Adventure 34: Enchanted Trails RV/Albuquerque, NM/Post A

Iconic!

We left Cortez at 7 A.M. The drive  down Hwy 491 through the reservation was marked by a stunning view of Ship Rock, which at first lay shrouded in mist and later showed it's full canvas in response to the bright sunrise. At Gallup we met I-40. Truck after truck after truck after truck passed us on our otherwise uneventful drive to Albuquerque. One would think there is a fair amount of commerce being done in the nation if they simply counted fully loaded semi-trucks. To keep myself unnerved, I listened to Rush reiterate his view of what he calls  the liberal fiasco, and of course I gave Sean his fifty-three seconds as well. About three minutes of them is about as much as I can enjoy. We arrived at the the Enchanted Trails RV Park (Surely a euphemism for this desolate, though funky gravel patch). The park sits on the historic Route 66, a by gone era to be sure, but this place is vibrant and well run. After setting up, we drove into Albuquerque (@ 9 miles), stopped for another authentic mexican lunch. (Judy swears she'll not eat another burrito.), took a quick tour of Old Town, found a bike shop, and we're now planning our rides for the next three days. Albuquerque is a very bicycle friendly town with over 400 miles of dedicated riding. It will be all paved; however, the very helpful bike boy did warn me about goat heads, which he says are a constant annoyance. We'll see. Tonight we hope to see the Red Sox clinch the series so that our friend Johnny Logue can rest easy. Come on down. You don't even need your own RV. You can rent any one of these classics just like a hotel room. Flights arrive every day. We can pick you up. Can you think of a better way to spend a weekend? Just saying that life is good, especially today.

 Set up and ready. 

 Oval settee in front. Twin beds, appliances, heat, water, and sewer. A classic.

Ain't she cute! (Titled VA-KA-SHUN-ETTE) Amazing layout: dinette, galley, fully made double bed.

 Either your dad or uncle had one of these Hudson's.

 If you all came down, you could rent the whole classic complex.

 

 Queen bed; fully operational.

 Friendly couples only for this ten foot Winnebago.

 The yard even comes with plastic wild life; what says fifties better than that.

 Old Coca-Cola (bottles) cases turned into funky dioramas

 Judy savoring Flan. (Notice the empty burrito plate in the foreground. Cheerios for dinner tonight and I'll start burning off those calories tomorrow.  Promise.

Adventure 33: Cortez Cleaning Day

Cleaning Day!

Lest you think it's all fun and games out on the road, put those idle devilish thoughts aside: There's work to be done. After close to 2500 miles driven (counting day trips), Fric was covered with road grime, and Frac had lost a little of her sheen. So today's adventure was work, work, work--except for a couple games of Crib (3-1/Judy), our normal morning cleanup routine, an arduous venture to the evil empire (Walmart), a run for a surprisingly cheap refill of the extra propane tank, an almost fruitful visit to the local bike shop (no correct tires in stock), and a really good authentic Mexican lunch (real carne asada tacos and a cerdo-pork-burrito). After the errands, we washed Fric and hand polished Frac, even though rain was promised (and did not disappoint). And now we're tucked in our clean little 160 square feet abode listening to Jelly Roll Blues planning our next adventure to the Enchanted Trail RV Park in Albuquerque. What did we ever do without the I-pad, the I-pod, the I-phone, and the Mac Pro laptop? Ye gads! We're living nearly as impact free as the ancients! And still we're not satisfied. It's a cultural thing, I guess. A fancy 27 ft. Airstream just pulled in next to us. Imagine lusting after 30 more square feet, a walk around bed, and a head I can fit in comfortably. Just kidding. We're grateful for every day, and thankful for our opportunity to enjoy each other and these fruited plains. Because, as you all may realize: Life is good, especially today.
 The breakfast mess: oatmeal, semel, and Costa Rican coffee. I love my little domain.  The oven bakes nicely, even though I have to get down on my knees to light the pilot.  The semel are a little flat since I forgot to stir them up last night; did a rush job this morning since I was craving them.  Don't want to get out of practice before the semel bake down in Kansas.  Is it water into flour or flour into water ?????

 The dinette mess: coffee cups, oatmeal bowls, maps, pillows, and knitting. This is where we spend most of our time and it's quite comfy.

 Down 3-1 in the Cortez Open (Time is running out. I'm holding the number of my average hand this morning. Drats! My JuJu needs help. Maybe I can cheat better this evening. He'll need to do something.  I'm on a roll!!!! Cheating didn't work; I lost the Cortez Open 5-1. Overall series tied. Just wait until Lobo town!

 Judy washes in three and a half cups of water; I dry. Actually in Dead Horse I washed and rinsed in 3 cups of water since there was no outside water supply. Took a shower in a gallon of water.

 Clean dinette; Crib board at the ready.

 We averaged 7.84 miles a day walking last week, along with 86 miles on the bikes. The "Thumper", an electric G-rated massage unit, comes in handy. OK, girls. How did I do trimming my bangs? 

 A hand made Ulmen board, clean, cool, and custom.

