Lowrider Show

Stephen used to take me to car shows in Glens Falls, NY every summer.  The upstate NY car guy scene isn't that big, apparently, because we would see the same folks with the same cars year after year.  Due to the fact that New Mexico is largely a desert and because they don't salt the roads, there is a vast and diverse car culture here.  On any given day on the streets of Albuquerque you see a greater diversity of old cars than at a typical upstate NY car show!

One of the car styles that is important to the Hispanic culture is the Lowrider style.  There are even sub-cultures within it.  Ever since we moved here I wanted to go to a Low Rider show, and we finally scheduled a day to do it.

When we walked in the top level of the Albuquerque convention center, I almost changed my mind and left.  Looking down at the convention center floor, I saw long lines of people waiting in a security line being patted down and checked by metal-detecting wands while other guards went through purses and pockets!  I was looking for local color, but this might be more than I bargained for.  However, once we went through the line it was fun!  It was both completely different than the NY car shows I had been to, and utterly the same.  When I stood around waiting while Stephen talked to the guy sitting on the floor in one of these photos about the blah blah blah on his car, it was a totally familiar experience except that half the conversation around me was in Spanish.

Rio Grande Nature Center State Park

On the last day of school I like to treat myself to a hike or some other fun activity.  Since I was already on the West side of town, I decided to explore the Rio Grande Nature Center.  It's a lovely place with a nice, kid-friendly visitor center and some short, easy walking trails.

These metal X formations used to be a flood-control device.

 It was peaceful and quiet except for the sound of the birds and the river water lapping against the shore.

 The beavers had apparently been hard at work trying to dam this man-made irrigation channel.  Nature Center employees wrapped the trees in chicken wire to discourage that behavior.

 I walked South on a side trail and saw some prime real estate across the river.

 The river was higher and flowing faster than I have seen it.  It was eroding the edge of the path!

 The massive cottonwood trees were "snowing" but you can't see it in my photos.

 The river blind above, and the view from it below:

 The roadrunner below posed for a minute, then decided enough was enough.

Osterhouts visit Carlsbad

On our way to Carlsbad we had to stop in Roswell and visit the UFO Museum!

 I don't think Dad was convinced...

 After an overnight stay in Carlsbad, we arrived at the Visitor Center on a cold, rainy Saturday morning where a very nice ranger explained the rules and etiquette of the cave.

When you get off the elevator after a 750 ft descent, this is what you see.  From here you can join a ranger-guided group tour or take the self-guided 1.5 mile Big Room tour, which is what we chose.

  The path is very dark and a little bit slippery in places but there are good strong railings to hold.  The temperature in the cave is about 55 degrees year round.

 In 1924, Jim White, who discovered Carlsbad Caverns, built this ladder to climb down 90 ft to a lower level of the cave. 

 There is no running water in the cave, but there are places in which dripping water has created pools.

We took the elevator back to the surface and had a late lunch at the visitor center before heading back to the hotel.  That evening we had dinner at a Carlsbad restaurant in a lovely historic building that had once been a home.  It was prom night, and we were entertained by the fashion show of teenagers in prom clothes.  They were all on their best behavior, at least at this point in the evening!  Parents were taking pictures in the courtyard of the restaurant.  It was fun to watch them.
We left Carlsbad on Sunday morning and headed North.  A lot of the scenery, for many, many miles,  looked like this:

There were no rest areas and the prospects of ducking behind a tree were not looking good.  But then Stephen saw this quirky little place.  The signs boated of clean restrooms and a petting zoo in addition to apples and cold cider. 

The restroom was, indeed, clean.  It was in a tiny concrete block cubicle past the yak, the zebra, and the camel, and overlooking a pond with goats grazing nearby.  Strange place.  But we bought some apples and roasted corn and cider and happily went on our way.

Our next stop was the Cloudcroft Inn, where Stephen and I spent an anniversary a couple of years ago.  The rain that we experienced on Saturday in Carlsbad had been a freak spring snowstorm in Albuquerque.  Cloudcroft had obviously gotten a significant amount of snow as well.  This is the only way I ever want to experience snow -- on the ground, with sunny blue skies overhead, dry roads, and tulips and lilacs in bloom!

We had a luxurious Sunday brunch while looking out over the mountain view, as the pianist worked his way through jazz standards at the grand piano in the dining room.

We left Cloudcroft and headed down the mountain toward the desert, watching the outside temperature climb as we descended.

The stripe of white you see in the distance is White Sands.  By the time we got there the temperature had reached 70.  We continue to marvel at the diversity of landscapes and climate zones here in New Mexico!
Our Excellent Adventure continues!