CERRILLOS, NM GHOST TOWN

We arrived at our destination, unhooked and headed to one of our favorite places. Jump in the time machine with me and head on back! You can hike to old mines in a newly formed state park thanks to an effort that was spearheaded by a tenacious gentleman, Richard Crombie.  After hiking or horseback riding or checking out the old Catholic cemetery, you can head into town to Mary's Bar for a cold one. What's not to love???!!!

LEAVING POJOAQUE PUEBLO

We had been receiving alerts from Weatherbug that there was going to be a pretty good snow storm headed our way. We had planned on leaving Monday morning and heading south towards Cerrillos and and spending a week in that area. We do really love this area. It had been snowing during the night and when we awoke and looked outside, we realized we had better get up and head out. We were already hooked up and everything stowed. This is a photo of what it looked like driving through the storm. It was 28 miles we needed to go and it took us and and hour and a half to get to our destination. It was so beautiful!

NO WORDS NECESSARY

ALPENGLOW OF SANGRE DE CHRISTO'S

Sunset last night. Ethereal !

WEATHER AND FORMATIONS

When you are at an elevations 7500 feet, the views are panoramic! You will see numerous weather conditions within your 360 degree view. They are astounding at best. The first photo is of an area of  foothills of the Sangre de Christo mountains, the second is a formation looking towards the Jemez mountains and the third is a storm coming over the Jemez mountains.

RIO GRANDE GORGE

Back to our exploration of Northern New Mexico we headed north from the Pojoaque Pueblo and into the Carson National Forest. Then east to Carson where the road turned to dirt and was quite snowy. However, it seems that even the snowiest, steepest road will not deter us from exploration such as the First Peoples, the Spanish and now Steve and Bonnie. We white knuckled it for the first 1/8 of a mile and then realized we had entered the Rio Grande Gorge!! The Sangre de Christo mountains ( spanish for blood of christ) were spectacular. We descended into the gorge then traveled for 11 miles right along the the Rio Grande. We were the only people on the planet at this time. That feeling of being completely alone is  quite comforting at times. There next to the water, the wildlife and the cliffs I felt a sense of exhilaration. The photos will reflect to you my feelings. The ducks in the photo are Northern Pintails which I had never seen before.

SALINAS PUEBLO MISSIONS

We always travel the backroads as that is where you will find the most interesting sites. We came upon the Abo site and saw the tall ruins standing there in solitude. They had an aspect of sadness and gloom. As we have seen before at many other sites, the Pueblo people had been living their lives,  forging a stable agricultural society whose members lived in apartment-like complexes and participated, through rule and ritual, in cycles of nature. They supplemented their lives by hunting and gathering. The Salinas valley became a major trade center and one of  the most populous parts of the Pueblo world. They traded maize, pinion nuts, beans, squash, salt and cotton goods for dried bison meat, hides, flints and shells. Then come the Franciscan's. Of course they regarded the pueblo religion as idolatry and told the indians that their salvation depended on their willingness to undergo religious instruction. But suppressing the masked Kachina dances and kiva rituals proved difficult for the priests. They were trying to convert them so the new Christians could work for the settlers. Why, I ask you, must we always try to control and enslave other humans. The Spanish and Franciscan's seem to be the worse offenders in the name of Christianity.

CONTRASTS...VLA AND ANTELOPE

We left Datil Wells early in the morning and headed to Albuquerque. Across barren snow covered plains we encountered a group of graceful antelope out for a morning stroll. A few miles later we came upon such a stark contrast...the VLA (very large array). This observatory consists of 27 independent antennas each of which has a dish diameter of 82 feet. The VLA is a multi purpose instrument designed to allow investigations of many astronomical objects including radio galaxies, super nova remnants, radio emitting stars, black holes etc. It is not used to assist in the SETI (search for extraterrestrial intelligence).

DATIL WELLS

We get to a certain point in the afternoon when we realize it is time to quite driving and find a place for the night. We were headed to Albuquerque and had to be there by Thursday afternoon. So we drove straight through to Datil Wells, New Mexico. There we found a wonderful campground with all sites available as we were the only ones there! We chose a site and then went for a hike. We found out that it was a camp in the late 1800's and early 1900's for cowboys running sheep and cattle on the Magdalena Stock Driveway. It includes one of 15 former water wells spaced every 10 miles along the Driveway!  The old cattle trail stretched 120 miles from Springerville, AZ to Magdalena, NM. We watched a beautiful sunset.

