This morning, we left Santa Fe (before the coming of Zozobra!), and we took the high road (which is the scenic route) to Taos.
Taos appears to be a miniature Santa Fe. I believe it is most famous for the Taos Pueblo, which is a pueblo village about 1000 years old, with 150 families still living there in the traditional manner. However, we decided not to visit. For one, there's an admission fee of $10 per person plus $5 per camera. Ouch. But the other thing was that it would feel a bit weird going in there and taking pictures of people going about their daily lives. Oh, you and your quaint ways! Click. What peculiar clothes. Click. Ha ha, funny hair! Click.
Okay, so maybe our commentary wouldn't be quite that insensitive... but it seems really intrusive and awkward, so... no. We do a drive-through of Taos, and move on.
The highways we're on claim to be part of New Mexico's "Enchanted Circle". I think that's likely overselling it a bit, but we do drive into the mountains, where there are some lovely forests, and what are either bed and breakfasts or the homes of exceedingly rich people. Probably a mix of both. Sometimes, I forgot how rich some people are. (These are the people who buy $100K bracelets in Santa Fe.)
So far, on our road trip, we've passed through several western film point: Monument Valley being the stereotypical western backdrop. When we first drove into New Mexico, we passed through Lordsburg, which is the town John Wayne was trying to reach in the film Stagecoach. Today, it looks like we're going to go through Cimarron, which I'm pretty sure is also the title of a film I've seen in my dad's John Wayne DVD collection. No idea what the film's about, though.
Our Rough Guide says that, way back in the day, Cimarron was definitely the rough and tumble version of the wild west. We shall see!
****
The road to Cimarron passes through the mountains, and then you're following the Cimarron river down into the valley. The sides of the hills are covered with pines and junipers, which mask the very steep slope until you look closely. Still, you occasionally see some very high cliff faces. Very pretty countryside.
Cimarron itself seems to be a quiet town these days, with a short strip of locally-owned motels along the highway. We drove the few blocks into the town and stopped at the St. James Hotel (I'm pretty sure that's where John Wayne would have been headed). Built in 1872, the hotel has apparently had 26 murders(!!!), and both Jesse James and Buffalo Bill stayed there.
We're not checking in; we just stop in for lunch in their very "old west" dining room. Maple hardwood floors, pressed tin ceilings, and animals heads adorning the walls. And yes, it has one of those big, substantial, dark wooden bars that you see in saloons. The manager of the restaurant is an older gentleman in full western gear: hat, vest, boots. No gun that I could see, though. ;-)
Stephen and I both had quesadillas with rice and beans. I'm not sure John Wayne would have approved. Oh well! A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do.
Hey, you know, I don't know if I've ever actually seen a John Wayne film. I've heard him drawling in the background on the television, but I've never actually watched one.
Okay, John Wayne, you've worn me down. I'll watch one of your films. Cimarron, maybe. (ETA: Turns out that Cimarron is one of the DVDs in my dad's collection, but it is not a John Wayne film. I am so disillusioned - they made western movies without John Wayne??? No, I can't believe it. That's just crazy talk...)
:-)
Just outside of Cimarron, we're driving into the rain. It's the first rain we've seen in over a week or so.
We can tell it's pretty heavy rain, because there are hills on the side, and then they just disappear into a field of blue. We pass through one moderately heavy rain belt, and then, just as we've turned onto the Interstate, we get hit with the really heavy rain.
"Holy $#*@!" says I. And then, "HOLY $#*@!!!"
We go from crap visibility with wipers on full to about 10 to 15 seconds of ZERO visibility. It's like being back in the great Saskatoon Blizzard of 2007. We know there was a pickup truck a very short distance ahead of us, but now we can't see him at all. So we crank the speed way back (now going only 40 mph in a 75 mph zone), and we consider pulling over, but it is the Interstate, and we're afraid of getting whacked from behind, because the visibility is that bad.
We keep going and, fortunately, it improves a teensy bit and we can see blinking hazard lights from the vehicle ahead. We're both leaning forward and squinting at the windshield for a while yet, and then eventually it eases off. Whew.
Bet you that all those dry washes and scrawny little streams are suddenly filling up. And if I now saw a sign that says "Watch for Water," I wouldn't laugh quite so hard.
