Rainy Day

I woke up at 3:30 this morning, hearing rain on the roof.  I slept in until 6, with rain still coming down.  The sky cleared a bit, so Papa and I hiked late morning, but the clouds got thicker after lunch, and by late afternoon we watched a shower across the lake gather more clouds and move toward us, with a light rain falling at our house.  We loved watching the clouds throughout the day, from our perch with big windows and our enormous view.

Cloudy Day

The sky has been filled with clouds all day, growing thicker as the day wore on.  The first shower of the day came after Papa and I were on our after dinner walk.  We turned around about a third of the way, and got damp rather than soaked.  The clouds were beautiful.

On to Santa Fe

Papa and I drove to Santa Fe yesterday.  The drive to Abiquiu is always spectacular, and there wasn’t much traffic, so Papa stopped on the highway so I could take these photos of Rio Chama.

From Abiquiu, the drive to Santa Fe is about an hour, and we arrived at The Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian for our 10:00 reservation.  “The Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian is devoted to Native American arts.  It was founded in 1937, by Mary Cabot Wheelwright, who came from Boston, and Hosteen Klah, a Navajo singer and medicine man.”  Mary Cabot Wheelwright was born into a wealthy family.  She was an only child and remained dedicated to both her parents until their deaths.  At age 40, after both her parents had died, Wheelwright journeyed to the American Southwest, where she found and embraced a more adventurous and more exciting life than the safety of Boston.  She met Hosteen Klah in 1921 and they remained close until his death, in 1937, just a few months before the Museum opened.  The museum’s design is based on a hogan.  

We had lunch at Tia Sophia’s and walked around the Santa Fe Plaza, along the porch of The Palace of the Governors.  “Dating back to 1610, the Palace is the oldest public building in continuous use constructed by European settlers in the continental United States.  Built by the Spanish for colonial administration, the structure has been modified over the centuries to meet changing needs.  In addition to Spanish colonial life, the Palace is associated with the Pueblo Revolt of 1680-1692, Mexican rule of 1821-1848, settlement as an American territory from 1848-1912, and statehood for New Mexico from 1912 to present.”  After a year long Covid shut down of The Palace of the Governors, Native Americans were back selling their handmade jewelry and crafts. 

We had a 12:30 reservation at the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, which we thoroughly enjoyed, even more after visiting her home in Abiquiu a few days ago, and looking out the windows of our summer rental house and seeing so many things she painted.

Valles Caldera

We visited Valles Caldera on our New Mexico visit in 2020, and returned yesterday.  It is a beautiful place,  a 13.7 mile wide caldera in the Jemez Mountains, with rolling grass valleys, hot springs, streams, volcanic domes, and mountains.  We drove through the historic ranch, and through several grass valleys, looking for wildlife amidst the stunning views.  We saw two plump coyotes, lots of birds, and a couple hundred grazing elk far off.  One elk crossed the road right in front of us, with antlers in velvet.  He was beautiful!  

The history of Valles Caldera is really interesting.  https://newmexiconomad.com/valles-caldera/  

We drove from Valles Caldera, 16 miles to Los Alamos, where we had lunch, and visited the historic district, History Museums, and Ranch School.  They were interesting, covering the area’s history from ancient times, through Native American life, ranch life, the Ranch School for Boys, the Manhattan Project, and current projects.  More than a dozen scientists associated with Los Alamos have won Nobel Prizes.  From the Los Alamos National Laboratory’s website, https://www.lanl.gov/about/history-innovation/index.php, “Los Alamos National Laboratory’s main responsibility is to ensure our nation’s security through nuclear deterrence - this includes stewardship of our nation’s nuclear weapons to assure our allies and deter our adversaries.  The Laboratory applies the best scientific and engineering solutions to our national security mission and to many of the world’s most difficult challenges.”  We were reminded, that particularly during this pandemic, we appreciate scientists.  

Abiquiu Lake House Views

I found our house rental on Abiquiu Lake in February on VRBO.  We rented a house in the same area last summer and wanted to come back.  We like this summer’s house much better than the last one.  There are large windows in every room, with amazing views.  The neighborhood is very private, with two coded gates to pass through every time we come and go.  We walk in the neighborhood daily, sometimes twice.  The temperature is cool in the morning, high 50’s to low 60’s, and warms up to 80’s to 90 in the afternoon.  We’re enjoying the relative cool, as compared to Tucson temps.

A few scenes from our neighborhood walks...

Ghost Ranch Hike

We hiked in Ghost Ranch again this morning.  This time, we stopped at a roadside picnic area, across from a trail on Ghost Ranch, near the highway.  The striped red and gold rocks and painted hills were beautiful close up.  We saw a natural arch and beautiful flowers.  We hiked over 4 miles and enjoyed every moment - a wonderful Father's Day morning!

I took this photo from our rented house when we got home, after our hike.   We hiked directly in front of our house, across Abiquiu Lake.  We are enjoying our views!

 

Happy Father's Day

 Our children are very fortunate to have Papa as their father.   We have made so 

many incredible memories.  Happy Father's Day, Papa!