Places Visited:
2004Travelogue # 21 Bernalillo New Mexico
Stage Coach Stop RV Park
Bernalillo, New Mexico
Places of Interest:
New Mexico:
Clines Corner
Albuquerque: Sadie's, The University of New Mexico, Maxwell Museum of Anthropology,
Nob Hill, Flying Star Restaurant
Bernalillo: Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort and Spa, Santa Ana Café, Jemez
Reservoir
7/13 It was time to leave Santa Rosa's good old signs of yesteryear, such as
the Comet Drive-In and the Club Café billboard, with the Fat Man's grinning
face, and head west toward Albuquerque.
The drive on Interstate 40 was pleasant. This highway is a main artery, pumping
trucks and autos, east and west. The flow is, of one big 18-wheeler after another
zinging along, loaded with goodies for Americans.
Out here in the "boonies", between Santa Rosa and Albuquerque, is
Clines Corner, which Ray Clines opened, at the intersection of old US-66 and
US-285 to Santa Fe, in 1934. I remember coming through here, as a boy and seeing
billboards, for miles, touting the wonderful and exciting things at Clines Corners.
Such wonderful things included rattlesnakes, buffalo horns, steer skulls, green
chili jelly, and a place to refuel, grab a cold drink, and hit the potties before
moving on down the road. Well folks, it's still there today, just more of it.
The ride into Albuquerque through the Sandia Mountains is always a thrill for
Peggy and me. There is something mystical about breaking out of the mountains
into the Rio Grande Valley and dropping into the City of Albuquerque.
We were not sure where to stay this next week, having several RV Park selections.
Two were out I-40, about 15 miles west of Albuquerque and the other was north
of the city, on I-25 near Bernalillo, NM on the way to Santa Fe. After checking
the two RV Parks to the west, we settled at the Stage Coach Stop RV Park to
the north, near Bernalillo.
This RV Park is located at 3650 SH-528, on the west side of the Rio Grande River.
It has paved interior roads, paved sites, 50 amps, cable, and FHU's; a very
nice place and near some of the things we wanted to do.
Later that evening, Peggy and I went for a walk, and could see the Rio Grande
in the distance and beyond that, the Sandia Mountains. At the base of the Sandia's,
lays a little village called, Placitas and we could see lights from its homes
scattered along the hillside. In the early 90's, we made a bid on a piece of
property in Placitas, hoping to move and build an adobe home at the base of
the Sandia's. However, our bid was not accepted and we never moved. There continues
to be a mystical quietness and beauty about this place that still draws us.
7/14 It was a busy day today, with many things to do and errands to run. Getting
our mail is always a challenge. We selected Rio Rancho, NM, as our mail delivery
destination, thinking it was close to our RV Park. Wrong! First of all, not
only was it not in close proximity, but with the recent expansion of Albuquerque,
Rio Rancho is the second largest city in the state, even surpassing Santa Fe.
It is growing by leaps and bounds and getting our mail was tough.
Another experience we always enjoy, while in Albuquerque, is eating at Sadie's,
on NE 4th Street, near the Rio Grande. When Peggy and I first came to this area,
about 20-years-ago, we gravitated to unusual places to eat, just as we do now.
Sadie's was a café in a bowling alley, farther up 4th Street, closer
to Old Town. There, we found great tasting New Mexico Mexican food served in
astoundingly huge proportions.
In 1990, we were fortunate to dine at the new Sadie's, in their fine Mexican
adobe building, complete with vigas, skylights, and charming décor; a
giant upscale leap from the bowling alley. Today, we returned once again to
Sadie's, for a frozen Margarita and muy bueno Mexican food and, as usual, we
filled a carryout carton.
7/15 Our dear friend, Virginia Kahler, from Santa Fe, arrived this morning for
a visit, she will be with us for a couple of days. Virginia is our western and
Indian art specialist, being well versed in the culture of the Southwestern
Pueblo Community.
