THEM

Another of our travel interests is to visit places where movies were filmed or supposed to have taken place. A couple of years ago we were at a filming location of She Wore a Yellow Ribbon and the town near the end of The Outlaw Josie Wales. A couple of days ago we watched a relatively small ant dragging a wasp-like insect that was at least 20 times his size. Then things came together. We were not far from the Trinity site, first atomic bomb test. Visitation only is allow two days in the year so I cannot supply a personal photo.

Anyway, the 1954 movie THEM  (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047573/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1) is premised that the radiation from an atomic explosion caused ants to grow to a rather large size. It sticks with me as it is the only movie I have left before the end. OK, I was about seven years old. So here I sit in the desert listening for the "twee-twee-twee-twee" sound the ants made in the movie knowing James Arness and James Whitmore are not around to take charge. "Make me a sergeant in charge of the booze." You have to see the movie to understand that line.

looking for volunteers to go down in the hill with gas grenades

Back to Church(es)

We returned to the Salinas Missions, in particular Gran Quivira . If the ruins don't impress you the view might.

As with the other sites, only a small portion has been exposed. The churches, two in this case, are a c.1630 building, foundation only, and a later structure that was not finished.

First Church

Second Church

The mission complex and the native village was constructed on top of a previous pueblo. As there is not water source other than catch basins, natural and man-made, and roof top collection, you can speculate if the security of the high ground had something to do with it.

Two levels of habitation

A mass burial of 450 bodies was discovered during excavation. Mounds in the area are "suggested" to include more burials. Disease and starvation were part of the time.

San Lorenzo Canyon

San Lorenzo canyon is in the outback of the Sevilleta Refuge. After we left Interstate 25 it was a leisurely drive for about 2 miles to a narrow tunnel back under the Interstate that takes you to about 5 miles of dirt road that will shake the dust out of you, and your vehicle, ha ha. As we entered the canyon area we spotted a grey form moving up a ridge. The binoculars brought it in, unfortunately the camera didn't have the horsepower. A coyote or wolf would stop and look at us also as he/she went about his/her business. As it was a couple hours after sunrise and the animal was not shy I tend to thin it was a wolf. Wolves here are only slightly larger than coyotes. Only slightly less difficult to photograph is this creature.

Jackrabbit

Then we get to the canyon. It is impressive and on a scale I can handle. I am uncomfortable when overwhelmed by "majestic' things.

And a flower. There are more than 20 varieties of Cholla cactus

Interlude, for lack of another word

We planned an early lunch at Pete's (trip advisor #1 in Belen, NM) and then doing the Walmart thing. As I was up early enough to see this,

Denise also got up early so we had a morning to use up. How about a drive on El Camino Royale. It is just the other side of the Rio Grande. The road was established well before my seasick ancestor staggered ashore in 1630. It was the trade artery between Mexico City and Santa Fe and remained so until Americans moved in to Northern New Mexico and established the Santa Fe Trail. A dead end road takes you to La Joya, the proverbial dusty little western town.

La Joya has abandoned buildings as pictured above and some rather nice houses, a pattern common to this area. The changes over time would be interesting to see. The town was established on a native pueblo as the first stop north of El Paso, or the last stop if you were headed south. It may be 430 years since the Europeans came and astoundingly there is no golf course!

Then we doubled back and visited a small (by western standards) waterfowl sanctuary. During the season it sees flocks of sandhill cranes and snow geese. Today I had to settle for my first quail, and another vista.

Yeah, lunch at Pete's was good. The daily special was carne adovado, pork chunks stewed in red chili. Pete's is on First Street down by the railroad yard across from the Harvey House (museum).

A New World

About 6 miles down the road is Sevilleta Wildlife Refuge. A few birds and possibly a jackrabbit (it was a long ways away) was the "bag" today, in wildlife. What was presented was a variety of wildflowers and some cactus in bloom. Not much else to say but some stuff to show.

For anyone who is a Zane Grey western fan below is the stuff the RIDERS OF THE PURPLE SAGE rode through.

I am happy to be able to present an image of non-tumbling tumble weed.

New Mexico

Three days ago we dropped the hook in Bernardo, New Mexico. It may or may not be on your map. In addition to Kiva RV Camp and Horse Motel, there is a nice traditional building that may have been a business, a house next to it, a hog farm somewhere down a nearby side road, the obligatory decaying mobile home, and a cell tower. We will be here through the Fourth of July. Our particular location in the park makes wifi service unpredictable which might disrupt my unpredictable series of irregular blog posting from time-to-time, depend on it.. Keep checking in, I think the blog with the most views wins a pony.

First up on the parade of adventures are the Mission Communities of the Salinas Valley. I will not attempt to do the history as it is relatively complex native and Spanish. (You can learn everything on the "net" of course.) I love sauntering through the ruins of the past. Watch for the book of the same title but with less passion.

Above is the Church of San Gregorio de Abo. (Abo is the designation of one of three settlements along about 40 miles of the valley. The others are Gran Quivira/Las Humanas and Quarai) The Spanish arrived in the valley in 1591 and found long established native villages. The church complex is all that has been excavated. A large village was located to the left of this photo and is a series of mounds built over time. Architecture in the area is rock rather than adobe. It was plentiful and easily worked.

We also visited Quarai, The Church and convent of Nuestra Senora de la Purisima Concepcion de Quarai.

Quarai

We plan on visiting the remaining site before we leave. AND just to point out that the National Park Service has a sense of humor.

"Happy Trails to You"

(Roy and Dale)

Heading South

Camp on Raton Pass, Colorado-New Mexico border. Looking south.