Cruising with the Land Yacht

Thursday, July 23, 2015

Durango, Colorado

Thursday, July 16^th we took the road less traveled from Santa Fe, NM to Durango, CO. We saw some beautiful scenery! Thankfully we stopped at the one rest area along our 250 mile trip. It was a nice lunch stop and gave us an opportunity to take some great pictures of Ernie and Bert together in the mountains. Check out our new picture at the top of the blog !

We always like to go to the visitor centers in the cities that we are visiting to be sure we are not missing something special. After getting settled at Westerly RV Park we had just enough time to get to the visitors center before it closed. We found out they were having a free concert in the park which was walking distance from the visitor’s center and would be starting in 15 minutes. The band was called Dr Roberts and they were doing a Beatles Tribute. We enjoyed the music and watching all the people. On our way to the car we stopped for dinner at the Rice Monkey for sushi and a rice bowl. Fun evening!

Our site at Westerly RV Park had a view of the mountains and also the train track. The Durango to Silverton Steam Train passed six times a day. There are three trains going up and three trains coming back each day. The cost of the train is now $85 per ticket plus tax. We decided to save that for our next visit to Durango.

Durango Steam Train as it went by our camp site notice the background that was our view !

Friday the 17^th we drove to Silverton and Ouray. It rained on the way up and was raining when we got to Silverton. Thankfully the rain had stopped by the time we got to Ouray. We got to Ouray in time to have a picnic lunch in their city park. We thought it was funny that the lifeguards at the pool all had on sweatshirts. I hope the pool was heated. We explored town and took pictures. I took lots of pictures as we were driving of the mountain views and mining areas. We spent time walking around Silverton and taking pictures before heading back to Durango.

Durango

Old street in Durango

Old mine site

Ouray

Saturday the 18^th we stopped by the farmers market but were a little disappointed after the wonderful market in Santa Fe. We did a bike ride on the Animas River Bike Trail. Our ride was about 8 miles. The trail went along the river and we crossed bridges several times. There were a lot of people rafting and kayaking in the river, they were fun to watch. We had a picnic in the park and then walked around Durango. We found a wonderful museum behind the Durango Train Station. It had old engines, cars and lots of train history.

Rafting along the Animas River where we biked

Old car and caboose in the train museum

Saturday, July 18, 2015

Santa Fe, New Mexico Part 3

Monday, July 13^th, we drove the Jeep to Taos, New Mexico. Everyone said to see Taos Pueblo, so we went there first. There is an entry fee which is a source of revenue for the tribe.

The Pueblo is the home of the Red Willow People. We took a short tour from a very informative guide. The tour started in the church. The original church was destroyed during a war and the new church was built in the 1800’s. He told us that 80 % of the population was Catholic but 100% followed the teachings of the Red Willow Tribe. The Pueblo has been there for over 1000 years occupied by ancestors of the current occupants. They do not have electricity or running water. They do use propane for light and stoves. They still cook in the outside ovens as well. Their water comes from the stream which is fed from snow melt from the Taos Mountain. They carry it in buckets to their homes. The water in the stream is tested on a regular basis for purity. There are approximately 3,000 people who live in Taos Pueblo. The North Pueblo was the original building. There is also a South Pueblo and additional pueblos that have been added. The school goes to the 8^th grade then they go into town or to a boarding school. Our guide was in college majoring in Biology. They have their own police department. They grow crops and hunt in the mountains for deer and elk. They also sell art, crafts and jewelry that they make.

We were able to go into many of the homes as they also served as their shops. One shop keeper explained that his great grandparents had the back room and a room was built on for each of their children to live in when they grew up. His grandparents had an unusually large place since they had 9 children. So his family had 4 rooms.

Originally there were no doors. The entry to the pueblo was from the roof. You would climb to the roof and pull up the ladder to be safe. The adobe helps to keep them cool in the summer and warm in the winter.

Church

North Pueblo with River they use for water in the foreground

Close up of North Pueblo

South Pueblo

What is left of the old church and the graveyard that was in use until 2011

After touring the Pueblo we went into the city of Taos. It is a ski village that has a lot of local artists and shops to support the tourists. We walked around town and enjoyed seeing the work of the local artists.

On the way back to Santa Fe we went in search of a hot spring that was supposed to be just a short hike and then free for those who would like to use it. We turned off on Tune Road which is not far outside town. It was a dirt road with some unique houses spread out along the way. We drove 4 ½ miles down Tune Road to where it dead ended into the Rio Grande. We looked at the VERY steep and rocky path and decided that at 4:00 it was too late to venture down. We took some pictures of the river and drove back out.

On our way back to Santa Fe we took a different route than when we went. This route took us over the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge. We stopped on one side and walked out on the bridge to take pictures. On the other side was a rest area, we stopped to take pictures there as well. It covers a wide expanse of river and it VERY high up. It was quite an impressive piece of engineering.

