June 17: SW Road Trip Day 39: Durango Day 2

We made the decision last night to skip Mesa Verde on this trip. It was a tough choice, but what we heard from the locals was that since it is the season, one had to be there early in the AM (7:30) in order to avoid the long lines. Also, there is the small matter of the heat. It is really hot (above 92) and I need a day to avoid, as much as possible, too much sun. Finally, we have seen a lot of ruins in the last several weeks. We will be back through here soon and will visit the National Monument, hopefully more off-season.

We awake to our first full day in Durango. And since we have no plans for or constraints on our morning, Amy takes to the running path next to the Animas River.

The Animas River

I stay in bed until 7:00 am, when the Harley enthusiasts in the parking lot decide it is time to fill the air with rumbling motorcycle noises. Also, there appears to be a car show in town this weekend and one gentleman is unloading his barely street-legal dragster off its trailer and must, of course, rev the engine over and over to make sure it doesn’t die. Ah, the life where this kind of noise is the worst thing that happens in a day!

When Amy returns, we grab a quick breakfast from the hotel’s lobby, then head out to explore the downtown. This is an active, vibrant place. We do some shopping. We head to the Durango Narrow Gauge Railway station. We inquire about tickets for the train that is soon leaving the station. We learn that it is the Dinosaur Train: meant for kids!

Dinosaur Ready to Board the Train

We decide to pass on the train ride and head up Main Street. We stumble upon the very first Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, complete with historic plaque. This was certainly news to me.

Who New?

After wandering around some more, lunch beckons and we head to the Brew Pub, which Greg recommended. Good beer as well as good food. We do some more shopping, then walk north and walk along the river back to our hotel room. A quick dip in the pool restores our temperature equilibrium.

After an afternoon rest, we head to the Diamond Belle Saloon in the Strater Hotel for dinner.

Diamond Belle Saloon Bar

Amy had the Chicken Pot Pie while I had the Pot Roast. Way too much food! When we were almost done with our main course, we were treated to some wonderful honky-tonk piano playing. Such music is a nightly occurrence. We topped our meal off with the Chocolate Avalanche. Pretty interesting and tasty.

As we exit the saloon, we see some lovely sunset colors to close out the day.

Sunset Over Durango

June 16: SW Road Trip Day 38: On to Durango

We awake to another cloudless day. We prepare to depart Abiquiu, then have breakfast at the Cafe. We check out, get into the X3, and head north toward Georgia O’Keeffe’s Ghost Ranch on our way to Durango. The scenery continues to be utterly spectacular.

On the Road to Ghost Ranch

Ghost Ranch now, in addition to housing O’Keeffe’s preserved summer studio that one may tour, is a spiritual retreat conference center for all kinds of interesting groups and the home to two small museums (New Mexico History and Paleontology). It is run by the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe.

Of course, it has a view of the Pedernal to the south, painted many times by O’Keeffe.

The Pedernal

O’Keeffe’s Original Summer Studio

Scenery at Ghost Ranch

During our visit, the conference in session has something to do with Friends, as in Quakers. There is a very “let’s all just get along” vibe. I’m not sure if it is this specific conference or the place itself giving off this vibe. We take most of the walking tour, including a visit to the Labyrinth. Modeled after the one at the Cathedral in Chartres, France, we walk it, contemplating inner peace. After that, we visit both the museums, which are fun, and the gift shop.

Back in the car, we continue north on US 84 and begin contemplating lunch. There are several small towns along the route to Durango. We decide to check them all out in turn and stop at the first place that seems acceptable. Alas, there is very little to choose from in these towns until we hit Chama and find the High Country Restaurant. Decent, but not spectacular.

After lunch, we get back in the car for the final 2 hours or so to Durango. After about a half hour, we are in Colorado and enjoying forested mountain views. After a little more driving, we pass Chimney Rock National Monument.

Chimney Rock

Another hour of driving finds us on the banks of the Animas River at the Downtown Durango Hotel. Amy will have a good run in the morning as there are pathways both upriver and down. We can’t quite check into the hotel yet (we are early), so we walk to the downtown and check out Durango. This is what all those little towns in New Mexico aspire to be. There are fun old hotels and other buildings (originally built circa 1875) that house businesses that support the town and its recreation/tourist industry. We are glad to be visiting for a couple of days as there is a lot to see.

