Ha! I Missed a Golden Opportunity!

My smart friend Chris posted this comment:

[Los Alamos] should also be your eden. A more concentrated area of nerds would be hard to find. More PhDs per capita than any other place in the U.S.

D'Oh! She's so right. Nerd Central. And I didn't capitalize on it. Idiot.

Nerd Alert: Los Alamos!!

Just a few minutes from Bandolier National Monument sits Los Alamos. I hadn't planned on heading there, but my curiosity got the best of me. Ranger Cheryl said the Science Museum was very good, so off I went.

Another gorgeous drive took me to Los Alamos. It really is a charming town, in a weird kind of way. Lots of hiking and trails, adorable downtown, created by that ol' military-industrial complex. But, even so, kind of quaint.

Imagine my surprise when I hit a security checkpoint. Imagine my shock when a guy in head to toe camouflage and flak jacket, carrying a huge gun stopped me to inspect the car. I suppose you can't be too careful given what happens in the labs here, but, yeesh, kind of startling.

Shockingly, the Los Alamos Nuclear Laboratory does not give tours to the public. Go figure. Instead, they run the Bradbury Science Museum . Highly pro-government with a creepy war on terror display, it was none-the-less interesting to see the history behind the Manhattan Project. It was really neat to learn how the labs were built in the middle of nowhere in near secrecy, and the role of the WAC and civilians in the research effort. Fascinating. I picked up a book about it, which I'll get to right after I finish the one I just got today on Biosphere 2! Now, where did I put that pocket protector...

Bandolier National Momument - and the answer to "Why are some Momuments and others are Parks?"!!

At Chris's suggestion, I headed to Bandolier National Monument on Sunday. Going there was worth it for the scenic drive alone. It couldn't have been more beautiful. Although there was a curve ball - a bike race. Instead of just worrying about windy roads and falling rocks, I also had to be careful not to run over the bikers. Fun times.

The monument contains several thousand Ancestral Pueblan dwellings, some of which were built into cliffs, and some that were built on the canyon floor. It was so tranquil there, aside from the obnoxious tourists who kept disregarding the "don't touch the walls or walk into the structure" signs to take photos.

Entrance to the park. Take that, Illinois!



The sides of the canyon. That is not sandstone, it is in fact compressed volcanic ash, which is called tuff. It's not actually so tough, as it erodes easily. The residents of this area used that to their advantage and built dwellings in the sides of the canyon. Can you see the people outside the caves?




Here's a close up:

Here's the inside of that cave, very low ceilings. It's black due to smoke from cooking fires. Hard to believe people called this home. Also hard to believe I didn't fall off the ladder taking this photo.

Inside another cave was a pictograph. To me it looks like a guy with a hat with some feathers. Anyone see something different?

View from inside another cave. This was tall enough to stand in. The inhabitants of this area averaged 5 feet tall. These are my people!!

This is an example of the ladders I climbed to get into caves. I know, I too am surprised I didn't hurt myself.

View of the valley floor, where they had several hundred rooms and community areas:

I spent a full two minutes watching this squirrel gather dried pine needles. While I'm easily amused, he was pretty entertaining. This is an Abert's Squirrel, common in the region. Check out those pointy ears.

I did the short hike to the Alcove House, although I didn't climb up. The 140 foot vertical ascent via a system of ladders was a bit too much for me. I'm sure it was lovely, but I declined. I mean, you can hardly see it from the bottom of the trail:

To get to it, you first climbed this ladder:

And a few more before you even got to these. No thank you.

After I finished the trek through the woods, I returned to the Visitor Station to ask Ranger Cheryl about the difference between a National Park and a National Monument, since the monuments look an awful lot like parks to me. Here's the scoop:


The creation of a National Park requires an act of Congress. However, The American Antiquities Act of 1906 gave the President the power to declare an area of historical or cultural significance a National Monument. Therefore it's much more expedient to have a place declared a Monument. A Monument can eventually become a Park if Congress acts. As Parks get more funding and staffing resources than Monuments, it's a challenge.

The scenic drive to Taos

Saturday morning I headed north to Taos. I missed a turn, and ended up taking the long way to get there. It was a fortuitous mistake, because in my wandering I stumbled upon (and thankfully, not into) the Rio Grande Gorge, between Pilar and Taos. I can't begin to describe it, it was spectacular; my Canon couldn't capture the beauty.

I was a bit surprised to see the paved road just end with no warning. Not usually a great sign.



No guard rail, dirt road, 180 degree turn sign ahead. Fantastic.

Ah, my favorite sign of the southwest:

The sign doesn't do the rocks justice:

The tiny Rio Grande that carved the gorge.

View of the river from the bottom of the gorge, less tiny when you're up close:

First view of whatever mountains surround Taos:

Downtown Taos is centered on a plaza, with galleries, shopping, restaurants. It's a lovely area, very bucolic. I wandered a bit, saw Kit Carson's home, had a great lunch somewhere near John Dunn's home, then headed to the Taos Pueblo.

The Plaza:

Downtown shots:

Taos Pueblo is a living World Heritage site. While interesting, it was kind of depressing. I try to imagine what it would have been like to have been a Native American in the 1800s, being rounded up and marched along the Trail of Tears to be dumped in infertile and inhospitable land, for which you were supposed to be grateful. Can't begin to imagine it.

