The Road to Albuquerque

The last day of our trip came far too quickly.  We headed back to Albuquerque along the famous Turquoise Trail route instead of taking the interstate.  The towns along the Trail have spent a pretty penny doing up a brochure and website that make it look like an adventure - it goes through the mountains and the old (turquoise) mining towns - in reality, it's got only a few spots of interest.  It is definitely more interesting than an interstate,but isn't worth the day it claims it will take.  

First off, we drove past Santa Fe Brewing Company - a bit early for a visit at 10:30 am, but a good sign of things to come?  Then we went past a state prison and a bunch of 'do not pick up hitchhikers' signs.  Which I would have thought obvious, but apparently not.  Next we found some interesting rock formations.

The first town we came upon was Cerillos, which had dirt roads, ramshackle houses, and really looked like a little Mexican town more than a New Mexican town.  The guy we talked to at the mining museum there (an actual turquoise miner) says there's no cell service and it takes the police an hour to get there (never mind that I think he was exaggerating by about 40 minutes).  He claimed that if you need justice faster you just "go get 'yer gun".

We stumbled along some people setting up a market, but when we tried to go shop there we were informed that this was actually a movie set and we weren't allowed entrance.  Apparently the town's claim that 'feature films' are set there was true.

Speeding along the rest of the Trail, we got to Albuquerque in time to spend an hour in the 'old town'.  It's far less polished than Santa Fe, and we liked it far better.  The people are nice, there's lots of outdoor seating, and it was relatively quiet, though the Balloon Fiesta - Albuquerque's biggest event of the year - was starting next week so that wouldn't last long.

After an afternoon at the Maxwell Museum of Anthropology at the University of New Mexico (yes, we are total nerds), we headed up to the Sandia Mountain tramway to meet up with my Dad's friend Cara, who lives in Albuquerque, and her family.  Until last year this was the longest tram in the world - it's 1.5 miles with only two supporting towers in the middle (yikes!).  It takes you to the top of Sandia Mountain, over 10,000 feet above sea level.  We probably wouldn't have done this if Cara hadn't suggested it, but it was totally worth the visit.  Her 13-year-old daughter was making fun of our ooh-ing and aah-ing (I'm sure I would have done the same back in the day!) but I couldn't help myself.

Amazing views all around.

I didn't have the skills to capture the sunset on camera, so you'll just have to trust me that it was awesome. 

One last Mexican meal, and it was back to our airport hotel for the night.

Although I never would have thought up this trip without my Dad's suggestion, we had a great time and I highly recommend the US Southwest.  We'll be going back someday to check out what Arizona and Utah have to offer, plus a couple sights we missed!

On the Waaaay... To Santa Feeeee...

After days of Pueblo people, empty desert canyons, and mesa tops, it was time to head back to the big city (I would say 'civilization', but that seems kind of insulting to all the civilizations we had just spent four days learning about!)  We left Mesa Verde for Santa Fe bright and early on a Monday morning.

The highest point in Mesa Verde National Park, with great views in all directions, particularly of the plains below.

Some of the fall colours.

Free viewing telescopes!  Probably the only free thing in the whole park.

We took the scenic route to Santa Fe, driving through much of southwest Colorado before turning south into New Mexico.  I know I keep saying this, but the scenery was amazing - the Rockies in the background, hills full of trees with turning leaves, rivers, ranches, animals...  We went through Durango and Pagosa Springs along the way.

The river in the pretty resort town of Pagosa Springs.  We thought it was just another dot on the map, but turns out the springs for which it was named are hot springs, and there are bunches of resorts there so that tourists and locals alike can take advantage of the waters.

This formation looks fake - maybe like a volcano made for a sixth grade science project? - but it's actually a natural formation on the side of the road.  Smelly, steaming hot springs water is flowing out.

Just more mountains and trees along the way.

Admittedly, when we got to New Mexico things got a lot more boring and, frankly, Kamloops like for a while.  That is, until we came upon some of the red rocks for which the region is famous.