We head back to the hotel for a short rest. Then, a few minutes before 6:00, we get in the car and head up the hill to the east to Cousin Jan’s house. We are so lucky to be getting a home-cooked meal! There is terrifically cooked sole, twice-baked potatoes, asparagus, and a yummy gluten-free pound-cake-like dessert with fruit. It is really fun catching up. Durango is our new favorite town in Colorado.

Wayne and Amy Visit Jan and Greg

After a too-short visit, we head back to the hotel and collapse. Another wonderful day of history, scenery and for a slight change, extended family.

June 15: SW Road Trip Day 37: Abiquiu

We awake to a lovely day in Abiquiu, NM. We get ready to face the day and walk to the Café for a nice breakfast. Amy has yogurt and fruit with a side of toast. I have the New Mexico version of Eggs Benedict: Corn Bread instead of English Muffins and Avocado & Pico de Gallo instead of Hollandaise.

Wayne’s Breakfast

After breakfast, we walk next door to take the tour of Georgia O’Keefe’s winter home which is just up the road. We watch a short video that explains how long it took her to purchase the property. We then pile in a nice, small bus for the short ride to the home. It is an interesting tour. She was an interesting woman. She was independent, and by the time her husband Stieglitz died and she moved full-time to New Mexico, she knew what she wanted.

The grounds are separated into the main house and an out-building that served as a stable, which she converted to her office and studio.

Main House on the Left, Studio on the Right/Back

During the tour, our guide shows us selected pictures that Ms. O’Keeffe painted in this studio. He then points out the portions of the scenery, through the large window, that she was painting for each selection. The pictures aren’t identical reproductions of the landscapes, but they are interpretations, what she feels when she sees the landscapes. We are not allowed to take photos of the house’s interior, but here is some of the view she had from her studio:

View East from the Studio

One of the stories we hear on the tour is that Ms. O’Keeffe wanted running water in her new home. She was rich enough, and cared enough about her neighbors, that when she installed running water, she installed it in every home in Abiquiu. In the courtyard of her home, the guide shows us the famous Black Door that Ms. O’Keeffe painted many times. It’s all starting to make some amount of sense.

We Are Enjoying the Tour

We wholeheartedly recommend this tour to anyone who wants to learn more about this great artist, or just wants to get a quick introduction to her work.

After the tour, we decide to visit the Black Mesa Winery, about 35 minutes away in Velarde. (I sampled their Merlot at dinner last night.) We taste some really good wine! The Tasting was a blast as we shared the room with a group of 6 young and energetic people who have come to this corner of the country to raft, taste wine and enjoy themselves. We share experiences of the Grand Canyon. After they finish their tasting, we have the server to ourselves. We finish our tasting and buy a case of various varieties. From the server, we also get a recommendation for lunch.

We drive down the road to El Paragua in Espanola. This appears to be more of a place for locals than for us tourists. The restaurant is quite a building. The décor is fun and appears authentic. The service is gracious, if not overly prompt. Amy has the Grilled Chicken Breast Salad and I have the Chile Relleno and Chicken Taco Combo. Delicious. We got a good recommendation!

Stuffed again, we head back through Espanola to Abiquiu. We relax until dinnertime, which we eat on the patio at the Café, again. Amy has the Chicken Piccata and I have Tomato Soup and the Noodle Salad. We have had a most enjoyable day. Both the tour and the tasting were great.

June 14: SW Road Trip Day 36: Los Alamos to Abiquiu

At dawn, Amy runs the Rim Trail. We breakfast at the hotel’s buffet. After loading the car and checking out of the hotel, we drive to the Rim Trailhead 1.5 miles up the road and walk some more of the trail taking up about where Amy turned back.

Rim Trail

This path ends up downtown. We explore, soaking up the atmosphere. Los Alamos seems a vibrant, diverse place. A pleasant change from other New Mexico towns which have lots of shuttered buildings and failed businesses. Of course, there is a lot of crucial Government work going on here. And because of that work there are a lot of well-paid scientists and engineers in this town of 12,000.

