Category: Travelogue

Posted in 2019, Trailer Trippin', Travelogue, Trippin' in the Trailer

Travelogue Days 7-11

Posted on by Jo Mayne Casey

We arrived at the Abuquerque/Bernalillo KOA by 12:30, got set up and checked the place out. It’s a nice one, sweet pool and patio, clean and quiet.  Our first stop was to follow the signs for Kaktus Brewery at the other side of the campground and try some of their beer.  It’s just a quick walk to a really cool place and we went back several times.

Unfortunately, Sonnystone, too had a leaky tire.  The next morning we visited a Big O Tire to get it fixed — we had a good spare that we put on.  While waiting, we headed for the nearest grocery store and picked up some steaks to grill that evening.  After dinner a big wind blew through and I headed out to bring in some stuff.  Wearing my Nike slides, I slid off the bottom step and gave my left foot a really good twist, bruised my right foot, and skinned up my shin.  Whaaa???  Since we had planned to hike the next day at Petroglyphs, our plans had to change…

We just readjusted and visited the Pueblo Indian Cultural Center.

I want to say more in another post about what I learned from this place and how it affected me.  We also ate at their restaurant and it was delicious.

I had so looked forward to seeing the Petroglyphs, but the next day my foot was still sore.  We went down to the Visitor Center which is not adjacent to the hiking trails.  There we watched a 20-minute movie that explained how the volcanic escarpment was formed, why they were able to carve on them, how they carved on them and some ideas about what they mean.  We picked up some trail maps for the next day’s hiking.

Then we came back toward our campground and about 3 miles beyond to Coronado Historic Site.  This site has a large underground Kiva that used to be covered with murals before the archaeologists came in and carried it away to the University of New Mexico.  To their credit, they went through a big process to preserve them and 7 are on display at this facility.  You can also climb down into the Kiva to see one that a Native painted for them, but we missed the tour.  Not sure my foot was up to it, anyway.

Sitting outside were some Natives selling jewelry and carved cottonwood kachinas.  I talked with the carver for quite a while.  That, too, is something for another post.

Finally, yesterday we got up early and went out to see the Petroglyphs.  The foot was only tender, so I was ready for the main attraction…

I hate to admit it, but I was terrified the entire first hike, and that was the shorter one!!  It is like a rock climb.  I mean, I fall on 3 steps…we were a mile up in the air standing on ledges…!  The only thing scarier than climbing up was the thought of climbing down.  But I made it!  The second trail had more flat and more handrails, so I was only scared…

Old Town was just what I expected.  In fact, I had a feeling that I had been there before as we browsed through shops of junk-made-in-mexico.  We didn’t buy, but these were food for thought…

There was definitely more of a Spanish flair to the place with its tiny plaza.  The church is some famous very old church…  We ate at Church Street Cafe and appreciated the Mexican influence on our food, though!

They’re predicting storms all day today, so it’s time to start the drive back.  We’re packing it in and plan on leaving about 10am rocky mountain time heading toward Amarillo, probably arrive about 5 or 6p central time.  Then we’ll plow on through the next two days, stopping at the same KOA that we visited on the way here.

That’s the outline, but the story is so much richer, deeper, and enlightening for me. You can bet I have tons more pictures of big skies and Sandia Mountains and I’m looking forward to returning home and writing about what I’ve learned.

Peace

Posted in 2019, Trailer Trippin', Travelogue, Trippin' in the Trailer

Travelogue: Days 1-6

Posted on by Jo Mayne Casey

I was soo ready to leave Sonnystone last Wednesday morning…we were up and out of the driveway at 7:27am.  470 miles and 8 hours later, we pulled into the Joplin KOA.  We’ve found that 450 miles/day is just about right.  Missouri was so humid that my hair turned into a bleached-blonde-brillo-pad, so I was happy to stop.  So was Wink…

We weren’t quite so spry the next morning, but still pulled out for the Amarillo KOA – another 460 miles – at about 8am.  Now, Amarillo stinks…I mean, smells bad, like cowshit or just plain cows.  Last time we were there I almost became a vegetarian, thanks to that smell and seeing the poor cows all herded up together…>shudder<  Our KOA was far enough away from the stockyards, though, and it was a dandy.  The humidity was still high and the pool was cool.  They had a lot of artsy metal sculptures around…our site was facing a field of wildflowers and there was a little pony grazing on the other side…

There were some long trains running just over the ridge, but close enough for me to count cars in the evening, and its mournful whistle was my morning alarm at 6:38am.  We didn’t leave until 9am or so…onlsy had 279 miles to drive, after all.

