The Osterhouts visit ABQ... continued

The first order of business on Sunday morning was for Stephen to repair David's wheelchair, which had a flat tire.  While he took care of that, I took my Dad for a walk in the open space.

It was a beautiful day already, as you can see.













When David was rolling again, we headed over to the West side of ABQ to see my schools.  The gates are chained and padlocked on the weekends, so my gate key wasn't helpful, but I drove around the block so the family could see where I work.  After that, Stephen took over driving to our actual destination, Jemez Springs.  It is a gorgeous drive into the mountains past red sandstone cliffs.  We stopped briefly at Battleship Rock, which is just past Hummingbird Music Camp, where I took my band kids on a field trip last spring.

I have ridden through Jemez several times, and each time I wished I could get out at the Soda Dam.  I told Stephen that whatever else we did that day, we HAD to stop there. Water from underground hot springs has caused the buildup of mineral deposits forming a unique and spectacular natural dam that blocks the Jemez River.

 Next, we stopped at the Jemez Historic Site.  It includes the stone ruins of a 500 year old Indian village and the San José de los Jemez church dating to 1621/2. The village of Giusewa was built in the narrow San Diego Canyon by the ancestors of the present-day people of Jemez (Walatowa) Pueblo. The name Giusewa refers to the natural springs in the area.
In the 17th century, the Spanish established a Catholic mission at the village. The mission was short-lived, and, in time, the people abandoned the site and moved to the current location of Jemez Pueblo. The massive stonewalls were constructed about the same time the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock. The heritage center contains exhibitions that tell the story of the site through the words of the Jemez people. A 1,400-foot interpretive trail winds through the impressive site ruins.

 Our last stop was to take pictures of the awesome red sandstone cliffs.

On the way back, we had dinner at El Pinto, our favorite New Mexican restaurant in ABQ.

It was a great day!