US Trip Part 26 April 18 - April 28

Day 248 Wednesday April 18
We went back to Cerrillos State Park just South of Santa Fe on the Turquoise Trail.  The park is composed of a large area of historic mines.  The one mine was used by the Spanish when they arrived in the area in the late 1500’s.  Natives mined in the area for lead which the used to make the black color on their pottery.  I went for about a mile walk past several of the mines.  Most have been covered for safety.   Mostly what was mined were lead, manganese, silver, and iron.  There were hundreds of claims in the area during the mid-1800’s.  We ate lunch at the picnic area.  After lunch, Judy and I walked up the steep hill to the Cortez mine which is the one they believe was the one the Spanish used.   North of the park in the same mountains are the historic Cerrillos mines which are still being exploited.  We drove back into town and went to Albertson’s for groceries.

Day 249 Thursday April 19
We went to several stores today.  We got a new little space heater as the old one was not working properly.  Judy finally found a turquoise blouse she wanted.  After lunch I played with rocks doing some cutting and polishing.  Judy continued working on her knitting.  Relaxing day.

Day 250 Friday April 20
We went rock hounding today.  We drove North out of Santa Fe on highway 84 through Espanola and Abiquiu.  At Abiquiu dam we headed Easterly on highway 96. What a beautiful view.  After ten miles we took Forest Service road 100.  We drove up into the mountains toPedernal mesa.. There were lots of agate material here.  Wow.  Some agate rocks were bigger than basketballs.  We left the big ones.  After stuffing Goldie full of  agates we drove further  up into the hills.  Spectacular  views and the weather was great. We went into the town of Abiquiu which was built on an old pueblo and the area around the town is an old Spanish land grant.  We met a man named Napoleon Garcia who was born and raised in the town.  An interesting character.  He was a friend of Georgia Okeeffe, the famous artist, whose house was a block away.  We drove by the house and looked down the drive. We did not sign up for the $35 tour each. We then drove to Espanola where Judy wanted to see a Fabric Art center.  They teach classes on weaving and associated arts and is non-profit.  Drove back home and had dinner.

Day 251 Saturday April 21
We went to the farmer’s market and flea market in Santa Fe.   Fresh veggies which were very expensive and the usual stuff in the flea market.  We then headed North of Santa Fe to the Tesuque Indian reservation flea market.  There were not just Indian shops there but anyone can set up.  We ended up buying a rug/wall hanging of birds on the tree of life.  We plan on hanging it up at home in Shelton.

Day 252 Sunday April 22
We drove to the Valle Caldera, temporally bypassing Los Alamos, which is a million or so year old volcano about 14 miles across and is a national park which is run as a preserve.  We think that means very little development.  There were some dome rebuilding in the caldera about 50,000 years ago.  Tried a five picture pan of the caldera. Very pretty and interesting.  There were a couple of hikes available but van tours had not started.   There was no running water in the visitor center and the electricity was solar panels and generator.  Lots of blue birds flying around. After looking in the visitor center, we headed off to see battleship rock which has a picnic area where we ate lunch. This was a very pretty drive in the mountains.  We then headed back to Los Alamos where the first atomic bombs were built and was called the Manhattan Project.  The national labs now work on civilian as well as military secret stuff and the facilities cover about 38 square miles.  We went to the Bradbury Museum where they told the Manhattan project story as well as things the labs are doing now.   Enjoyable day.

Day 253 Monday April 23
Today was get ready to leave  Santa Fe day.  I had washed the RV over the last week.  Today Judy and I cleaned the windows, vacuumed and swept, picked up and put stuff away, cleaned the dust off everything.   After lunch we stopped by the Jeep dealer as there is no dip stick for the transmission.  Turns out the fluid level is checked normally by a computer or a secret stick which you can not buy.   They check it for free with the secret stick.  We then went to the post office and mailed home some more rocks.  Cousin Diane Z. called and is in town and will meet us for breakfast.  She is thinking about coming to the Pow-Wow in Albuquerque for one day of the event.

Day 254 Tuesday April 24
We had breakfast with cousin Diane Z.  at the Flying Tortilla in Santa Fe.  She is planning to come Friday to the Pow-Wow.  Headed South on I-25 to Albuquerque then East on I-40 to exit 164, then South for 1.2 miles with a left on Zuni.  We took spot 28 in El Rancho RV park.  Nice place among the trees and not too far from The Pit where the Pow-Wow will be held.
Drove 72 miles.

