Is the Sky Really Bluer in New Mexico?

Entrance to the Taos Pueblo

The Three Sisters

Museum of International Folk Art - Bottle cap Rattlesnake

Last month my husband and I participated in a Road Scholar program in Santa Fe, New Mexico.  It was our third trip to the state and our second to Santa Fe.  I was especially eager to return to Santa Fe after having read Willa Cather’s Death Comes for the Archbishop. 

This was our first summer trip to New Mexico and I will have to admit that the extremely dry air and high temperatures were more of a challenge than they had been twenty years ago.  Santa Fe’s elevation is more than 7,000 feet so it took a few days to adjust.  Our program was active from the first, keeping me breathless for a while.   It was worth it because the beautiful New Mexican sky and landscape proved breathtaking.

There were so many things to fit into a week.  We hiked along the well-marked trails to see the ruins at the Bandelier National Monument, an area we had never visited before. Our trip continued on to nearby Los Alamos.  Security was tight at Los Alamos on this trip.  On our first visit we parked our car right in front of the Administration Center of the National Lab, and enjoyed a stroll through a wooded area with a generous female scientist who accompanied us to the entrance of the (old) Bradbury Museum.  This year some gates were closed to our bus and we found that the Museum had been “glitzed-up” and relocated to the city of Los Alamos. 

The journey north to Taos was a first for us.  Taos is a great place to visit and to live. Many artists, writers, and other cognoscenti lived near there for part of their lives, not the least of which was Georgia O’Keefe.  There are a couple of must dos if you go.  Plan to have lunch at Eske’s Brew Pub and Eatery just a couple of blocks off the Plaza—great food eaten al fresco! I can still taste the thirst quenching raspberry iced tea; my husband enjoyed a couple of their craft beers.

I am a bit of a book store snob and sure enough I found a really nice one in Taos in the John Dunn House Shops.  Moby Dickens, “A Real Bookstore,” fit the bill nicely.  Moby Dickens has a nice mix of new and used books, each title chosen with loving care by people who love reading and know what’s good.  The store features frequent guest author talks and a well-attended kids’ story program.  The staff is helpful, knowledgeable, and friendly.  Needless to say, I liberated a few books for my personal collection.

While in Taos we were able to visit the Taos Pueblo which remains untouched by modernity per the choice of its members. The Pueblo is a UNESCO Heritage site.  A personable young man from the Pueblo conducted us on a tour of some village sites.  When asked what the inhabitants do for cool showers, TV, or laundry facilities he smiled and suggested that they might just have family members outside the Pueblo proper with some of the necessities…

South of Santa Fe is the largest city in New Mexico, Albuquerque which, they tell us, has lost an “r” somewhere along the way.  We have visited this city twice before and can recommend the drive to the top of the Sandia Forest for a fantastic view of the city and surrounding area. I understand that there is a sky lift now, but I’ve had no experience with it.  We did have some experience with a great restaurant in the city though.  El Pinto Authentic New Mexican Restaurant serves a variety of excellently prepared Native, New Mexican and Mexican foods.  The open courtyard was a lovely place to dine.  As for culture the city’s museums are good. I especially liked the Natural History Museum and I have visited the Pueblo Cultural Center twice.

On the way back to Santa Fe we stopped in Bernalillo to visit the Coronado State Monument and ruins of the Kuaua Pueblo.  I enjoyed this place for two reasons, first there was a nascent garden demonstrating the Three Sisters method of planting that the ingenious Pueblos used for farming in this water-starved and nutrient poor area.  I love stuff like this!  The Pueblos were savvy farmers.  Their staple crop was corn but it leaches nutrients, especially nitrogen, out of the soil quickly depleting the ground.  They got around this problem by adding two other plants in groupings of all three plants.  They planted beans which used the corn stalk as a beanpole. Beans brought nitrogen back into the soil. They also planted squash which grew close to the ground shading the other plants and helping to retain moisture. The squash benefited from the nitrogen given back by the beans.  I have included a picture taken at Coronado showing the three sisters planted together as they would have been hundreds of years ago.

The second interesting feature of the State Monument was the Kuaua Mural Wall consisting of 15 panels of original murals excavated from one of the rectangular kivas at the ruins.  The docent explained the significance of the paintings to the ritual lives of the Pueblo inhabitants.  It was suggested that the paintings were used for a particular ceremony or season, erased, and another drawn in its place because of evidence of paintings underneath the ones found.

Lest you think I’m ignoring Santa Fe, I can recommend three of its museum that were new to me:  The Museum of Indian Arts and Culture, The Museum of International Folk Art, and the Pablita Velarde Museum of Indian Women in the Arts.  As I mentioned my husband and I had visited Santa Fe before so we did the walking tour and visited the artists under the portico at the Governor’s Palace.  The shops are more like museums with extremely beautiful and costly merchandise—not my thing.  I am a sucker for folk museums (see the bottle cap rattlesnake photo) and I especially enjoyed the Shirone kite exhibit. It seems that once a year, in a particular Japanese town, the citizens create magnificent kites which they launch to do battle with other kites.  It’s a ruthless, high-flying game.  The kites vary in size but there were a couple of huge ones on display.  Apparently the winners are determined by how much kite string the team can capture.  The video was great fun!

