2011-09 Last Week in New Mexico

Last Week in New Mexico

Blackwater Draw Site, National Historic Landmark

Campground:  Oasis State Park, NM. Near Clovis.  $14 Elect. & Water.  All sites are pull through sites overlooking the prairie landscape.

I’m spending my last week in New Mexico.  It’s there windy time of the year.  Today and tomorrow are expected to be exceptionally windy with highs of 50-70 miles per hour.  I may have to throw the anchor over the side of the camper to keep it in place. My friend Alex O says it's the annual "Great Springtime Real Estate Transfer"

I’m back at Casino Hollywood, San Felipe where my campsite is only $10 a night.  Waiting for my Doctors appointment on Thursday.  Then I’ll be heading back out on the road.  I’ve been following the news on gas prices and they are saying the price of fuel could reach $6.00 a gallon by summer.  Not something we Rv’ers are looking forward to nor anyone else who has to drive.

route 66 tour cars

While re-cooping from my hernia surgery, which I might add is progressing very nicely thank you, I saw a caravan of  Route 66 cars drive past my camper yesterday.  They paused, a scout jumped out of one of the cars and began checking the dirt roadway that winds around the scrubby hills surrounding the RV park and casino.  Come to find out, it is part of the original Route 66 and the tour master was bringing the group along this section to experience a bit of the original route.

They ended up having to route around a gully before getting onto the Route 66 dirt road.  Slowly winding their way up and around the pinion pine and cedar dotted hill, disappearing into the distance.  About 20 minutes later, they had backtracked, so I can only assume they reached a dead end somewhere on San Felipe Pueblo Reservation land.  But what an adventure they were having.  Me taking pictures and them while they  were taking pictures of we Rv’ers in the casino campground.

Thursday.  My doctors appoint complete.  I’ve been given a 100% clearance, no restrictions and I can get ready to head back out on the open road.  Whoopee!  Imagine, only 10 days to recover from a hernia operation.

This evening while enjoying a windless evening with the sun setting to the west over the barren hills warn into soft rounded hills, four wild horses came down out of those hills in search of desert grasses.  Two black stallions with ribs showing a rough life of foraging for food, one blond beauty with a long main looking as showy as any model on a runway and finally a lone palomino  all painted black and white keeping his distance from the others.  Wild horses, what one would expect to see out west… right here, one hundred yards from my campsite.   This is one of the reasons I travel.

Saturday.  My heart is once again soaring.  I’m back on the open road heading west and eventually SE on a rural road hwy 84.  I’ve decided to head closer to the Gulf of Mexico to hopefully avoid any problems with the horrid weather the country has been experiencing.  I don’t want to become another Dorothy flying overhead in a tornado.  I’ll be heading SE all across Texas in a day or so.

Abandoned church, near Clovis NM

As I head east about 150 miles outside of Albuquerque,  the topography changes from those wonderful mountain ranges to flat and gently rolling plains landscapes.  I stop to take some pictures of an abandoned church.  It’s windows and doors long since removed or broken, the white paint sandblasted off of the clap board siding.  But it still has so much character.   Surprisingly still in fairly good shape.

I’m heading towards Clovis and the site of North Americas (Blackwater Draw) traditionally accepted as the oldest evidence of  Native American culture.  Some 12,000 years old.  A site where a cache of  fluted Clovis points were discovered.  Where  Mammoth bones were found with spears and Clovis points embedded in them.  The oldest hand-dug well.  Bison bones, camel and horses before they became extinct in North America and eventually reintroduced by the Spanish explorers.

They’ve built a metal two story building over one of the excavation sites so that I was able to see the bones still in their exact location after discovery.  Evidence of Clovis, Folsom and later still Paleo-Indian cultures.

road leading into old gravel pit, site of Clovis discoveries

Imagine a young farm boy discovers the bones and tusks of a giant extinct mammoth on his farmland.  Literally sticking out of the wind swept sands of this barren prairie landscape.   But after the discovery, the land is purchased and becomes a gravel pit.  The owner permits archeologists to dig up the bones and do research, all while the gravel pit continues to dig up this treasure trove of archeological discoveries.  Destroying much of the evidence along the way.  Eventually the site is sold to the state of New Mexico which now overseas the site.

