Day 5: Getting To Santa Fe (pt ii)

Sorry to say it, but there are some more pictures of yellow mountains majesty…

1). Roads that wind away, colorful walls of color, and (almost) nobody on the road? What is not to like?

2). An orange splash in the middle of a rock wall? Who ever thought of that?

3). The hoopty against some yellow

The road peaked at 10,000 feet and at that height there were no yellow trees. They had not been invited to such lofty heights. But drop a thousand feet, and there they were, as big as day.

Then, after the rain ended and the yellow birch and aspens disappeared for reasons other than altitude, what should pop into view but something out of Hooterville. It was the terminus of a historic narrow gauge steam train. Tickets are $65-$165.

Because I was, at this point, flowing to the Atlantic ocean, as the elevation dropped further, things became more arid and wondrous rock formations appeared. One particular outcropping hung around a roadside marker for the “Echo Amphitheater”. The amphitheater itself was formed by dripping water and now reveals a bowl which truly does echo. I was there with visitors and their 3 dogs who would bark and howl and did not know what to make of hearing their own voices echo back, so they became silent before being cajoled again by their owners. They were not sure what to make of such terrific acoustics.

A ways down the from that area was the village of Abiquiu which is where Georgia O’Keefe lived. It was not hard to see why and tours of the house were by reservation only. The church was neat and tidy and was part of a plaza and faced other buildings including an old movie theater called, “The Piñon” which might have also been a movie prop. It made no sense where it was located.

I also discovered a new word – Morada. Morada is the term for a meeting houses found in pueblos where spiritual ceremonies and other community gatherings take place. There was one within a 5 minute walk of this church. Was i gonna be that person who would traipse over to it uninvited, and take a pic or two and then hop in his hoopty to never be seen again? No, i was not going to be that person. And i wasn’t.