We happen upon the Lodge, one of the first buildings built for the Manhattan Project and the Social Center of that project. In front of the Lodge are full-sized statues of Robert Oppenheimer and Gen. Leslie Groves.

Oppie and General Groves

The Lodge

We continue our walk around the town and find this view of North Los Alamos across Acid Canyon.

North Los Alamos

We turn south and find ourselves in front of the Bradbury Science Museum, named for the first peace-time director of Los Alamos National Labs.

Bradbury Science Museum

We spend the next hour in the museum, seeing a couple of short films and viewing lots of exhibits, including the Manhattan Project and today’s mission for Los Alamos. Since 1963, the USA, UK and USSR have agreed to refrain from testing nuclear weapons. Today, Los Alamos National Lab uses scientific methods to determine that weapons in the USA's stockpile will work without actually testing them. The LANL also consults in verifying that other signatories are living up to their end of the treaty and also in assisting decommissioning obsolete nuclear weapons in other parts of the world (think the plot line from the Bond film The World Is Not Enough).

One of the more interesting exhibits was a timeline of the supercomputers developed and/or used at Los Alamos. It is a most enjoyable visit. I recommend it highly to any Science Nerd or History Buff.

We head back to the Rim Trail and our car and head for Abiquiu, 45 minutes away.   During the drive, mostly through natural, undeveloped land, we haven’t found any restaurants, so we eat lunch at the Inn’s Abiquiu Café. The patio is really comfortable. It is shaded and there is a little breeze. The south side of the patio is lined with bird feeders and there are frequent visits from several hummingbirds.

The Abiquiu Inn

After lunch, the room isn’t quite ready so we relax on the Inn’s porch. It is really hot. After another half hour, our room is ready and we move in to our home for the next two days. After a half hour of rest, we take a quick drive up the road to see what else is here and find The Frosty Cow. Ice cream tastes so much better when it is hot.

There is no other viable option for dinner besides driving 10 miles back to Espaniola, so we have dinner at the Café. We share a grilled cheese sandwich and the rib eye steak. We already had our treat in the afternoon, so we skip dessert and call it a night. Tomorrow will include a tour of Georgia O’Keeffe’s winter home, which is about a mile up the road from here.

June 13: SW Road Trip Day 35: Los Alamos

We rise to a breakfast of Eggs, Over Easy, on Tortillas with Red Sauce, accompanied by Chocolate Chunk Muffins. I enjoy it, buy the spicy red sauce is a bit much for Amy. We pack the X3 and say goodbye to Santa Fe & the Inn on the Paseo.

We haven’t been in the car for days and the first order of business is to stock up on gas and clean the windshield. We use the car’s nav system to find a gas station. The GPS says there’s a station about a mile away, but when we arrive, it is clear that it was a gas station maybe 15 years ago. Haven't we done this before? Who is maintaining these destination data bases? Clearly, no one competent. We find a station on our third try, then head out toward Los Alamos (where we will spend the night) and Bandelier National Monument.

We strike out north on US 285. We took this same route three and a half years ago when we visited Santa Fe and Ojo Caliente, hot springs to the north. It is much more pleasant driving with sunshine instead of the snow we faced on that occasion. We pass the Santa Fe Opera, drive a little farther north, then turn west onto NM 502.

Our intention was to take 502 toward Los Alamos, then, a few miles before (east of) Los Alamos, turn onto Hwy 4 and drive south into the National Monument. After that, we were then going to continue on the loop north and west up to Los Alamos. However, on the road we learn that the only way day visitors may get into the canyon is on a free shuttle bus. The shuttle runs from the Visitor Center in White Rock, about a half hour ride to the Monument. We opt to debark at the first stop and take the trail into the canyon rather than ride all the way to the Monument’s entry village.

The Bandelier National Monument contains ruins of Ancestral Pueblo communities from about 1150 CE to 1600 CE. There were two distinct groups that occupied the floor of the Frijoles Canyon. The Monument is named for the archeologist, Adolph Bandelier, who studied the cultures of the inhabitants in the late 1800's.

The first mile or so of the trail is level and easy, but it is quite warm.

Trail Down to Frijoles Canyon

More of the Frey Trail

The last half mile is quite steep. We catch glimpses of the ruins as we descend.

