We went up to the South Kaibab Trail head from the visitors center (after watching the requisite school trip film). Only a couple of miles, but we passed thru some areas where the vegetation totally changed from being like an overgrown bonsai garden that smelled of Piñon to a burned out moonscape. They say if you hike down into the canyon, then - geologically speaking - it's like going thru millions of years of history.
Even my wimpy-vertigo thing wasn't enough to keep me from enjoying the beautiful views. I learned quickly to walk away from Curt when he would sit dangling his leggies over the edge. He pointed out that I'm not so afraid of him actually falling, I just don't want to see it. I just felt like I didn't want to hurl my guts as he taunted me. Clearly we both need counseling. Whatever.
We passed some charming plague-carrying vermin and the amazing acrobatic ravens tossing each other about in the air (who needs Cirque du Soleil?). Took the bus up to Yak Point and walked down a little bit into the canyon, but weren't really prepared for a 3-4 hour adventure down there. So, caught the bus back to the El Tovar Lodge and ate a spiffing meal. Imagine this is all horrid in busier seasons, but perfectly lovely in almost abandoned November.
Beautiful and peaceful as it is, think we'll drive on thru to New Mexico on this lovely day. We plan to go on 264 E rather than just back the way we came to 40 E. This route will take us thru the Navajo reservation, passing near the Painted Desert and Window Rock.
We drove thru a vivid sunset on the plains followed by a huge, full moon which lit our path the end of the way into Gallup. This was definitely a long drive, but so worth it. It is a strange, old world.
Everyone seemed really nice and all about the same. There was no rich or poor, just little groups of homes here and there. The fanciest vehicles we saw were the school buses. We watched as one ahead of us disgorged children. They would start walking off up a track and if you squinted your eyes, you could make out a dot of a house way back. These kids sure won't be obese any time soon!
Coming into Gallup, we were struck by the sense that the air seemed permeated by dust and there were so very many neon signs for casinos, pawn shops, etc. It had a very sad strip mall feel to it.
However, we found the hotel to be uber-comfortable and Jerry at the front desk made our trip to Gallup excellent by informing us about the hot air balloon festival starting the next morning. Yippee!
We ate a midnight meal at Denny's and hit the sack.
Up and at 'em early enough to find Red Rock Park and watch balloons starting to go up. We even thought about finding out if we could go up too, but figured that would possibly be a major time commitment + it was cold enough on the ground!
So much fun & the people there to take part as well as the fellow spectators were such an awesome group. Lucky us.
Took it easy over to Santa Fe & got in fairly early in the day. Walked around a bit and went to the O'Keefe museum. Kinda meh. There are some paintings of hers that I really love, but none that they had. Mr was unimpressed by her biography and talents. Too bad as I think he would actually like a lot of those old cow skull type compositions.
We pondered a bit - seems like a cool place. In the end, reasoned that however we went back we'd have to return thru the Santa Fe area. So, decided to put off further exploration and work our way up to Taos and Dwarka & Larry!
Kind of a grimy, blah drive out of Santa Fe & a bit of mad traffic coming thru downtown Taos. We booked in to the El Pueblo Lodge which was really comfortable, convenient and pretty, We thought about staying with our friends as they had offered, but we are messy piggies that keep weird sleeping hours these days. Know thyself.
A couple of hours to kill before meeting the guys at El Gamal for a wonderful vegetarian meal. So, we walked about a bit and wandered into G. Robinson Old Prints and Maps. Some charming old prints. We met Mr Stevens, the current owner. He put up with us and all our questions about life in New Mexico pretty well.
Moseyed our way up to the Gorge bar and the plaza. Watched the Christmas extravaganza as the sun went down. They had music, lights and all kinds of good fun goin on.
Dinner was, of course, delicious and delightful. I had forgotten how relaxing it is to be around Dwarka - even when he's all riled up because tomorrow is his birthday! Cheers! Larry is so much fun and so interesting. Looking forward to visiting their home and studio tomorrow.
Saturday morning we slept in and then headed over to visit the fellows at their place outside of town on the way to Angel Fire. Really pretty winding drive up into the mountains/hills? A little terrifying though as other drivers seem to not always feel confined to their side of the road.
It turns out that they live on the sunny side - across the way there was still some snow on the ground.
We pulled up and were greeted by the lovely dog Paloma.
Such a picturesque spot where they built the adobe house. Sitting inside, I thought how lovely the light streaming in must be at different times of the day & year. They spoiled us with snacks, oolong tea and great conversation.
After lolling about a bit, we got to see some of Dwarka's paintings! I always feel a bit shy about asking people to bring out their art - it's a bit like asking some folks to undress or something. None of that discomfort here - and such a treat - just what I wish I could achieve. So, a bit of envy, not enough to be bad - just enough to make me want to take up my own brushes.
Then we headed down the hill to Larry's studio. I don't know how to describe it. There was so much going on - he is really a jack of all artistic trades. It was a little like stepping into Tom Waits mind or something. There are fantastical paintings everywhere from figures to instruments to dreamscapes. Huge canvasses and rounded panels. There are ceramic vases with bacchanalian faces and spinning sculptures made out of found objects. We are totally mesmerized. So cool.
