DAY 84- Taos...

When I left Santa Fe, I just happened to choose a road at random that was heading in the general direction that I needed to go.  I know crazy, huh?  But Taos is less than two hour’s drive away from Santa Fe and I had some time to explore.  I chose Bishop’s Lodge Road and just drove.  I drove through rounded hills covered with brush and short juniper trees where adobe houses would peak out here and there from the landscape.  It was like the houses were made to fit in with the landscape and it was very scenic.  I made a little contest to pick out as many as I could as I went along.

Photo- Houses hidden in the landscape north of Santa Fe.

Eventually, I came to small communities where there were adobe fences and rough wooden tree fences lining the road.  I imagine that two weeks earlier the barren tree branches hanging over the fences would have been filled with glorious Fall colors.  There were still some of the stubborn leaves hanging on.  Bishop’s Lodge Road came out along the Hwy 285 that I needed to take north to Taos.  I wasn’t choosing the straightest path but then when have I ever done that.

Photo- A variety of fences along the road.

I drove north through the small towns of Espanola and San Juan.  The Hwy started to turn into a northeastern direction towards Taos and I was driving through part of the beautiful Rio Grande Gorge area.  I stopped to take pictures and enjoy the scenery.  The Hwy was also climbing quite a bit.  Just before I got to Taos the road descended.   The scenery opened up and there was a rest stop on the side of the road.  It was amazing.  I could see the snowcapped mountains above Taos and off to the west I could see part of the Rio River Gorge.

Photo- The Rio Grande River Gorge Area.

Driving into Taos, there were more adobe houses and businesses along the road.  I drove north through the center of town and past my hotel.  It was too early to check in and I thought I might just drive around and check out the area.  Then, I saw the sign just ¼ mile up the road from my hotel—Taos Pueblo.  I followed the signs.  I left my camera and cell phone in the car.  I had read that they didn’t allow photos without permission and/or paying a fee.  I just figured I would forgo the hassle all together.

I walked through a gate that had a sign stating the next tour was in 2 minutes at the church.  I walked through an alley way between adobe buildings into a large wide open area.  Off to my right was a church with a walled courtyard.  I walked through the courtyard arch and into the church.  My watch must have been off because the tour was already starting.  I sat down in a pew and listened to a young college aged Pueblo male talk about the symbolism and importance of different things in the church.  He told of the history of the church and that this was not the original church.  The first one had burned down but some of the figures are saved from the first church.

Next, we were led out of the church between some adobe homes and over to the cemetery where there were ruins of the old church.  He explained how all of the crosses in the cemetery had a first and last name on them.  He told how his people had adopted this from their Catholic Christianity and that originally his people only had one name.  The church had burnt down in a rebellion with the Spanish. 

He told of a horrific story of his people being trapped in the church and it was set on fire by the Spanish.  Then the Spanish stood with armed guns outside the only door to the church. There was only one woman that had survived and she had run out of the church that was on fire, through the gun fire, and hid in another building to the north.  She had saved one of the Mary figures from the old church.

Next, he led us our tour group over to an adobe oven which he went into detail about how it worked and when it was primarily used.  He also explained about how currently there was only about 50 people that were living in the pueblo area; most of the other 2800 Indians were living on the reservation outside the pueblo walls.  Most of those members that were living in the pueblo would go outside the walls to shower and bath, but that there were some propane that was used for lighting and heating. 

He lead us back over to the square area and over along the river that runs through the middle of the pueblo.  He explained that you could drink from the stream because it’s so clean.  They own all the land up to the top of the mountains and nothing is developed to contaminate the area.  He mentioned some of the ceremonies and festivals that took place along the river and within the pueblo.  It was all very interesting.  After the tour he invited everyone to stay and visit any of the adobe houses that had an open sign next to their doors.  Those were the homes that had businesses. 

I walked across the square over to a table and looked at some goods as a white middle aged female asked the vendor about the symbolism on a piece with art work on it.  There was jewelry on display on too.  I continued on and ended up following a group of visitors into another house.  Along one wall of the house was a bragging wall would be the only description I could come up with.  There were pictures of family members with Hollywood stars and other famous people that had visited the pueblo.  I looked at the prices of some of the artwork and jewelry; and I understood the bragging wall.  But there was a small little isquare.com sign where they could take a credit card too if you didn’t happen to have the hundred bills on you.

