Rocks and Bones; Film at Eleven

We left Aztec for Albuquerque on November 1, el dia de los muertos.  We stopped twice on the way south to give Cedar a chance to rest and use his litter box. He did yowl a bit for the first hour or so... letting us know that he didn't want to be back in his carrier or in the truck. I do enjoy the drive, any drive really, but New Mexico is especially beautiful in the fall. We descend in altitude as we move south, so the fall colors which are all but over in Aztec are going strong in Albuquerque. The Rio Grande Valley is painted with gold. We are staying at the Isleta Lakes RV Park just south of the city. It's a nice, quiet place, not too close to I25, but with regular train traffic disturbingly close.

Our spot at Isleta Lakes RV Park.

Fall color, again.

Trails at the RV Park.

We met our oldest nephew and his wife here in Albuquerque to have dinner on our first night here. They live and work in the city. We are still trying to see friends and family as we travel as much as we can. Unfortunately for us, the two college friends we hoped to see here can't meet us. One of them is out of town, and the other is in COVID quarantine. We also took care of errands for Russ' mom that can't be done in Aztec. We dropped some unusual film off to be developed. There is only one place in the state that still does it. We also dropped a 1973 encyclopedia into recycling. In Aztec, it would end up in the landfill.

O'Niell's Heights Pub.

He's eating Mac and Cheese.

The food was delish. Green chile cheese fries!

The recycling location. I saw the Balloon Fiesta years ago. The park has really changed.

The building resembles a hot air balloon as it fills.

The end of an era. Encyclopedias are now extinct.

Since our friends are not available, we've enjoyed being tourists in the city. Russ used to live here for a short while, but many of the tourist draws never drew him. We went to Old Town and ate a magnificent meal at the High Noon Restaurant and Saloon. Their building was old enough to be made with adobe bricks cut from the river bottom, an impossibility now. Then we walked through Old Town to the San Felipe de Neri Church and the Plaza Viejo. I couldn't resist when we saw a Navajo artist making silver jewelry; I bought a traditional rain pattern bracelet from Curtis Patero. I don't need another bracelet, but it was perfect. Rain is a beloved constant in my life. We then walked to the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science. It had an good selection of fossils and rocks. We finished our time in Old Town with a walk back to the truck through Tigue Park.

Notice how thick the walls are... and how short the door is.

Traditional construction and furniture.

The bar is behind the wall divider. (only one corner visible)

Brie empanadas with green chile compote and a prickly pear margarita.

Blue corn tortilla enchiladas.

The Virgin Mary hiding in a tree.

San Felipe de Neri Church.

In the Plaza Viejo.

The artist at work. Curtis Platero.

Today we went to Petroglyph National Monument and hiked the Piedras Marcadas trails. This style of petroglyph is called the Rio Grande Style and most of the images were made around 1300 CE  by the Ancestral Pueblo Peoples. However, some of the images may be 2000-3000 years old. We took every spur trail and returned on the mesa top trail. This National Monument is split into three areas, all some distance from each other, so we only went to the one section. The day was quite windy and we got hit by a few raindrops, but the temperature was lovely for hiking. We saw a roadrunner and several jackrabbits. They were enjoying the park too.

The healthiest Cholla I've ever seen.

Nice petroglyphs.

Lizard and bird?

A few hands.

My favorite grouping.

From the top of the mesa, looking southeast.

Russ on West Mesa.

Albuquerque (northeast area of town) below us with the Sandias.

We ate a late lunch at Genghis Grill and picked up the developed film. The plan is to leave here tomorrow for parts south. We are taking the long way home.