 TW as dish boy. Eat your heart out Ed Drouin.

Everything has a place.

 Judy gets up first around 5:30. She reads, knits, does crosswords, and welcomes the day. I dream, get up around 7:30, and I'm in charge of tidying up the bed. 

 We've spent somewhere  close to $850.00 on gas so far. Gas today was $3.45/gal.

 Fric, fresh from a car wash.

 Fric polishing Frac. 

 Frac polishing Frac. It really was so nice to have nothing planned for today.  Believe it or not, this is the first time that has happened! And I was worried I would have too much time on my hands!

Frac polished and ready for another leg in the adventure.

Adventure 32: Mesa Verde National Park

The Grand Dad of Cliff Dwellings.

Judy's first three hands this morning totaled sixty-three points, not counting the pegging points. i'm feeling good about the Cortez Open! Needless to say, I was a smelly skunk before I fully woke up. Inauspicious to say the least. After breakfast, (Oatmeal and Costa Rican brewed coffee), we drove to Mesa Verde, a place I've long wanted to visit. We weren't disappointed; in fact, we were awe struck. Judy more than once commented that she couldn't believe she was actually here. Mesa Verde is one of the World Heritage sites and is more amazing than the pictures that were in our old social studies books.  On our hike through Spruce Canyon, whenever we covered terrain that our Forest Service hadn't improved, I found myself imagining the footsteps of people walking the path more than a thousand years ago. Our ranger, Abby Gullick, exuded the passion we've come to expect from our rangers. She was knowledgeable, glib, funny, and she looked really good in her ranger suit. She was able to easily switch into Spanish to answer questions for three Latino ladies in the tour group, and she willingly answered the rest of our questions as well. Her only apparent "off the reservation" opinion was that it was a crime to try to manage the forests with our "Smokey the Bear" fire suppression policy. A devastating fire ravaged the top of the mesa in 2002. Abby said it will take three hundred years for the natural flora to return.  The view today is skeletal trees waving their withered arms under the wind and sky. After our tour with Abby, Judy and I toured the Spruce House on our own and hiked the petroglyph trail in search of native art. The trail was fabulous as it wound just under the mesa edge. We were able to see other less known building structures, which must be in every canyon considering there were over thirty thousand people living in the area as far back as 500 A.D. If I could have seen just one sight on this trip, this would be the one. There are several other housing units in the park, but they are closed for the season. We fortunately got our tour with Abby on the last weekend the Cliff Palace was open. Cliff Palace is an apt name, but it's doubtful the original inhabitants called it that. They were merely a band of eighty or so closely knit Pueblo Indians living and working, loving and wondering, breathing and dying in their own little part of paradise. It's doubtful that we'll ever know why they left, but it's not hard to imagine why they chose to live here in the first place. What is hard is for me to disregard my own cultural bias long enough to put my feet into these folks leggings. As a side note, I found myself taking pictures of the fall foliage. Stunning, but also ominous, as the fall weather will soon put on its winter coat. We will soon beat feet to the flat and humorless plains of the midwest, but fear not. These plains did produce my Hunny Bunny, after all. And semel and pepper nuts, which always make life good, especially today.

 Besides Juniper, there is also Pinion Pine and a breed of Mahogony trees that were insect resistant and served as floor and ceiling beams. You can see them as peeking dots in the distance.

 The canyon falls steeply away from the palace.

 A shot into one of the Kivas, which is a Hopi word. Who knows what the inhabitants actually called these places.

 Like DIYs everywhere, the Indians continually built until 1284 A.D. (Evidence ends then.)

 Judy peeking into one of the square towers, which are like four story apartment buildings.

 What the camera saw when I aimed it up. Petroglyph art on the side wall.

 This breed of oak is prolific. The natives used the acorns in various ways. Not much was wasted in the Pueblo world.

 Judy climbing the last of three ladders out of the Cliff Palace, an altitude gain of about 800 ft.

 A Kiva entrance at the Spruce House. Not sure if it's original or a recreation. Pretty cool either way.

 Another look from the camera as I pointed it inside one of the tall apartments.

 We got to climb down into this Kiva.

 Inside the Kiva, the air vent for the fire and the deflection wall just behind the ladder.

 The beams were interlaced to form the roof for the Kiva.

 The housing groups contain several Kivas. It's unclear whether each family had its own, but we know from modern ancestors that these were places of religious significance. There are nine Kiva pits in the Cliff Palace, and every housing unit has them.

 The petroglyph trail as it wound under the overhang. No complaints from the frickin' sixty-seven year old, but something was squeaking. I think it was her knees.

 Amarillo leaves, a reminder that life is both delicate and short.

 The view down the canyon from the middle of the Cliff Palace.

 Just another natural rock formation. Below, the grooves in the sandstone were evidence of a  tool sharpening station. 

 Way cool, and Yes!, it was worth the hike.

 I know how this guy felt. We wound around, up, under, over, and down the canyon just to see him.

I couldn't photograph the whole panel, but it was a series of figures about ten feet square. I doubt my water colors will last  this long. Maybe I'll start carving reliefs in stone.