Into the Canyon

There is an interpretive loop walk, but by taking the trail into the canyon, we hit the loop more than half way through and we don’t have the guide map, which can be purchased at the canyon entrance. We decide to finish the loop, then catch the first part of it later. There are free-standing dwellings in the middle of the Canyon as well as these ruins, built on the canyon walls.

Ruins in the Canyon

The buildings have been abandoned for hundreds of years and the weather has taken its toll. The stone covering the canyon was “enhanced” a little over a million years ago by a massive eruption of nearby volcanoes. They unleashed a coating of ash several feet thick. The resulting canyon walls are covered with something called “tuff”. The walls look strong, but are actually pretty fragile.

We “finish” the loop and take the nature trail on the east side of the canyon to the entrance. While on the nature trail, we happen upon some feeding deer.

Friends in the Canyon

The deer have reminded us that it is lunchtime. We buy a pre-made sandwich and some chips at the small store and find a picnic table.

With guide pamphlet in hand, we return to the interpretive walk, now that we are at its beginning.

Canyon Walls

The ruins are similar to what we have seen the past several weeks, but this site had a much higher population.

One of the Main Settlements

We finish the interpretive walk and return to the entrance to catch the shuttle back to White Rock. The Dept. of the Interior has done a great job on this Monument. The buses are clean and efficient. The visit to the Monument has been most enjoyable.

Back in our car, we decide that rather than take the entire Hwy 4 loop, which means we have to drive on 15 miles or so of road that we have already been on twice today, we will take the short route to Los Alamos. We retrace our steps five or so miles back to Hwy 502, then turn west to Los Alamos. The scenery continues to be spectacular.

North Los Alamos

We check into the hotel, take a dip in the pool, then check out the downtown. We do a little shopping, then find the Blue Window Bistro. It has great décor and tasty food.  Amy and I share the Roasted Beet Salad. Amy has the Eggplant Napoleon and I have the Pasta Nicole. After dinner, we take a look at the hallway next to the Bistro’s Entryway. Lining the walls, there are very large black and white portraits of the famous people who worked at Los Alamos in the early days. General Grove and Oppenheimer are near the front. Others include Bethe, Szilard, Teller, Frisch, and Bloch. We return to the hotel after a good day.

June 12: SW Road Trip Day 34: Santa Fe (2)

We rise to face our second full day of Santa Fe. It will be another hot one, and I am getting increasingly desirous of being sub-90 degrees. Breakfast at the Inn is French Toast. Delicious. We get organized and head out anticipating a visit to the Art Museum and walking around town.

Our first decision after leaving the Inn and walking Northwest on Paseo de Peralta is to cross the street and climb the Fort Marcy Stairs. Ft. Marcy was built in the summer of 1846 by the American Army after it marched into Santa Fe to claim it during the Mexican War. It saw little use and was abandoned during the American Civil War. The site has recently been repurposed as a city park and the climb to the higher elevation is decorated with historical plaques explaining various aspects of Santa Fe’s history. The view from the top is great.

The Inn from Fort Marcy Park

Off to the west, we can make out the Cathedral (orange arrow) and the Bell Tower Bar at La Fonda (red arrows)

View from Fort Marcy Park

We descend from the Park and walk to the New Mexico Museum of Art.

Courtyard of the Museum of Art

There is an exhibit from the British Museum on drawing, from Michelangelo up to Now. There is also an exhibit of watercolors by Cady Wells called Ruminations. The drawing exhibit is particularly intriguing to Amy. We both like the Cady Wells work. A modern works exhibit called Lines of Thought leaves us both kind of scratching our heads. But what we both liked best was Imagining New Mexico, selection from the permanent collection investigating how artists in New Mexico have responded to key themes as they relate to the state’s identity. Therein was intriguing work combining Native, Spanish and American influences.

After the Museum, we walk the mile or so to the Railyard. When last we were in Santa Fe, this was a bustling art and farmers market. Now it has been built up. Perhaps due to the earliness of the season, no one is selling produce. Neither are there any artisans selling their work. A little disappointed, we have lunch at the 2^nd Street Brewery. This place has an impressive selection of beers and decent pub food.

