Old Town Albuquerque

Yesterday was the annual Founder’s Day celebration at Old Town.  The afternoon was filled with all kinds of entertainers.

We got there a bit early to look around and check out some of the shops.  We did find some t-shirts we liked, so they have been added to the wardrobe. 

These guys were playing in one of the courtyards.  I’ve always loved the sound of the wooden flute/pipe organ so we spent some time listening to them.  I really enjoyed their music and ended up buying a CD.

The church in Old Town originated in the early 1700s and is the oldest church in Albuquerque. Services are still being held. 

 

 

 

 

 

The Founder’s Day entertainment line-up included many different types of acts.  There were clowns, a variety of musicians, dancers, cowboys on horses and many more.

This group of Native American dancers were representing the Dakota Tribe from Minnesota.

 

 

 

This guy was with a group of circus style entertainers.  They reminded me of movies I’ve seen where a troupe of performers  traveled in a wagon from city to city entertaining as they went.  

We stayed about two hours, and enjoyed our visit to Old Town.  By the time we got home, the winds were howling again.  I don’t think we’ll be spending time in New Mexico again in March or April.  It’s their windy season :)

A reader asked a question about how big our site is.  Here’s a picture of our site in Albuquerque.  This was one actually a pretty good-sized site.  I’ve shared pictures of the sites at a number of places we’ve stayed at in previous posts, just to give you an idea of what each place is like.

We left Albuquerque at 8:30 this morning.  We’re traveling 300 miles today to Amarillo, Texas.  We got an early start to try and avoid as much wind as we can.  Mornings are always calm.  The traffic was great going through the city on a Sunday morning.  We’ll be home in 8 days if all goes well.  I’m excited to see my family at Easter.  Korey will be traveling from Minnesota to spend several days with us.  It will be great to be with my boys again!

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!

National Monuments Tour

We spent the last two days touring three National Monuments in the Albuquerque/Santa Fe area.

Our first stop was Bandelier National Monument, which is about an hour west of Santa Fe.  It’s in a mountainous area that reminded me of some of the scenery we saw in Colorado.

This monument contains ruins of a pueblo of the Ancestral Pueblo people.  Part of their pueblo was built on the ground and part of it was in caves dug into the sides of the cliffs.  Here’s what remains of a 400 room section called Tyuonyi.  The hole in the middle is a kiva.

They also had many dwellings in the cliffs.  They dug caves into the cliff and built an adobe entrance in front of it.  Here’s what’s left of those dwellings.

Some of these cave dwellings were 2 or 3 stories high and there were several caves in each dwelling.  It’s believed the caves were used for sleeping and storage, and the daily living was done in the area in front. 

The Park Service has re-built a replica of one of the entrance rooms. A few of the caves have ladders you can climb to take a look inside.  There’s not much to see.  There are holes in the floor which were believed to have been used to anchor looms for weaving. The people living here were of the same group as the people who built the cave dwellings at Mesa Verde in Colorado.

 

From Bandelier we drove through Santa Fe to Pecos National Monument.  Here there are more pueblo ruins.  This site was similar to the Salinas Missions we saw.  The Spanish came to this area as well and built a mission in the early 1600s. 

Other than the mission, much of this pueblo has not been excavated.  It’s amazing to walk around and see hills of grass and realize that under all those hills are the ruins of people’s homes. 

A kiva has been restored so we climbed down to take a look.

We have seen many kiva’s all over the southwest.  These rooms were thought to be ceremonial rooms for many of the native cultures.  Here’s a look from the outside.

The people of this pueblo lasted much longer than some of their neighbors.  They actually lived here until the early 1800s.  However, the Spanish, pioneers, drought, famine and disease finally forced them to leave.

Yesterday we went to Petroglyph National Monument.  There are thousands of petroglyphs in a 17 mile area of land here in northern New Mexico.  Most of them have been etched into volcanic rocks.  All the other petroglyphs we have seen have been carved into the sides of cliffs or caves.  These are the first we’ve seen on rocks.

Kevin has a Kokopelli keychain.  We found his ancestor on one of the rocks.  (Kevin is holding the keychain in the right corner of the picture.)

As we were walking between the trails, we heard a clicking noise.  All of a sudden there were about six roadrunners running across the road.  Here are a few pictures.  Boy, they sure are fast.  It was so cool to see them even if I couldn’t get a close-up.

These two were either playing or fighting with each other.  They’d fly at each other and ruffle their feathers. 

They are much smaller than the one in the cartoon, and we didn’t hear any of them say beep-beep :)

We had a question regarding our RV negotiating the other day.  We were asked if we thought the mark-up was 30%.  In our experience of buying several new Jaycos over the past 30 years, we have always been able to pay around 30 to 33% below list price.  Our last purchase was 37% off in 2008 when the RV industry was in big trouble.  This salesman tried to tell us the mark-up was 10%.  We almost laughed in his face. We offered him 32% below list price with a credit for our trade-in of the NADA blue book price, but they weren’t interested.  Oh well.  It was a want, definitely not a need.

