New Mexico part Two...

Nice view

My trip to New Mexico continued...

On one of the days that had good weather, I drove out of town to visit one of the Pueblos. It just so happened that it snowed the day before very hard, which left a good covering of snow. The drive was OK, the snow had started to melt and the roads plowed, but the hills were quite spectacular. The location was on the way to Toas, I had originally wanted to go but the snow stopped that idea. In any case the drive was nice and I loved seeing the snow on the mountains. The day before the roads had closed or were risky to drive on. It was an unusual snow storm.

View of the hills




Near Los Alamos

We took a trip to Bandlairs National Park to see the cliff dwellings, more like caves really.
The cave dwellings were very small and it was amazing to think people lived in those small holes. But as was pointed out by a ranger, it was easier and more efficient to warm a small space and to cover the small door entries, plus it the people mostly stayed out side during the day working.

Cave dwellings

It was icy so we didn't climb up to the top of the high cliff area, just saw it from below. But the lower ones were interesting. There were areas of old long houses and underground rooms on the ground out in front of the cave, then the hill side had sections of caves at different heights. The natives farmed and hunted in the area for hundreds of years, but then left when it is thought that the area couldn't sustain the people anymore.

The Park is very near Los Alamos and is about a 35 minute drive from Santa Fe, if the weather is good, but it took a little longer since there was some snow. The color of the red rock and white snow was very interesting and spectacular in many areas. A very stark contrast of colors.

While back in Santa Fe, we went into the main church in the plaza area. Of course there were the windows to see, but I never really like to go into churches. As I left, I saw a sign they put up saying to pray for all the children lost in abortions. I thought it should say, pray for all the millions killed by the church, all the millions enslaved by the church, all the greed and wickedness unleashed on the world by the church, of course they wouldn't think of that...




In the church, out of the cold..

The other sight we saw was chili's, everywhere chili's. Of course this is an area that has a lot and they are used in cooking traditional regional dishes. They can be mild or hot or really hot. But not as crazy hot as some chili's in other parts of the world. They hang the chili's in line or in rounds, they are used for display and as a storage method. They would hang dry the chili's in the past so it was a common sight.


Pottery is a big selling item as is jewelry. If you go be careful and only buy or I should say pay a high price for signed pots or jewelry. There is a lot of junk and cheep stuff that is sold everywhere. If there is a signature, you need to check to make sure it is a good price and piece. Common pots that are scene at a lot of places are from Mexico not the local tribes and are not worth the price. Same for jewelry, a lot of cheep silver stuff, if they say they will give you a big discount you know it never was worth the amount they asked. I saw pots marked at $900, reduced to $500, special sale to $350, special of the day to $250, and a final, for you only price of $150... Do you think it ever was worth $900???


The main church in the Plaza

Of course chili is everywhere