In Santa Fe we stayed at a classic Route 66 style hotel and headed downtown to explore.  I'll be honest - Santa Fe was not our favourite spot.  Although it grew on us after a couple hours, I think its shops and ambience are more like an adult Disneyland for middle-aged women.  The picture perfect adobe buildings and endless craft, clothing, and art shops didn't charm us for long.  Luckily we found a decent meal at a cafe with good, in house brewed craft beer, and managed to enjoy our evening!

Dad heads for the main square downtown.

Outside the big downtown cathedral.  If I hadn't returned our guidebook to the library, I could tell you its name.

This is a parking garage.  Yes, even parking garages are done in 'authentic' adobe style.

These I liked - bunches of dried chiles hanging everywhere.

And some of the public art wasn't so bad either.

Reminiscent of Chad and I? Yeah, I think not.  Just a random wall mural outside a bar downtown.

More Mesa Verde

The next day we headed back up to Mesa Verde - there is tons to see and do up there and we were booked in to spend the night at the lodge at the top of the mountain.  The scheduled highlights for the day were a tour of the 'Cliff Palace' and a second tour of the 'Balcony House', two more sets of cliff dwellings that actually require some effort to visit.

Just some more ruins we visited on the way to Cliff Palace.  These ones definitely didn't look very ruined.

Cliff Palace is the biggest of the cliff dwellings.  The tour is advertised as 'strenuous', because it requires climbing a bunch of ladders to get down to the dwellings (don't worry, there is a paved path at the bottom), and then a bit of a hike up a stone staircase (surprise!) to get back up.  My Dad and I thought the ladder climbing was actually pretty fun, and the views from below were definitely worth it.

The ranger asked us to speculate why the Mesa Verdans would have moved into the cliff dwellings.  It took them about 50 years to build these homes, and they only lived in them for a few decades before taking off.  Prior to that, they lived in villages along the top of the mesa.  No one knows for sure, but possible reasons include safety from attackers and shelter from the weather, which can get pretty harsh in the winters.  Based on what the archaeologists found, when they left the dwellings were left in such a state it looked as if they had just gone out for tea.  But that makes sense - since they were likely headed south and travelling long distances, they wouldn't have carried all their stoneware with them.

The view from the dwellings.  I definitely wouldn't be scaling those canyon walls for a cup of tea.  All the cliff dwellings were accessed by incredibly steep passages, usually involved scaling a wall with a bunch of hand and foot holds.

The ranger was flattered that my Dad wanted to take a photo of him.  Dad was actually taking a photo of the lizard to the ranger's left.  

Next up was Balcony Palace.  Though we were afraid this tour would be a repeat of the one we had just done, it certainly was not.  Because the tour actually takes you through the cliff dwellings you get a lot more detailed information about how the people lived.  And this tour arguably is as strenuous as labelled.  It involves multiple ladders, including one 30 feet high, and a 12 foot tunnel that you have to crawl through on your hands and knees.  In a word: awesome.  A few shots from the tour...

The one and only shot we had taken of us during the whole trip!

Dad and the ranger, in shadows, contemplate the 30 foot ladder down.  

We spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the mesa top - there are so many archaeological sites it's mind boggling.

A forest fire a few years ago wiped out something like 80% of the forest, leaving a pretty barren landscape in parts.  One of the rangers told us that it actually made it more like when the Mesa Verdans lived there, as they would have cut down all the trees.

The creatively named 'Square Tower House'.  Once you start looking, you see cliff dwellings everywhere in the canyon.

This odd building was on the mesa top and was built in the shape of a capital 'D'.  It has no windows and no doors, and was abandoned partway through construction.  They really have no idea what it was intended for.

That night we had decided to splurge and stay at the Mesa Verde Lodge in the park, which sits at over 8,000 feet.  Aside from a few noisy neighbours, it was dead silent up there, and we wiled away a peaceful evening on the balcony with a great view and (what else!) craft beer.

The view from our balcony.

The lodge isn't much to look at, but it's quite the experience to stay there.