Day 255 Wednesday April 25
We drove into old town and walked around the plaza and the old church of St. Filipe built in 1793. Looked in shops and had a fun talk with a native who owned one of the stores.  He had stuff made by his family.  Some of the blankets were made by his mother-in-law in the 50’s and are selling for $12 k for a 8 x 10.  We are also being attacked by moths.  Thousands of them.  The locals say they will last another week. 

Day 256 Thursday April 26
Well we were plagued by moths last evening.  We are told this is a yearly event.  They hatch and their presence is constant for about two weeks.  Some how they were coming in the front between the window and the console.  In the morning, I went to look in the front end where the generator is and when I opened the door,  hoards of moths flew out.  I sprayed some bug killer in the compartment and many more flew out.  Today we went to the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center which covers the 19 pueblos in New Mexico.  Nice history and museum.

There was dancing and or singing every hour from 10 to 3.  We had a fun time watching the dances.  No pictures were allowed in the exhibits or museum but were allowed for the dances.  The museum was one of the nicest we have seen on this trip. When we got out the wind was really gusting.  Suppose to be about 50 mph.  Hope the moths stay away tonight.

Day 257 Friday April 27
Diane came a little after 8, we chatted for a while and then headed out to “The Pit” for the Gathering of Nations Pow-Wow. Parking was easy but we had to wait until 10 for the doors to open.  At noon was the grand entrance and was it spectacular.  This is where all the dancers come onto the floor. There lots of competitions in the afternoon.  The last known Navaho code talkers from WW2 was there and honored.  They call it the gourd dance.  A drum team is in the middle of the floor and the veterans dance with a gourd in one hand and a feather in the other.  This went on for almost an hour.  In older times, it was this dance that honored their warriors, especially those who had fought against the  7th Cavalry.  We had BBQ sandwiches there for dinner, then back to the show.  There was another grand entrance with even more dancers.  The eagle, very important to their culture was brought in to begin the ceremony.  Very effective. We left about 7:45 as Diane wanted to get back to Santa Fe.  Drums and singing were very intense.  Fun time.

Day 258 Saturday April 28
We went to the Gathering of Nations again today.  The grand entrance was again at noon.  Even more dancers than last night.

 
We watched several dance competitions then walked around looking at vendors and sharing a fry bread.  Watched outdoor entertainment and had some dinner.  We went back in and watch another gourd dance, today with more veterans.  More dancing and then the Miss Indian World was crowned.  More dancing and then they started giving out prizes for the dance competition.  It was getting late so we went home.  The drumming is very loud and the singing is too and very high pitched. Lots of color!

It gets to be too much after a while but the drum beat is catchy.  While we were getting something to eat, an Indian man asked me what it was like for a white man to be among a group of Indians, like Custer?.  I told him no problem.  There were not a lot of Anglos in the crowd.  The two day event was a very culturally interesting experience.  More moths swarmed in the motor home to greet us.  We are getting pretty good eradicating them in a team approach.  We really enjoyed the experience of the "Gathering of Nations".

US Trip Part 25 April 10 to April 17

Day 240 Tuesday April 10
We left Roswell and continued North on hwy 285.  We got to Santa Fe, NM and we close to Exit 290 off I-25.  We sign up to stay a week at the Rancheros de Santa Fe campground taking spot 116.  It is in amongst the juniper trees.  We had an early dinner and then went into Santa Fe old town and walked around the plaza area.  Most places were closing down so we did not get into a lot of stores.
Drove 191 miles.

Day 241 Wednesday April 11
Today we drove to Taos.  We had planned to visit a pueblo or two but it appears they were shut down because of religious holidays, a combination of Catholic and native ceremonies.  We ate lunch in a small restaurant recommended by the parking lot man.  He claimed it was authentic Northern New Mexico food.  It was very good.  After lunch we walked around the Taos plaza looking at a few shops. Rain and thunder storms but not enough to keep us in doors.  We then drove to the bridge over the Rio Grand canyon. Whew, walking out on the bridge was a little unnerving feeling it wiggle as the cars drove over it.  Drove home and on the way stopped at a grocery store.  Late dinner.