If you wish to learn Pueblo history directly from the source, the Indian Arts and Culture museum does an admirable job covering the history and culture of Native Peoples in a beautiful building.  The Pablita Velarde contains a variety of crafts—pottery, weaving, painting—made my Native women.  One of my favorite artists was Helen Hardin, the daughter of Pablita Velarde.  Some of her sketches were displayed.  I was struck by her originality as well as what influenced her work. Some of the sketches cried out Pablo Picasso as the seed of inspiration.  This museum had a fantastic video on the creation of pottery within the family of a famous Pueblo potter. The entire process, from selecting the clay, molding it all by hand, incising the design, polishing the piece to perfection, and finally the firing, takes a very long time.  No wonder some of the native pottery costs many thousands of dollars!  

Flamenco at The Lodge

Lest you think it was all bus trip and museums, we had great fun and an excellent candlelight dinner at The Lodge of Santa Fe.  A flamenco troupe fresh from Spain entertained our group with some intense performances.  I’ve included a photo of the promotional sign.  The male and female principals were outstanding. The Lodge commands the hillside over Santa Fe, revealing not only the city but also the large Veterans’ Cemetery.  Santa Fe is the state capitol so it has the honor to have the cemetery.  So many, many white markers…

It was a great trip, well planned and executed by the Road Scholar people in Santa Fe. I would certainly recommend a trip to any and all of the places I’ve mentioned.  And, yes, the sky really IS bluer in New Mexico.  If you don’t believe it, book a trip soon.

Recommended Irish Tourists Sites

Well it took me long enough to get to part two of my Visit to the Olde Sod.  Sorry but self-discipline is not my strong suit.  Sorry.

The photos I'm including come from some of the nicest tourist sites that we visited in September.  I  thoroughly enjoyed the trip but cannot possibly include everything.  The best part of a trip is often the people and this was no exception.  Our Road Scholar group of twenty-four was exceptional and lots of fun.  Wonderful memories made and shared.

My reunion with cousins meant a great deal to me because I doubt that I shall return to Ireland again.  I hope their children will visit the United States and I can return their warm hospitality, but that is out of my hands.  This will be my most lasting memory.  The Irish are a welcoming and warm people; family connections are as treasured as they were for my grandparents who came to the USA between 1885 and 1904. It was so easy to pick up where we left off during former inter-country visits and phone calls.  It seemed as if we had good craic only yesterday!

So much for the personal. I promised recommendations so here they are. First and foremost are the worth the trip alone book stores.  The Irish are avid readers and book stores abound.  Charlie Byrnes Used Bookstore in Galway was rated one of the top five stores in all of Ireland.  Besides the vast inventory, the staff is very knowledgeable and the service exemplary.  One would expect Dublin to teem with bookstores and the city certainly doesn't disappoint.  My most favorite, terrific, when can I move into bookstore is Hodges Figgis on Dawson in Dublin, a short walk from Trinity College.  Imagine yourself in the USA twenty-five years ago!  Selection, selection, selection.  Quality, quality...well you get the idea.

Best fish chowder ever:  Danny Macs Cafe Bar in Lahinch on the Clare Coast.  The food in Ireland is of good quality and you will be well fed almost everywhere but Danny Macs was extra special.  We also had a marvelous candlelight dinner at Glenabbey a golf resort near Galway, but that was a special arranged for the group. I expect that such a meal on my own would have broken the bank. The famous Irish brown bread is available everywhere. Don't miss it.

Entrance to the Killarney National Park

Hardy Irish Surfers

Third Class Menu from the Titanic

Blacksmith's Shop at Ulster Heritage Park

Modern Weaver demonstrates 19th century techniques

James Joyce bust in St. Stephen's Green

Chester Beatty Library

One of the Bog Men at the National Museum

Part of the Gold Horde at the National Museum

Some of the most memorable tourist attractions include the Killarney National Park.  An expert led tour enhanced the experience of this lovely forest.  Indeed the natural settings in the Killarney and Ring of Kerry area are very beautiful from the" Ladies' View" above one of the lakes to the skelligs offshore on the Ring.  Lahinch, besides having the best fish chowder, boasts surfers!  Take that southern California!