I followed the group to the next house and another.  It was the same story over and over; high priced pieces and one of them even had a laptop computer with a HUGE battery backup with a cup of Starbucks coffee sitting next to it.  She told one lady how she was addicted to Starbucks and gave directions as to where it was in Taos.  I was disappointed with the whole thing.  What was the point of no electricity and what not within the pueblo when all of these outside things were brought in?  I’m not sure what I had been expecting but I just thought that they would be a little more traditional within the pueblo walls.  I wasn’t expecting them to be running around in buckskin clothing but I just thought that it would be different.

Photo- The Rio Grande Gorge as seen from the bridge that spans it.

Next, I went northwest out of Taos and across the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge; now THIS was amazing!  I drove into the rest stop immediately off to the west of the bridge and got out.  I hiked over to the fence area and took pictures of the gorge.  Then, I walked along a sidewalk and across a rough worn dirt path to the highway area.  I walked along the sidewalk of the bridge out to the middle where there was a viewing area.  I tried not to look straight down or I would have gotten dizzy and it WAS a ways down.  The river only looked to be a few feet wide from the view up top but I’m sure it was further than that across.  What a view!  Vendors were set up along the road in front of the rest stop.  You could buy jewelry, hats, leather goods, and drums.  There was even an old colored bus that sold coffee and ice-cream.  Capitalism is very much alive in New Mexico!

I swung back into Taos, past my hotel again (still too early to check in) in search of a nail place.  I was in bad need of a mani-pedi.  The polish was worn off, torn nails, and rough heels; need I say more? I found a small place called Star Nails in a strip mall.  There were only two people and I ended up with the untalkative man.  I asked him about Taos and he said he had only two words to describe Taos… Small Town!  That kept me laughing for a bit. 

I checked into my hotel clad in the cheap paper like thongs because my toe nails had to dry still.  The hotel clerked looked at me a bit strange.  I told her I just treated myself to a mani-pedi and she said she was hoping so but didn’t want to say anything because she’s always seeing some strange stuff going on in the area.

Next I decided to do to a local bar called the Adobe Bar in Taos’ Historic Inn.  I showed up and there was live music going on.  The place was packed but I still managed to find a table.  I watched the football game from my table and the live music too.  This was cool!  It turns out that every Monday night is Open Mike night at the Abode Bar.  The area certainly has a lot of musical talent.  There were even a couple of standups too; one was a little boy about 7 or 8 years old that had to tell some jokes before bedtime.  It was too adorable!  I lost interest in the football game and moved over closer to the stage area.

The whole time I was getting checked out by several men.  I had one offer to buy me a drink and I told him I was just drinking ice water.  He came back with a fresh glass of ice water for me.  My glass was refilled twice without asking by the same man.  A musician had packed up his gear and was heading out.  He stopped, put his gear off to the side, and stood right next to me; almost leaning on me.    

Photo- The final song of Open Mike Night at Adobe Bar in the Taos Historic Inn.

He started talking and I asked questions about the Open Mike night.  Mark was giving me the full court press as far as hitting on me.  I had to laugh and teased him about if he had already gone through the local girls in town; Taos being a small town and all, and now he was hitting on the visiting girls. No, he claimed that was not the case.  But he said that me being a visiting girl was a bit of an aphrodisiac.  Note to you men out there— there are better lines for picking up a female.   I thanked him but told him I wasn’t interested.  He continued to be a bit persistent.  I agreed to put him in my blog in return I was hoping that he would keep his hands to himself.  I shot Mark down again and left as the Open Mike came to a close.  But Mark here’s the picture you took…

Photo- Myself and Mark.

DAY 66- Grand Canyon’s South Rim & a Low Spot…

Since I was a mere 75 miles south east of the Grand Canyon it seemed that it was a MUST see on my trip.  Most of the Grand Canyon National Park closes on October 15^th but the south rim area is open until snow closes down the road.

It was a beautiful sunny day when I headed out of Flagstaff in the morning.  There were trees here and there among the pine trees that were turning the gold’s and yellows of Fall.  It was chilly.  Flagstaff had gotten down to the low -40’s overnight and a high of maybe mid-50’s was predicted.  I so needed to do laundry because I didn’t have any long sleeved shirts available for me to wear.  I grabbed a hooded jacket and my rain coat, the Oregon rainy day purchase, and proceeded to drive northwest.