Of special interest is that these bones of Mammoth, camel, saber-tooth cats are not petrified.  They are the actual bones preserved by the special dynamics of the area.

My campsite overlooks the dry grass prairie as flat as a pancake.  Giving the impression that the earth really is flat.  At night with the sky turning black, twinkling lights appear off on the horizon miles away.  Civilization at a distance, the rest miles and miles of dry grasses, a lone tree off in the distance.  Not a house or building of any kind to be seen for miles.  Open land providing space for the mind to regenerate and  revel in the solitude and peace out here.

Next Week, Texas.

2011-08 Santa fe, surgery

On the Road lifestyle

I’m sort of in a transition between staying at a campsite for the winter and moving on down the road.  Once I had a second opinion on my health issues, I decided I’d go ahead and have the surgery for a small hernia while here in Santa Fe NM.  That means that I’ll be in the area for a couple more weeks.  I’ve learned to pretty much go with the flow and had decided that being out here after the surgery, I would be able to spend a bit more time with my niece and sister.

Fate has a way of changing some of the best laid plans and my niece and most of her children and husband ended up getting a 24 hour flue bug.  Needless to say, I have not visited them over the past week as the household goes through the bug.  And my sister Ann will be flying home on Saturday so I won’t see her again until I make a trek up north to the U.P. of Mich.  Found out her plans changed as well, since she too contracted the dastardly flue bug as well.

While waiting for my surgery at the end of the week,  I had a chance to explore the Petroglyph National Monument here in Alb. NM.  I only went on the one mile hike up and down the basalt rock outcropping on the edge of the city.  The two mile hike would have to wait until after I had the hernia operation.  The sites are noted for the Macaw birds etched into the black basalt rocks.  There was quite a trade route between Mexico and the southwestern United States some 1,000 + years ago.  Macaws were highly prized and their feathers were prominently used in the head dresses of the chief Indians.

I finally purchase a new Canon Camera, the SX30IS, 35X optical zoom.  I had been holding my Tax refund on the side for the purchase and finally found a good deal ordering the camera on the internet and picking up the camera at a Best Buy.  Saved an additional $30 by doing that.

I’ve enjoyed a couple local restaurants in the area.  One being  a chain eatery called Dion’s.  A pizzeria and sub shop.  Their subs are toasted, with the best fresh rolls and 10 times better than a Subway sub.  The pizza’s can be ordered by the slice if your in a hurry, but I recommend getting a 10” or 12” pizza made to order or larger if your with a family.   I’ve also eaten at a couple of great Mexican restaurants, always serving either green or red chili.  And most will serve sopopias a Mexican desert, basically fried puff pastry served with honey on the side to drizzle over the pastry.  A perfect light after dinner treat.

Friday.  This is the big day.  I packed up my camper for the 40 minute drive back to Santa Fe, and got settled back into the Rodeo Fairgrounds, just in time before my ride came to pick me up and head to my appointment for surgery this morning.  Chris Linn, who I’d met through a mutual camping club has been an angel to help me out for a day or so with getting me to and from the Dr.’s and letting me stay overnight at her place.

We drove over to the surgeons smart new offices where they have an operating room on the first floor for outpatient procedures like mine.  I dressed in my peak-a-boo gown, light blue hair net, which Chris said I hardly needed with so little hair on my head.  After all the paperwork was signed, and with introductions to everyone including, nurse, anesthesiologist and Doctor,  even a nurse who is a fellow Rv’er (nice to have someone with similar interests caring for me) they wheeled me into the operating room.  How nice that they covered me with warmed blankets before putting me under as you may know an operating room is quite cold.

Before I knew it, I was awake again and had a titanium mesh installed to keep all my innards in place and where they belong.

I feel all pampered sitting here in Chris’s guest bedroom with a most adorable cat to keep me company.  I have a special bulb filled with a drug that gets pumped to my surgery area which will keep it numb for the next 48 hours.  So at this point no pain to speak of.  Isn’t modern medicine wonderful.

