Monday, August 21, 2017

Sometimes it's nice to have a leisurely morning.  That's what we did. It was a cloudy rainy morning and we knew weren't going to see much of the eclipse, so we didn't hurry. We met Michelle and Shari at Keshi at 10:00. This is a little fetish shop that Michelle loves.  Kay wanted to find out what her spirit animal is and Michelle thought that the Keshi ladies could help with that.  Kay walked around the shop looking at different animals and waiting for one to "call" to her.  Finally Mary, the clerk, had her do the card game. Kay drew a snake and Mary said it was a strong spirit.  It represented renewal, shedding the old and moving towards the new. That was really spooky because Kay just retired and is moving forward into a new phase of her life!  Goosebumps! Then Kay found a really unique snake fetish that called to her.  She also bought an Effie necklace and ring, which have the serpent design. Just for a little extra luck she bought a small pocket snake.  Pops found a stone bear carving that he liked and the artist, Salvador Romero, happened to come in while we there.  We got to meet him and have our picture taken with him.

 Shari found a stunning Bear fetish with an owl on it.  Wow, strong spirits singing! I wonder if it had anything to do with the eclipse.
After Keshi, we went to the famous Cafe Pasquale for lunch.  Everyone had great choices and we watched the day darken somewhat as the eclipse happened.  It was disappointing because you could hardly tell any difference. Too cloudy.

Later, we walked around the Plaza for awhile and then left for Michelle's house.  We were having a dinner party that evening and we had to get things going for that. We had a delicious dinner of fajitas and wine.  Shari had made a strawberry cake and we ate it with ice cream!  Ahhhh, the good life!

Sunday, August 20, 2017

Wow, what a spectacular day !  We dropped Jax off with Rich and met up with Michelle, Johnny, and Shari who had returned to Indian Market for a little while.  Then we took off for The Ghost Ranch.  On the way, we stopped at a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant called Big Dawg's.  Don't miss this place if you are ever in Espanola, NM. As we drove along Hiway 84 the scenery began to change. We began to see table-top mesas, tall red and yellow cliffs, huge cottonwood trees and meandering streams. The ranch covers 21,000 acres. The beautiful landscape provided inspiration for many of Georgia O'Keefe's paintings.  The ranch has a unique history and we enjoyed learning about it at the museum.  The park is also an education center and a resort. There are many hiking trails throughout the park and we decided to try one.  We hiked Lark Trail. It was sooo much fun. The views were incredible in spite of an impending storm.  In fact, the storm made the views even more dramatic.

When we returned from hiking late in the afternoon, Richard made incredible stir-fry for us and Shari made fantastic coconut cream pie and chocolate cream pie.  We are living the good life!

Saturday, August 19, 2017

Today was Indian Market.  In Santa Fe, this juried art show began in 1922 and has returned every August since then. It attracts over 100,000 people from all over the world.  There are over 900 exhibits.

 In addition to the regular show, there is also a separate Zuni art show.  We stayed at Michelle and Richard's house last night so we could all leave together.  Knowing that the show began at 7:00, and that the crowds would be bad, we left at 6:30 am to try for a decent parking spot. At the front edge of the exhibits we found some food trucks where we had Breakfast Burritos.  After breakfast we split up and immersed ourselves in the world of Native American art and culture.  We saw pottery, jewelry, paintings, clothing, fetishes and carvings.  We also listened to music and watched some young Native dancers. My only purchase was a small happy bear Zuni fetish by Gabe Sice.  He is so cute.  He makes me smile just to look at him.

Four hours later we grabbed lunch and then dove in again.  Around 3:00 we began to wear out.  We all met at a little Italian place for drinks and desserts. (I think Tina Fey calls it sheetcaking 😋). We had prickly pear margaritas that were extremely refreshing and some decadent chocolate cake. Finally we took our tired feet back up the mountain to the house.  Another good day in Santa Fe!

Thursday August 17, 2017
We slept in this morning because Jax was still at the "doggy jail" and I didn't need to walk him. After a leisurely breakfast, we loaded up supplies, picked up Jax, and headed back up to the mt house.  I made a peach pie and we all visited for awhile, trying to figure out what we wanted to do. Richard suggested lunch at an Asian restaurant that we had never been to before.  It was called Jinja and it was wonderful!  After lunch we decided on a short trip down part of Canyon Road. We returned to the mt house, ate pie, and everyone took naps. Later, we took a short hike up the hill to see the view. When we returned from the walk we opened some wine and made supper. Richard had fixed a brisket and we had brought some fantastic sweet corn from the Farmer's Market. It was veritable feast!!!  After a little more visiting (and a little more wine) Pops and Kay and I went back down the mt to the RV. Another special day in Santa Fe!