I was a bit concerned as I got close to the south entrance of the park and I see clouds of smoke.  There were flashing signs to dial the radio to 1610AM and to slow down for poor visibility due to smoke.  There was a fire somewhere off to the west of the road but it must have been under control or a prescribed fire because there was no other directions being given to the visitors.

Photo- My first sighting of the Grand Canyon from the near Mather's View Point.

 I continued driving north.  When I entered the park and I was rather surprised by the rather a bland scenery until you get to the actual rim.  Then, it’s a breath taking view.  I walked along the rim and was just amazed by this HUGE expansive hole in our earth; all caused by water erosion.  But I kept on say WOW at the view.  One guy was standing nearby and cracking up at me. It was rather funny because everyone was standing and posing for pictures with the Grand Canyon behind them.  I admit I did a couple of those by grabbing someone else and asking them to take my picture. 

Photo- Yep! I posed like everyone else in front of the view.

It was windy and cold while I walked along the rim path.  Quite a few people were wearing winter coats.  I walked from the rather packed Mather View Point to the Yavapai Museum about ¾ mile hike along a paved path.  I stopped in at the Yavapai Museum and checked out the view from the enclosed window area.  I also warmed up too.    

Photos- Some amazing views from the south rim of the Grand Canyon.

I walked past the turn off for the Park Headquarters.  At another ½ mile when my legs were starting to feel like they had enough.  I shouldn’t have run those 1.5 miles on the treadmill that morning.  I decided to turn back having hiked 1.75 miles along the rim trail and what a beautiful view to hike along.  Back out on the rim trail, periodically there were areas that had benches where you could rest along the trail.  There was also markers in the trail about the stones that you saw as you went along and talked about how many thousands of years ago that this stone was formed.  It really kind of put my short life on earth into perspective.

Photo- A bench along the south rim path of Grand Canyon Nat'l Park.

After my hike of 3.5 miles, I walked through the Visitor’s Center and learned more about the formation of the Grand Canyon.  I also thought that it was interesting how there was a lineup of almost 15 people to talk with a National Parks Employee to help plan their park experience for the day.  I had enough hiking for the day and needed to drive to Kingman, AZ where I had a reservation for the night.  I visited the book store and got a bumper sticker and some postcards of course.  Then after that I was off driving down the road towards I-40W.  It was already 4pm and I still had at least a 2 hour drive in front of me.

Photo- A National Park Employee giving a tour for young children
near the South Rim of Grand Canyon Nat'l Park.

The drive to Kingman was basically a straight shot on I-40.  I have to admit that I had already driven through Kingman and part of the reason I ended up going back was out of need.  You may remember me mentioning dropping my wallet a few days ago while at the Route 66 museum there.  Well, I missed a debit/credit card and thank goodness it had been safely turned in by someone.  I needed to go pick it up.  This had added an extra stress hanging over my head for the last two days on my adventure.  I had discovered the card was missing when I was getting dinner and brew from the Raven in Prescott.

But things seemed to be working out and the plan was that I would stay the night in a hotel in Kingman and then when the museum opened up I could pick up my card.  Then I would be back on track for my adventure; no worse for the wear.  The sun had already set for the night as I found the hotel and went to get checked in.  I talked with the clerk and started the whole process of checking in when my other credit card was declined.  She ran it again, and it came back declined again.  She asked if I had used it a lot in the last few days and that maybe I just needed to call the credit card company. 

I knew that I was probably cutting it close because I had only been able to use the one credit card but that a large payment should had gone through earlier that day on the credit card.  I later found out that the payment on the card hadn’t gone through until midnight and that what I thought was available was on hold from the London Bridge Resort and hadn’t been released as of yet. 

The hotel clerk asked if I had another card.  No, I’m here to pick up a card I had accidentally left at the museum in town and couldn’t pick that up until the museum opened the next day.  She asked if I had cash.  I only had about $12 on me.  She said that there was an ATM across the street.  I told her that wouldn’t do me any good because the card that had access to the ATM was at the museum. 

I asked the clerk where the nearest truck stop was and thanked her; jumped back in my car and headed for the truck stop.  It looked like I would be sleeping the night in my car.  I got to the truck stop and looked around for a place to park between or at the edge of the semi-trucks but the place was rather packed.  I found a place near the restaurant and went into the coffee shop area. 