We stopped at Cline’s Corners Truck Stop, Travel Center, or however you want to describe the kitschy quirky place.  I love that place… you could make it an afternoon of wandering around inside.  Unfortunately, I didn’t carry my camera in, so you’ll have to visit someday.

There are lines of billboards heralding their history as you approach and you simply must sing these lyrics from the  Lyle Lovett song “Nothing but a Good Ride” over and over when you see each one…the driver loves it…

Cline’s Corners Truck Stop…Waitress with a wet mop…

Telling him to don’t walk…He tips his hat and don’t talk 

45 minutes up 285 from there was our first destination, the Santa Fe KOA Journey.  It’s okay.  I truly love where it is located, 12 miles south of the Plaza on a road that turns right into the Santa Fe Trail.  There are juniper trees dividing the sites that give you some privacy, but they really got in the way when we were trying to level our rig.  There is no cell phone service, but the wi-fi is strong.  (there is a cellular hotspot on the patio in front of the office) I’m used to just the opposite–plenty of cell, poor wi-fi–and I like this better.

We’ve been on the go ever since we arrived… First stop was the Georgia O’Keefe Museum, a small place.  They do have a small exhibit of Ken Price that “matched” well with O’Keefe’s style, but it is primarily Georgia’s art.  There is a cool documentary running throughout the day that gives you a view into who the Artist really was…  I read the biography, Georgia O’Keefe, A Life, recently and have mixed feelings about her.  That’s a discussion for another day. I know that I like nearly all of her work, my least favorite being her most-famous and my favorite is her last, The Beyond.

 

Santa Fe was having Fiesta!  Great, you say, you can soak up the local flavor…  I was/am kinda pissed.  The Plaza was surrounded by vendors with $7 lemonade and $10 burritos, mediocre music groups on a stage covering the beauty of the park.  It was grossly inferior to Eville’s Fall Festival and I couldn’t See the Plaza for all the people.

We went back to Burro Alley and ate at Maguey’s where there was a Mariachi band warming up for their afternoon performance down at the Plaza.  The food was great, margaritas a little limey, and we were stuffed when we waddled back to the car…

 

I loved the Pecos National Historical Park… from wikipedia:

The main unit of the park preserves the ruins of Pecos Pueblo, also known historically as Cicuye. The first Pecos pueblo was one of two dozen rock-and-mud villages built in the valley around AD 1100 in the prehistoric Pueblo II Era. Within 350 years the Pueblo IV Era Pecos village had grown to house more than 2,000 people in its five-storied complex.

The main unit also protects the remains of Mission Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles de Porciúncula de los Pecos, a Spanish mission near the pueblo built in the early 17th century. A 1.25-mile (2 km) self-guiding trail begins at the nearby visitor center and winds through the ruins of Pecos Pueblo and the mission church.

 

The long-awaited drive to Taos on the High Road was Lovely…

We stopped at El Santuario de Chimayó  along the road.  From wikipedia:

Each year some 300,000 people from all over the world make pilgrimages to the Santuario de Chimayó during Holy Week, especially on Holy Thursday and Good Friday, some seeking blessings and some in fulfillment of a vow.[15] Walking is traditional; some pilgrims walk from as far away as Albuquerque, about 90 miles (150 km).

Many visitors to the church take a small amount of the “holy dirt”, often in hopes of a miraculous cure for themselves or someone who could not make the trip. Formerly, at least, they often ate the dirt.[6] (Likewise pilgrims to the original shrine of Esquipulas eat the supposedly curative clay found there.)[8] Now seekers of cures more commonly rub themselves with the dirt or simply keep it. The Church replaces the dirt in the pocito from the nearby hillsides, sometimes more than once a day, for a total of about 25 or 30 tons a year.

The Church takes no position on whether miracles have occurred at the Santuario.

 

We ate our lunch overlooking the Taos Plaza…

Only four miles down the Low Road from Taos is the Rancho de Taos and their impressive church…which is actually hemmed in by shops and is only impressive in the pictures, sadly…

There’s a whole other story about trying to get back to the Santa Fe Plaza and getting stuck in traffic because their Fiesta procession (parade) was going on when we tried to return on Sunday…Too Many People for these agoraphobes, so we made a last visit on Monday evening…

 

Today we are driving an hour down the road to Albuquerque. Check-out is 11am, so we’re taking our time getting out.  I’m glad to get you somewhat caught up on our adventures!  Hope you’re having your own kind of fun!

Peace