After an uneventful trip across southeastern CO from La Junta to Trinidad, Scout and I crossed over Raton Pass and into NM on August 3rd. There had been a forest fire on the pass and the blackened trees and soil were disturbing to see. However, from the top of Raton, you can see forever and ever into the northern part of NM and that was totally glorious. After I hit the plains, I turned back west into the mountains, drove past the entrance to Philmont Boy Scout Camp, and turned once more into the mountains. The air was fresh and clean so I rolled down all the windows as we climbed the pass to Eagle Nest, which was just drop-dead gorgeous.
From there, we dropped down into Taos where it took me no time at all to be totally overwhelmed by the commercialism (and traffic) that have devoured the Plaza and surrounding downtown of Taos. It has also grown a great deal and there are new houses and developments creeping up the sides of the mountain. There are still open pasture areas and the road to Taos Pueblo didn't appear to have been overcome by fast food joints, tourist stops, etc., etc.
My new casita is everything it appeared to be in the photos and I'm totally charmed by my new landlords, Bob and Mary, who were putting the finishing touches on the place when we arrived. I had dinner with a friend that night at a great little Mexican food restaurant and then slept like a rock except to get up every once in a while to gaze at the stars, which seemed close enough to touch, and listen to the coyotes.
On the morning of the 4th, still being somewhat on MA time, Scout and I went for an early walk, just in time to see the sun peek over Taos Mountain and illuminate the floor of the Rio Grande Valley, where a hot-air balloon was lifting off. Then I had breakfast at the picnic table outside my casita and watched as probably a dozen hummingbirds flitted through the pinon pines and hit the feeders in Bob and Mary's yard. Totally magical!
I'm writing this post on the computer of two new friends, Tammy and Denny, both of whom are incredibly talented artists, not to mention fantastic cooks. Their house is located on a hillside overlooking a stream and we had dinner on their deck last night. They also have three dogs, one of which (Tula) has completely charmed Scout--they spent about an hour playing in the stream and then throwing themselves in the dirt for a good scratch yesterday afternoon. I think Scout has his first BFF in Taos!
My next project is to get my internet connection set up, so I probably won't write again until that happens.
Friday, August 5, 2011
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Almost There....
Today Scout and I crossed the remainder of KS and into my home state of CO. Tonight we're staying in La Junta, which is not far from Rocky Ford where my mother was born and raised on the family farm. Unfortunately, because of the length of today's trip and the fact that I didn't think Scout could take one more minute in the car, I didn't get to go exploring for the old place. Instead I took Scout to a public park to throw his ball and release some of his pent-up energy and, wouldn't you know it, we weren't 5 minutes into the game when he heard thunder and immediately went into his panic mode. That was it for the ballplaying. Tomorrow should be a much shorter day, however, and I'm going to try again as the stress of the trip seems to be wearing on him.
KS was very interesting to cross. Immediately upon getting onto the interstate, I could see a huge wind farm in the distance. There must have been 60-75 of those gigantic turbines, all going in different rotations--even with their stark whiteness, they are almost sculptural and not as intrusive on the landscape as I might have imagined. When we turned off the interstate and onto a state highway (parts of which turned out to be on or near the old Santa Fe Trail), we encountered another one, around Dodge City I think. I also saw fields of sunflowers which were really pretty and all kinds of different birds, including a couple bald eagles and magpies. Still haven't encountered a meadowlark--that will be a sure indication that I'm in the West. I'm now in Mountain Daylight Time, too, which means that I'm 2 hours behind all of my friends in the East.
Tomorrow we head southwest to Ft. Garland, CO, and then south to Arroyo Hondo, where we should arrive by early afternoon. To say that this has been an interesting trip would be an understatement. We have gone from completely green MA to the semi-arid Great Basin of the center of the country and in many ways traced the path of my ancestors as they made their way across the country. Of couse, everything is different now in a multitude of ways, but it's still possible to catch glimpses of what it must have been like for those early pioneers.
I'm very much looking forward to becoming a New Mexican tomorrow and starting the next chapter in my life. This may be my last post for a while since I've not decided which internet provider to use.
Until then.....