Near our Park, off SH-550, is the entrance to the Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort
and Spa. Over 1,000 years ago, the Pueblo of Santa Ana was standing near these
grounds and the ancient native name for this pueblo was Tamaya. The Hyatt built
a Resort that is well acclimated to these ancient surroundings. It is nestled
on 500 acres of protected land, on the Santa Ana Reservation with 51% owned
by the Pueblo. Driving the winding road to the Resort, we could see across the
Rio Grande to the Sandia Mountain range and the Bosque along side the Rio Grande.
The Bosque are the native cottonwoods indigenous to the Rio Grande along the
river valley.
The Hyatt built this resort in the Pueblo style, reminiscent of the ancient
village of Tamaya. It has the appearance of adobe with vigas supporting the
roof and latias providing shade for the walkways. The resort was built to look
like a large Native American pueblo, melting into the landscape so perfectly,
that we were upon it before we knew it. We also noticed wooden poles lashed
together, to make a ladder, sticking out of the roofs at various places, as
if they were being used by the Indians to access the roofs of the Pueblo today.
The Resort has an excellent collection of regional artwork with the interior
designed to showcase the culture of the Pueblo of Santa Ana and high desert
scenery. We enjoyed walking and viewing the artwork in the lobby and surrounding
areas.
Here also, we planned to have lunch. Descending a wide staircase, we faced a
large plate-glass window overlooking the back of the Resort and could see a
large courtyard/garden area followed by three swimming pools.
Of the five restaurants in the complex, we chose the Santa Ana Café overlooking
the gardens and several horno ovens. As we were seated, I watched a young Indian
lady gather fresh baked bread, the size of dinner rolls, from one of the ovens.
She placed them in a large Indian woven basket and brought them into the restaurant.
Shortly, some of these delicious rolls appeared on our table. The food was outstanding
and the view, overlooking the pools and desert high country, just added to our
dining experience.
After lunch, we walked the property, exploring the shops and other interesting
amenities, such as the Workout and Spa, featuring aromatherapy, mixed in the
scent of choice, for massages. This was one of those places to get pampered
really quickly, while dropping a few "bucks" along the way.
Leaving the luxurious comfort of this man-made oasis, we drove the winding road
deeper into the arid desert of the Reservation and happened upon an overlook
to the Jemez Reservoir. However, there was no reservoir, just a puny little
creek outlined on the bottom of the dry lakebed. We couldn't tell, if they had
drained the reservoir for repairs or, if it was a drought. In either case, it
formed an interesting sight nestled in the tight canyon, with the basalt rocks
from ancient lava flows, rising on both sides.
We found a high point near the edge of the canyon, where a few covered picnic
tables overlooked the dam and the watershed. We sat on the tabletops, under
the shade, soaking in the beauty of the distant mesas and watched a hawk glide
in the updrafts of the canyon winds.
7/16 It was cozy last night, with Virginia spending the night on our sofa bed.
We were up this morning; enjoying her fresh croissants from a Santa Fe bakery,
fresh fruit compote and coffee. Sitting outside, we looked down on the Bosque,
with the Sandia Mountain Range in the distance; the air was crisp and refreshing
with the scent of junipers and yarrow.
The three of us were off to Albuquerque, to see the campus of The University
of New Mexico. The campus is on Central Ave, which is also old Historic 66.
Arriving a little after 10 am, we walked through some of the old adobe buildings
and small plazas shaded by old trees, as students scampered to their next class.
Our destination, before stopping at the Student Center complex for the girls
to get their "smoothies", was the Maxwell Museum of Anthropology.
Anthropology, for me, is truly a walk back in time and here, at the Maxwell,
is that opportunity. It's a great museum and should be a stopping place for
anyone, who likes this sort of thing. The University of New Mexico has conducted
archaeological research throughout the Southwest since 1929.
Near the entrance of the museum is a black and white photo essay by John M.
Campbell, Professor Emeritus of Anthropology, entitled The Great House of Chaco.
The photo essay travels through the grandest and most impressive prehistoric
ruins in North America. There is nothing like it north of the Mexican Toltec
and Aztec cultures.
