Thursday, September 29, 2011

Day 26 - Not a Hilton But It'll Do

 Atwood, Kansas
 Marysville, Kansas Pony Express
Marysville, Kansas Historic Courthouse

We left Colorado and entered Kansas about 9:25 am.  It was about 6 pm when we made it to Missouri.  That's a long time in Kansas!  But to be fair to Kansas, we found the landscape surprising.  It's not completely flat.  Western Kansas had some sagebrush and rocks and all of Kansas has rolling hills.  There were huge sorghum fields everywhere.  Not the kind you make molasses from but grain sorghum that is fed to livestock and people.  The sorghum fields were cinnamon colored, adding so much appeal to the sort of ho hum landscape.  The sorghum plant looks like short corn.  The grain on top is a conical tuft of reddish brown.

We drove through lots of very small towns.  Homes and towns were neat and well kept.  Very wholesome.

Marysville was a pretty little historical town.  This town was the first stop on the Pony Express Line and later was a stage coach stop.  The Historic Courthouse was built in 1891. There's a Pony Express Museum and a Courthouse Museum.

The other claim to fame of Marysville is its large black squirrel population.

Signing off on the next to last day of this wonderful adventure, Bill and Marsha

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Day 25 - Pikes Peak

 Pikes Peak
Pikes Peak

Today we experienced the unexpected treat of a personal guided tour of the US Air Force Academy.  Ethan was a wonderful tour guide.  The Academy is beautifully situated in a valley with a backdrop of the Rocky Mountains.  It covers approximately 18,000 acres.  I know the cadets work hard, but according to Ethan, they are also pampered to excess. Though the 4500 cadets lead a charmed life in many ways, it doesn’t start out that way.  For their first two months, the basics as they are called, live in tents in the forest. 

On the Academy grounds is a Native American Ceremonial Site.  To its credit, the Air Force works around the site at quite an expense.  A public high school, an elementary school, and housing for Academy personnel are also located on grounds.

From the Academy, we drove through the quaint village of Manitou Springs at the base of Pike’s Peak.  Bill drove the 19.2 miles to the top of Pike’s Peak.  If you have a fear of heights as I do, you would not be entirely comfortable with this drive.  The road is in great condition, though – just steep drop offs in some places and the feeling about ½ the way up that you are driving up into the sky – which you are!  The first half of the drive was just beautiful.  Aspens are now at their peak fall color which is between a yellow and a gold.  When the leaves just begin to turn, they are yellow.  Then they turn to a gorgeous yellowish gold.  Bill’s photos will have to speak to the beauty they add to the mountains because I don’t have the words to do them justice. 

By the time we neared the summit, tears of anxiety were sliding down my cheeks.  I had to sit in the car awhile at the summit to compose myself before getting out to take in the breathtaking view.  Bill doesn’t fear heights as I do and he did such a great job driving and trying to keep me calm at the same time. Coming down wasn’t nearly as bad.

Signing off till tomorrow, Bill and Marsha, never driving up Pike’s Peak again as long as I live!
 Garden of the Gods, Colorado Springs, Colorado
 Garden of the Gods, Colorado Springs, Colorado
 Garden of the Gods, Colorado Springs, Colorado
 Garden of the Gods, Colorado Springs, Colorado
Abandoned house near Ft. Garland, Colorado

Today we drove from Taos, New Mexico, to Colorado Springs, Colorado, about a 5-hour drive.  Almost immediately upon entering Colorado the color palette of the landscape changed from browns, tans, and light greens to yellows, dark greens, and even a bit of reds and oranges.  The bright yellows were the aspens turning, the greens were trees, and the reds and oranges were bushes and groundcover.  Though both landscapes are beautiful, this was a refreshing change.

Easy to see why the area of red sandstone formations in Colorado Springs is called Garden of the Gods.  Quite stunning.  In 1909 children of the deceased owner, Charles Elliott Perkins, donated the land to Colorado Springs.  It was his wish that the land always be accessible and free to the public.  Consequently, there is no fee to visit and the wide red concrete walkways that wind through the forest of red rock formations fulfill his wish of accessibility.