Satisfied with lunch, we walk back towards the Inn. Our path takes us past the Stations of the Cross Meditation Garden, adjacent to the Cathedral of St. Francis. It has some very interesting sculptures. But given the subject matter, it is quite grim as the main purpose of such a garden appears to be helping one consider the Redeemer’s sacrifices.

We exit the Garden, then pass the north side of the Cathedral. On the Walking Historic Tour, we saw the display in this area and now we have a chance to view it. The Prado (Madrid) has a traveling, outdoor exhibit detailing some of their best art. This show has been to several cities in South America, Central America and the Caribbean. The idea is to give people of America with no realistic chance of being able to visit the Prado the chance to see reproductions of the great works that are housed there. The only North America city to host this exhibit is Santa Fe, a testament to its deep Spanish roots.

We spend a good 45 minutes looking at dozens of artworks and reading the descriptive texts. This is a really interesting idea and I salute those who made this popular exhibit possible. We return to the Inn and take a rest.

At about 6:00, we head for the 1st floor bar at La Fonda to enjoy the Cavs v. Warriors game 5. We dine on appetizers and listen to an interesting Honky Tonk band from Texas. Amy and I take to the dance floor for a few spins. She is a real sport for accompanying me. Having watched the Warriors earn their 2nd NBA Title in 3 years, we return to the Inn.

June 11: SW Road Trip Day 33: Santa Fe

Our first full day in Santa Fe! Our breakfast is Oatmeal Soufflé & Fruit Banana Split. A good start! We head to the Plaza to take the Historic Walking Tour. Our group has 7 tourists. Our guide is very knowledgeable, having moved here 18 years ago. Starting at the historic center of Santa Fe, he takes us around the Plaza and down a few of the side streets. He relates some of the history of Santa Fe, the oldest capitol city in North America and the oldest European community west of the Mississippi. He explains the chaos of the architecture development of the city over the decades.

Between about 1880 and 1930, the city was built up at a fast pace. A wide variety of architectural styles was employed. During the Panama-California Exposition of 1915-1917, the building representing New Mexico was built in the style of the 17^th century, Old New Mexico. That was such a popular building (and it still sits in Balboa Park) that the city fathers took a new look at “selling” their city with a consistent architecture. “New” Old New Mexico was encouraged and many of the buildings built in other styles were razed.

“New” Old New Mexico Style

As in other cities, there has long been tension between preservation and consistency. If you have interest in these kind of city stories, and you find yourself in Santa Fe, this is a fine way to spend a couple of hours. Check out www.historicwalksofsantafe.com .

Back to the Tour: After getting foundational information, we walk East along Palace Street to an exceedingly old courtyard-style building. At #109 is the office that was the “entryway” for all of the scientists and engineers relocating to Los Alamos for the Manhattan Project in '43 and ‘44.

E. Palace Street

Plaque Commemorating 109 E. Palace St.

The tour takes us all over the Plaza section of town, ending at the Loretto Chapel, whose miraculous staircase is the subject of legend. It was built with no nails. There’s more to the story, though.

Loretto Chapel Staircase

Tour concluded, we decide on lunch. We join another couple from the tour. He was wearing a Cal cap and it turns out that both of them graduated the same year I did. They lived in Oxford Hall Coop when I lived at Cloyne Court. We had a fun time exchanging stories, and had a good meal at another of the places we visited our last time here, La Casa Cena.

After lunch, our new friends head to the Palace of the Governors to shop for jewelry while we continue on to the Art Fair. We wind up buying a couple of pieces of art. We take the art back to the Inn and rest up before dinner.

Late in the afternoon, we patronize the Bell Tower Bar at La Fonda. We then proceed to a new restaurant for us, Tabla. Amy has the Lamb Chop and I have the Duck. After dinner, we return to the 1^st floor bar of La Fonda to watch the end of the USA – Mexico Football match. USA hangs on to a 1-1 tie to improve our chances of going to Russia! Happy, we head back to the Inn.

June 10: SW Road Trip Day 32: All the Way to Santa Fe

The Plaza is a very cool hotel. We stay in a standard room, but outside the suites, there are plaques commemorating the famous people who have stayed here, all during films shot in the area. The Coen Brothers stayed in one. Edward James Olmos was also a guest here, as was Tommie Lee Jones, during the filming of No Country for Old Men. There are also numerous historical photographs. Very entertaining.