Then a nice breakfast prepared by Chris and a ride back to my camper where I’ll spend a few days just vegging.

I final note.  Thanks for all the Facebook get well messages.  You know, your e-mails and all the news I hear on Facebook do so much to keeping me connected with you.  I know we’ve all lost our abilities to just drop folks a line or two, but when we do I can tell you, the recipient sure does appreciate it.

Have a super duper day, I know I will as I continue the healing process.

2011-07 Santa Fe New Mexico

Santa Fe NM

Campground:  Rodeo Fairgrounds.  $20 full hookup (30 amp service).  Dirt, back in open sites next to the horse and cattle area.  Quiet location and within a short distance to all the big shops, mall, and eateries.

Campground:  Coronado State Monument.  $18.50 with a weekly rate.  Electric/water.  Really nice enclosed Ramada with picnic table.  Paved sites with trees.  Nice vistas from campsites.  Within one block of the Casino and $2.95 breakfast.

I arrived on a Sunday around mid-morning before the heavy winds were about to begin.  There’s snow on the tops of the surrounding mountains and it got down to freezing Sunday evening.  Amazing what a little more elevation will do to the temps.

I had planned on staying at a Cochiti Reservoir campground, but when I arrived, all the electric sites were filled.  Fortunately I had a plan B and headed to the Rodeo Fairgrounds for  a campsite.  Although there are a few commercial campgrounds right in town, they are a tad more expensive.

Santa Fe is called the City Different.  Local Tv stations provide weather for the entire state.  Quickly showing the NE, SE, SW, NW sections making for a blur of temp numbers across the TV screen.  They also provide in depth coverage of the winds which can be as high as 50 to 70 mph.  I remember when I lived in Orlando Fl, the weather included only the Orlando suburbs area to Daytona.  One would have never known that Tampa and the west coast existed by watching the local weather there.

The Rodeo Fairgrounds are close to all the main arteries in town including all the national chain stores and a ton of restaurants.  Of course all the big stores have the look of adobe structures, as it’s a requirement in the city of Santa Fe.  Did you know they paint their window frames and doors turquoise blue to keep out evil spirits.  Both a Spanish and mid-Eastern tradition.

Mid week I went into the heart of town with all it’s historical buildings, capital, churches and art galleries.  In front of the La Fonda Hotel, one of the original Harvey Houses, I joined one of the open air Trolley tours.  Covers 8 miles and lasts 1:15 minutes.  I find it’s a great way to get ones bearings in a new city, learn some of the history and discover places I’d like to go back and explore more in-depth.  Santa Fe has a ton of museums so one could be kept busy all week just going through them.  After the trolley tour, around town, up canyon Road, which has row after row of art studios, I settled on hitting a couple historical adobe churches and the Capital building only blocks from the heart of downtown.

The Loretto Chapel was the first.  Not an adobe chapel, it was done in a French design and run by an order of nuns.  After the chapel was completed without a stairway up to the choir loft, the nuns prayed for someone to come and help them construct one.  After nine days of prayer, a mysterious carpenter appeared and built a free standing spiral stairway.  Without a banister… one was later added as the nuns were scared to climb the stairway without one.   Anyone into architecture will appreciate touring this beautiful little chapel.

The second Chapel I went to was the San Miguel Chapel, said to be the oldest church in the United States. Building began in 1610 of  thick adobe walls.  The Loretto Chapel was to be the center piece of the nuns who were brought here to teach the girls.  San Miguel Chapel became the center for educating the local boys.

Lighting a few candles for those who have died or who currently have aids or cancer, which I always send a prayer  out for as I’m traveling and visiting churches across the country.  You never know when God will pop in and listen to our prayers you know.

I then continue up the hill to the Santa Fe Capital.  Shaped like a round Kiva.  The Santa Fe capital is quite accessible to visitors.  I even walked into the anti room to the Governors office.  She wasn’t in that day.  The capital building has a rotating display of New Mexican art worth well over 5 million dollars.  Art is everywhere on the 4 floors of the capital and well worth wondering around and viewing them.  I’ve previously been to the official State Art Museum and must admit there were more paintings on display in the capital building than in the art museum.