Pueblo Bonito is the grandest of the Great House ruins and no other housing
block structure, in North America, rivaled its nearly 3 acre footprint and over
650 rooms until 1880, which by then, it was 7 centuries old. The Pueblo was
built over 3 centuries, 850 -1130 AD. Some of the structures were 4 stories
tall, with 33 kivas and 4 grand kivas. At the height of their civilization,
1050-1120 AD, there were an estimated 2000 to 5000 Chocoans living in this Pueblo.
The design of the modern Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, in Albuquerque, is patterned
after the Pueblo Bonito in Chaco Canyon.
Professor Campbell's essay captures, with his still-life photographs, the visual
impact of Chaco Canyon and the Ruins. There is a haunting quietness, about this
once flourishing Anasazi culture revealed in these black and white photographs.
The photos show the landscape both desolate and spectacular, with deeply eroded
canyons, low rocky hills, and barren alkali flats. The Chacoan territory was
more than 100,000 square miles, linked by 1500 miles of roads, including parts
of New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, and Utah. This was the eastern extension of
The Great Basin Desert; the rolling prairie, eroded sandstone bluffs, salty
flats, dry streambeds and expanses of rough broken ground. Big sage prairies
cover much of the Chacoan landscape today, as they did centuries ago, in the
western corner of New Mexico.
The Museum has an exhibit of a digging site that was excavated in 1939-40. The
exhibit gives the carbon date, for some of the Ponderosa pines and Douglas fir's
used in the building of the Pueblo, at around 1060 AD. The pines were brought
in by the thousands. They were not native to Chaco Canyon and were very large,
6 inches in diameter and up to 15 feet in length and had to be carried from
the mountains, about 30 to 50 miles away.
A spectacular development, in ceramic art, occurred in the Mimbres Valley region
of southwestern New Mexico. From 1000-1150 AD, the Mimbres people produced a
unique ceramic style, which is now referred to, as Mimbres Classic, unlike anything
ever seen before. Classic Mimbres designs encompass all sorts of animals, birds,
fish and unusual composites of mythical creatures. The designs were painted
on the pottery and offered a glimpse of pre-historic life.
One particular pottery design caught my attention and the comments, related
to this piece of pottery, were fascinating. The Mimbre people frequently depicted
fish, in their black and white designs and many, of these designs, were fish
found only in the Pacific Ocean. It is believed that the Mimbre people visited
the Pacific and returned to paint pictures, of the fish they saw while in the
west. One thousand years ago people, in the Southwest, walked immense distances
to see people and places, which were far beyond the valley where they lived.
We had "museumed" enough; it was time to meet Virginia's cousin, Marty,
for lunch. Marty, who lives near UNM, chose a wonderful little restaurant in
the Nob Hill section of Albuquerque on Historic US 66, or Central Avenue, called
the Flying Star Restaurant. This upscale bistro, at one time, was a newspaper
and magazine store. Along with the refrigerated cooler, filled with various
deli meats and cheeses, it had many of the original newspaper and magazine racks.
Patrons could browse the racks and choose their mealtime reading material and
have a casual, unhurried lunch.
Nob Hill's Main Street is Central Avenue and, at one time, it was the original
Main Street for Albuquerque. It was also where the "Mother Road",
Route 66, carried countless travelers. The dual personality, of this stretch
of pavement, is a fascinating blend of roadside architecture, to appeal to the
weary motorist and cozy storefronts, with upscale boutiques, to appeal to neighborhood
shoppers.
After lunch, the four of us enjoyed the shops along 66. Although changes have
been made, over the years, there are still many leftover neon signs and glitz
from the days before the Interstate by-passed Central Ave. We came to a small
"U"- shaped shopping center that had an adobe facade, plus concrete
steeples and glass blocks, used in the Art-Deco style, of the 30's. A small
neighborhood grocery was at the center, La Montanita Co-Op Super Market. We
always find it fun to wander into grocery stores and see what the locals are
buying.
In front, of the store, were several wrought iron tables and chairs. I sat down;
to wait for Peggy and across from me sat a young teenage couple, under a string
of red chili peppers, enjoying their drinks. He had turquoise hair sticking
straight up and she had several major body piercing places on her head with
"danglies"…from the old to the new… right here on Historic
US 66.
Bob & Peggy Woodall
Stage Coach Stop RV Park
Bernalillo, New Mexico