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.
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!
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