Afer the pueblo, I headed to the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge in Taos. The views from the bridge were astounding, although there weren't vantage points to view the actual bridge, which is tauted as the second highest cantilevered truss bridge in the US. Here's a nice photo on Wikipedia, which also has a link to a panoramic video of the site.

Beth D, don't look at the next one:

Best shot I could get of the bridge:

Took a different scenic route back to Santa Fe. I drove past the *The Greater World Earthship Community*. Yeah. I applaud the goal of self-sustained living, but they couldn't have picked a more wackadoo name for themselves. Their own Chamber of Commerce describes their neighborhood as a "desert Hobbiton or Tatooine." As tempting as it was, I didn't stop in the visitor center. Although, I do see you can rent one...anyone up for a weekend in an earthship?

Old Town Santa Fe

Friday night I finally made it to Old Town Santa Fe and the Plaza area. Several blocks of art galleries, jewelers, restaurants and bars. It is also home to the Georgia O'Keefe Museum, which was really interesting. I didn't know much about her, and there was a great film about her life at the museum, narrated by Mr. Gene Hackman.

Leave it to me to be in the southwest and find an authentic boulangerie. I was greeted with a 'bon jour mademoiselle', and was so giddy I actually ordered in french. I think it was being called mademoiselle that spun me around. I will say, it was the best pastry I've had since Paris.

Afterward I met Dan for dinner at Second Street Brewery. We played a few rounds of Pass the Pigs, and I lost each one. After losing at darts to him on Thursday, I'm getting a little ticked.

St. Francis Cathedral:




The Plaza:

Yummy pastries:

Downtown street:

Lastly, probably my favorite thing of the week. An eagle locked in combat with a native american warrior while surrounded by bears. Someone needs to alert the Colbert Nation!!

I think we have a tie for Stupidest Thing of the Week

When I turned on the tv last night, this astounding program filled the screen:


A reality tv show about the drama of being a meter maid, and the sturm und drang of parking. Has it really come to this? What's next - Toll Both Operators: The Musical?

Remember when A&E was like PBS? Sigh.

The stupidest thing I've seen this week

The week's not over, but this will be hard to beat. Saw this at the grocery store, amazing that this baby hadn't been snatched up:




Because what easier way is there to do your nails then by squeezing a piece of small plastic awkwardly between your knees while contorting your arms and hands into odd angles? Makes sense to me!

I forgot to get a shot of the back of the package which extolled the product's many features, including "fun color!" and "slips into your purse so you can do your nails anywhere!", complete with action shot of someone slipping it into her purse.

More proof that there is a market for everything.

Hola, Santa Fe

Saturday I arrived in Santa Fe to spend time with my wonderful friend Dan. Dan and I lived in the Met for a long time. We'd randomly and frequently bump into each other in the elevator, and shared many agonizing commutes to work on the ol' 147. He always made those trips more bearable. It was a dark day for my commute when he moved to Santa Fe.

We went to a film festival on Saturday night at a local college that showcased 40 3-minute films. Most were fun, a few were great, and a few were just disturbing. We then went to dinner at The Cowgirl, which was lovely. Sunday we went to brunch (mmm...bacon...), and then went on a gorgeous hike along the Dale Ball trail. Wish I had my camera with me, the views were amazing. We then went to dinner and saw a movie that ran for more than 3 minutes.

On Monday I moved into the new digs, where I'll be for the next two weeks. It's very mod here; everything is white (gods help me with the spilling and the white furniture), floors are concrete. Not your typical Santa Fe adobe abode, that's for sure. It's super sunny with lots of great windows and nice outdoor seating.

Corrugated metal, not really seen in southwestern architecture:

Kitchen with a gorgeous gas stove I'm eager to try:

Note the super comfy bench on the right made out of steel pipe and a plank of wood:

Bed frame is also steel pipe:

Office with a printer - so excited to be able to print things, such a luxury:

Seating in the front yard, surprisingly not made out of steel pipes:

Sunset from the upstairs balcony:

Petrified Forest National Park and Painted Desert

I left Flagstaff Saturday morning and headed east toward Santa Fe. Along the way, I stopped at Petrified Forest National Park, which also took me through Painted Desert. I don't know what I was expecting at Petrified Forest. Actually, I guess I was expecting some sort of forest with tall trees and whatnot. Not exactly.

The Petrified "forest" showcases the petrified wood which lies throughout the region. About a half billion years ago, this area was under water. When trees were felled into the water, minerals and silica were absorbed into the tree fibers, and eventually turned the trees into quartz.



Aside from the trees, there were some pretty amazing rock formation. They're striated due to the layering of silt and other things . Really stunning.

Then there is Painted Desert, which is astounding. I'd turn a corner, and literally gasp at the spectacle.

I posted a lot of photos online. You don't need to sign into see them, so please do check them out. Click here to see them. It was an unusually cloudy day; imagine how pretty this is in full sunshine with blue sky.

Downtown Flagstaff

Realized I didn't post any photos of downtown. Here are a few shots of Historic Flagstaff:

And finally, when you're having a bad day at work, just think about this guy:


Although he was dressed up as a bottle of ketchup to sell hot dogs on the side of the road, he was totally working it. He was jammin' hard to some unheard music, doing a lot of pointing and head bobbing, a la Night at The Roxbury. Good reminder that with the right attitude, you can have fun doing any job.