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stopped at a dinosaur museum in Tucumcari, NM. For a small town, the museum was really pretty good. I got a
photo of me touching a 70 million year old dinosaur egg, as well as a couple other black and whites. The ride was
peaceful and some of the views of the countryside were breath taking, like mountains stepping down in the
distance, beyond undulating fields with brush and small bushes. Once in Albuquerque, I checked in to my hotel,
another La Quinta. Then I drove to an internet café called the Flying Star. This café was unique in that it not only
sold drinks, but also a large magazine collection, as well as eclectic food. Dinner at a Chili’s, then back to my
hotel.
Friday, April 30: My morning was spent getting my car worked on – that damn “Check Engine” light. It turned
out to be something minor. But, I did get my tires rotated which helps. From there I drove around town getting
my bearing. I drove across the Rio Grande River, which was muddier looking then I expected. I drove down
Central Avenue, which used to be part of old, famous Rt. 66. Today, there are many restaurants and shops, but
many of the buildings are renovated keeping some of the original feel. Then I found my way to the Old Town,
where Albuquerque was founded. Here you can find many adobe buildings, “Many refurbished in the Pueblo
Revival style in the 1950’s.” There are cobble stone walkways between small boutiques and galleries selling
Indian and Mexican art. From here, I drove to the outskirts of town to take the Sandia Peak Tramway to the top
of a section of the Sandia Mountain range. The drive to the mountains was very scenic and beautiful as was the
views from the top. The ride on the tram up and especially down was harrowing – I have a little fear of heights. I
drove back along Rio Grande Blvd, which took me by many small farms and modern adobe style homes.
Saturday, May 1: I drove some more around town. I saw the University of New Mexico campus. The campus
had many building fashioned in the adobe style – nice campus. I drove back to the Old Town to get some pictures
with my digital camera, which I had just gotten back this morning. I then went to the Indian Pueblo Cultural
Center. There they have a museum, shops and a central courtyard where they put on performances of Indian
Dances. In the museum, I learned that there were nineteen Pueblo Indian tribes in N.M. The one in Taos has the
largest structures remaining. Each tribe has its own unique culture. These tribes date from the Pre-Columbian
era. In the central plaza, I was fortunate to catch an Indian dance performance. I learned that these dances were
done at Pow Wows and each dance was done for a reason: for a good hunt or harvest, for a loved on fighting a
war, etc.
Sunday, May 2: Day of R&R
Monday, May 3: I drove from Albuquerque to Santa Fe today. Along the way, I stopped at Los Alamos. I got
a photo of one of the original residences and went to a couple of local museums, which provide information on the
history of the Manhattan Project and on what the laboratories at Los Alamos are busy with today. The drive from
Los Alamos to Santa Fe was very scenic: a river running through a small green valley, exposed strata on the sides
of mountains, a large caldera with mountains encircling, etc. In Santa Fe, I got a room at the Hilton.
Tuesday, May 4: A beautiful day to tour this unique and enchanting town. After an authentic Mexican meal at
The Shed Restaurant, I toured St. Francis Cathedral, a beautiful, old Catholic Church. Next, I walked Canyon
Road with its multitude of wonderful galleries. I stopped in at a couple to admire the local artistic talent. They
were both very good, professional and carried many types of art from local artisans. This small city is a haven for
artists and has over 200 galleries. Next, I stopped in at the Oldest Church and Oldest House in the U.S.A. The
Oldest Church: “The original adobe walls and altar were built by Tlaxcala Indians from Mexico under the direction
of Franciscan Padres, ca. 1610.” After a rest in the main Plaza, I headed over to the Georgia O’Keefe Museum.
This extra-ordinary women lived 98 years, was married to the world renown photographer, Alfred Stieglitz, and
created her own style of abstract art patterned after the teachings of a University of VA educator, Arthur Wesley
Dow. “Dow believed that the goal of art was the expression of the artist’s personal ideas and feelings and that
such subject matter was best realized through harmonious arrangements of line, color, and notan (the Japanese
system of lights and darks). Even though, Georgia O’Keefe grew up in Wisconsin, studied in Chicago, NYC and
Virginia and worked in NYC and Texas, she is best known for her landscapes and still lifes in New Mexico.
Wednesday, May 5: Drove from Santa Fe to Taos, NM. Along the way, I drove to the Chimayo Pueblo,
where they have a well known adobe church. The church is built upon dirt, which is supposed to be able to cure
your ailments. I, also, drove through the San Juan pueblo, which is fairly large and rather mundane looking. On
Rt. 68 from Espanola to Taos is the Rio Grande Gorge – a smaller version of the Grand Canyon. Once in Taos, I
got a room at the Best Western. Once settled in, I walked down to the historic Taos Plaza. All the buildings here
are adobe. There are many boutiques, shops and galleries selling south-western Indian and Mexican art. I
stopped at the Public Library to get on the internet. Went back to my hotel to rest, then change. I had dinner at
the historic Taos Inn/Adobe Bar. The bean burrito with fresh green chili was very good. This evening was Cinco
De Mayo, so I figured that there would be something happening. But, it was pretty slow. I ended up at the Alley
Bar. They had live music, a soloist on guitar, one after the other. The crowd was diverse, but mostly leaning
toward hippy, natural. A couple people looked as if they hadn’t bathed in a while.
Thursday, May 6: Drove Taos, New Mexico to Durango, Colorado today. Before hitting the road, I had
brunch on a balcony overlooking the historic plaza on this gorgeous day. I walked over to the Kit Carson
Museum and home. While Daniel Boone was known as the great frontiersman, explorer, and Indian fighter up to
the Mississippi River and Texas, Kit Carson held that distinction from the Mid-west to the West Coast. His
exploits were mythologized to help support the theory of “Manifest Destiny,” a religious belief that we were entitled
to these lands. Kit led many explorations of the west, because of his knowledge of these areas due to being a
hunter and a trapper there for many years and his working knowledge of Spanish and many Indian languages. He
led battles against some Indians. But, was also married to an Indian woman, with whom he had six children.
Since the weather was so nice, I put the top down on my car for this leg of my journey. It was a good thing
that I did, since the scenery was so spectacular. From the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge, I got some wonderful
photos. The drop from the bridge to the river below was huge. Leaning over and looking down was pretty scary.
Next up was the Carson National Forest, which has many mountains, forests, lakes and streams. Even though, it
was about seventy degrees out, there were patches of snow on the sides of the mountains and in the valley by one
of the streams – very beautiful and scenic. I drove through the charming mountain town of Chama before crossing
the state line into Colorado.