Category Archives: Vacations

Vacations

Canyon Road, Sante Fe

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Pam and some bearsToday we decided to head over to Canyon Road. It’s a street that is completely dedicated to art galleries and shops. There are a couple of antique dealers, but most are galleries – traditional oils, water colors, sculptures. There is every style you can imagine, Impressionist, modern, traditional, Western, Oriental, Cubist.
Mark Twain and guest
There were lots and lots of huge bronzes – life size horses, pigs, buffalo, dogs of every breed imaginable, cowboys sitting on their horses, Native Indians in full regalia. There were life size statues of children, adults, and fantasy characters. A life size Mark Twain, clutching a copy of Huckleberry Finn,  made an appearance, sitting on a bench.

WhirligigsBronze Native AmericanThere were these fascinating wind devices – a whirligig for lack of a better word. They ranged in size from three feet high to twenty feet at least. Some ran with water, some ran pumps to move the water, some needed as little as two miles an hour of wind speed to get them to move, some were brightly colored, while others were in a patina-ed copper color. One seller had a whole field of them – literally hundreds in one location. Completely fascinating to sit there and watch them turn. This movie should give you a good idea of how they looked.

BhuddaThere was Oriental art – Buddha lounged on the grass, sat cross legged or towered above us. Hand knotted rugs and complex Thai textiles were featured in another gallery. This picture of Bhudda’s face was on a statue at least 20 feet high. You might be able to see it briefly in the movie above.

Native AmericansPam was most fascinated with the animal bronzes I think. She loved the ones of dogs and cats and turtles and bears and bison and coyotes and… well you name it, and it was done in bronze. But this bronze of a couple of Native Indians was probably her favorite. The details on the bead work on the moccasins and jacket were exquisite – all done in bronze mind you!

Bronze dogWe had a light lunch at Cafe Grecco’s, right on Canyon road. It was an Italian sub, which was really a paninni with lots of pastrami, beef, and cheese. Very tasty, with a locally brewed root beer.

 

Vacations

Roaming around Santa Fe

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Public art, Santa Fe, New MexicoSanta Fe has really surprised us with the amount of art that is EVERYWHERE! Every corner you turn, every street you walk, every building you enter, artwork is just there. It makes this city very pedestrian friendly. You can stroll anywhere and just admire the Georgia O'Keefemany many works of art.

We started the day by checking out the Georgia O’Keefe museum. It’s a smallish building, with about six galleries. They cycle the works on display every few months. The majority of works on display today were on loan for this exhibition, so no photographs were allowed of the works on loan. We managed to take a few of works that were part of the permanent collection, and were allowed to be photographed. She seems to be have been a bit anti-social… One quote displayed was “I wish people were all trees and I think I might enjoy them then!”

Georgia O'Keefe paintingShe moved to New Mexico from New York City where she was an up and coming artist. She wrote about New Mexico, saying, “When I got to New Mexico, that was mine. As soon as I saw it, that was my country. I’d never seen anything like it before, but it fitted to me exactly. It’s something that’s in the air – it’s different. The sky is different, the wind is different. I shouldn’t say too much about it because other people may be interested and I don’t want them interested!”

Georgia O'Keefe paintingShe was a risk taker – coming to a place that was quite wild, by New York standards. She trudged about the mountains, alone, carrying her easel and paints with her, finding vistas that inspired her. A pretty cool woman, and damned fine painter.

Tree outside Georgia O'Keefe Learning CenterJust across the street from the museum, is an education center, that contains her archives, and is a teaching center for students of art to learn technique, use of color etc. It’s a wonderful building, with lovely landscaped grounds with a beautiful old tree out front. I caught the sun peaking through the branches.

Chapel, Santa Fe After seeing the museum we wandered toward the main square and were struck by all the fascinating buildings we saw. The adobe construction is just cool to see. Love this one of the church. It feels like I’ve seen this kind of church a thousand times in old western movies. And here it sits, still in use!

Public art, Santa Fe, New MexicoAs we wandered, we took more and more shots of more and more bronze sculptures. Public art, Santa Fe, New MexicoIt seems no building is complete in Santa Fe without four or five bronzes surrounding it. And some even have them on the roof! How about this dragon surrounding the whole building? Is that cool or what?