One of the ongoing exhibits is called:  Motels and Motion on the Mother Road:  New Mexico, A people’s survey of Route 66.  A most unique project to capture in pictures, paintings and signage, the culture created along Route 66.  One of the ongoing projects is to use abandoned motel signs to post messages and poetry throughout the stretch of Route 66 going through Albuquerque.  One sign reads:  “I clap for you in my head all the time“.

One of my last stops for the days touring was at a local art gallery in town called Kiva Fine Art.  It’s owned and run by Paula Rhae McDonald.  I had to go in and see if I could take a couple pictures of some of the most dynamic paintings  by the artists Yellowman and Ben Nelson.  A father and son duo portraying the Native American warrior and other subjects.  Modern art displaying the past and present scenes that make up the Wild West.

I was just mesmerized by their paintings.  Paula Rhae besides being a business woman,  is also a musician. And she was kind enough to give me a copy of her music on CD.  You can check her out at:  radiofreetexas.org and request songs by Paula Rhae McDonald.  And I might add not a bad image to enjoy as Paula Rhae is quite the Cowgirl looker….

Add caption

Finally I’ve traveled back to Albuquerque for a 2nd repair on the water valve regulator.  So now I think the camper is finally all fixed and ready for some good traveling.  But before I head out on my great adventure, I’ve decided to have a hernia operation.  I’ve seen a Dr and surgeon and the surgeon told me I would eventually need it fixed.  Even though I’m feeling much better, it’s best to have it taken care of, like maintenance on the truck.  So I’ll schedule the outpatient surgery next week.  The Dr. told me it should heal in about 5 days and I can be back on the road in 10.

The good news is, I’ll be able to visit with my niece/family and sister Ann during this period.

Note: more photo's on my Picasa web site.
Happy trails to you….

2011-06 Albuquerque New Mexico, A Family Visit

Albuquerque NM

Sometimes you’re the pigeon
Sometimes you’re the statue

Family visit.  Not so much a travel report as a report on family life out here in NM.

Heidi and Jay

My sister:  Ann
Her Daughter:  Heidi
Heidi’s husband: Jay
Sarah 14,
Elisa 12,
Minnie 8,
Noah 6,
Natalie 3,
Jillian 2,
Calvin 1

Great Uncle Doug arrived on the northern outskirts of Alb. NM for a visit with family.  Visits are made between busy schedules and busy lives.  I’ve set up camp as I mentioned in the previous report at the Hollywood Casino north of town.  The campsites are the typical casino campsites.  Large gravel sites with concrete islands designating each campsite.  Electric hookups, though I have to fill my holding tanks with water as there is no water or sewer at each site.  I’m able to get about a dozen over air TV stations in the now normal high definition quality stations.

From my campsite I watch the traffic as it travels along I-25 between Albuquerque and Santa Fe.  A steady stream heading north and south rising higher as the road travels over one of the many barren hills dotted with the occasional juniper tree.

Ann with one year old Calvin

My first evenings visit enabled me to enjoy and observe Heidi and Jay’s brood of 7 children from ages 1 to 14 years in age.  There were no formal introductions to the children.  Not sure one could wrangle all 7 of them together at once anyway.  I believe three of them are currently getting home schooling.  A true passion for Heidi who has also been diagnosed with a form of cancer that has invaded her body and which will require chemo treatments for the rest of her life.  Her youthful gypsy look is complimented as she now wears a stylish scarf on her head.  A strong faith continues to hold her in good steed.  Jay’s parents were here for a visit and we adults went out to dinner on their last night here.  My sister Ann, Heidi’s mom, has been here for months helping out the family as much as she can.

You may remember from my last years visit to Michigan when I visited my sister Dorothy in lower Michigan and then went to the U.P. of Mich to visit with Ann in our home towns of Houghton/Hancock.  Ann has continued to be our families caregiver as she for years took care of Mom and Dad in their latter years.  Working in a elder care apartment complex, taking care of her friend and partner, Jim.  Jim of course is still in Northern Mich. And while Ann continues to help out here in Alb. NM her thoughts are also with her sweet (or ornery as the case may be) Jim.

