Travels with haRVy

We took a wrong turn on our way to Taos, New Mexico from Ojo Caliente and when we went to turn around, we unexpectedly came upon this amazing place…

We arrived too late for a guided tour, but we picked up a brochure that explains “Earthship.” It states, “The Greater World Community is the world’s largest self-sufficient residential development, comprised of 650 acres, 347 of which are commonly owned park land. Building sites and completed homes are available for purchase.” Earthship biotecture uses natural and recycled building materials, solar/thermal heating and cooling, solar and wind electric power, water harvesting, contained sewage treatment, and onsite food production.

Our next surprise was this bridge over the Rio Grande River Gorge next door to which was a very pleasant rest area. Since it is legal to camp overnight (free) in rest areas in New Mexico, we decided to do just that here. It turned out to be a rather pleasant experience.

Before dinner we enjoyed a raspberry-pineapple smoothie prepared in Emma, the Bus Stop Ice Cream and Coffee Shop, that was parked nearby.

The following day and a  half were spent taking in the pleasures of Taos and camping in a quiet canyon nearby.

 This and the following photo show a bit of what’s on display inside the historic El Rincon Trading Post.

 Most of the exterior doors and window frames in New Mexico are painted blue to keep out evil spirits.

This is Frank, a Native American Indian resident of the Taos Pueblo, from whom Al purchased two tiny paintings for haRVy. Finding art small enough to display in our gypsy wagon remains a fun quest.

After our time in Taos we headed northward towards southern Colorado and the 4-Corners area. This route took us through Georgia O’Keefe’s beloved countryside around Ghost Ranch, where she resided for over 40 years. It’s easy to see how the landscape might have inspired her art.

The ever changing cloud formations in the Southwest continue to fascinate me.

We arrived in Santa Fe, New Mexico at the same time as a weather front that brought three days of cold temps plus sustained high winds with gusts up to 60 mph. Luckily, our gracious hosts, Chris, Cybele Will and Fisher, allowed us to snug haRVy up next to the leeward side of their house. While we still had to stay put for three days, at least we did so in comfort. Thanks guys, we really appreciate your generous hospitality.

Once the front passed, we gratefully ventured out to see what this town is all about. As most of you know, that would be ART. It is everywhere! I’ve never seen so much in one place. It’s almost overwhelming. There are three basic districts full of galleries and museums: The Railyard where contemporary art is prevalent, Downtown where you find several museums, jewelry stores, galleries and restaurants, plus Canyon Road where hundreds of huge bronze sculptures are on display outside galleries undoubtedly to help draw visitors attention.

 Al critiquing one of Christopher’s paintings at the Lew Allen Gallery in The Railyard.

 Santa Fe’s “Walk of Fame” features artists rather than movie stars.

 Historic Art Museum, originally built in 1917.

Local Native American Indians selling their wares in the Downtown Plaza.

The Museum of New Mexico History provides daily walking tours of the downtown . Our guide, Lee, was very knowledgeable and interesting.

A little street-side art.

Santa Fe River runs right through downtown. However, we were told that it is usually dry.

The oldest house in the United States.

The Georgia O’Keefe Museum featured a bookcase from her home at Ghost Ranch north of Santa Fe. Lots of art too, of course, but they frown on taking photographs of that.

Who do you think is more handsome?

After nearly a week in Santa Fe we drove a bit further north to partake in the pleasures of the hot mineral springs at the historic Ojo Caliente, one of the oldest natural health resorts in the U.S.

The face of contentment.

The mud bath area. Apply mud, bake in sun, soak, and shower.

Enjoying the mud.

 This resort and spa is definitely worth going a little out of the way, even if it is just to soak in their mineral hot spring pools for a few hours. They do offer much more however from spa treatments, to lodging and dining.

Bandelier National Monument protects over 33,000 acres of rugged but beautiful canyon and mesa country as well as evidence of a human presence here going back over 11,000 years.  Petroglyphs, dwellings carved into the soft rock cliffs, and standing masonry walls pay tribute to the early days of the Puebloan culture that still survives in the surrounding communities.

The village of Tyuonyi on the floor of Frijoles Canyon was at the height of its development in the late 1400s. It was inhabited at the same time a the dwellings built along the base of the cliff.

Talus houses, like the reconstruction at Bandelier shown below, were built on the rock debris (talus) slopes on the sunny sides of canyons and mesas.

Most of what we see (and crawl around) today are just the rooms they built into the actual cliff, which when inhabited, would have been behind the talus houses.

While on the 1.2 mile Main Loop Trail to Tyuonyi and the cliff dwellings we ran into the same couple we’d seen earlier in the day at Jemez Falls. We struck up a conversation and shared stories and suggestions as we hiked along. Dale and Jeannette, from British Columbia, have been nearly full time RVers for 15 years!

We learned that in June 2011 the largest wildfire in New Mexico history burned all the major watersheds within Bandelier including Frijoles Canyon, where the visitor center and most visited archaeological sites are located. With most of the vegetation removed, fear of flash flooding was a call to action. Jersey barriers and over 14,000 sandbags were placed around the historic visitor center buildings that were built in the 30s by the Civilian Conservation Corps.

On August 21st flooding fears were realized. Heavy rains in the Jemez Mountains lead to widespread flooding in all of the east facing canyons including Frijoles Canyon. Flood protection put into place held and damage to the park’s newly renovated visitor center was light. My photos below indicate the force of the flood waters, which came very close to the primary ruins.

We are grateful that the park and most of the archaeological sites within were saved for us to appreciate.

Meanwhile, back at the campsite, Al goes through his stretching regimen before our next day’s outing at another separate section of Bandelier National Monument.

During a recent stop at a visitor center I came across a brochure about this 120 mile long National Scenic & Historic Byway. That brochure proclaims, “In addition to sights and destinations along the primary route, there are several short side roads that lead to even more beauty and places to visit.” Sounded good to me, so we headed to San Ysidro, NM at the southern end of Route 4, east of Santa Fe.

After lunch at the Red Rocks picnic grounds across from the Walatowa Visitor Center, we took one of the advertised side roads (Route 485) to see Gilman’s Tunnels. These marvels were blasted through solid rock mountains in the 1920s to construct a rail line for hauling logs out of the mountains.

Nearby scenery

Back on Route 4 we set-up camp at the Linda Vista Campground.

Our first stop the next morning was this strange looking formation. The Soda Dam has been formed by water from underground hot springs that have flowed here for centuries. You can see the waterfall in the lower right hand corner, but the angle of the sun was not optimal for taking a good photo.

A bit of roadside art near the Soda Dam.

A few more miles up the road we parked and packed up some towels and lunch for a hike to Spence Hot Springs, a beautiful spot perched on the hillside. We lucked out as there was just one other couple and a single guy to share the pools with. We luxuriated in the warm spring waters and awesome view for a couple of hours free of charge.

The water was warmest inside the cave near the source of the hot spring.

After our relaxing soak, we took another side trip on Route 126. We didn’t let the “Unimproved Mountainous Road” signs deter us from reaching our intended destination at remote Fenton Lake State Park. We took a beautiful late afternoon hike along the river, around the beautiful mountain meadow, and across the dam. Meteor showers were predicted to occur that night and we had a great view of the dark sky through our roof glass, but I only saw one brilliant flash across the sky.

Once again we were grateful for our diesel heater as the morning low temperature at this high elevation was 27 degrees! Our next stop included an easy hike to view Jemez Falls. The area and nearby campground were practically deserted. We only saw one other couple on this hike through the forest of towering Ponderosa Pines.

Bandelier National Monument would be our last overnight along this remarkable scenic byway. Wait ’til you see what we got to do there!