We met up with my 23 year-old-niece, Kacie, and her 23-year-old husband, Ethan, for dinner.  Kacie works in a quasi-engineering job here while she finishes her engineering degree and Ethan works in ground safety at the US Air Force Academy.  Ethan has a degree in public safety.  Kacie has personality plus. Both have amazing work ethics, but they also love to have fun.  A winning combination for such a nice young couple.

Another great day.

Signing off until tomorrow, Bill and Marsha, grateful for family 

Monday, September 26, 2011

Day 23 - San Ildefonso Pueblo Reservation

 Adelphia Martinez and Annaleya,"Blue Water," her great granddaughter
 Replica of 1711 Church and graveyard for reservation members
San Ildefonso Pueblo Reservation, New Mexico
 Replica of 1711 Church and graveyard for reservation members
San Ildefonso Pueblo Reservation, New Mexico
 Kiva - gathering and ceremonial place
San Ildefonso Pueblo Reservation, New Mexico
San Ildefonso Pueblo Reservation
New Mexico

The San Ildefonso Pueblo Indian Reservation was home to Maria Martinez, world famous maker of burnished black waro pottery.  She was born in 1887, married at age 17 in 1904, and traveled with her husband on her wedding day to the World's Fair in St. Louis.  There she was recognized for her pottery for the first time and subsequently became world famous.  She is the most famous of all Pueblo Indian potters.  She died in 1980.

It was an honor to be able to visit this Reservation.  All the homes and building on the reservation were made of adobe.  Though a poor reservation, it was not nearly as poor as the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.  The entire reservation was rock and sand, no grass.  Pueblo artisans open their homes to tourists.  A sign outside their home indicates open or closed.  There were five or six homes open today.  We visited four of them.  All were very skilled artists.  Two of them had pieces in the reservation Museum.  One of those was Adelphia Martinez.  Adelphia is a wonderful potter.  Her pieces range in price from $200 to $1500, maybe more.  Adelphia is in her mid 70's and no longer leaves the reservation except to shop.  She sells her work only from her home.  She showed us a wedding pot that had not yet been fired.  It will sell for at least $1000.  She said she hopes to make three more before November and believes all will sell.  Wedding pots have two spouts and are very difficult to make.  Today she sold a small pot to a couple from NYC for around $800.  We met the couple and they were thrilled with their purchase.  Adelphia is a gracious, classy lady.  She reminded me of my Aunt Edna.

Adelphia told us she quits making pottery in November and resumes making it again in the spring.  She said her mother always told her that the clay mother needs to rest.  She said that is the spiritual reason for the hiatus.  The other reason is that the cold clay is hard on her old hands.  Adelphia's husband, a professional photographer, was a grand nephew of Marie Martinez.

We also met a wonderful couple, Elmer and Deborah Torres, at a Native Indian shop on the reservation.  Had a great time talking to them.  Their son, who works full time as a cad computer operator, is also a wonderful water colorist of Pueblo subject matter.  We purchased one of his original paintings on a card he sells in their shop.

We will fondly remember this day forever.

Signing off until tomorrow, Bill and Marsha, inspired by the Pueblo people and their art



Sunday, September 25, 2011

Day 22 - The Turquois City

 Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, Plaza, Santa Fe
 Miraculous staircase built by itinerant carpenter in Loretto Chapel
 93-year-old New Mexico Museum of Art, a Spanish Pueblo Revival building
 New Mexico Museum of Art
 Canyon Road Native American Art Gallery
Canyon Road

Beginning to get a bit redundant, but we really did have another beautiful day.  Arrived in Santa Fe about 10:30 am.  Adobe and turquoise everywhere.  Adobe buildings hundreds of years old and newer adobe buildings.  We even saw a Target made of adobe tonight.  The very old adobe buildings like the one housing the New Mexico Museum of Art look amazingly contemporary because of their clean, angular architecture. And turquoise!  Turquoise jewelry, turquoise shopping bags, turquoise benches, and turquoise trim on buildings.  Luckily, the terracotta color of adobe and turquoise go together quite well.

Really liked the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum.  There were just a few rooms of her paintings and one other featured artist.  It was easy to get through the entire museum in 45 minutes.  Eliminates boredom and burnout.  I love art as well as most, but art overload can be numbing.