Tuesday, July 14^th Happy Birthday to my brother, Stuart! We went to the Georgia O’Keefe Museum. She moved to the Santa Fe area for the later part of her life and it served as much of her inspiration. She loved bold colors. We decided we like her pastels and water colors more than her oils. I always enjoy the videos they show with the background/history of wherever we are. She was married to a photographer, who loved to photograph her. She bought a large ranch north of Abiquiu. It is known as the Ghost Ranch. It is now used for a retreat and artists.

After the museum we went to a gallery next door that had photographs including some by Georgia O’Keefe’s husband and Ansel Adams, who is one of our favorites. We walked around town a little more to some of the shops we had not seen.

After lunch we drove over to Madrid, NM. Madrid was a coal mining town in its hay day. Then it died and was a ghost town. It is being revived as an artist colony and tourist town with galleries, shops and eateries.

Above and below two of the cute shops

This one is for sale and needs some love

On Wednesday, July 15^th we cleaned up around the RV and did a few chores that had been waiting to be done. For lunch we met Michelle Belsan (wife of my first cousin Peter) and her four children, Mikaella, Tommy, Allison and Justin for lunch. They drove up from Albuquerque where they were visiting her parents. It was fun to finally get to meet them. We look forward to seeing them again later in our trip when we visit Phoenix. Our afternoon was spent grocery shopping and getting ready to move to Durango on Thursday.

Santa Fe, New Mexico Part 2

On Saturday, July 11th. we stayed in Santa Fe. We went to the Farmers Market in the morning. The Farmers Market is located in the old train depot. There are still a few trains that from Santa Fe to Albuquerque. They have different items for sale at their Farmers Market than we are used to seeing. I bought some dried Anasazi Beans to make red beans and rice and some dried Blue Corn to make Posole. We also bought some Kimchi. The lady was making Kimchi pancakes and told me how to do it. (Note: Mine did not turn out so great). There were several people selling fresh sprouts. I bought sprouts to make sprout sandwiches which were very good. (I grow my own sprouts at home but it is hard to do on the road.) We also got fresh kale. We finished our shopping by going to Whole Foods. We had lunch in the RV and then spent the afternoon exploring downtown and the central market including two street art fairs. There are so many fun shops and talented artists. We also saw the inside of the St Francis Catholic Church and saw its beautiful stained glass windows. They did not allow pictures inside the church.

Farmers Market

Train that still runs from the station

Dolphin Sculptures near the parking deck

Saint Francis Catholic Church

Big Motel in town

Sunday we went for a bike ride. We were going to take a long ride on the Santa Fe Trail. Well, it was dirt and very hilly. I did not get very far but told Wayne to go further. We then rode on a paved bike trail which is more my style. I ended up riding about 5 ½ miles and Wayne did 8 miles. I think the elevation also played a factor.

Trestle along Santa Fe Trail Bike Route

Above and below are views from the bike trail

My bike as I wait for Wayne, it was nice to find a shady spot, there are not too many trees in the desert.

Santa Fe, New Mexico Part 1

Thursday, July 9^th we drove from Tucumcari, NM to Santa Fe, NM. The landscapes are brown with scrub bushes and mountains. You can see MILES and MILES across the dessert to the base of the next mountain.

We arrived in Santa Fe at Trailer Ranch early in the afternoon. It is a nice RV park and we had a prime spot. We would definitely stay here again when in Santa Fe. It was on the main street and very convenient to get to shopping and other places we needed to go. A note on Santa Fe: all of the buildings are required to be adobe style in the city of Santa Fe. So houses, offices, businesses, shops even fast food places are adobe style architecture. I like it but it means you have to really watch signs to find what you are looking for because that is all that makes them unique. This time of year there are flowers everywhere which really brighten things up.

After riding in the RV all morning it was time for a walk. We drove over to Canyon Road. Canyon Road was once homes, now it is Art Galleries and Studios. There are a LOT of galleries and studios!!! We walked down part of the road and wandered in to some of the ones that got our attention. We saw many beautiful works of art, but did not see many that would fit with our beachy Florida decor which is probably just as well because original art is expensive! We finished our walk with dinner at Vegan Thai. It was OK but not sure we would go back.

This is the only house that is still a house on Canyon Road.

All through New Mexico we saw fences made out of logs, This was on Canyon Road to separate two properties.

Friday we took a day trip to Bandelier National Monument (http://www.nps.gov/band/index.htm). Entrance was free with Wayne’s National Park Senior Pass. The park had a flood in 2011 that destroyed much of the parks visitor center and parking lot. The visitor center has been restored but the parking lot has not been restored so they provide a shuttle from White Rock up to the visitor center. Bandelier was the site of an Anasazi Indian Village that was active around 1200 AD. Some of the tribe lived in a central village adobe building the rest lived in the caves. The foundation of the adobe homes at the base of the caves is still there and also the ruins of the cave dwellings. There is a trail to follow around the park with a brochure you can read about the different areas. There were petroglyphs on the walls, we called it Indian Graffiti. You could go into some of the caves. The Alcove house was high in the side of the mountain with 140 steps by ladders made out of logs to get to the actual alcove. Wayne went all the way to the alcove, I stopped half way up. They had a hard life and only lived to an average age of 35. There was also a movie about the park which we also watched.