Any visitor to Dublin will have an embarrassment of riches to visit from Trinity to the Medieval City and the exciting Temple Bar pub/traditional music areas. The must see sites include the National Art Gallery and the National Museum where you can view some of the artifacts of Celtic history and appreciate exquisite Irish art.  St. Stephen's Green is a large, well-kept, and relaxing park in the middle of the Dublin tourist area.  It was a favorite haunt of James Joyce whose prep school is nearby.  A lesser known site is the Chester Beatty Library in the Medieval part of the city. This library is known for its manuscripts and illuminated books, interestingly displayed on three floors. The top floor features texts and images from the world's major religions.  The second floor is devoted to special exhibits and the art of the book.  I was thrilled to see copies of Arabic scientific texts written by the scientists I have been studying.  Near the Library is a remembrance garden in honor of those Garda who have died in the course of their duty.  It is a lovely, quiet garden.  Incidentally, the Gallery, Museum, Library and park are always free.

I had not planned to visit Northern Ireland but it was part of the tour.  Our drive across County Tyrone included a stop at the Ulster Heritage Park.  Although it focused on Northern Irish experiences I can honestly say that the park was carefully conceived and planned as well as expertly executed.  Displays include an extensive Titanic exhibit.  The extensive outdoor section of the park is very nicely done too.  One travels through time beginning with life in 18th century Northern Ireland. Re-enactors explain and demonstrate the life and work of this era.  The outdoor park is divided into two sections that reflect life in Northern Ireland and in the New World, separated by a realistic looking passage ship from which visitors embark into the New World.  The homes, schools, stores, and farms of settlers are realistic and informative.  If you go to the North, give it a visit; plan on spending at least two and a half hours.

Have you been to Ireland?  What were your favorite sights?

Spies, Lies, and Intelligence

We’ve been doing some traveling this autumn.  Our first trip was to the nation’s capital, Washington D.C. The theme of the Road Scholar program we attended was “Spies, Lies, and Intelligence: the Shadowy World of International Espionage.”  This was our twentieth program with the Road Scholar organization (formerly known as Elderhostel) and we haven’t had a bad one yet!  This latest program was no exception, except that it was exceptional.

An engaged group of 38 people began their experience with a viewing of the movie “Breach,” a dramatic account of FBI Special Agent Robert Hanssen, a convicted traitor who fed American secrets to the KGB (Soviet military intelligence) and the SVR (Russian intelligence service). The lively discussion that followed the movie was facilitated by a retired CIA counterintelligence officer and Russian/Soviet specialist. The methodology and rationale of Hanssen was examined and the damage his treason caused explained in some detail.  Our extremely knowledgeable speaker set the stage for the ensuing days’ programs and excursions.

The next morning a retired U.S. Air Force intelligence officer and Vietnam veteran introduced the topic of espionage in the D.C. area. Jonathan Pollard, an American traitor, convicted of giving secrets to Israel for ideological purposes and the damage done by Navy spy John Walker, who traitorous motive was profit, were discussed. Our presenter, now a Certified Master Tour Guide,  led the group on a guided tour featuring notable foreign and domestic espionage sites, focusing in the Georgetown area.  The evening program was an amazing lecture by a retired CIA polygraph expert.  The lie detector has its detractors, but most people don’t realize that the final product, those squiggly lines on a sheet of paper, is more or less anti-climactic.  The real work takes place before the actual test when the polygraph operator and his subject spend hours discussing the test questions during the most important pre-test interview.  Some of the presenter’s most challenging cases were described.  The audience was ready with many questions, each answered with completeness and honesty.

The program just got better and better.  The group was on the move the next day, heading for a morning long visit to Ft. Meade where the National Security Agency is based.  Our objective was not the NSA but the National Cryptology Museum located at the Fort.  The photos above were taken at the museum. I was thrilled when I was chosen to send a short message on one of the museum’s Enigma machines.  There I was, back in 1941 at Bletchley Park, attempting to crack a Nazi coded message!  The museum’s director was our guide and a very far ranging tour include not only their Enigmas, but the only-one-in-existence Cryptanalytic Bombe, the advantage of PURPLE- the program that broke the Japanese cipher, an introduction to SIGSALY (Secure Digital Voice Communications in World War II), the Navaho—and other Native American—Code talkers, the Soviet’s version of the Trojan Horse in the guise of an American Eagle wall plaque, intelligence satellites, and a great deal more.  Everyone agreed that we could have spent a few more hours at the Ft. Meade facility.

There were other activities and trips but the best was left for last.  The attendees were enthralled with the case stories the former Royal Canadian Mounted Police Security Service officer (somewhat like the FBI intelligence services) and current NSA guest lecturer described.  This gentleman spent much of his career in the Soviet Russia espionage scene.  The entire group was stunned when he introduced the guest he had brought to the program, a former KGB colonel who, amongst many other activities, had turned a NY Jesuit into a Soviet spy.  Both gentlemen regaled the group with stories of their experiences, describing some of the “assets” they had turned and managed.  Again the questions were fast and furious; the answers amazing.  The final two hours passed too quickly and the program was at an end with flights to catch. What a fabulous memory!

Road Scholar no longer limits its programs to those 55 and older.  If you have any interest in broadening your horizons check them out on the web:  roadscholar.org