Life is a Highway

The Calm Before the ... Move

Sunday was kind of a lazy day, with Marie and I (and Janet) each doing our own thing. I ran out to the "other" Santa Fe flea market at The Downs, an old racetrack on the outskirts. Since some of my favorite vendors at the Tesuque Flea had disappeared, I hoped that they'd resurfaced here. Nope. Although there were a few interesting stalls, it was pretty much as Marie and I found it last year - a dump. (Go ahead, ask me how I really feel.) We wrapped up the day in fine style as we converged on Janet's to grill hamburgers and sausage, along with a great potato and chile dish that Marie made in the afternoon and salad. Janet's casita really has a nice patio, which made the evening even better.

Our visit also allowed us to admire the fruits of Janet's encaustic art class. Encaustic art uses hot wax instead of paint (though pigments and various objects are often incorporated). Janet did 4 small panels and 3 large panels in four days!

Today, Janet and I went to look at one last property - Marie had already seen it. We brought sandwiches back from Downtown Subscription for lunch, then headed out to Museum Hill, which houses four museums of Native American, Spanish and International art and culture. First we visited the Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian, which had a new exhibition, Thunderbird Jewelry of the Santo Domingo Pueblo. The Santo Domingo Pueblo has always been known for their fine jewelry featuring hand-cut and drilled beads. During the depression, the pueblo was cut off from its usual raw materials, so the jewelry makers started using automobile battery casings, old phonograph records and colored plastics from combs, toothbrushes and anything else they could get their hands on. The results were rather course compared to their traditional work, but they were able to continue selling to tourists to make a living. There were over a hundred of these thunderbird necklaces at the Wheelwright, and they were really amazing. I just went on eBay and these necklaces are fetching $300-$400. At the time, they sold for around 50 cents.

Next, we paid a visit to the Case Trading Post, which is the Wheelwright's museum store. It's fashioned to resemble a traditional Navajo trading post, right down to the squeaky floors. The store and its merchandise were a sight to see, and we really had a great time. Next, we drove over to the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture. The grounds of this museum were really beautiful.

Marie was particularly attracted to the huge warrior sculpture in front of the museum.

We didn't have time to tour the museum, but stopped into the museum store, which was great. We picked up a reasonably priced parfleche bag and a heishi and turquoise necklace. Then we hightailed it over to the theater to see "The Cave of Forgotten Dreams". This film gives you a tour of Chauvet Cave in France, which was discovered in 1994 and found to contain hundreds of pristine cave drawings over 30,000 years old. The quality of these drawings was amazing, and to see them essentially as they were drawn was quite an experience. It's also the only way to see them, as the cave is closed to the public to preserve the paintings. While the movie could have been shorter - it was only 89 minutes as it was - I'd still recommend it

Wednesday we move from Casa Adobe Escondido to Casa Holly, which is a townhouse away from the Plaza. After settling in here for a month, we have a bit of picking and packing up to do. We started tonight, and tomorrow should be busy, to say the least!

Say, Isn't That Jim Carrey?

On Thursday, Marie had another yoga session, I went downtown to run some errands, and then we drove our friend Janet around town for drive-by's of some of the properties we're looking at. At the end of the day, Janet was nice enough to have us over for steaks on the grill at her casita on Acequia Madre. YUM!
After dinner, we decided to watch the sunset from Fort Marcy Park, one of the highest spots in Santa Fe. While the sunset wasn't great, the view was.

Yesterday was a busy coaching day for me - I had two NASA coaching sessions and two interviews with potential clients in NASA's Mid-Level Leadership Program (MLLP). I coached six participants in the inaugural MLLP class, and am really looking forward to getting started with the new class. In the afternoon, our real estate agent took us back to two properties we'd seen before (Janet hadn't seen them) and one new one. We rounded out the day with an early dinner at Harry's Roadhouse on the Old Las Vegas (NM) Highway followed by cheering Boston to victory over Tampa Bay in the Eastern Conference championship game - that's hockey for the uninitiated.

Today we got up bright and early and went to the Santa Fe Farmers Market - it gets bigger every week as the growing season comes alive. Marie felt left out without a market basket, so we got one first thing.

I have to say that there's a bit of everything at the City Different's Farmers Market, from worms for proper composting to a kid playing a violin wearing a very unkid-like hat.

 

As we were leaving, Janet excitedly negotiated for the purchase of a dried gourd. I have to assume this was a very special specimen judging by the price and the fact the seller seemed upset to see it go. I'm chalking my confusion up to my continued education in the nuances of art and beauty.

Next we proceeded to the Native Treasures Indian Arts Festival at the Convention Center, where over 150 Native American artists and craftspeople displayed museum-quality work. The level and variety of the work was truly amazing, and we fully enjoyed our couple of hours there. The highlight for Marie and me was meeting one of our favorite Zuni fetish carvers, Jayne Quam, and purchasing two of her fetishes. We have several of her fetishes at home, and were glad to add to our collection.

By then it was time for a late lunch, so we walked to the Plaza, but found that our first choice was too crowded. As we walked back across the Plaza in search of a shorter wait, we were followed by a tall guy in red striped pants with an Ace Ventura hairdo. I told Marie and Janet that he looked just like Jim Carrey, and Janet said that it was Jim Carrey. I said, "Sure!" and we walked on. Later, as we perused the offerings of the Native Americans at the Palace of the Governors, several asked us if we'd seen Jim Carrey. Son of a gun! Next thing you know, we'll see Shirley MacLaine!

We finally ended up at the San Francisco Street Bar & Grill, where we sat overlooking the street and enjoyed soup, salads and a sandwich. And, most notably, I couldn't resist trying an avocado margarita. Our waiter said it was really good, and he turned out to be right. Another notch on the belt!