Wednesday, August 16 2017
This was our Albuquerque day. We had arranged to drop Jax off at the dog boarding facility, meet Johnny and Shari at 9:30 for the day, and pick up Michelle at the airport at 5:00. After we met J&S we drove out to Petroglyph National Monument. We donned our sunscreen, sun hats and water bottles and took off down the trail. The ancient petroglyphs are really fascinating. Yes, I am still writing about them and excited to share them with Kay and J&S. It was a nice easy hike ( just over a mile) and no steep hills or rough walking.  It was a beautiful morning and we all enjoyed it.

After the hike we went back to ABQ for lunch. With everyone feeling refreshed, we began walking around Old Town. It is a really picturesque little area and was not crowded this time. We took our time wandering in and out of the shops. I really enjoyed watching Pops and Shari discussing the artwork together. They are both so artsy and don't get to spend much time together. It was also interesting to watch Kay deal with a wacky shopkeeper who tried to charge her twice for some rings she wanted.  She straightened them out, though.  Finally the guys left to go get Michelle from the airport and we girls slipped into the restaurant to stake out our table for when they got back.  We felt compelled to order a pitcher of margueritas while we waited. 😄
The guys finally returned and we ordered some delicious Mexican pizzas.  It was soooo good to see Michelle again! Tired, but happy, we returned to Santa Fe. J&S and Michelle stopped in to see our new RV and then they went on to the mountain house. We saw another beautiful sunset! Good day!

Tuesday, August 15
Kay arrived this morning!  We picked her up at the tiny Santa Fe airport. This airport has only one gate and one baggage area. The baggage carousel is not even automated. They just push the bags along the rollers until people grab them or until they fall off the end. So funny!
After we picked Kay up, we headed for the Farmer's Market. We bought sweet corn, carrots, blackberries(yummy), cantaloup, onions, peaches,tomatoes and steaks.

We had lunch at Santa Fe Bites and then drove back to the RV camp.
Later that afternoon, we drove up the mountain to Michelle and Rich's house so Kay could see the new place. We cooked steaks on the grill, ate corn on the cob and a nice big salad. We finished up with a nice red wine. Beautiful evening.  Then we headed home, back down the the mountain. We saw a spectacular sunset. It looked like the sky was on fire!  Finally, we got into our pjs and watched the end of the Royals game on TV.  Then into our beds with a big day planned for Wednesday .

Santa Fe 2017

Back on the road again, finally. We are in Santa Fe, New Mexico for the month of August. The RV park, Santa Fe Skies, is wonderful. We have a beautiful site with a pretty little patio and a cute tree full of birds. It is the perfect place for coffee in the morning and wine in the evening.  The park has unique little sculptures all around the sites ( appropriate because Santa Fe is an art community, after all).  There is a 0.75 mile walking trail around the outside fence that is just perfect for walking Jax.  The sites are well spaced, not crowded up, and the views are nice with stunning sunsets and sunrises over the mountains in the distance. The temperatures are heavenly, 70s and 80s during the days and 50s and 60s at night.

High Road to Taos
Having heard about the interesting things to do on the High Road to Taos, we headed out for a day trip.  Our first stop was Nambe Falls and Lake in the Sangre de Cristo Mts.  To see the Falls, you have a choice of two trails.  One goes to the bottom of the Falls, but you have to get wet crossing the river in a few places. We weren't prepared for that, so we chose the second trail that climbs a quarter of a mile to a scenic overlook.  It was a nice hike, a little scary near the top where the trail got narrow and steep (no handrails ), but it was a beautiful view when we got there.

El Santuario De Chimayo

El Santuario de Chimayo was our next stop.  This small shrine is known for its healing earth.  It is considered to be the Lourdes of America, attracting over 300,000 thousand pilgrims a year.  It is one of the most important Catholic pilgrimage centers in the U.S.  Before the Spanish conquest of territory, the Pueblo Indians inhabited this area and believed that healing spirits were to be found in the earth at this site. People still believe it today. The walls of the rooms in the chapel are covered with expressions of thanks for the cures. There are discarded canes, crutches, braces, and wheelchairs, as well as pictures.  In one small room is a small pit of holy dirt that is said to have curative powers.

From Chimayo we drove to a small town along the ridge of the mountains called Truchas.  It is a small artist colony that is popular, especially during the Artist Tour that is held twice a year.  On the way to our next stop we found the Ortegas Weaving Workshop and Gallery.  Finally, we found our lunch spot.  I had read about this place, The Sugar Nymphs Café, in some brochures.  It is in the town of Pensacos.  They serve the BEST hamburger ever. But no fries. You get either soup or salad with it. The salad was fresh and yummy, too.

Five and a half hours after we left the RV we finally arrived in Taos. It was already 2:15 and we were tired.  I think we planned too much for one day.  We only got to tour about half of the Taos arts district before we gave out and headed back.  The way back was much shorter.  We drove the Low Road this time.  It follows the Rio Grande River and was a pretty drive, too. But no stops. We will have to go back to Taos to see the rest of it, as well as the Taos Pueblo and the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge.

Large crowd for evening music at the Plaza.

Another day, another adventure.