Also, I’d like to update you on the wildfire we witnessed last weekend.  When we left on Sunday we could see smoke still coming from the area.  That fire has burned all week, and is now considered 70% contained.  It has burned over 3,000 acres, but did not destroy any homes.  There has been another fire burning just south of Albuquerque which has destroyed over 10,000 acres and 5 homes.  It is extremely dry here.  We had a little sprinkling of rain last night and today, but they need more.  And the winds just keep on blowing.

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!

We Tried…

This afternoon we walked over to Camping World which is right next door to our campground.  We were just going to look at a few items in the store and check out prices.

We realized they are a Jayco dealer so we took a walk around the lot looking for 5th wheels.  They happened to have three of the new Pinnacle series which is Jayco’s new top of the line model replacing the Designer.

They were locked so we found a salesman to show us the inside.  We saw two floor plans that we really liked.  One of the units had the premium paint package, the larger refrigerator, the double-pane windows, a generator, two ACs and a number of other options we would like to have.  It was so nice!

Next thing you know, we’re inside talking trade-in value and price.  We gave the guy our bottom line and then went looking around the store while he talked to his boss.  Now, we’ve purchased five brand new Jaycos since 1981 and we know our percentages, and we know about mark-ups.  They were not willing to give us the kind of discount we are accustomed to getting, so we said “No Thanks”. 

Like I said, we tried.  It would have been nice, but not yet.  Ours is still great, and we are very happy with it.  But, it sure was nice :)

They have our number, and we’re here until Sunday.  Maybe they’ll reconsider.  I highly doubt it!  Spring is not the time to buy a new camper and get a good deal.

The campground we’re staying at is on the frontage road of Interstate 40.  That frontage road is part of the original Route 66.  There are a number of vintage RVs here, and some of them are even available to rent.  Aren’t they cute!

Dave and Judy, you guys would love this place.  In the gift shop, they have all kinds of little vintage trailer models for sale as well as vintage trailer birdhouses, wind chimes, etc.

There’s a little courtyard behind the office with this flower bed.  It’s so nice to see tulips again!

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!

A Fantastic Day in Taos

About ten years ago, I worked with a really great woman at Kennedy Middle School in Germantown, Wisconsin.  One day she announced that she and her husband were quitting their jobs and moving to Taos, New Mexico to pursue their dream of building a house on property they owned there.  Maria had gotten a job in Santa Fe and her husband, Karl, was going to work on the house.

Maria’s first job didn’t work out as she had hoped, but in the meantime, they were able to purchase a Laundromat in town and have been running the business and building their dream home ever since. 

I emailed Maria and asked her if we could come for a visit.  She agreed and yesterday was the day.  Per Maria’s suggestion, we took the “high road to Taos” to get there.  It took about three hours from Albuquerque, but the views were spectacular.

We met them in town and they spent the afternoon driving us around and giving us a personal tour.  First, we stopped at what is believed to be the oldest hacienda in the area dating back to the 1500s.

These types of ovens are still used by the native people in the area to do their baking.

Next, we toured the Taos Pueblo Community.  There are a number of pueblos in New Mexico that are still in use. 

The admission fee to the pueblo was $10 per person.  They wanted an extra $6 to bring your own camera so I chose not to take pictures inside. 

We were given a tour by a very knowledgeable college student who is a member of the tribe.  All of the historic pueblo sites we’ve toured in our travels have been ruins.  It was so interesting to see a pueblo that was still intact.  Our guide told us some very interesting information about his tribe, the Red Willow Tribe.  It was apparent that he was proud of his culture. People have been living at this pueblo for over 1,300 years.

Next our hosts drove us to their home.  It’s located in the desert at the base of some mountains.  There are quite a few homes located in this area, but the county has not provided these residents a road to their properties.  So, they have to drive on a gravel/dirt road to get to their homes.  It was pretty bumpy, but so worth it.  Carl and Maria have built an absolutely gorgeous home out here.  They have a five acre parcel with the most amazing views. 

Here they are on their back patio.  And below is the view they enjoy while sitting out on that same patio.

I have thought of Maria so often over the last few years.  Eight years ago when she left Germantown, Kevin and I had a glimmer of a dream in the back of our minds, but were nowhere near taking the big step.  I thought Maria was so brave when she made her announcement, and she was an inspiration to me as we pursued our dream. 

We stopped at the Rio Grande Gorge for a picture opportunity.  That’s the Rio Grande River about 600 feet below us.

We ended the day by going to dinner at a cute little Mexican restaurant in Taos called Orlandos.  The food was good, but the company was better. 

