Spruce House

We are high! About 8500 ft. at this point. Great views of the surrounding areas, including the Rocky Mountains.



Lots of dead trees in the area. They were killed by a series of fires in the past. Because of climate changes, new trees can't sink their roots deep enough to reach shrinking water tables, and never re-establish themselves.


Visitor Center in middle of the park. The park is very large, and lots of driving is required to get from one important point to another. There are estimated to be hundreds of cliff dwellings scattered in the park. We will see four of the largest over the next several days.



Diorama in the museum depicting what a cliff dwelling would look like at the beginning of habitation by humans.



A lodge in the background, with a herd of wild horses munching on the grass.



Part of the museum complex, and beginning of trail to Spruce House - one of the first cliff dwellings discovered.



Samples of corn found in some cliff dwellings. The domestication of corn allowed hunter-gatherers to settle into dwellings, such as the cliff dwellings.

View of Spruce House from top of trail. Notice the flat, desert-like surface over the dwelling, which descends into a small canyon. Typical of cliff dwellings.


Entrance into Spruce House

Mimi reads about the various units in the Spruce House

Several Kivas are present in larger dwellings. These are like "bomb shelters" , but used for religious reasons. Also, during severe winters, they seal-up nicely, and with a fire in the center, are very warm.

Inside the Kiva

Stone metates used to grind the corn. Metate sites usually have a very nice view

This is a view of the museum trail head from the cliff dwelling

Mimi checking-out part of Spruce House

Mesa Verde !

It was a long run from Albuquerque to Mesa Verde - about 270 miles. We got started late and it took a fair amount of caffeine to get me rolling. The plane from San Francisco arrived at the airport about 11:00 p.m. last night. Mimi was prompt in picking me up, but it was after midnight when we got to bed. Waaay past our usual bed time.

Northern New Mexico is generally high and flat, with some mesas. Not very exciting driving. Mimi drove a lot of the distance while I worked on some psych reports generated yesterday.
We could see the Rockies peaking over the horizon as we approached the Colorado border. At the border, the landscape suddenly changed into steep hills and valleys, with lots of trees. Gassed-up in Durango, which is only 30 miles from Mesa Verde. Very steep territory here. Arrived at Mesa Verde about 4:00 p.m. It's very high here, and sunny but cool because of the altitude. Most sites are without hookups, which should keep the pansy RVers away.

This is going to be nice! Lots to see and explore, with cooool weather too.
Pictures to start tomorrow...

Quick Move

This is just a quick post. Yesterday we moved from Santa Fe to outside of Albuquerque. We've seen Albuquerque in the past - it' s a rather large, sprawling town, designed after Phoenix. Anyway, I needed to fly to San Francisco today to do some testing for Job Corps there. Flying out of Albuquerque is the best way, via South West Airllines. Mission accomplished, and I'm back already! Some loyal and fervent readers picked-up on the change of location map and were confused.

Now that our wallet is recharged, we are ready to gas-up and head to Colorado ! Mimi has good memories of Mesa Verde and the Silverton R.R. ride from her childhood, so we will try to get signed-up for that. Generally the temperature is rising out here, and we will be planning the rest of the trip based on that. The problem may be that some areas we would like to see are getting too hot for comfort.

A side note: Gas in San Francisco is over $4.00 a gallon. Diesel is over $5.00 a gallon. Glad I have oil stocks !

Shooter Loose in Town Square !

Today was a perfect one for photography. Bright sun, clear as a bell, and temp in the 70's. We went to the Santa Fe Town square to see the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum and hang-out with the other activities. A great opportunity to shoot-up the area! And that we did...

The O'Keeffe museum was great, especially the exhibition about her and Ansel Adams. Apparently they knew each other, and were good friends, writing frequently and visiting on occasion. Their styles were very different, but they greatly respected each other. O'Keeffe loved to use color and generally painted static art. Ansel Adams never used color, but was a genius with black and white. He also liked nonstatic art - weather effects, water, etc. Both appreciated nature and its infinite forms. Below is a rare example an O'Keeffe and Adams interpretation of the same structure.