Santa Fe, New MexicoAfter walking around for a couple of hours, we got in the car and discovered a place called Canyon Road – it’s a place where there is – wait for it – a lot of art!! No really – it’s kind of an artist’s enclave. There are loads and loads of art galleries, sculpture galleries, antique shops and outdoor whirly gig displays. We’ll be coming back here tomorrow for a stroll.

Public art, Santa Fe, New MexicoWe then took a drive up the canyons above Santa Fe. Beautiful homes are nestled in the cliff fronts. It’s part of the Santa Fe National forest and the road leads to one of the local ski hills. Here’s a brief movie Pam took as were ascending the road.

Vacations

Santa Fe Firsts

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Coming into Santa FeWell, today (Wednesday) we arrived in Santa Fe around 2 in the afternoon. It’s not a huge city, about 70,000 people. It’s only the fourth largest city in the state, but it is the capital. We found our time share very easily. It’s a really nice unit. Granite counter tops, very nice cabinetry in the kitchen, two flat panel tvs, a large living room with a fireplace, and a lovely big bed. WIFI is provided for an additional fee via ATT – the one negative for the unit. We’re on the fourth floor, but we don’t have much of a view since we’re surrounded by trees.

Saint Francis Cathedral BasilicaWe put our bags in the room, and came down to the big central square that has been the center of Santa Fe life for over 400 years. Stain glass inside the cathedralThe square is a bustling place, with a stage for free nightly concerts. There are food carts selling burritos and fajitas for 5 bucks. The people are there with their dogs, listening to a guy gently strum his guitar. On another side a Native American plays a version of the pan flute doing an amazing version of the House of the Rising Sun. There are locals selling handicrafts ranging from silver and gold jewelry to blankets, textiles, and hats, ceramics and pottery.

St. Francis of AsissiOriginal alterThe St. Francis of Assisi Cathedral dominates the skyline, one block off the square. Inside is an alter from the original church carved in 1620. The stain glass windows feature many of the saints. Outside, large scale bronze statues of St. Francis dot the courtyard and gardens. Santa Fe has a lot of art, and a lot of museums to see.

New Mexico MuseumWe wandered through many stores, set in buildings that have been there for hundreds of years. The adobe buildings are everywhere here. They are striking to look at, lending a serene look to the city. The New Mexico Museum is one of the adobe buildings just off the square that is very striking. I think I’ve taken at least thirty pictures of it, from every angle!

New Mexico MuseumThe shops are almost outnumbered by the galleries. It’s clear that Santa Fe is a haven for artists. Georgia O’Keefe, the great American modernist painter who lived to be nearly 100 years old, lived most of her adult life here in New Mexico. There is a museum dedicated to her, which we’ll check out tomorrow. Her style of bright colors, and large scale images of small things – an amaryllis flower over four feet wide, for instance – has influenced generations of painters.

PumpkinsHere is a sample of some of the ceramics they are selling — do you think Pam might be taking one of these home??

The weather is very nice, although the evening did get cool. The altitude is close to 7000 feet, so the air is a little thin. We won’t be jogging for a couple days yet!

Vacations

Arches Park near Moab, Utah

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Park AvenueWhen we decided to do this vacation as a road trip, I had zeroed in on seeing Arches National Park in southern Utah. It’s similar, in a way, to the area around Drumheller, with incredible rock formations. The unique thing in Utah is the brilliant red color of the rocks. This picture of Pam and I is in front of the iconic rock formation known as Park Avenue. I’m sure you’ve seen this used in commercial and westerns!

Dual archLayers upon layers of different kinds of rock, with different hardness have been manipulated with water and wind to create strange and unique shapes. Some of the rocks look like they have melted; some look the have been sheered off with a huge knife or axe; some look like the rocks were in motion like the ocean… it’s a crazy wonderful stretch of the world!

Balancing rocksRocks balance precariously on top of cliffs, on top of spires of rock shooting into the sky, on sloping cliff faces -it’s hard to describe everything you see.

Lots of archesWe spent a lot of hours driving around this park, and we didn’t even see half of it. This is definitely something that needs more than half a day.

Here is a short movie taken by Pam of the Dual Arches. It is right opposite the formation called “The Windows” (there used to be a second window, but it collapsed some years ago.)

Pam with the wildlifeHere is a little shot of Pam with some of the wildlife in the park! The Visitor’s Center has several of the bronze statues depicting the various creatures who inhabit the park.

I’ve also created a separate gallery for the shots of the park – way too many to include in one post. I’ve added a slideshow here at the bottom. I’m going to add more shots – I was totally fascinated by the place.