We took a more direct route back to Albuquerque, but the scenery was still great.  Part of the drive was in the gorge along the Rio Grande River.  I’ll leave you with this beautiful sunset we enjoyed.

Too many people are thinking of security instead of opportunity. They seem more afraid of life than death. ~ James F. Byrnes

VLA and Unwelcome Excitement

While researching New Mexico attractions, I came across some information regarding the VLA located about 60 miles from Socorro.  I also discovered that they have a special open house twice a year on the first Saturday in April and October.  Since we were staying near Socorro and it was the first Saturday in April, I decided we had to go.

Now you’re thinking to yourself, what in the world is a VLA.  Even after reading about it, I wasn’t sure what it was, but it sounded interesting.  It stands for Very Large Array (I know, that still doesn’t tell you anything).  It’s basically a huge telescope created by placing 27 large satellite antenna in the shape of a Y out in the desert. 

Each of these antenna are 100 feet tall, 85 feet in diameter and weighs 230 tons.  Radio waves from space are captured by the antenna and sent to a 20 million dollar super computer using fiber optic cables.  The computer analyzes the data and somehow through all of this process, outer space images are produced.  You can get an idea of the size of one of the antenna by looking at the people and van at the base of it.

An engineer named Steve led our tour.  He tried hard to explain in terms a non-scientist could understand, but a lot of it went right over my head.  What I do know is that there are some very smart people working at this place, and all of it is truly amazing.

One of the people on the tour asked Steve how anything done here could benefit us in our daily lives.  Steve said there are two main areas.  First the scientists and astronomers are studying the expanding universe which can help in understanding our environment, planet, etc.  The other is they are developing math systems.  He said they expect these math systems they are developing to help lead to the knowledge of how exactly a human cell is created and help to develop new cells to cure disease. Cool !! Who knew math was that important :)

The antenna are moved every 4 months.  There are railroad tracks that run along each arm of the array.  This orange machine is used to move them along the tracks.  The antenna are placed in 4 patterns throughout the year ranging from a distance of 13 miles apart up to 1 mile apart.  The patterns act kind of like a zoom lens.  They move them in and out and that way get a broader or narrower view of the universe.  It takes one to two weeks to make the move each time.

The facility was built in the 1970s and upgraded about 10 years ago.  It’s been featured in several movies and even a Bon Jovi music video.  I would definitely recommend a visit. Even if you don’t go on a tour, there is a walking tour and a nice visitor’s center with an informative movie. Kevin’s brother has a PhD in Math and a Master’s in Computer Science.  I think this place would be right up his alley!

As we headed home we made a little detour to the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge.  Their website said they are one of the most spectacular wildlife refuges in the country.

I’ve dragged Kevin to three refuges since we left Wisconsin.  The first one was in Colorado in October and we were too early to see the migrating birds.  The next one was in Nevada where we saw the endangered pupfish, and now this one in New Mexico.  We’re too late to see the tens of thousands of sand hill cranes and snow geese that come through here. Apparently, they’re only here from late November to mid-February.  This is high desert and it’s cold at that time of year.  I guess we’ll have to see the migrating birds elsewhere.

We drove along the wildlife drive and took a walk on the boardwalk.  We saw many turtles sunning themselves.

There were lots of American Coots and ducks in all of the ponds.

I believe this guy is a Cormorant.  That’s all we saw.  Nothing too exciting.   No massive flocks of migrating birds.  Maybe next winter.  On the way home, we saw some smoke in the distance.  New Mexico is extremely dry and there are high fire hazard warnings everywhere.  As we got closer to home, the smoke plume got bigger.  Hmm, that’s not looking very good.  I can’t imagine anyone would have set such a large fire on purpose.

As we got to our freeway exit, we could see the fire was about 4 or 5 miles across the interstate from our campground. Yikes!!!

Lots of the people at the campground were out looking at the fire.  Below is what it looked like from the end of our campground row. The sun was beginning to go down, and it did create some very pretty colors in the smoke.  But still, this is way too close for comfort.  The campground owner assured us that she had witnessed many wildfires in that same area, and she had never been evacuated.  The wind always blows it in the opposite direction.  Since we were leaving the next day anyway, we just got everything ready for a quick escape.

As the evening progressed, the firefighters worked miracles and the smoke plume got much smaller.  Still, this is what we saw after dark.

We left at 9:30 this morning to beat the high winds that were predicted for today.  We could still see lots of smoldering as we pulled onto the highway.  The news said over 1,000 acres had burned.

We made it to The Enchanted Trails RV Park in Albuquerque about an hour later.  The winds are fierce this afternoon, sustained winds of 30 to 40 mph.  The sand sounds like hail hitting the camper.  There may not be any paint left on it by tomorrow.