Santa Fe purports to have the oldest church and the oldest house in the US.  We visited both.  We enjoyed two outdoor art shows.  Spent quite a bit of time on Canyon Road, a very long stretch lined with elite art galleries.  Art galleries also abounded on side streets off Canyon Road.  We didn’t go into many galleries, but they were so beautifully landscaped and adorned with wonderful sculptures that it was well worth the long walk.

We liked Santa Fe.  Found it a very walkable city.  To us it was a faster paced, upscale version of Old Town, Albuquerque. 

Signing off until tomorrow, Bill and Marsha, moving north

Day 21 - Sunshine, Salsa, and Sopapillas

 Rainbow between Las Cruces and Albuquerque
 San Felipi de Neri Catholic Church, built 1706, Old Town, Albuquerque
 San Felipe
 San Felipe
 Old Town
 Old Town Porch, Albuquerque
 Old Town
 Old Town Hat Shop
 Old Town Gate
 Plaza Don Luis, Old Town
 Salsa Festival Contestants
 Salsa Festival Contestant and Ingredients
Salsa Festival Participant

We arrived in Albuquerque late in the afternoon.  Great weather with blue skies and white fluffy clouds.  Went directly to Old Town.  Spent an hour or so just walking around.  Bill took some photos.  Bum steer for the second night in a row on restaurants.  Both were authentic Mexican, just not good authentic Mexican.  In Mesilla all the food was good except for the really tough cubes of pork and chicken.  Our first night in ABQ (Albuquerque), we ate at the Church Street CafĂ©. The atmosphere was amazing.  The restaurant was in an old, very large adobe home occupied by the same family for centuries, up until 1991.  The age of the home was authenticated.  So, we had great atmosphere and history all around us, but somehow it didn’t make the food taste better!

That’s the only thing bad I can say about Old Town.  What an awesome place.  As in every Mexican town, everything revolves around the town plaza.  The jewel of the square is San Felipe de Neri Church first built in 1706.  In 1792 it was destroyed by excessive water, something adobe is particularly sensitive to.  Rebuilt in 1793, the church is on the National and State Historic Registries.  Bill loved photographing it.

We were lucky enough to land in Old Town for the annual Salsa Festival.  The big event was a salsa making contest.  There were 39 contestants set up in the square.  They made their salsa from 1:30 to 4:30, then the tasting began.  We purchased armbands which allowed us to taste from every table.  Waited in line about 30 minutes before we got to the first table.  What an experience!  Most of the salsas were very hot.  We liked the sweeter salsas and the ones tasting of fresh tomatoes.  Let me tell you, by the time we had tasted at five or six tables, our mouths were on fire!  Luckily, they had water for sale and Bill had purchased a couple of bottles.  We had so much fun tasting the salsas and talking to the salsa makers.  At 7:30 that night they announced the winner.  The one we voted for won!  It was a mango salsa.  Another highlight of the festival was the salsa music.  Salsa musicians from all over the world performed at several locations throughout Old Town.  We particularly liked a band from South America.  Late last night a band from NYC performed. 

Old Town has over 150 shops with all manner of things including Indian jewelry and pottery, painting, photography, hats, and, of course, the normal touristy junk from China and Indonesia.  The best shopping was the wares of Native Americans and some locals spread out on blankets on the long porch of one side of the plaza.  I met Pueblo and Navajo Indians who were selling items they made.  They had vendors’ licenses validating that they produced the goods they were selling.  I purchased jewelry from a young Navajo man and a Pueblo woman. From an older gentlemen, Robert Rollins, a local, I also purchased a beautiful bracelet of silver and a Sonaran Sunrise stone to match the beautiful stone Bill purchased for me in Las Cruces on his cross country bike trip last spring.