Another shot of the Santa Fe Art Museum



Part of the town square, where there were lots of stalls set-up selling things.



These stalls are reserved for local Indians - in front of the Palace of Governors.





Can't have a town square without a Basilica near by



The center of the town square was reserved for a portable Iraq War memorial. It was sponsored by the Veterans Against the War, and was radical. Bless their hearts! My esteem for Santa Fe folks skyrocketed because of this. Below, Mimi reads about some of the casualties.



This exhibit is a variation of the empty boots displays. It emphasises the domestic casualties of the war back home - families disrupted and destroyed by a senseless, immoral, and wasteful war.



Latest count....



Empty boots remembering New Mexico Iraqi War dead.



Interesting little display summarizing the service record of politicians who supported the war. W. Bush was on another list as "Incomplete reserve service". Cheny was nowhere to be found, but I recall he had, "Other priorities" when it came to serving.





Time for lunch. Very tasty chicken or beef fajitas



Back to art. Great outdoor sculptures



Many high end art stores surround the plaza. If you have the money, they have the art!



Adobe makes a nice curving background



Couldn't pass-up this perspective shot



Mimi loves animals. I didn't have the heart to tell her it wasn't real



More sculpture





Perspective...



Elaborate decorative work on building facade





This cyclist-camper reminds us that it is time for us to hit the road again also

Taos & Museums

The weather has been improving dramatically over the weekend. By now it is back to cloudless skies and temperature in the 70's.

Saturday we went back to Museum Hill. There was an art special event, and the museums were free. Lots of Indian crafts were being exhibited and sold by folks from the surrounding pueblos. Most was very expensive, and we treated their wares as if they were part of the museum.



These gals were helping to park the cars and guide people entering Museum Hill.



Some plaza art work.





More plaza artwork





Chief Runnamuck prepares for a traditional Pueblo ceremonial dance.



Santuario de Chimayo is a famous chapel on the way to Taos. The story goes that originally, a cross was found buried at the site before it was developed. Some folks took the cross to town, but the next day, the cross was found at the original site. No matter how many times the cross was moved, it returned to the site. Finally, a church was built here. It's a beautiful location, with mountains in the background and a stream running by.






The dirt near one corner of the church is supposed to have magical healing qualities, and many believers come here to obtain some - rubbing it on affected body parts and making offerings.




Stations where offerings are made to various saints.

This one is inside the church

Decorations outside, by the stream.

A small box of the magical dirt. The box was $2.00, but the dirt was free.

Hey - you never know...





More nice scenery as we progress to Taos.

Mimi poses in front of the mountains that form the back drop to Taos.

The Taos visitors center is solar powered, and in the best tradition of New Mexico, tries to make it look artsy.

Taos was a holy mess when we arrived. The line of cars to the town center was miles long. Apparently everybody in N. New Mexico decided to take a ride here today. We circumnavigated the town, bypassing the craziness, and went to the Taos Pueblo. This is one of the biggest in the area, and is interesting.

Multistory dwellings. Mostly used as shops now. But I think some are still inhabited by the Pueblo.




Many dwellings have these beehive structures in the back used for baking.



First church for the pueblo. It was destroyed by U.S. troops as retribution for a rebellion. The pueblo was originally taken over by the Spanish, the people enslaved, and forced to adopt Christianity. When the U.S. acquired the area, these policies were continued - sparking the rebellion. Naturally, the Indian's are still resentful, and know the full meaning of the term, " I'm from the government, and I'm here to help you". Surprisingly, many Indian's still retain the Catholic religion, which originally enslaved them.

This is the new church.

Close-up of the typical construction of adobe structures




Traditional wigwams used for ceremonies and portable travel in the old days.