 

Vacations

Price, Utah

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Native IndianToday after leaving Boise we headed south and east toward Utah. The land is very dry, with mountains in the distance on both sides. As we approached the Utah border, lots of irrigation pipes were tossing water over an increasingly verdant landscape. There were lots of vines full of grapes, and corn fields with stalks 4 and 5 feet tall.

The Interstate speed is 75 in Utah, and the roads were crisp and clear. We made good time, passing through Salt Lake City. It’s a smallish city, under 200,000 with a small downtown core tucked close to the mountains. It rained quite heavily as we passed through the city, but quickly cleared up as we approached Provo.

DinosaurWe stopped for a quick bite to eat in Provo and check the hotels via free wifi at a dive bar. They only served double hamburgers, so we had a couple burgers, a beer and a diet coke for 16 bucks! Not too bad – plus free wifi! We decided to stay the night in Price, a small mining community nestled among the red cliffs of the Colorado Plateau.

Dinosaur close upThere is a dinosaur museum here, with lots of walking trails. The one that most people know is Nine Mile Canyon, famous for it’s long, continuous Indian pictographs.

Dinner at Groggs was an eyeopener – if you need a BIG, HUGE plate of food, with enough to feed two on EACH plate, then this is the place for you. The waitresses seemed to know everyone who came through the door, and everyone greeted the other regulars. Definitely a place where locals come to enjoy dinner and a brew. It’s associated with Pinnacle breweries.

 

Vacations

Through to Idaho

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Fruit and AntiquesToday we stopped in Boise, the capital city of Idaho. Interestingly enough, the Hudson’s Bay Company was the first to start a settlement here, as a means to protect the Oregon Trail. It’s a fairly good sized city, about 210,000 people. It’s a university city, so it’s vibrant, and fun, with a semi-arid climate. That means it’s a lot like Kelowna – hot summers, and some cold winters! We are staying tonight in a Best Western, called the North Lodge. It’s done in a cool log cabin style, with nice rooms, a big tv and comfy beds. They give you a free breakfast too! And their Happy Hour is truly happy, starting you off with a FREE beer!

Oregon Trail markerTravelling today was nice, with beautiful roads. The American Interstate is really a wonderful highway system. We’ve had no construction, with smooth roads, and lots just freshly resurfaced in the last few years. It’s funny tho, in Washington, the speed is 70 mph and most people travel easily at that speed. We saw the odd speeder, but not many. In Oregon, the speed is 65 mph, and most everyone speeds, including Oregonians who routinely do 75, and a lot at 80 or more. In Idaho, the speed is 75, and there are still a LOT of speeders, maybe even more than in Oregon. It’s a strange thing.

UmatillaThe pic here is of the Sturgis Bridge that crosses the Columbia river into Oregon into a little town called Umatilla. We stopped at the Visitor’s Center there, wanting a map of Oregon. The lady there was super friendly gave us maps for all the states we’d be visiting! Nice little center too – artwork on the walls, and just tons of info.

Here is a brief movie of a couple of cool cars we saw near Benton, Washington. Love that little trailer the second car is towing! Pretty cool.

Vacations

First day on the road

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Today we started a road trip to Santa Fe, New Mexico, with stops in Salt Lake City, Utah, Roswell, New Mexico, Denver, Colorado, Deadwood, South Dakota (to see Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse) and maybe we’ll even take in Old Faithful in Yellowstone. Today we dropped Bailey off at the Maximum Security prison where she will be boarded with some inmates.

The border lineups were long, due to the long weekend, but we managed to get through in a relatively short one hour. Luckily we were able to use the Nexus line, but we had quite a long wait to get to the Nexus lane – the Abottsford border can only be approached by a single line road, and the Nexus lane only branches off when you are within three hundred metres of the border!

Ellensburg, Wa

We were hoping to get to Kennewick, but managed to only get to a quaint little town called Ellensburg Washington, about 350 kms from home. We didn’t see Ellen, but the locale is much like the Kelowna area of BC. We had a nice dinner at the Roadhouse Grill. Very good service, and the food was pretty good. Prices were ok, not great. Had a nice local beer, very tasty.

Tomorrow, we’re going to aim to get to Boise Idaho. We don’t need to get to Santa Fe until Tuesday, so we can take our time on the road and stop to see the sights. There have been some nice looking roadside fruit stands, so we’ll make a stop and get some cherries at least!