I could always hang out here I thought to myself as I helped myself to a booth near the front windows.  I was the only female in the place outside of the waitresses.  I ordered a diet soda and took my time trying to decide what to order.  I need to keep the bill and the tip under $12.  I ordered a grill cheese sandwich with fries.  I then got out my nook and did a bit of reading.  I took my time eating and reading; getting a refill on my diet soda.  An hour and a half later the waitress is asking if I can pay my bill so that she can close out for the night and go home.  I put what I have in cash on the check and ask if okay I do a bit more reading and get a refill of another diet soda. 

About an hour later, I’ve drank all of the diet soda and the other waitress is eyeing me.  It was time to find something else to do.  I went back to my car and started to arrange the contents inside so that I could sleep on one side of the back part.  This was quite a process of rearranging but it was doable.  I also noticed a rather well lighted spot between two semi-trucks where I could park for the night.  I pulled my car over to it, got parked and rolled out the sleeping bag.  I was hunkered down and ready for the night.

I had texted my friend John, a traveling salesman, to see if he had gotten safely home after a 4 hour drive.  He ended up cutting it short and opted to stay at a midpoint of his travels.   I texted him about what happened.  No, ifs, ands, or buts he set me up in a nearby hotel.  He texted me that it was taken care of and they were expecting me for the night.  So I repacked the car and headed to the hotel for the night.  He said the idea that I would sleep in my car was crazy.  I texted back and said I AM CRAZY don’t you know I’m supposedly going through my mid-life crisis; at least according to some of my friends.

I got to the hotel and the sweet gal gave me the key and wished me a good night.  But I rather felt bad because I kind of experienced a bout of what I felt like was failure to take care of myself, and I will admit that I find it very hard to ask or to take help sometimes.  I always saw that as strength but I may need to rethink that. Thank you John for being generous! 

DAY 47- Mountain Passes and Gold Rush Territory

I was going to treat myself to a real breakfast at a local restaurant in South Tahoe Lake.  The Red Hut had come highly recommended but when I arrived at 9am there was a line out the door.  Nope that was too long of a wait for me.  I turned back to my car and decided I would make do with a granola bar instead.  Today’s plan was to drive from Lake Tahoe to just outside of Yosemite National Park.  It was at least a 4.5 to 5 hour drive.  I needed to get on the road.

Photo- Some wonderful Fall color as I came down out of Luther's Pass.

I drove south hooking up with Hwy 89 going up and over Luther Pass then down into a valley with some wonderful fall foliage color.  Cars were stopping at the sides of the road to take pictures.  It was pretty.  Next, I turned onto Hwy 89 and went up and over Kit Carson Pass.  Yes, you probably recognize that famous name.  This was a pass that Kit Carson used to get through the area.  This pass was amazing with rock formations and lake overlooks.  I stopped real quickly a couple of times to take photos.    

Photo- Red Lake as seen from Kit Carson Pass.

I was heading into the middle of Gold Rush territory.  There were museums and old town areas that were dedicated to the Gold Rush history which occurred from the late 1840’s through to the mid- 1850’s.  I would drive through towns where the main streets look like most of the buildings were from that era of time.  Street names had the word gold or mine or strike in them.  A couple of the towns were even having history festivals.  Unfortunately, I had already reserved the night at a hotel near the south entrance to Yosemite or I would have stayed and checked out the area more.

Photo-  The yellow building of Thomi's where I
enjoyed a wonderful cranberry chicken salad sandwich.

I stopped for lunch at a cute restaurant in Jackson just after turning onto Hwy 49.  Another name for Hwy 49 is the Golden Chain Highway.  This is because this road connects a great deal of the gold rush mining communities together.  There is however one gold mine that still produces a great deal in the area and you go right by its gated entrance.  You can also see the carved hills above the gate but it’s kind of keeps a low key appearance. 

Photo- Abandoned old buildings are a common sight in the Gold Rush area.

Highway 49 curved a great deal and went through more of the Gold Rush Towns.  Quite often the traffic would slow down as it went through these towns; sometimes to a standstill as tourists and visitor’s traffic clogged up the area.  The drive was taking longer than what I had anticipated.

Photo- A church that I thought was interesting with a historical marker
which are common along Hwy 49's Gold Rush route.

I finally arrived at Oakhurst and got checked in.  Earlier when I went through town I had seen a Mexican restaurant that appeared busy and I thought that was a good sign.  Yep!  That thought definitely paid off.  I relaxed with a blended margarita and enjoyed a fabulous chimichanga with rice and beans.  This chimichanga was unlike any I had ever had.  It was like a lovely flakey pastry shell on the outside with wonderful chunky homemade chili Verde inside.  Yummy!  I had a Mexican coffee for dessert and then I was ready to call it a night.   