We met a young Pueblo man in his newly opened studio/gallery.  He was a biologist turned potter.  He spent at least half an hour w/us explaining the process of making Pueblo pottery.  It was amazing to learn all that goes into their style of pottery.  First they must gather the clay.  They primarily use gray clay which they must hike high into the mountains to harvest.  They go into caves with very small openings.  The caves open up into several rooms from the centuries of excavating by potters.  Some of the rooms have poles or rock cairns holding up the roofs.  In places the clay seekers have to crawl on their hands and knees.  They must then pack the heavy clay out.  He said the red clay he uses is much more accessible.  Next they form the clay into the article being made, usually some sort of bowl or vase.  This is done completely by hand, no wheel, no tools.  The item is allowed to dry.  Then a smooth stone is rubbed against the entire surface of the piece to further smooth it.  Next comes painting the pottery in intricate geometric designs using all natural paint materials, mostly from clay, but some from plants. The last step is firing the piece. Especially with the gray clay, there is much breakage during firing.  This artist used red clay which he said breaks less during firing.  So, as you can see, a price of $250 for a small pottery bowl is a reasonable price given all that went into making it.  This young man won first prize at a competition on a medium sized bowl.  He was offered $3500 for it but he declined.  Fascinating!

We had complimentary sopapillas for lunch.  Delicious!  They are a puffed pastry that you split open.  They form pockets that can be filled with meat, vegetables, or honey as a dessert.  They are eaten by holding them.  Of course, I learned this after just pouring honey on top and eating it with a knife and fork.  But regardless of how eaten, they are delicious.

I wish everyone could have the opportunity to experience a perfect day like we had today in Old Town, Albuquerque. 

Signing off until next time, Bill and Marsha

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Day 19 and 20 - Mesilla, Az, even more colorful than 4th Ave in Tucson!





All photos Mesilla, New Mexico

We rested a bit this morning, then left on the 4 1/2 hour drive to Las Cruces, New Mexico.  About an hour south of Tucson, the landscape change dramatically.  We found ourselves driving through huge fields of rocks and boulders.  Very interesting.  This landscape covered a span of just a few miles.  Las Cruces' two most important crops are pecans and cotton.  We saw huge groves of pecan trees, some of them flooded which is a common practice in growing pecans.  Some of the cotton fields had ripened and it was fun to see the white tufts on the thigh high plants.

Now a small, historic town, Mesilla was once the largest town in the southern part of New Mexico Territory.  Its official beginning was around 1848.  It became a major stage stop.  The original building where stagecoaches stopped has survived and is now a restaurant and gift shop.  It always makes a stop more memorable when you meet someone from the area.   Bill met Don Rogelio (see photo above) at the farmers' market on the Mesilla square.  Don has a very large chile operation.  He provides salsa to several cities.  He gave Bill a jar of his mild sausa that his brother-in-law calls sausa for wimps.  The bunches of chilies you see hanging outside the front door of so many houses are called ristras.  We bought a bunch from Don.  We also bought a jar of hot sauce.  I am anxious to try Don's red beer.  It consists of salt, pepper, lime juice, hot sauce and beer.  The historic buildings in Mesilla have been restored and now house nice shops.  The entire town is on the National Historic Registry.

Signing off for another day, Bill and Marsha, wishing we knew more Spanish


Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Day 18 - Colorful Tucson











Photos 1-9 - Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum 
Photos 10-11 -  4th Avenue in Tucson, an ethnically diverse, hipster area with lots of shops and restaurants.  Not a single chain store or restaurant.  Very colorful!
 
We got an early start today, 7:30 am, because we were going to tour the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum.  Temps got up to high 90's later in the day.  On the scenic drive to the Museum we saw so many cacti.  There were saguaro forests as far as the eye could see, all the way up to the pinnacles of the mountains.  The museum covers 120,000 square miles and has over 300 species of cacti, more than any other place in the world.  A surprising number of cacti were in bloom.  Many species of birds are represented including Arizona's state bird, the cactus wren, shown above in one of Bill's photos.  The state flower, the saguaro cactus flower, and the state tree, the palo verde, are also found in abundance.  Animals living there include rattlesnakes, scorpions, bear, coyote, wolf, big horn sheep, javelinas, mountain lions, bobcats, ocelots, and lizards.  We got to taste flour made from the bean of the mesquite tree.  Tasted like a less intense form of cinnamon.  Tour guides were so knowledgeable and personable.  We enjoyed our four hours there immensely and highly recommend this vacation destination.
 
In the afternoon, we strolled the very long stretch of 4th Avenue.  See photos above.  The prices in the shops were amazing, probably due to the tourist season coming to an end.  I bought lots of beautiful jewelry and a colorful Mexican rug.  Bill got nada.   
 
Signing off till tomorrow, Marsha and Bill