Katie and Doug at Tent Rocks

 When Stephen and I visited Tent Rocks National Monument the first time it was very crowded.  I thought that being fourth of July weekend, we would find it at least as busy as the first time but in fact it was much less so, possibly because of the heat.  We came prepared with sunscreen and lots of water and fruit, and my goofy hat...  in other words, we knew it would be hot, and it was!  But we prevailed.

I showed Doug where we hiked last time and what the options were for longer and shorter loops.

There's so much to see that you have to pause and look up once in a while!

Somehow Doug and I got ahead of Katie and Stephen (I think they were taking pictures).

 We made it to the top!  Elevation 6299 ft.

Looking down on the trail below.  See the people?

Heading back down, single file.

El Rancho de las Golondrinas

New Mexico's Living History Museum

A while back, an acquaintance asked me if I had been to El Rancho de las Golondrinas yet.  Yet?  I hadn't even heard of it!  The Madigans' recent visit afforded us the opportunity to finally see this beautiful museum, situated on 200 acres near Santa Fe.  The day we went happened to be during the Santa Fe Wine Festival, but we were mostly there to enjoy the museum, although Doug and Katie tasted a couple of wines and we all enjoyed the salsa band playing under a tent in the courtyard.

 The docents are all dressed in period costume.  There are bakers, spinners, weavers, a blacksmith, millers, etc.  Some of the buildings are from the original farm and some were saved and moved to the site from other locations.

 It is a bit of a hike to see everything, up and down hills and stairs, and not wheelchair accessible.  You do need to duck through low doorways and step over high thresholds and watch your head inside some of the buildings.

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.