I’m here in a minor supporting role, that we all take at times in our lives, some more than others.  Heidi is such a strong character and it is truly an inspiration to see her go through her day.  Though there have been times of tension and raised voices as the pressure of Heidi’s illness invades everyday life.   And yes a few more breaks for much needed rest to rebuild her strength, but still a full time mother and educator, living a very full life indeed.

I’m taking time to do a few chores that we full time Rv’ers need to do occasionally.  Bringing the camper in for another warranty repair.  The city water connection had a malfunctioning “back-flo” regulator that wasn’t working.  Meaning when using the onboard water pump, all the water came gushing out of the city water connection.

Today I did regular maintenance checks on the camper and truck.  1.  Check oil in truck.  2. Tighten lug nuts on trailer tires. All were secure and tight. 3.  Grease stabilizing jacks, they squeak.  4.  Attach clear sewer connector.  And no, I can’t count each one as my chore for the day.  Remember I try to do just one chore each day.  These pretty much added up to my one chore a day routine.

Ann and I spent some time out having lunch and a bit of shopping.  Though I hardly need a thing living in an Rv.  Nice to interact with my sister and reconnect about simple likes and learning who we are in our adult lives.

On my last day with Heidi, Ann and the family, I brought a set of framed and matted prints I'd made up for my first Photography show.  I let Heidi and Ann select one as it was their birthdays this past week.  Heidi selected the Port Townsend Ladies in front of a storefront window.  Ann selected the photo of Madonna.  Everyone really enjoyed looking over my framed photos.

view looking out from campsite at Casino

A last note before signing off.  I had my annual physical in Tucson about a month and a half ago.  All was well, except for a pain in my lower groin area which was diagnosed as probably a hernia.  A month later I received a call from the Dr’s that they wanted me in for a cancer screening.  It was all an error, as the Dr. had put Hodgkin’s disease on the “history” as well as the “diagnosis sheet”.  I had had Hodgkin’s 35 years ago. So when they reviewed my records a whole month later, calling me to make an appointment at a cancer institute,  it put me into quite a tailspin until we could get it all sorted out.

Today I did do a follow-up with another Dr. while here in AZ, with a more thorough screening including more blood tests and a sonogram.  I was able to actually see the small hernia and my innerds.  Quite interesting.

The pain had been going on for almost two months.  Interestingly, a few days before making the appointment to see a second Dr., I was laying in bed one night, with the persistent pain keeping me awake, when I suddenly felt the urge to declare the following:  “Body, Heal Thyself”.  Within three days, it appears all the pain is gone.  The power of suggestion? The power of God? Coincidence?  Did I have the power to heal myself?  My spiritualist training tells me I was able to connect to the Universal healing energy.

I'll be in Santa Fe NM next then we'll see which direction I head....

2011-05 On the Road Again, Tucson Arizona to Deming to Alb New Mexico

On the Road Again

Deming NM
Albuquerque NM

Campground:  Low-Hi Rv Ranch, Deming NM.  $16 with Passport America ½ price club.  This is the headquarters of the camping group, Loners On Wheels.  A simple desert campground.  Most sites are pull-thrus, gravel sites with plenty of space.

Campground:  Percha Dam State Park.  $14 with elect. & water.  It’s early spring, so the grass hasn’t turned green yet and the cottonwood trees are just starting bud with little green leaves.  All pull-thru sites are level  dusty gravel.  Not a place I would eagerly re-visit anytime soon.  It all looks a bit tired and dingy.

Campground:  San Felipe Casino Hollywood.  30 miles north of Alb. NM. $10 for elect hookups.  Water is available to fill your holding tank.  Free wi-fi.  Two months in the fall they charge $20 a night.

Yup, I’m on the road again.  After leaving Desert Trails Rv park in Tucson, I headed to Orangewood Rv for some warranty and recall work on the new camper.  The gas oven was verified to be working correctly requiring no repair work.  The plumbing problems I had encountered was fixed.  No new water pump required and I discovered I’d been given bum info on which outlet to connect city water too.  After correctly connecting the city water to the correct outlet (the tech guy even labeled it for me)  and resetting all the knobs and switches to their correct positions, all is now working well.  And it didn’t cost me a cent… Yippe, that’s my price.