This campground seems pretty nice.  We really haven’t had a chance to look around much.  I’m not going out there!!!  Tomorrow we’re going to Taos to visit a former co-worker of mine.  I’m excited to see her.

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!

Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument

The ruins of three missions are located within a 35 mile area in the Salinas Valley of Central New Mexico.  All three of them were built in the early 1600s under the supervision of Spanish Franciscan monks.  The missions were built at locations where there were already thriving pueblos.  It is estimated there were over 10,000 people in this valley at that time. The work was done by the local Indians.

Here are the remains at Abo. It’s located at a higher elevation than most of the valley at 6100 feet.  It was very windy and chilly up there so we didn’t hang around very long. 

Next, we drove further east to the town of Maintainair where there is a National Parks Visitor Center that covers all three of the missions.  We watched the movie and then headed to the mission at Quaria.  This one is the most in tact of the churches.

These early people sure were amazing.  What an industrious civilization.

I was surprised how entirely different these missions looked from the ones we saw in San Antonio, Texas a few years ago.  The architecture and building materials were not at all alike.

We walked around and read the signs and got a feel for the history of these places.  The missions were only in operation for about 50 years.  As we have heard time and time again on this trip, the white man didn’t do the Indians any favors by coming into their lives. 

The Spanish government taxed the people, imposed a new religion on them and basically caused them all kinds of problems.  When drought and famines came, the Indian people either died or moved on. 

What I find interesting, is that the area never recovered.  There are very few cities in this valley.  The ones that are here, look like they’re hanging on by a thread. There appears to be very little going on other than some cattle ranches here and there.

Today the high was 81 degrees which was a record.  It’s quite warm, and also very dry.  The dew point was below zero again. 

One thing we noticed at the last two campgrounds we’ve been at is the amount of birds.  Kevin figured out that the reason there are so many at the campgrounds, is that’s the only place there are trees.  Some red-winged blackbirds have a nest in the tree behind us.  They sure sing pretty.  As much as I hear the birds singing, I never see them.  They hide in the pine trees and you can just hear them.

Spring has definitely arrived.  The birds are building their nests and the trees in the campground are budding.  Hopefully, spring will have arrived in Wisconsin when we get there in a few weeks :)

I’d like to welcome a few new followers that have joined our journey over the past few weeks.  The more, the merrier!

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!

White Sands National Monument

About 60 miles east of Las Cruses, New Mexico is the White Sands National Monument. It’s a 275 square mile area of white sand dunes. What an amazing site! White sand as far as you can see. Those spots in the left center of the picture are actually cars.

The sand comes from gypsum rocks in the surrounding mountains. Since there is no river to carry the run-off out of this valley, the rocks eventually crystalize and break down to create this amazing place, the largest gypsum dune field in the world!

There is an 8 mile road that takes you through some of the dunes. These pictures reminded me of Wisconsin with the sand blowing across the road and the plows creating piles along the side of the road. Except it’s 80 degrees. I like this kind of snow!

Lots of people were sledding down the dunes. There was a group of school buses at the picnic area. These kids were having a ball sliding and playing on the dunes.

Each picnic table has a metal shade structure built over it. The sand is incredibly bright. Sunglasses are a must!

There is an amazing amount of plant life growing among the dunes. I’m always so astounded how plants and wildlife can exist in the most brutal environments. There is no water other than occasional rainfall.

The Yucca plants grow fast enough to stay ahead of the sand. The higher the dune gets, the higher the plant grows. Once the dune moves on, the plant is so top-heavy it collapses. Even though these yuccas at the top of the dune look like they are only a few feet tall, their roots are actually 30 feet down at the bottom under the dune. Amazing!

Bushes grow this complex system of roots. When the dune moves on, the plants hold onto some of the sand and create little islands to stay alive.

The Visitor Center is this gorgeous adobe building. It looked practically brand new. I was surprised to learn that it was actually built in 1936 during the depression by the Works Progress Administration (WPA), an organization similar to the CCC.

We stayed at an awful campground for two nights near Las Cruses called Western Sky's RV Park. It is a Passport America park. Last week they quoted me $16 a night on the phone, but then charged $19 claiming they had a rate increase. Most sites were occupied with old run-down trailers and appeared to be permanent residents. It was noisy from interstate traffic, dogs barking and an overabundance of doves that never shut up. We would definitely not recommend that place! I can’t imagine anyone actually paying the full price to stay there.

Today we traveled about 180 miles north to Bernardo, New Mexico. We’re staying at Kiva RV Park and Horse Motel for $13 a night, the Passport America rate. There are a lot of dogs roaming around, but so far they have not been a problem. I think the camp host owns five of them. There are a lot of birds at this park, too. I think the New Mexico state bird should be the dove instead of the road runner. We have yet to see a road runner, but we sure have seen and heard plenty of doves :)

The key to success is having dreams. The mark of success is living them. ~ Unknown