 degree turns and no visible means of support. He left without payment and the engineering baffles experts to this day. (The handrails were added later.)
We tried, unsuccessfully, to find a place to get our hair cut. Getting pretty shaggy these days, but ended up heading out of town and over to the Los Alamos area and to:
Bandelier National Monument
We boondocked in this park, but there were rangers on duty and other campers. There were, however, also other visitors: Lions, Tigers, and Bears...Oh My! (Elk, Coyotes, and Squirrels doesn't have the same ring to it)
We saw an enormous herd of elk on our way to the campground, and then, at 5:00 AM, Lisa says, "Why are those children screaming?" Those aren't children. That's a pack of coyotes surrounding our rig and going crazy. Thank goodness Nick is going deaf. He awoke, but didn't hear them (how?) and didn't insist on going outside. We got him to wait 30 minutes and the pack was gone. But they must've left a good, juicy scent behind, as Nick was fascinated. "Those are dogs, aren't they? Wow, they smell weird..."
In the morning, we did about a 3-mile hike in Frijoles Canyon to see the Ancestral Puebloan ruins, up close and personal. They let you climb ladders and get right up to things here.
What animal did these people raise for food?
Los Alamos, NM
Photos borrowed from the Los Alamos Visitor Site, since I totally neglected to take any photos. Too interested in seeing things.
It was just a gorgeous fall day--not unlike this--and we walked to the many free museums in town.
This one had some really cool interactive exhibits (no, you couldn't blow anything up), but was really for science geeks. Just an avalanche of information.
We preferred the smaller, more home grown Los Alamos Historical Museum, which explained the history of this very unusual set of mesa tops (good for national security) from pre-historic times through the Manhattan Project. Here's a map of the area--these mesas are separated by very steep and deep canyons. It's very unusual and quite beautiful.
Such fascinating history here. My favorite displays had to do with life there on the base in the 1940s and how secret it had to be kept. All those young families (the scientists' average age was 29) cooped up behind fences doing such dangerous work.
We heard some stories at Ghost Ranch that the FBI came to investigate whether Ghost Ranch would be a good place for the scientists (with their stir-crazy wives) to get R&R. They apparently concluded it was a good place (even though the city-slicker agents thought that they had missed interviewing the "cattle guards"), so the scientists came--with names like Joe Smith, and Albert Farmer. Sure, these guys had thick Italian or German accents (think Enrico Fermi and Albert Einstein), but American names....
On the way back down to Albuquerque area, we made one more stop (no photos) at the Santuario de Chimayo--a chapel famed to have holy dirt that cures the sick.
Off we go today to who knows where--but probably off the grid again.
So, after we left Ojo Caliente on Sunday, we weren't sure of where we'd stay. We knew we needed to at least go through Taos while we were so close, but we didn't think we wanted to stay there since it's at a pretty high elevation and the only RV parks that are open say "Work crews welcome!" Yikes. Those are the places where the diesel pick up trucks start idling at 5:30 or 6AM and look like parking lots. But off we went, through a very scenic byway. Our first stop was:
Rio Grande Gorge Bridge
This rusting, not-very-attractive (despite the placque) bridge stands 650 feet over the gorge. Vertigo, for sure.
Earthship Community outside Taos
Just a mile or two beyond the bridge we started seeing very odd houses--oh, the Earthships we've heard about! Well, in typical NM fashion, there was no advance warning and we boogied past the visitor's center at 55 mph. We have become quite proficient at the quick curse and then safe U-turn here in New Mexico.
How marvelous (if sort of run-down and dated) the "model home" was. We'd love to imitate much of the engineering (with 21st century, not 1970s, taste) some day and live totally off the grid. Here are some of the techniques we marveled at:
thick adobe walls made of recycled materials (tires, bottles, glass) that retain heat in winter and coolness in summer
southern-oriented walls of windows to capture winter heat (which the darkly painted interior adobe walls retain and release at night) and to grow plants and produce using the gray water
3,000 gallon cistern that makes a lovely waterfall in the center of the home and a hyper-efficient water system that reuses water ingeniously: first as fresh, 2nd it's filtered by plants, there's a 3rd use we can't remember, then it's ready for the toilet, and then the black water goes into the septic.
combinations of active solar, wind, and geothermal with a clever "systems room" where all the batteries, water filters, etc. were located. There was also a very clever ventilation/skylight system. We felt as if we could understand the water and power systems, since they resemble--a little--the motorhome's.
At any rate, very cool homes. The group trains people to build these all over the world, since Third World countries certainly have recyclable materials and adobe. I'll post this one landscape photo, but you really can't see the hundreds of homes that are built out in this community. They just blend into the landscape...sort of.
