After a hard day hiking at Walnut Canyon (see August 20) we headed back to Flagstaff, Arizona, the nearest city, to eat. Since it was only 4:00 PM, not every dinner place was open. We were pleasantly surprised to find Buster’s Restaurant & Bar open and thronging. (more…)
Last week, I began a three part series on what to do when you’re not invited to the same seminar as your wife in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Hopping in the car with a bag of chips and an assortment of “beverages of my choice,” I headed north out of the city on US 285/84 until reaching NM 502 and then west to NM 4.
The first stop was the cliffside dwellings of Bandelier National Monument. This week, I am leaving Bandelier for a short drive to Los Alamos. As you pull out of the park entrance, a left will put you west on NM 4, then north on NM 501 will put you at the west end of the town of Los Alamos.
(PARANOIA ALERT!) (more…)
Rose Big Horse was asked to demonstrate her weaving skills at the Wupatki National Monument in Arizona recently. Her efforts and designs are part of a long tradition in her Navajo Tribal family.
Rose shows traditional family "storm" pattern
Although her weaving time is confined to evenings and her spare time, the intricacy and proficiency of her work is exceptional. She learned the skill from her mother, who is a published author on weaving. Her mother’s special pattern is called the “storm” pattern. If you think that these works are easy, you would be wrong: it can take a year to produce one rug. (more…)
Passing Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument (see last week – August 17), travel through a landscape of scrub brush and lava rock and you reach Wupatki National Monument.
Wupatki Pueblo - part of the 100-room ancient community
Wupatki’s 100-room pueblo, built of intricate stone and clay mortar, housed a resourceful and hard-working Native American population who lived in Northern Arizona over 800 years ago. They farmed, created pottery, and lived in large communities. Water was a scarce commodity and they conserved it carefully. (more…)
When we visited Walnut Canyon National Monument this past weekend, we were alerted that there were 240 steps down – and up – from the visitor center to the Loop Trail where we could see the homes of ancient people carved out of steep hillsides.
240 steps – each way, up and down – was quite a strenuous trip to reach the top! When Sinagua people inhabited the cliff dwellings of Walnut Canyon 800 years ago, they must have been part mountain goat – and they didn’t have paved steps and paths! Although I consider myself fairly physically fit, the altitude, 7,000 feet, coupled with the demanding climb of 185 feet, I reached the visitor center panting with my heart pounding.
What to do when the wife is in a conference in Santa Fe? Abscond with the rental car and take a little trip around northern New Mexico, that’s what!
It was sort of a last minute idea, so I looked at a map to see what I could do in a day. Two towns, and a national monument sounded feasible, so I dropped her off and I headed out.
Almost 1,000 years ago, a volcano spewed hot magma – gases and rock – across the landscape in what would become Northern Arizona. What resulted is now called Sunset Crater National Monument.
Traveling to Sunset Crater is an easy drive from modern-day Flagstaff, Arizona. In some areas of the park, though, it feels as though you might be on the moon. (more…)
Long before there were high rises in Manhattan, ancient people built tall buildings in the cliffs. At Montezuma Castle, a US National Parks Service National Monument, you can see, from a distance, the handiwork of “Sinagua” dwellers from the 12th century. The Park is north of Flagstaff, Arizona near Interstate 17 and is normally $5 per person for those 16 and older.
Montezuma Castle National Monument
This is the last weekend (August 15-16) that the US National Park Service is allowing free entry to over 100 national parks. Montezuma Castle is one of the free locations during this special promotion. See the following list to see what is available to visit for free. (more…)
Next on our recipe week tour of the USA is Santa Fe -
Red adobe and old world charm make Santa Fe the city you envision when you think of the old Southwest. Artists find the area inspiring and most visitors will, too. There are shops galore, history around every corner and artists displaying their wares, even on the street. (more…)
When people think of art museums, they think of stuffy places with art that is centuries old. At Phoenix Art Museum, they’ve have a collection of older works, but have expanded their exhibit space to include a light-filled new wing with an eye appealing collection of modern art.
(The centuries-old masters are there – even a Gilbert Stuart portrait of George Washington, for example.)
But, head to the back because the new wing features riveting and thought-provoking modern art.
Experimentation with mediums is the name of the game. Felt, resin, plexiglass, burnt wood, mirrors, metal buckets, lights, blown glass, books, plaster, pottery, ceramic, and the more conventional – oil or acrylic on canvas- are all on display.
Modern artists are anything but stuffy!
Feet as art - Seascape #14 by Tom Wesselman
Who would think that a giant, plexiglass foot could be so appealing? Tom Wesselman’s “Seascape #14” is three-dimensional and just jumps out at you. Colorful, to say the least!