After morning coffee, we consider our options. We will hold off on eating until lunch. There are three great, historic hotels in the area. We are staying in the Plaza, another is the Castaneda Hotel, near the train station. The third is Montezuma’s Castle, an old and grand building about 6 or 7 miles out of town. We decide to check them all out. Also, we will drive to the Las Vegas National Wildlife Refuge, a few miles east of town.

Our first stop, the Castaneda Hotel, is disappointing. I am sure that it was once a great place, but the hotel is now a derelict. It is uninhabitable and surrounded by a chain link fence. I understand that there are plans to renovate, but they are still just plans. We don’t even bother with a picture.

The second stop is in the next town to the north, Montezuma. The Castle now houses the United World College – USA. The College Campus is “closed”, so we can only see the building from afar:

Montezuma’s Castle

There is a structure that we can enter, the Dwan Light Sanctuary. It is just off-campus from UWC-USA. The building uses prisms in its windows to cast rainbows on the floor and walls of the interior. It is quite a meditation center.

Interior of the Meditation Center

Look at what is at the end of my rainbow!

Prisms in the Windows

The final stop for this area is the Las Vegas National Wildlife Refuge. We drive the 15 or so miles and find gently rolling hills just east of the river. It is Saturday, so the Visitor Center is closed. We decide to take the county road loop around the refuge. We see a lot of birds and a few cows. This is a peaceful place and it would be nice to get out of the car and walk around, but we decide not to take any of the nature trails because no one else is around.

It is time to drive to Santa Fe.

Driving to Santa Fe

We arrive too early to check in. We park the car and walk a few blocks to the Plaza. We try out the Burrito Company for lunch. It’s going to be a little spicy eating for the next couple of days. After lunch, we head back to the Plaza and walk around. There is an Art Fair in full swing. We see some nice pieces. We will have to take a closer look later!

Art Fair

We have passed the requisite time, so we head back to the car and drive the few blocks to our B&B and check in. This is a lovely little place. After we park the car, we will not get back into it for more than two days.

Moving into our Room

For dinner tonight, we return to one of our favorites of the last visit to Santa Fe, the Coyote Café. It is just as good. We share the Burrata Salad. Amy has the Patagonian Seabass and I have the Tellicherry Peppered Elk Tenderloin. Very satisfied, we slowly walk back to the Inn as the sun sets.

June 9: SW Road Trip Day 31: On To Las Vegas, NM

Goodbye Whites City. Next stop, Roswell. We stop at the Subway to get lunch for later on the road. The Subway is smack in the middle of the UFO Zone. The Alien Industry is very cheap.

The International UFO Museum

Why not call it the Intergalactic UFO Museum? How Earth-first of us!

Ancients of Days

Roswell Landing

Planet Roswell

Alien Zone

A more serious side to Roswell is its Museum of Art. It is housed in a building created by the WPA during the Depression.

Roswell Museum of Art

Our ultimate destination is Las Vegas, New Mexico (much older than the Nevada city). We drive on for another half hour, then stop in a Rest Area to eat our lunch. It’s not too hot yet, and there is plenty of shade, so all is well. After a leisurely lunch, we get back on the road. Most of today’s drive has been in very desolate country.

Highway just south of Las Vegas, NM

We arrive at our destination, in the middle of the Historic District.

The Plaza Hotel

Las Vegas is at the junction of the Great Plains, the Southern Rockies and the Chihuahua Desert. It is a long day’s stagecoach ride from Santa Fe. It was the up and coming metropolis in the late 1800’s but has been in decline ever since. With a population of 13,500, and a list of 950 buildings on the National Register of Historic Places, you can tell that this town has seen some history. But it is also a bit sad since many of those historic buildings sit vacant.

One that is not vacant is a book store that has a great name, Tome on the Range.

Tome on the Range

We walk around the downtown to consider our dining options. We resolve to dine at the hotel, after a round of drinks in the Saloon. Amy has the Plaza Burger and I have the Spanish Enchiladas. Dinner is tasty and we call it a night.

We have now been on the road for a full month. We are not yet ready to head home!