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Scott and Marccus
visit New Mexico July 2010

Scott and Marccus on a month long visit to the U.S. had a busy itinerary including Yellowstone National Park, New Mexico and NYC. First on the agenda in NM was a ride on the Rail Runner to see the International Folk Art Market in Santa Fe.

Even thought the train was a double decker, it was still crowded

Unfortunately, lots of other people had the same plan and the market was jammed

The Santa Fe International Folk Art Market provides a venue for master traditional artists to display, demonstrate and sell their work. By providing opportunities for folk artists to succeed in the global marketplace, the Market creates economic empowerment and improves the quality of life in communities where folk artists live.

It is now the largest international folk art market in the world, and its success led to Santa Fe’s designation as a UNESCO City of Folk Art, the first U.S. city named to UNESCO’s prestigious Creative Cities Network.

Every July, more than 120 select folk artists from over 45 countries travel to historic Santa Fe where thousands of national and international visitors gather to admire and buy distinct folk art forms that express the world’s diverse cultures.

Many of the artists were wearing their traditional dress

We braved the crowds and looked at many wonderful things from around the world but purchased little because the prices had been "santafeized "

Departing Santa Fe we scored upper deck seats

Ancient Indian ruins somehow seem more interesting than recent ones :-)

Later we would see the ancient ruins at Chaco Canyon.

The following day was a more relaxed pace and we went across the street to the Albuquerque Open Space Visitors Center to hear a talk by Stephanie Kaylan of the Wanagi Wolf Fund and Rescue. She brought this huge Timber wolf plus two wolf-dog mixes. Her message was to not buy these cross breeds as pups because they will grow big and may start acting like wolves. When these cross breeds are surrendered at the city pound, they cannot be adopted and will be destroyed or space permitting, Stephanie will take them to her Wolf Rescue.

We drove to nearby Petroglyph National Monument to see the rock art.

Petroglyph National Monument protects a variety of cultural and natural resources including volcanoes, archeological sites and an estimated 24,000 carved images. Many of the images are recognizable as animals, people, brands and crosses; others are more complex.

This extensive petroglyph collection is unusual for being found so near a city

Carrying water is a must for any summer outdoor activity in the Southwest

The image above is thought to be a Macaw, but what is the image on the left?

The racquetball playing weasel is one of my favorites

After all that hiking around, it was time for a green chile burrito and sopapillas.

Another time we enjoyed a wine tasting at Casa Rondena Winery but somehow when I am drinking wine, I am not taking pictures.

That evening Kevin, Cara, Brendan and Jill joined us for dinner

The next evening we joined Brian, Autumn, Thomas, Lauren, Connor, Claire and Ronan in the Corrales park.

Scott getting acquainted with the extended family

Tom Lasater, Scott's best friend in high school happened to be driving through ABQ on his way from California to Colorado. This was a fortuitous visit. Scott, Marccus and Tom celebrated the occasion by a ride up the tram and dinner at the High Finance Restaurant on top of Sandia Crest.

ABQ had been having a string of 98 plus degree days so we headed for the mountains.

Hector and we spent several days camping

Due to the dry conditions, we had a "safe fire" with highway flares instead of a conventional campfire.

The next morning we explored a nearby ruin. This appears to be a "home built" home.

We took a shortcut on the way to Bandelier and found this huge rock had rolled down the hill

Luckily this stick was keeping it out of the road :-)

Scott and Marccus standing beneath a tuff cliff

A recent storm had moved 10-20 pound rocks onto the road bed making for slow going on the "short cut". We did not have enough time to get all the way to Bandelier but did make it to Valles Caldera.

This valley is one small part of Valles Caldera National Preserve

Below are some of the residents here

Prairie dogs

Elk skulls with antlers

The next day despite 100 degree temperatures, we decided to make the trip to Chaco Culture National Historical Park to see Fajada Butte (home of the SunDagger), the ancient ruins and petroglyphs.

Fajada Butte is found 13 miles down a rough washboard dirt/gravel road and marks the entrance to Chaco Canyon.

Years ago, NOVA did a documentary video called "The Sun Dagger"

Hiking up a trail to see the petroglyphs along the cliff. Visitor Center and Fajada Butte in the background

The much more difficult access to Chaco has prevented much of the vandalism that the petroglyphs near ABQ have suffered.

Pueblo Bonito

"The ruins of Pueblo Bonito cover three acres, the largest single prehistoric Indian building at the time of its construction, 1030-1079 AD. The rear wall still rises four stories high in places. Although there is room for a thousand people, it seems that no more than 600 lived in Pueblo Bonito at any given time. 37 kivas have been identified at this site. The great kiva near the center is over 45 feet in diameter at the floor. Evidence of an extensive Pre-columbian trade network established by 1030 comes from Pueblo Bonito in the form of copper bells, marine shells, parrots and macaws, all of which were carried from the south. The Indians extracted a valuable blue stone, Turquoise, from mines around Cerillos, fashioned some of it into jewelry and traded it for Mexican goods."

Marccus is walking on the left

The corner opening is an unusual feature.

Alignment of doorways

Kiva

Collapse of "Threatening Rock" in 1941 crushed one corner of Pueblo Bonito

All that hiking around the ruins gave us an appetite. Scott shucked the sweet corn and I grilled it along with steaks and chicken. Anne drove down from Durango to join us.

Hector sleeping with Anne