After checking out a few more shops, Janet dropped us off and we took it easy this evening, sitting on the porch reading and generally enjoying ourselves.

 

Finally, a Day in MY Southwest

As I mentioned in yesterday's blog, Southwest cabin fever really hit me. Not in the usual sense, where you're cooped up in the house (or cabin). No, for me, the Southwest is big spaces and big skies and hiking and exploring. And as beautiful as Santa Fe is, it's still civilization. So I did some quick research and off we headed for the Ojito Wilderness, north of Bernalillo, which is between Albuquerque and Santa Fe. And, as it turned out, a wrong turn got me just what I needed. (What is it the Rolling Stones said? "You can't always get what you want. But if you try real hard, you'll get what you need.")

The directions said to go south to Bernalillo, then take Rt. 550 north about 20 miles to Cabezon Road. Now keep in mind that the view going up 550 is endless mesas and ancient volcanic flows and cliffs and grassland. So it wasn't surprising that we ended up turning onto the road to Cabezon Peak rather than Cabezon Road, and found my big spaces and big skies. Cabezon Peak is a volcanic plug, formed when the magma hardened in the neck of the volcano. Over time, the softer sediment around the volcano erodes, leaving the basalt plug. Cabezon means "big head" in Spanish, and the Navajo's believe it is the head of a giant killed by the gods.

Cabezon is visible from Rt. 550, yet it was quite a drive before we came upon the parking area for the hiking trail. The sun was pretty intense, so we lathered on lotion for the hike. The good news was that our solar bead bracelets, which activate with sunlight, were in full color.

Marie's knee has been bothering her, and the trail was steep and rocky, so we only hiked a short distance. Our reward, however, was immense vistas. I instantly relaxed and felt transported. Gosh, how I love this country!

Marie settled onto a rock to draw, and I continued up the trail. I soon pooped out and, looking back, got another sense of the immensity of the landscape. I took the next photo with 10x zoom lens from up the trail. If you look really carefully in the middle of the picture, you can find Marie.

This next photo is one of my favorites - this one will go on our wall!

Before we left, we encountered several of the brightly colored lizards we enjoy so much.

Next, we decided to try to find the Ojito Wilderness. We headed south on 500, then turned right on Cabezon Road. Like the road to Cabezon Peak, this road was dirt but not as well maintained. The washboarding of the road was really jarring to us - and the Element - but eventually we reached a "parking area" and decided to check things out.

While Ojito is rumored to have some stunningly beautiful rock formations, this area was less notable for its beauty than for what we discovered. In these remote areas, we're always looking for signs of Ancestral Puebloan presence. While we didn't find any dwellings, we did find a few pottery sherds, as well as a well-preserved lithic site. These sites are where the Ancestral Puebloans flintknapped their weapons and tools from chert and obsidian. Evidence sometimes presents itself in the form of non-native rocks and rocks that have obviously been worked. In addition to those signs, this site had the classic look of a lithic site with the circle of stones and the location on the edge of an arroyo.

We were excited to explore more, but by that time the exertion and sun had taken a bite out of us, so we headed back to the car for the drive home. Needless to say, this was my type of day in the Southwest, and I was a happy camper.

 

The Home Shopping Network

Yesterday was pretty much dedicated to looking at possible second homes out here in Santa Fe. We met our real estate agent at 10:00 and spent the next several hours looking at six properties all over the city. The market is so depressed here that properties that would have been out of our league are at least in our neighborhood. Here are pics of some of our favorites.

After our agent dropped us off, we FINALLY got to eat lunch at Chicago Dog Express, at the corner of Cerrillos Road and Paseo de Peralta. We always seem to be going through this intersection, but never seemed to have the time to stop. This time, we got a jumbo hot dog with red and green chili, cheese and onions. Perhaps the first time I ate a hot dog in a bun with a fork, but it was worth it.

Today, Southwest cabin fever hit and I needed a hike in the wide open spaces. We drove south to Bernalillo, then north on Rt. 550 to Cabezon Peak, where we hiked part way up the trail. Next we went to the Ojito Wilderness, where we found evidence of Ancestral Puebloan presence, including a lithic site where tools and weapons were made. More on that in my next post tomorrow - have to get to bed after a long, tiring day.

Bluebird Skies

Today was one of those days that remind us why we love the Southwest so much. Sunny, 73 degrees, no wind (rare here in the spring). And those bluebird skies. We learned that phrase on our first visit to Albuquerque. We were marvelling at the amazing blue of the sky when someone said, "Oh yeah, our bluebird skies". The sky is amazingly blue out here, due, I'm sure, to the high altitude and low humidity. And that same combination can eat your skin alive, the sun is so intense. On Marie's first visit out here, we took a day trip from Gallup, NM to the Hopi mesas in Arizona. The temperature never got out of the 50's, but I was in shorts and a t-shirt the entire day.

So yesterday we spent part of the day driving around Santa Fe, getting to know the various neighborhoods in the city. We're meeting with a real estate agent tomorrow, and wanted to narrow the field of properties for him to show us. Today, we kind of bummed around, visiting a "trading post" on Canyon Road that had great Native American items at great prices - a rarity for Canyon Road. Check out their website at www.rivertradingpost.com. We continued our walk down to the Old Santa Fe Trail, where we ate lunch at a neat little - and I do mean little - cafe called Dish n' Spoon. This funky little place is a real gem. The tables are in the middle of what seems like a children's toy store - and most of it is for sale - and the food was great. We had a nice long talk with the owner/chef, including comparing notes on the 7 year old dancers in our lives - his daughter and our granddaughter. We're so glad we found this great little place, and will be back.

The rest of the day we just enjoyed the skies, colors and textures around our casita. It's all becoming so familiar now ...