Day 242 Thursday April 12
We headed off to an old copper mine just  a mile North of the small town of Terrero, NM which is just North of the city of Pecos.  When we got to Terrero, the lady who works at the store told us there could be snow and very muddy roads.  When we got to the mine, it has been rehabilitated so no collecting, and the road was very muddy.  Disappointing. We decided to head up into the mountains.  The road follows the Pecos River and we drove to the end of the road which was at 8800 feet. Only a few clumps of snow along the road.  Sunny and very pretty.  We got as far as you can drive to the source of the Pecos River.  On the way down we stopped at a few places. On one stop I went on a little walk along Cave Creek which was very pretty .  We stopped, at  few more places  along the road to get some conglomerate filled with quartz stones and another spot for nice mica books.  We stopped on the Old Spanish Trail at Glorieta Pass which was the site of a civil war battle that lasted a few days. The South sort of won the fight but the North destroyed their supply train so they had to retreat.  It is considered the “Gettysburg of the West”. We had a  very fun day in the mountains again.

Day 243 Friday April 13
After breakfast we went into town to the Georgia O’Keefe museum.  They had some of her work there as well as a few video presentations about her life and work.  We then headed over to the plaza were the local Indians were selling there jewelry, potter, etc. Some of it very exquisite..  We had a little lunch at a local street vender then headed over to the state capital building.  They had a display of early maps as well as works of local artists.  Their state capital building is very modern looking and not typical like the one in Olympia. This church is supposedly the oldest in the US.  Well at least the walls and altar. After being on our feet for six and a half hours we headed home. 

Day 244 Saturday April 14
Today we just kicked back and did not do much.  It was suppose to get cold and stormy and it did.  In the afternoon we had snow showers and by evening the temperature had dropped below freezing.  It did get to a low of 28 degrees overnight.  No accumulated snow.

Day 245 Sunday April 15
We went to mass at St. Francis Cathedral  Basilica in Santa Fe. The church was newly remodeled and was very beautiful as was the service.  In the afternoon we decided to go for a drive on the Turquoise Trail, highway 14, Southeast of Santa Fe.  We went to two towns, Cerrillos and Madrid.   Turquoise has been mined in Cerrillos since well before the Spanish arrived in the late 1500’s.  Not much there now and a little commercial turquoise is being mined.  Most of the old mines are now part of a state park and we will go back there later.  Madrid was an old coal mining town and is full of specialty shops.  We looked at a few places then headed back to town.  We went to Outback Steakhouse to use the Christmas gift card from our daughter Anna and family.

Day 246 Monday April 16
Today we drove Northwest from Santa Fe to Bandelier National Monument.  We stopped at the visitor center in White City, near Los Alamos, and the man directed us to an overlook of the Rio Grand. There was a water fall too. The monument  is next to Las Alamos national laboratories. There are pueblo ruins partially built into the caves in the 1000 foot layer of tuft,  hardened volcanic ash, from volcanoes 10 millions years ago.  You could see the holes in the wall where they had built one to two story buildings in front of the cave openings.  You can still see where the natives had plastered the walls of the caves.  In one spot they found a “painting” hidden behind the plaster. There were some pictographs on the cliff which appears to have been made by standing on the roofs of the pueblos.  Unfortunately they are very hard to see. In the valley floor was a pueblo which they thought would hold about 500 people and had  about 400 rooms. There was a huge ceremonial kiva there too. It was very spectacular seeing these ruins built before 1400.  The weather was great.

Day 247 Tuesday April 16
Today we went to a consignment clothing store and bead store, then on to the post office to mail a couple boxes of rocks.  Tried to go to a rock shop back in Santa Fe but it was closed.  We then headed North to the Buffalo Thunder Casino/Hilton Hotel  on the Pojoaque Indian reservation for lunch and to look at all the art work in the hotel.  No gambling.  We were told about Santa Fe Jewelry Supply and managed to find it.  I bought some silver plated bails for pendants and for Judy a crystal bead bracelet which sort of matches her necklace.  We then went to see my cousin’s get away house in Santa Fe and meet their daughter Susan.  She was a very nice young woman and we had a great visit.  Came home and had scrambled eggs loaded with veggies for dinner.