Taos
Of course, what we wanted to see (the Pueblo and the Church) were both closed--and for some reason, the area didn't pique our interest--so we did basically a hit and run. The "most photographed church in New Mexico" was indeed beautiful from the outside. I don't recall ever seeing a Catholic Church closed in the afternoon--especially not on a Sunday....
Las Vegas, NM
So, we kept driving to Las Vegas, NM, as we'd read and heard that it was home to 900 historical buildings. Apparently, when the railroad (sing it with me, "The Atchison, Topeka, and the Santa Fe") came through here, the town just exploded. We stopped at the lovely visitor center at the train depot (the lady was leaving for the day since it was so slow, saw us driving in, and re-opened--how nice!) and got a map and drove around town a bit.
Now, they just HAVE to be filming a movie here. Or else, how did Las Vegas, NM, get on the border?
Since it was Sunday, there wasn't a shop open or soul around. So, we proceeded to a make-do campground--a KOA--as we really needed to do laundry and the state park nearby was just not our cup of tea. Up and at 'em early....
Santa Fe
We headed to Santa Fe, albeit reluctantly. I had just been there in September and was underwhelmed. Both of us had visited back in the 90s; again, not fond memories. But we felt, as with Taos, that we "should." We found a visitor center that directed us to appropriate parking (whew--one worry allayed. The streets in Santa Fe are a bit, well, narrow) and then we headed straight for lunch: Pasqual's Cafe: Recommended by Roadfood.com and gal at Ojo Caliente. Wow. Yum-o, as Rachel Ray says.
A festive interior
This is Lisa's squash-and-red-onion tamale
Definitely worth the trip, as this was a foodie's heaven: all organic, free-range everything with just the most delicious spices (they grow their own).
Then we did a bit of window shopping and looky-looing before we visited the two big tourist destinations: the basilica and the Loretto Chapel--the place with the miraculous staircase. The story goes that a carpenter (the nuns believe it was St. Joseph) built the spiral staircase with 2, complete 360 degree turns and no visible means of support. He left without payment and the engineering baffles experts to this day. (The handrails were added later.)
We tried, unsuccessfully, to find a place to get our hair cut. Getting pretty shaggy these days, but ended up heading out of town and over to the Los Alamos area and to:
Bandelier National Monument
We boondocked in this park, but there were rangers on duty and other campers. There were, however, also other visitors: Lions, Tigers, and Bears...Oh My! (Elk, Coyotes, and Squirrels doesn't have the same ring to it)
We saw an enormous herd of elk on our way to the campground, and then, at 5:00 AM, Lisa says, "Why are those children screaming?" Those aren't children. That's a pack of coyotes surrounding our rig and going crazy. Thank goodness Nick is going deaf. He awoke, but didn't hear them (how?) and didn't insist on going outside. We got him to wait 30 minutes and the pack was gone. But they must've left a good, juicy scent behind, as Nick was fascinated. "Those are dogs, aren't they? Wow, they smell weird..."
In the morning, we did about a 3-mile hike in Frijoles Canyon to see the Ancestral Puebloan ruins, up close and personal. They let you climb ladders and get right up to things here.
What animal did these people raise for food?
Los Alamos, NM
Photos borrowed from the Los Alamos Visitor Site, since I totally neglected to take any photos. Too interested in seeing things.
It was just a gorgeous fall day--not unlike this--and we walked to the many free museums in town.
This one had some really cool interactive exhibits (no, you couldn't blow anything up), but was really for science geeks. Just an avalanche of information.
We preferred the smaller, more home grown Los Alamos Historical Museum, which explained the history of this very unusual set of mesa tops (good for national security) from pre-historic times through the Manhattan Project. Here's a map of the area--these mesas are separated by very steep and deep canyons. It's very unusual and quite beautiful.
Such fascinating history here. My favorite displays had to do with life there on the base in the 1940s and how secret it had to be kept. All those young families (the scientists' average age was 29) cooped up behind fences doing such dangerous work.
We heard some stories at Ghost Ranch that the FBI came to investigate whether Ghost Ranch would be a good place for the scientists (with their stir-crazy wives) to get R&R. They apparently concluded it was a good place (even though the city-slicker agents thought that they had missed interviewing the "cattle guards"), so the scientists came--with names like Joe Smith, and Albert Farmer. Sure, these guys had thick Italian or German accents (think Enrico Fermi and Albert Einstein), but American names....
On the way back down to Albuquerque area, we made one more stop (no photos) at the Santuario de Chimayo--a chapel famed to have holy dirt that cures the sick.
Off we go today to who knows where--but probably off the grid again.
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