My Favorite Time of Year...

Fall is my favorite time of year. The summer warmth has dissipated. Cooler temperatures that call out for the sweaters and light jackets. Images of pumpkins, falling leaves and the landscape turning colorful hues of orange, red, and yellow come to mind.  It’s a time to get and take long meandering walks to enjoy the colorful landscape.  My absolute favorite holiday occurs this time of year—HALLOWEEN! Fall also contains Thanksgiving; which is my second favorite holiday. The only thing I don’t like about Fall is that it’s a signal the arrival ending of cycling season. Darn it! But I guess you can’t have it all.

Halloween Bike Ride- An 2' x 4' Oil Painting I did a few years ago.

For me this season, heralds a time of year to slow down a bit and reflect. But it seems as though, this year the colors haven’t quite stepped in like they usually do. Maybe it’s me “jumping the gun” in anticipating Fall ahead of schedule. After all, today is only the first day of Autumn according to my desk calendar. I tell you I am looking forward to some of that slowing and reflection time. I feel like most of the summer it’s been run, run, run, AND I’m so ready to SL-OOOWWW down.

 

I will say part of that run, run, run is self-induced. It seems as though I’m always trying to do too much. Why do we always seem to do that to ourselves? I know my limits like anyone else but I always seem to be striving to be a Super Hero Human. Then, I feel a bit deflated when I realize I’m not super in anyway and just an everyday ho-hum-drum human. I’ll have to leave the bounding a building in a single leap to someone else and that might be best considering my fear of heights.



Speaking of running, I’m thinking that I may be do for a new pair of running shoes. Now, talk about run, run, run that's self-induced!  But in anticaption of doing more running indoors on the "dredmill".  I've been thinking.  It’s been about a year since I bought the last pair. I’ve been averaging about 25 miles a month and they probably have close to 300 miles on them. Once I was told that you should get new pair of shoes about every 350 miles of running. But I always wonder if that’s really true or if it’s just one of those sales gimmicks.  But I would like to shop around and find a new pair so possibly I could use that as an excuse?  Yeah, that works!

P.S. I'm up one more pound this week.  The night time bike rides have been cut short due to earlier sunset times but I'm still eating the same amount of calories.  Time to pay closer attention to that equation.  Exercise Less = Eat Less Should be the new equation.

A Question of Sanity & An Update

It’s pouring rain outside this afternoon and I’m sitting at my desk at work. I’m staring outside watching our lawn guy mow the grass. And I can’t help but wonder at what point is a person considered insane or at the least eccentric?

It seems that the worse the weather is our lawn guy shows up to mow the lawn. I guess it’s a good thing we are not in tornado alley of the country. I can just imagine the wind whirling around him as he walks the mower along. Dorothy and Toto would have nothing on Marty and the lawnmower! I can imagine—“…I’ll get you my pretty and your weed whacker too!” LOL!


Last summer he even mowed the lawn once at 2AM in the morning. On that occasion he happened to report to the police about teenagers tagging the building across the way. I would have paid anything to see the police’s reaction to his story of…” I’m just out here at 2AM mowing the lawn! Nice night isn’t officer?”


But I will admit he keeps the lawn well maintained. He comes at a cheap price too, or so I’ve heard. AND I will admit, he’s also easy on the eyes. He’s all lean muscle. How can you complain but still it REALLY makes me wonder about his sanity. One of the guys just got back from helping loading a truck out back and complained that it was freezing outside and he was wearing more than our lawn guy, who is clad in a sleeveless muscle t-shirt and shorts. At the very least, I would classify him as a BIT eccentric.


AN UPDATE-
I’m up 1 lb. for the week. That means I’m back to having 9 lbs. to lose to my goal weight. I’ve been snacking at work. There’s been several birthday treats in the office of late. I do admit to getting a bit concerned with the cooler weather starting to approach that I’ll have a harder time losing weight because cycling season will be ending soon.

Some of the night rides that I do regularly have started to be shortened because of the earlier sunset times. I’ve been trying to catch as many of those rides as I am able. It’s just a matter of time when it’ll be just the treadmill and the elliptical machine between me and my weight. Though, I’ll probably throw in some snowshoeing time when the white stuff comes.