Southwest Revisited

Today I think I'm finally recovered...the last day or so I've been completely worn to a frazzle from spending a week on the road and in New Mexico.

A few weeks ago my friend Judith called to tell me of an amazing opportunity - she and her husband were planning a trip to meet some friends in Taos, New Mexico, but at the last minute he couldn't go, and would I be interested?

Does a bear use Charmin after it poos in the woods? I guess we all know the answer to that, and now you know the answer I gave Judith. If our trip was going to be anything like our Southwest adventure last year when we explored and camped the four-corners region, I was all in.

So, last Friday we loaded up with way too much stuff and eagerly pointed the Prius west. Judith is an easygoing travelling partner and we have a lot in common, including our love for seeing what's on the other side of the hill, a tendency to avoid Interstate travel, and a desire to simply fly-by-the-seat of our pants. We like the back roads, mostly because Interstates are boring, and you miss a bunch of interesting stuff. If we'd stuck to the Interstate and stayed on a rigid schedule like a lot of travellers, we would've missed stuff like getting disoriented in Tulsa, touring the "No Man's Land Museum" in the Oklahoma panhandle, stopping to get a bunch of green Hatch chilies from a roadside stand (making the car smell very chili-peppery), and nearly upending the car to see Historical Markers.

The theme for this trip was "I'm game if you are."

The first half of the journey was spent in an absolutely awesome rented house in Taos with some folks from Texas, who go frequently to the area to enjoy the artsy, hippie-esque culture and to paint landscapes. Well, the women do...the guys mostly seem to piddle around with their metal detectors or frequent the local casino. I took my drawing stuff, but I couldn't seem to get the time or inkling to sit long enough to draw - too much to see and do. While the others painted our first full day there, Judith and I travelled to the Three Rivers wilderness area to do some ambitious day hiking. I think it's safe to say that as much as we both love to hike, we got our fill on this day.

A few of the house guests played instruments, and against my better judgement I brought my fiddle on the off chance they wanted to taint their great music with the screechings of a scratchy, inexperienced fiddle. But, they insisted, and it was actually a lot of fun. Apparently it didn't sound too terrible, because we played for three nights and nobody's ears bled.

Second day in Taos we accompanied the group to Arroyo Hondo - for the ladies to paint, and for us to mess around hiking and searching for petroglyphs, as well as enjoying the hot springs. "Enjoy" may be a bit much, since on this day it pretty much felt hotter than blue blazes, and after a short hike to the site a bathwater temperature spring isn't high on the list to sit in. Still, we sat...it wasn't bad if a person stood frequently to cool off. Later we went to Arroyo Seco to eat at a tiny little joint, then back to the house to play more music.

The third day we dragged our tired butts out of bed and decided to spend the day mostly shopping and doing the less strenuous toursity things normal people do in Taos, so we visited the Kit Carson museum and the Taos Pueblo.

Day four we hit the road again and drove the scenic loop around Taos. Unfortunately it was raining so we couldn't do much, but I did encounter a lady who told me all about the UFOs which hover over the canyon. This nice lady went from her pleasant can-I-help-you visitor center face to wild-eyed alien abductee in .02 seconds, and with little prodding she went into detail. That experience alone was worth driving the loop. After nutty UFO lady we had a decision to make - head home, or do more stuff. After a very short discussion, we headed south for White Sands.

White Sands, like pretty much everything else, was awesome. We visited on a very rare rainy day, and the whiteness of the dunes I suspect was even more brilliant against dark rainy mountains, and it was surreal walking around in such snowy whiteness while not being cold.

Maybe it was the visitor center UFO lady that prompted us, but we decided we couldn't leave New Mexico without visiting Roswell. It was, actually, on our way. We pulled up to the International UFO Museum and Research Center unfortunately after they'd closed, and after some deliberation we decided we had to see that museum, even if it meant home would have to wait another day.

The museum was all we'd hoped for and more. I was especially gratified when I was placing the "where-are-you-from-pins" on the map and was greeted by one of the workers who asked how many were in my party visiting the museum. I said, "two", and he stated, "ahh...two humans" before ambling off. The museum was surprisingly professional despite the greeting and considering the subject matter, which covered in depth with newspaper articles and sworn affidavits about everything from the Roswell UFO crash to sightings/incidents around the world, weird inexplicable body implants and what little is actually known about Area 51. While I will remain an interested skeptic until I see a bonafide UFO and/or alien with my own eyeballs, I concur that the "Roswell Incident" is very very fishy.

It's a dreary pre-fall day back here in Arkansas, but thanks to some of the stuff I brought back the house smells western - like sage and roasted chilies. New Mexico is wonderful to visit, but I'm not sure I'd ever get used to living out there. There's a measure of comfort in big green trees and grass. The mountains are nice, but I don't think I could see myself permanently in the arid climate and wide-open spaces void of large trees, full of sage brush and desolate emptiness. I guess it's just all in what you're used to. Still, I'll be ready to go back.

More pics to come!