KS was very interesting to cross. Immediately upon getting onto the interstate, I could see a huge wind farm in the distance. There must have been 60-75 of those gigantic turbines, all going in different rotations--even with their stark whiteness, they are almost sculptural and not as intrusive on the landscape as I might have imagined. When we turned off the interstate and onto a state highway (parts of which turned out to be on or near the old Santa Fe Trail), we encountered another one, around Dodge City I think. I also saw fields of sunflowers which were really pretty and all kinds of different birds, including a couple bald eagles and magpies. Still haven't encountered a meadowlark--that will be a sure indication that I'm in the West. I'm now in Mountain Daylight Time, too, which means that I'm 2 hours behind all of my friends in the East.
Tomorrow we head southwest to Ft. Garland, CO, and then south to Arroyo Hondo, where we should arrive by early afternoon. To say that this has been an interesting trip would be an understatement. We have gone from completely green MA to the semi-arid Great Basin of the center of the country and in many ways traced the path of my ancestors as they made their way across the country. Of couse, everything is different now in a multitude of ways, but it's still possible to catch glimpses of what it must have been like for those early pioneers.
I'm very much looking forward to becoming a New Mexican tomorrow and starting the next chapter in my life. This may be my last post for a while since I've not decided which internet provider to use.
Until then.....
Monday, August 1, 2011
One Day Closer via Salina, KS
This morning Scout and I left St. Louis at 7:30 in the most unbearable heat and humidity I've ever experienced. Last night at 9:45, it was still 94 degrees, and when I opened the door to the hotel room, it was like stepping into a sauna. This morning's drive across the top of MO would have been quite scenic if not for the constant barrage of gigantic billboards advertising everything from the local university to Grandma's fudge to one car dealer who seemed to like doing Burma Shave-type sequential signs. We also crossed the mighty Missouri River which was actually in flood, which surprised me. This must still be the result of the gigantic snow melt in the Rockies this year.
Then we entered Kansas City, where they seem to like their professional sports a lot (multiple venues for multiple teams) and where the drivers act like they learned to drive in Indianapolis (although I didn't see any blimps). As we drove west across Kansas, it got hotter and hotter and less humid and there was an amazing shift in the scenery along about Manhattan and Topeka. First, the vistas opened up dramatically and it was easy to see for miles and miles in any direction from the highway. There were fewer trees and crops and more open grassland. About the only things that broke the horizon line were grain silos and electronics towers. Both of my parents' families migrated across this section of our great country to Colorado, and I wondered today as I sped along in air-conditioned comfort how this arid and barren land must have appeared to them.
Salina is probably a very nice little town but in the 107-degree heat (114 with the heat index), Scout and I didn't spend much time looking about except to get gas and escape into an air-conditioned motel room. Even he couldn't take it and he'll put up with just about anything to play with his ball. Right now, he's asleep on the bed behind me, with his nose toward the AC. I am carrying a very special oil painting by Chief Muraina Oyelama, an amazing Nigerian artist who was a Copeland Fellow at Amherst College when I worked in the Black Studies department. I didn't want to take a chance of shipping it with the movers because I thought the van would get too hot for the oils. Well, tonight I brought it inside the motel room just in case it got too hot in the car!
Thoughts on today's travels:
- Kansas motorcyclists join their brothers and sisters in other states in the anti-helmet campaign. Today I would have also worried about sunstroke!
- Kansas has a 70 MPH speed limit, which means that it's okay to do 80!
- I'm getting terrible gas mileage, which is probably a function of the load in the car, running the AC, and the heat.
- A sign at a Salina Midas Muffler shop: "Don't play leapfrog with a unicorn!" (No, I'm not kidding.)
- Saw my first Herefords today (those are the white-faced red cattle for those of you who are wondering), along with stock pens, cowboy hats hung in the rear windows of (lots) of pick-up trucks, and had some authentic Mexican food for dinner tonight!
