Tag: New Mexico

Day 4: Taos, NM

Earth Ship

We were only able to get close to and tour the EarthShip Visitor Center. It is a model home that they have repurposed as visitor center, and it is set up so that you can see all the inner workings. First you go through the greenhouse, where they grow all manner of things, and control the temperature of the home by opening and closing windows at different times of day. Rain water is collected to use inside the house. The water is recycled through intricate systems within the house. It is collected as rainwater and stored for cooking, cleaning, and showering. “Greywater”, is collected after sink and shower use, then filtered through plants and botanical filters. It can then be used in toilets. Once the water has fully cycled through the inside of the home, it is used to feed plants outside the home.

I was SOOO excited to get to see an Earth Ship! I had learned about them on CBS Mornings and the idea of seeing one someday had been hanging out in the back of my mind. Then, as we were planning, and each of us were throwing out our ideas for what to do on each stop in our trip, someone added Earth Ships! I was only one who voted “Must See”, but my friends humored me, and in the end, I think they were all glad we included that stop.

Taos Pueblo

Our next stop was the Taos Pueblo, a living Native American community that has been continuously inhabited for over 1,000 years. There was some rehab work happening on the exterior of the church while we were there. Several huts had signs out indicating they had crafts for sale. I purchased an original painting by an artist who has lived there his whole life. The painting is a beautiful night view of his grandmother’s hut, highlighting the adobe of the hut, with a string of red peppers hanging outside the door, against a deep blue sky full of shooting stars.

Antonio’s Restaurant

By the time we finished at the Pueblo we were ready for some good eats! One of my friends had heard Guy Fieri was a fan of Antonio’s Restaurant. We decided if it was good enough for Guy, it was good enough for us!

Taos Plaza

Of course we had to explore downtown. Taos Plaza was full of opportunities to find t-shirts, art, and more. There was construction all around where we were staying, but the walk was worth it, with beautiful gardens and art easily viewed along the way.

Day 3: Taos, NM

On day three of my girlfriend trip to New Mexico, we started at the Petroglyph National Monument, where we walked some trails and took about a million photos of the ancient drawings. It was unfortunate to find that some folks are destroying these treasures by adding their own drawings and initials to the volcanic rocks.

Afterwards we headed out towards Taos, admiring the beautifully constructed and painted highway infrastructure along the way.

We made an unplanned stop in Pojoaque, NM, where we learned about the Di Wae Powa “They Came Back”, or the return of the 100 Tewa pots. Over the years the Tewa tribe’s pots that were discovered were moved to the Smithsonian’s Indian Museum for storage. Beginning in 2015, the Poeh Museum Staff, along with Tewa representatives, began the process of reclaiming some of those pots and returning them to their home, in Pojoaque.

Lunch was at Sopaipilla Factory Restaurant also in Pojoaque.

After checking in to El Pueblo Lodge we drove to Rio Grande Gorge Bridge, where we walked the bridge, took lots of photos and then walked along the edge of the gorge.

Later that evening, we dropped in to The Alley Cantina for some chips, salsa, queso and fried mushrooms – yum! – and margaritas (not as fabulous as 12 Street, but still good).

Day 2: Albuquerque, NM

Day two of our New Mexico girls’ trip began with breakfast in the hotel. Meh.

After breakfast we walked across the street to the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center where we toured the museum and watched Comanche Indian Dancers.

I learned that baseball has been a big part of the 19 Pueblo communities as far back as 1885! Team members aged 15 – 55 would play together, and this is where a lot of mentoring would happen within the community.

Today there is a Northern Pueblo League and Southern Pueblo League.

Next we headed to Old Town for some shopping, and had lunch at El Sol de Mexico – Araceli.

There is a beautiful church in Old Town, known as the oldest church in Albuquerque, serving the community since 1706.

Exhausted from shopping, we headed back to the hotel to rest up a bit, then back to 12th Street Tavern for dinner (no margaritas this time) and time to firm up plans for day three.

Day 1: Albuquerque, NM

My girlfriend trip to New Mexico started today! We’ll spend two nights in Albuquerque, two nights in Taos, two nights in Santa Fe, then one more night in Albuquerque, before our flights home. There are four of us: one from Nashville, two from St Louis, and one from Mesa, AZ.

I had an early start, coming from Nashville and connecting thru Atlanta. My Nashville flight boarded at 7:30 am, so got myself to bed at 9:30 pm and set my alarm for 4:30 am.

Unfortunately, my body decided 2:00 am would be a good time to wake up, so after tossing and turning for another hour or so I got up and got myself out the door.

I was a couple hours early for my flight so decided to treat myself to breakfast at Titans Press Box. Two eggs, a biscuit, tater tots (enough for a table of four imo), a side of sausage and a coffee set me back $40 with tip! Holy Canoli, Batman!

Two hour layover in ATL, which wasn’t bad. On the ABQ leg I enjoyed an inflight movie, “IF”, which was cute, then watch a couple episodes of the new Frasier, which I expected was not going to be as good as the original, but I found it quite funny!

Here’s some art from the ABQ airport:

Upon arrival at ABQ, I was picked up by two of the ladies on the trip who had arrived earlier, and we went to lunch while we waited for our fourth’s plane to arrive.

Lunch was at Pollito con Papas, where I learned about Chicken Stuffed Potatoes. Pretty tasty!

We picked up our last travel buddy, and then headed to the hotel, which was conveniently within walking distance of 12th Street Tavern, so after settling in, we headed over for nibbles and beverages. And by the way, 12th Avenue Tavern has just about the best margaritas I’ve ever tasted! Two margaritas and some cheesecake later, we purchased a four pack of Sadie’s Classic Margaritas on the way out and continued our party back at the hotel.

Next morning note to self: three margaritas = one too many margaritas. 🍹