2013-9 Santa Fe New Mexico Continued

Georgia Okeefe

2013-9

Santa Fe visit continued

This is my second week at Cochiti Lake Reservoir and I’m continuing to enjoy the high desert and views of the lake.  I decided to once again go to Kasha-Katuwe (Tent Rocks National Monument) which is just down the street from where I’m staying.  I’ve been there a few times in the past and was pleasantly surprised to see that the old washboard road has been fully paved.  Made for a much more pleasant drive into the park.  

Tent Rocks has a couple of trails and I selected the slot canyon trail for today.  It was more of a walk than a hike as I kept stopping every couple feet to take pictures.  This is one of my favorite slot canyons to hike.  By the time I left the canyon, the crowds were starting to come in.  Everyone from families with little ones, to elderly folks taking just one step at a time, but still making it.  A few hats got blown off in the gusty breezes, kids running ahead in all the excitement to see what was ahead.  Mom and Dad not worried as there’s only one way in and one way out.  One young lady asking if the slot canyon got any narrower, as she was starting to feel closed in.  I assured her she would get into the wider part of the canyon just around the corner, well, that is after her and her boyfriend ducked under a huge boulder lodged between the two sides of the canyon.  I even took a few pictures of two gals for them so they’d have a picture of their hike.   On the last shot I told them to wave their hands in the air and I got a really fun shot of them.  The cone shapes are formed from an extinct volcano in the area.  Huge rocks top some of the cone shapes as the weathering action of wind and rain shape the walls, canyon and cones.  

I decided to stop at the local gas station and convenience store for a quick lunch on my way back to the campground and met another couple staying at Cochiti Lake as well.  Had the best pizza I’ve had in ages.  really really great.  Shared a couple neat places to visit with them as they head towards the Grand Canyon next.  

I had a nice visit with my friends Ginny and Christine in Santa Fe.  After lunch we stopped by to visit The Baca Street Pottery where Ginny creates some wonderful pieces of pottery and art pieces.  There are three or four potters currently working at the studio, all with their own character and style.  You can even take classes to learn the art yourself.  Fun for me to see all that creativity in one place.  Santa Fe is filled with so many artists there’s even an artist road called Canyon Road where you can visit artist studios and see them at work.

Ginny

                   

                                   

                                               

If you're an art lover, you will truly enjoy Santa Fe.  Today I went into town to see the Georgia O'keeffe museum which was having a special showing by Annie Leibovitz.  Rather than photos of famous celebrities that she is so well known for, this is a collection of work representing people that have influenced her life in some way.  Though not photos of those people the show displays objects from their lives.  Images of the famous Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. included the original model of lincoln's hands, which the sculptor created using a mold of his own hands as inspiration.   A photo of Graceland as seen in the reflections of the smoky gold veined mirrors in the dining room.  An interesting perspective especially for the budding photographers in all of us, providing inspiration into using objects to represent subject matter/people.  

Georgia O'keeffe on

Walking around the downtown main square I was able to visit many of the art galleries that line the main square and side streets.  Stunning art work that was priced in the high teens, 20’s, 30 and $40,000 on up.  Outside on the streets are all the Native Indian vendors selling their jewelry and crafts.  Street musicians are on every corner providing the music of the city.  Many appear to be homeless and more than a bit scraggly with their dreadlock hair and wrinkled clothing.  One musician had a sign that said “my girlfriend said I had to get a job.  This is it”, with a donation box below the sign. I finished my art walk by stopping in at the historic La Fonda Hotel in all it’s adobe glory for lunch in the atrium style restaurant.  Excellent food, good service, great atmosphere.  Nice to treat oneself on occasion. I had shrimp diablo with green rice and fresh green beans.

Tv.  On the morning news, channel 4, the weather guy carries his small chiwawa in the crook of his arm while doing the weather. The little dog just looking as content as can be.

Well the winds have died down making for much more pleasant days.  The sun is shining and the temps have been ranging in the low 70’s.  Time to enjoy the outdoors a bit more without being blown away.  Christine and I finished up my week of “cultural endeavors” by going to the Wheelwright Museum and the Museum of International Folk Art.  Their together on top of museum hill where a number of museums are located along with a pretty good restaurant.  the Wheelwright Museum had it’s entire first floor closed off due to a new exhibit being installed, so we only got to see the top rated Trading Post gift shop in the basement.  This is a must visit for anyone interesting in purchasing only the best native Indian produced artifacts.  We were also treated to a talk by one of the noted Indian potters doing a series of 3 by 5 tiles etched with historical and modern Indian motifs (average price, $300).  

Across the street we entered the International Folk Art museum and of course once again Christine knew half the people working or visiting the museum.  Nice to be with a seasoned professional of the arts in Santa Fe.  I love Folk Art and though they did not feature any U.S. folk art, the international folk art pieces were exciting to see.  They had two rotating exhibits, one displaying Amish quilts and the other on the history of chocolate, which we didn’t spend a lot of time in since they had no chocolate samples, not even the smell of chocolate wafting in the air.  Really,,,, where is the authenticity of the exhibit...

and of course many more photos on PICASA