Note: almost fixed.  When I went to turn on the water pump (no city water hooked up),  water came gushing out of the city water connection!  Obviously the back fill regulator is not working.  And of course I was a couple hundred miles from the Rv dealer…

The new Montana on the Road

So after the repairs were completed, I headed east on Interstate 10.  Traveling through southern desert and dry prairie grass lands.  Past where Cochise made his last stand,  crossing the continental divide, past huge rounded boulders and finally into Deming NM.  Long two decker freight trains roll westward paralleling Hwy 10.

The truck towed the new (heavier 12,000 lbs) camper nicely, though I’m only getting around 11 miles per gallon towing compared to a previous 13 mpg.  I average 19 mpg in the non towing mode.  It is going to take me a while to get used to the extra 5 feet of camper, especially when taking corners and entering gas stations.

Upon arriving at Low-Hi Rv Ranch, I set up in one of the 60 campsites arranged in straight rows , most all are pull-thru sites.  With plenty of space to set up on the flat gravel sites.  This is the home to the camping group, Loners on Wheels.  I had a chance to meet them at their daily happy hour around 4 o’clock.  They introduce any new campers that have arrived, then go through a list of local events, mainly weekly eating events at the local VFW etc.  The Loners On Wheels group is preparing for a rally next week here in the park.  I was told that the average age of the members across all chapters throughout the country is in the mid 70’s.  They were eager to try and get “younger” members to sign up.  I also learned that there is a heavier concentration of single women than men in the group.  One member, told me he has a friend from Iowa who still travels between Iowa and Texas for the winter and he’s 101 years old.  Imagine.

I attended the 110 anniversary of Deming NM, a town of 15,000 residences. The Friday celebration was dismal to say the least.  Only a couple dozen folks attending.  A few local booths set up by the police, safety and health and a big presence by the U.S. Boarder Patrol try to recruit new employees.  So if your looking for a job, they are hiring.  Speaking Spanish I would gather is a must.  Two young musicians performed.  One sang poorly and would never get on American Idol and other dressed in a Mexican outfit played the guitar beautifully.

Summer temps in the 110 degree range and winter temps around 60-70 during the day.

I’d planned on heading towards Truth or Consequences and ended up in a small State park here in New Mexico called Percha dam.  It’s about 20 miles south of T of C.  Richard Branson’s Space Port America is being built  near here and I was hoping to go on a tour, but the tours won’t begin until May 2011.  I may try and drive out just to see the site.

Well the next day I did drive south, through the town of Hatch, the town where chili peppers are grown and processed.  A few more miles south on I-25 and I exited onto Cameo Real and the dirt road leading to the new Spaceport America.  Unfortunately, I had no idea how far it was in on the washboard dirt road, so I only went a few miles in.  With no immediate sign of the Spaceport, I decided to backtrack and get back onto paved highway.   I did pass a boarder patrol vehicle and later a speeding white truck along the dirt road, as well as a herd of black cattle grazing on the scrub grasses here in the desert.    I’ll have to wait till another time, when the official tours begin.

a ranch along the dirt road to Spaceport America

Tickets for the ride into space are selling for $200,000 so if your interested sign up.  The local Truth or Consequences Newspaper had an article about the Spaceport and a new county commission formed to take advantage of the tourist implications.  They expect over 500,000 visitors once the Space Port  opens.  NM has already spent most of the $113 million dollars set aside for the new Spaceport which is about 78% complete.

While having lunch in T of C, at a place I will not name because the food was sub-par to say the least, I overheard a hippy couple discuss current events.  The 50ish guy with graying ponytail  was concerned that radiation from Japan had already reached the U.S. and that the government and media were keeping it a secret.  He was also concerned with our entering a third war, now with Libya.  The poor guy tried to catch anyone who would listen to him about the conspiracy that was evidently going on.  Mostly the waitresses, workers and locals pretty much brushed off his concerns.  When the waitress brought over their bagel, just a tad bit too toasted, he asked her to redo it.  After all he said “you don’t want me to get cancer from it do you?”  As the waitress retreated to toast another bagel , the girl hippie said, “lightly toasted, but not too light”….. apparently a light to medium toasting of a bagel would not cause any carcinogenic cancer on the bagel.