SALT RIVER CANYON

As you are driving along a pretty flat, mundane area, all of a sudden you come upon the great Salt river Canyon.It is 2000 feet deep and there are some of the most dramatic views ever seen from a car window! It is sometimes called the mini Grand Canyon with it's stark, sweeping vistas carved by millions of years of erosion. It is so vast it can curl off to the east and west through hundreds of square miles of mysterious valleys, rocky spires and vertical cliffs. It was used by Apache warriors during the 1800's as a refuge from pursuing U. S. Calvary troops. There are no maintained trails in the canyon and is mostly used by whitewater rafters in the spring. The U.S. Congress designated the Salt River Canyon Wilderness in 1984 and it now encompasses 32,101 acres.

CALICO GHOST TOWN

Traveled across Route 66 towards Calico, California, a restored mining town. Apparently, Walter Knott of Knott's berry farm fame, owned the town and donated it to the state of California in the early 1960's. It is now a state park with great camping. We ended up staying there for 2 nights. Hiked way up into a canyon and discovered many out of the way mines that miners had dug into the walls of the canyon. Pretty tough life back in the late 1800's and into the early 1900's. They ended up pulling 85 million out of there in silver.

TRILOBITE WILDERNESS AREA

Let's face it, we take our Airstream places most people would never go. We followed a dirt road for a couple of miles into the Trilobite wilderness area until we knew we could go no further with the Airstream in tow as the road worsened. However, there was no place to turn around. We started moving rocks and Steve managed to pull the trailer into an area and then back it up. Realizing that it was becoming dusk, we looked around and decided that we indeed, had the best place on the planet to stay for the night. We cooked razor clams for dinner and then enjoyed our campfire and the stars by the bazillions. It was truly a special time. The next morning we went on a great hike and saw 4 bighorn sheep on the top of a ridge. That was the gift for the day.

VEGAS BABY!!!

We stayed at the Circus Circus KOA in Vegas while working a show that we had heard about at the Cow Palace. We loved their billboard!

Hail to John Muir

After leaving the Cow Palace, we headed to the mountains for some rest and relaxation. Of course, travelling in the winter, one must be prepared for cold weather and lack of open campgrounds! We ended up in Kings Canyon National Park. It is just below Yosemite and shares borders with Sequoia National Park. We drove into the snow and an incredible fog, always wondering what was just below the edge of the road. At 7000 ft we came upon the Park visitor center. They told us only one campground was open and of course it was up in the snow and fog. We traveled 9 more miles to Hume to get fuel for our generator and came upon the Hume Christian camp. They were very hospitable and told us we could park next to the creek and the fish cleaning station. We enjoyed 2 cold, crisp and clear days there. Hiked around Hume lake, drove to Road's End where we encountered our first bear of the trip who was quite the poser. Then off to the enormous Sequoia grove. John Muir first started coming to this area in 1873. Thanks to him attention was brought to this area. Unfortunately, many of these Sequoia behemoths were cut down, some taking 2 men 9 days to bring down. However, there is quite a grove left to behold. Words or photos could never describe what we saw.

COW PALACE

The first time the words "Cow Palace" were used was in 1935 when the thought of erecting this building was thought of. A newspaper editorial wondered "Why when people are starving, should money be spent on a "palace for cows". Thus the Cow Palace was born. It opened in 1941. During WWII it was used for processing soldiers bound for the Pacific theatre. The Beatles opened their first North American tour there on 8/19/1964.There have been many bands, hockey teams, basketball teams and roller derby teams that have used the Cow Palace. It is where the Grand National Rodeo is held. And now, Steve and Bonnie have played there!!!!

Half Moon Bay and Santa Cruz Revisited

We have been staying in Half Moon Bay since Monday and enjoying our time off from work. The weather was great. We did much walking and reflecting. We also had an opportunity to visit an old friend of Steve's...another Steve. We walked with him behind his house through a protected grove of redwoods a few miles north out of Santa Cruz. It was a special reunion in a special place.

Heart Felt Rural America

After working all day, we headed back to the Airstream. Sitting outside in the warm California sun, I hear in the distance...music. I gravitate with camera and am blessed with a gathering that made me smile. I felt as if I had been transported back in time. Situated in a large field on the fairgrounds was a high school marching band with onlookers of parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles etc. in a sea of multi colored lawn chairs and blankets. The band began to play and I felt good...relieved that this was still happening in America.

Words of Wisdom

Another roadside attraction...I find it interesting, even ironic that you would have a white bread company called "Bimbo". You never know what to expect in California...."The whiter the bread...the quicker your're dead!

HERE WE GO AGAIN

We have started on our new journey. However, this winter we will combine the nomadic life and a little work ( it never hurt anyone)!! We will be travelling and stopping at pre-determined shows to sell our Kakadu Australia line of clothing. Our first stop is Puyallup Washington where we are doing a Washington Arms Collectors show. Pictured is our booth after setting it up this afternoon. In between the shows we will be exploring one of the most beautiful and magnificent countries in the world....stay tuned!