Tomorrow we drive to La Junta, CO, which is close to Rocky Ford, where my mother's parents homesteaded and which is where I spent the best summer vacations of my childhood. I hope to spend some time looking around, visiting their old farm (unfortunately long gone from the family), and revisiting some very special old memories, before I head toward home (in Arroyo Hondo) on the 3rd. Part of the drive tomorrow will not be on the interstate, which will be a welcome change. If we hadn't had to beat the movers to NM, I really would have loved to have taken some of the scenic smaller roads to our destination. We truly do live in a great and amazing country and to experience it at a less frantic pace and on its own terms is very special indeed--I know this from personal experience.
Until tomorrow then......
Then we entered Kansas City, where they seem to like their professional sports a lot (multiple venues for multiple teams) and where the drivers act like they learned to drive in Indianapolis (although I didn't see any blimps). As we drove west across Kansas, it got hotter and hotter and less humid and there was an amazing shift in the scenery along about Manhattan and Topeka. First, the vistas opened up dramatically and it was easy to see for miles and miles in any direction from the highway. There were fewer trees and crops and more open grassland. About the only things that broke the horizon line were grain silos and electronics towers. Both of my parents' families migrated across this section of our great country to Colorado, and I wondered today as I sped along in air-conditioned comfort how this arid and barren land must have appeared to them.
Salina is probably a very nice little town but in the 107-degree heat (114 with the heat index), Scout and I didn't spend much time looking about except to get gas and escape into an air-conditioned motel room. Even he couldn't take it and he'll put up with just about anything to play with his ball. Right now, he's asleep on the bed behind me, with his nose toward the AC. I am carrying a very special oil painting by Chief Muraina Oyelama, an amazing Nigerian artist who was a Copeland Fellow at Amherst College when I worked in the Black Studies department. I didn't want to take a chance of shipping it with the movers because I thought the van would get too hot for the oils. Well, tonight I brought it inside the motel room just in case it got too hot in the car!
Thoughts on today's travels:
- Kansas motorcyclists join their brothers and sisters in other states in the anti-helmet campaign. Today I would have also worried about sunstroke!
- Kansas has a 70 MPH speed limit, which means that it's okay to do 80!
- I'm getting terrible gas mileage, which is probably a function of the load in the car, running the AC, and the heat.
- A sign at a Salina Midas Muffler shop: "Don't play leapfrog with a unicorn!" (No, I'm not kidding.)
- Saw my first Herefords today (those are the white-faced red cattle for those of you who are wondering), along with stock pens, cowboy hats hung in the rear windows of (lots) of pick-up trucks, and had some authentic Mexican food for dinner tonight!
Tomorrow we drive to La Junta, CO, which is close to Rocky Ford, where my mother's parents homesteaded and which is where I spent the best summer vacations of my childhood. I hope to spend some time looking around, visiting their old farm (unfortunately long gone from the family), and revisiting some very special old memories, before I head toward home (in Arroyo Hondo) on the 3rd. Part of the drive tomorrow will not be on the interstate, which will be a welcome change. If we hadn't had to beat the movers to NM, I really would have loved to have taken some of the scenic smaller roads to our destination. We truly do live in a great and amazing country and to experience it at a less frantic pace and on its own terms is very special indeed--I know this from personal experience.
Until tomorrow then......
Sunday, July 31, 2011
The Left Side of the Mississippi!
Today, Scout and I left Dublin, OH at 7 and journeyed across the remainder of OH, IN, IL, and into MO, where we crossed the Mississippi River to the "proper" (i.e., west) side and wound up in Westport on the outskirts of St. Louis. The Mississippi is just as wide and magnificent as I remember it from my travels in the opposite direction in 1973 in New Orleans. Unfortunately, I didn't see the Arch as I think we were too far north.
I have only three words to describe the states we drove through today: flat, flat, flat. No, make that a total of six words by adding: hot, hot, hot. I had forgotten just how level the landscape is in our central states. But what I did remember about the beautiful farms and acres and acres of corn and other crops hasn't changed. I am beginning to see quarterhorses (and paints and pintos, too), stores for western wear and cowboy boots, and signs for Mexican food restaurants. This is a good sign! I also saw three oil wells today which was not so good.
The air in St. Louis this afternoon is like being in a sauna so I'm particularly happy to head out for the drier climes (I hope) of KS tomorrow morning. I'm also in the central time zone--halfway between mountain and eastern time--and, at about 1,400 miles, Scout and I are over halfway home.