Goodbye, New Mexico! Hello, Colorado!
Taos appears to be a miniature Santa Fe. I believe it is most famous for the Taos Pueblo, which is a pueblo village about 1000 years old, with 150 families still living there in the traditional manner. However, we decided not to visit. For one, there's an admission fee of $10 per person plus $5 per camera. Ouch. But the other thing was that it would feel a bit weird going in there and taking pictures of people going about their daily lives. Oh, you and your quaint ways! Click. What peculiar clothes. Click. Ha ha, funny hair! Click.
Okay, so maybe our commentary wouldn't be quite that insensitive... but it seems really intrusive and awkward, so... no. We do a drive-through of Taos, and move on.
The highways we're on claim to be part of New Mexico's "Enchanted Circle". I think that's likely overselling it a bit, but we do drive into the mountains, where there are some lovely forests, and what are either bed and breakfasts or the homes of exceedingly rich people. Probably a mix of both. Sometimes, I forgot how rich some people are. (These are the people who buy $100K bracelets in Santa Fe.)
So far, on our road trip, we've passed through several western film point: Monument Valley being the stereotypical western backdrop. When we first drove into New Mexico, we passed through Lordsburg, which is the town John Wayne was trying to reach in the film Stagecoach. Today, it looks like we're going to go through Cimarron, which I'm pretty sure is also the title of a film I've seen in my dad's John Wayne DVD collection. No idea what the film's about, though.
Our Rough Guide says that, way back in the day, Cimarron was definitely the rough and tumble version of the wild west. We shall see!
****
The road to Cimarron passes through the mountains, and then you're following the Cimarron river down into the valley. The sides of the hills are covered with pines and junipers, which mask the very steep slope until you look closely. Still, you occasionally see some very high cliff faces. Very pretty countryside.
Cimarron itself seems to be a quiet town these days, with a short strip of locally-owned motels along the highway. We drove the few blocks into the town and stopped at the St. James Hotel (I'm pretty sure that's where John Wayne would have been headed). Built in 1872, the hotel has apparently had 26 murders(!!!), and both Jesse James and Buffalo Bill stayed there.
We're not checking in; we just stop in for lunch in their very "old west" dining room. Maple hardwood floors, pressed tin ceilings, and animals heads adorning the walls. And yes, it has one of those big, substantial, dark wooden bars that you see in saloons. The manager of the restaurant is an older gentleman in full western gear: hat, vest, boots. No gun that I could see, though. ;-)
Stephen and I both had quesadillas with rice and beans. I'm not sure John Wayne would have approved. Oh well! A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do.
Hey, you know, I don't know if I've ever actually seen a John Wayne film. I've heard him drawling in the background on the television, but I've never actually watched one.
Okay, John Wayne, you've worn me down. I'll watch one of your films. Cimarron, maybe. (ETA: Turns out that Cimarron is one of the DVDs in my dad's collection, but it is not a John Wayne film. I am so disillusioned - they made western movies without John Wayne??? No, I can't believe it. That's just crazy talk...)
:-)
*****
Just outside of Cimarron, we're driving into the rain. It's the first rain we've seen in over a week or so.
We can tell it's pretty heavy rain, because there are hills on the side, and then they just disappear into a field of blue. We pass through one moderately heavy rain belt, and then, just as we've turned onto the Interstate, we get hit with the really heavy rain.
"Holy $#*@!" says I. And then, "HOLY $#*@!!!"
We go from crap visibility with wipers on full to about 10 to 15 seconds of ZERO visibility. It's like being back in the great Saskatoon Blizzard of 2007. We know there was a pickup truck a very short distance ahead of us, but now we can't see him at all. So we crank the speed way back (now going only 40 mph in a 75 mph zone), and we consider pulling over, but it is the Interstate, and we're afraid of getting whacked from behind, because the visibility is that bad.
We keep going and, fortunately, it improves a teensy bit and we can see blinking hazard lights from the vehicle ahead. We're both leaning forward and squinting at the windshield for a while yet, and then eventually it eases off. Whew.
Bet you that all those dry washes and scrawny little streams are suddenly filling up. And if I now saw a sign that says "Watch for Water," I wouldn't laugh quite so hard.
Goodbye, New Mexico! Hello, Colorado!
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