A Mountain Meadow

In New Mexico, atop the the towering Rocky Mountains, they have mountain meadows modeled after the opening sequence of “The Sound of Music.” Acres and acres of yellow and blue flowers growing all by themselves. Lovely temps…mid-40s at night, mid-70s during the day. Not another soul for miles around.

Mountain meadow, Rio Grande del Norte National Monument, North-central New Mexico.
Mountain meadow, Rio Grande del Norte National Monument, 9,300 ft elevation.

Santa Fe

The City of Santa Fe (Spanish for Holy Faith, but no mention of which one) is nestled in the north of New Mexico. A river runs through it! Many tourists. There is even a state capitol there! Spread the word, it’s a nice place to visit.

In Santa Fe, skilled artisans known as “daubers” create elaborate structures out of dirt and spit.
Oldest church structure in the US! Constructed by enslaved Native Americans.
Statue of Keteri Tekakwitha, first Native American canonized by the Roman Catholic cultural imperialists.
In Santa Fe, they have a hostel for visiting dragons.

 

Giant Gorge, Awesome Camp Sites Discovered

My survey of New Mexico yielded an exciting geological feature I call the Taos Gorge (because Taos, NM, is nearby) or sometimes the Rio Grande Gorge (because the Rio Grande rushes through its depths). It is maybe a third-scale or half-scale mini Grand Canyon. Even better, there are free camp sites along the rim of the gorge. Private, serene, cool in the summer and, I suspect, bitterly cold in the winter. I’ll refrain from giving specific locations so you will not rush to the place and take all the good sites.

Manzanar, American Concentration Camps

Manzanar is the internment camp in bleak, desolate Owens Valley, California, that housed Americans of Japanese ancestry during War World II. The site is now a National Historic Site, but there’s not much left to see. Survivors received $20,000 from the Federal Government in reparations. The curious can read more about it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manzanar

Sign at the front gate of the Manzanar Ware Relocation Center.