The town of Truth or Consequences appears more run down than the last time I came through here.  The shops on main street had an array of dusty overpriced tourist trinkets.  You know all those useless T-shirts, coffee cups and refrigerator magnets one really doesn’t need.

And it’s been really windy the past two days, like gusts up to 50 mph.  Imagine if they had wind turbines around here…. All that free power they could capture.

Onto Albuquerque tomorrow, actually Bernalillo NM, about 10 miles north of  Alb.   The next days travel I encountered heavy winds during the latter half of the 3 hour journey.  The camper towed comfortably in the 40-50 mph gusts.  Got to the Coronado Campground and was told they didn’t have any spaces as the coming weekend was completely booked.  So I headed another 10 miles up the road and landed at the San Felipe Casino Hollywood.   It’s a bit further out than I would have preferred while visiting with my sister Ann and her daughter Heidi and family, but it will do.

Next report will be on Heidi’s family and visit with my sister.

2011-04 My One Man Art Show

The Art Show
The Event of the Season

Main Library room with large prints

What a blast.  It all came together after months of preparation.  Selecting the final photos to print and enlarge, matting and framing over 35 photos.  The decision of which pictures to include in this show was daunting as I searched through thousands of photo’s taken over the past 3 years. The 35 chosen were only some of the 70+ I could have printed and framed if I had the space to present them properly.  Yes, I limited my search to only the most recent photos as even with that it took months to decide which would be entered into the show.

Room two had all the 5X7's

Would the show be only landscapes which I enjoy taking so much?  No, I finally decided on an eclectic  mix of photos showing the diverse scenes that I encounter along my travels.

I was able to convince Dolores and Dennis to play live music.  Dolores plays the dulcimer which I enjoy so much and Dennis’s guitar accompaniment was just perfect.  We had a huge covered patio just outside the library where my good friends served wine and more wine and finger food.  Twinkle lights were hung and added a dreamy quality to the evening.

The art was displayed along the book shelves in two rooms of the Library and created a really nice venue for the show.  I even had room for my writer friend Wilma to display and sell her book, The Ester Vice House.

Between some of the pictures were philosophical sayings about the life of Leisure that we retirees get to enjoy so much.  People mingled and really enjoyed all the art work.  We had them fill out cards selecting their favorite 1st place, 2nd place and 3rd place winners.  I was so pleased to see that almost all the framed art work I’d selected for the show got at least a couple of votes each.

So many came through, during four hours, that there was a constant stream of art lovers enjoying the show, asking questions and trying to decide which photos they enjoyed the most.  Now I didn’t sell all that many, but my main goal was to see if what I think are good pictures would be well received by the public.  And they definitely were well received.  The voting cards showed that almost every photo received at least a couple of votes, indicating to me that I had hit the right mix of scenes.

Near the end of the viewing, I was able to relax and enjoy the live music, sing along and just share laughter and a good time with all my Desert Trails friends.  It was a blast and I hope I get an opportunity to display my work somewhere else in the near future.

Many commented on the “clothes line of white laundry” and how it evoked a sense of  a simpler purer way of life.  The almost sculptural form of a group of rocks that looked like various body parts, brought a smile to many faces.  The light house pictures and old sagging barn were also favorites.  Along with a number of images shot through old windows.  One in particular that had only the partial remains of an old screen hanging in the opening.

More photos on PICASA as usual.


The photos below were judged to be best of show.

Best of Show "Little Otter Springs, Fla."

2nd Place "Zen in the U.P. Mich"

3rd place "White Linen Wash"

Please note:  I'd like to have a number of shows throughout the coming summer and if I come to your area, if you have any ideas where might be able to have a small exhibition, please let me know.  Thanks.

Finally the two pictures that received the most overall votes were:

1.  "Zen in the U.P. Mich. "  previously shown received most overall votes.

2.  Wind Swept Barn, North Dakota.  Received 2nd most overall votes.

2nd in most overall votes, "Wind Swept Barn, North Dakota"