Some observations about today's travels:
- Ohioans must be a very curious bunch of folks. I can't tell you how many times a car would pull up close behind or next to me on the interstate and slow down to check Scout and me out. Is it because they've never seen anyone with MA plates? Do I look like an Okie from the Dustbowl days with my car packed to the gils? I don't know the reason, but after they made sure we were okay, they sped on by.
- The IN and IL DPWs must use the same kind of asphalt for the interstate as OH as there was an equal amount of shredded truck tires on the sides of the road. It decreased somewhat in IL, but it was still there.
- The folks in Indianapolis drive just like race car drivers. There must have been a race at the 500 track today because there were digital signs with directional information and a blimp sitting above what I think is its location.
- We saw some Amish on their way to church (I assume) in their buggies and carriages.
- Motorcyclists in all the states we passed through today still have that death wish or else just like having the wind in their hair and the sun on their faces because there were still no helmets. Are these people crazy?
- I wished that I had had a mathematician with me today to talk about the mathematics of how many times I passed the same trucks (after stopping at a rest stop)--I saw one particular rig at least 4 times!
- A nasty little bumper sticker that has popped up has a picture of Uncle Sam pointing at the viewer (as in the old recruiting posters) with these words: "Uncle Sam wants you ... to speak English." I'm no longer in Happy Valley, that's for sure. :-(
- I think I've discovered one of the reasons for the obesity plague in this country: all the food and restaurant signs along the interstates and all-you-can eat places.
- And speaking of signs, immediately upon entering IN this morning there were these two: "Hell Has No Exit!" (with some quite well-done flames) and "Jesus Saves." Oh brother--the Bible Belt has moved farther north than I thought.
Hasta manana, mis amigos.....
I have only three words to describe the states we drove through today: flat, flat, flat. No, make that a total of six words by adding: hot, hot, hot. I had forgotten just how level the landscape is in our central states. But what I did remember about the beautiful farms and acres and acres of corn and other crops hasn't changed. I am beginning to see quarterhorses (and paints and pintos, too), stores for western wear and cowboy boots, and signs for Mexican food restaurants. This is a good sign! I also saw three oil wells today which was not so good.
The air in St. Louis this afternoon is like being in a sauna so I'm particularly happy to head out for the drier climes (I hope) of KS tomorrow morning. I'm also in the central time zone--halfway between mountain and eastern time--and, at about 1,400 miles, Scout and I are over halfway home.
Some observations about today's travels:
- Ohioans must be a very curious bunch of folks. I can't tell you how many times a car would pull up close behind or next to me on the interstate and slow down to check Scout and me out. Is it because they've never seen anyone with MA plates? Do I look like an Okie from the Dustbowl days with my car packed to the gils? I don't know the reason, but after they made sure we were okay, they sped on by.
- The IN and IL DPWs must use the same kind of asphalt for the interstate as OH as there was an equal amount of shredded truck tires on the sides of the road. It decreased somewhat in IL, but it was still there.
- The folks in Indianapolis drive just like race car drivers. There must have been a race at the 500 track today because there were digital signs with directional information and a blimp sitting above what I think is its location.
- We saw some Amish on their way to church (I assume) in their buggies and carriages.
- Motorcyclists in all the states we passed through today still have that death wish or else just like having the wind in their hair and the sun on their faces because there were still no helmets. Are these people crazy?
- I wished that I had had a mathematician with me today to talk about the mathematics of how many times I passed the same trucks (after stopping at a rest stop)--I saw one particular rig at least 4 times!
- A nasty little bumper sticker that has popped up has a picture of Uncle Sam pointing at the viewer (as in the old recruiting posters) with these words: "Uncle Sam wants you ... to speak English." I'm no longer in Happy Valley, that's for sure. :-(
- I think I've discovered one of the reasons for the obesity plague in this country: all the food and restaurant signs along the interstates and all-you-can eat places.
- And speaking of signs, immediately upon entering IN this morning there were these two: "Hell Has No Exit!" (with some quite well-done flames) and "Jesus Saves." Oh brother--the Bible Belt has moved farther north than I thought.
Hasta manana, mis amigos.....
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)