March 20, 2021 – Abiquiu, Los Alamos, Bandelier National Monument

You mesa with me, I mesa with you!!!!!

Today we had quite an adventure set out before us. We started our day with a drive up to Abiquiu which is where Georgia O’Keefe had two homes – Ghost Ranch and a smaller home/studio in Abiquiu. It was about an hour drive  northwest of Santa Fe. Most of the landscape that we’ve seen in New Mexico has been sand colored with small bushes and few trees. The area heading up to Abiquiu was so different! First we passed these hills that reminded me of beach sand dunes – we could see tracks that looked as if ATVs may have riding through them.

  

We passed by a very large lake, which has been some of the only natural water we’ve seen besides the Rio Grande.

Then up popped mesas of all different colors carved out of small foothills. It was truly breathtaking!

  

  

  

Freakin’ ‘Rona!!!!!!!

We got to Abiquiu and everything was still closed. In normal times, the O’Keefe houses offer tours and the Visitors Center is open, however, we still enjoyed the drive. The driveway to Ghost Ranch was blocked for visitors because they were filming something! I was excited since its the closest I’ve ever gotten to a movie set 🤣 (Ed. Note – It’s really not that exciting, mostly just chicken wranglin’!!!) (That was just your job on that movie in Montevallo!)

The city that doesn’t exist!!!!

We headed to Los Alamos for our second stop. The hubs was really looking forward to visiting the “town that never was” or the “secret city” where the nuclear bomb was made. This was supposed to be his day…

Los Alamos was built on top of a plateau filled with canyons – this made the drive much more interesting the closer we got. We could see the snow topped mountains off in the distance before the road started climbing. And climb it did! The second picture below shows the cliff on one side of the road but there is a VERY long drop on the other side! (Ed. Note – There’s a reason they built and tested the bomb here – mostly ’cause if it blew up it would just blow up the surrounding mountains!!!)

  

A brief history lesson – there will be a test!!!!

In approximately 1225 CE, this area was inhabited by ancestors of Pueblo groups now living along the Rio Grande. This ancestral pueblo site is laid out in the park in central Los Alamos. Homesteading in this area become prominent in the early 1800’s and the Los Alamos Ranch School was founded in 1917, a school for boys offering a boarding school program with morning curriculum, required outdoor activities and community service.

Then, during the Second World War, this city was chosen to house a nuclear research laboratory as one of three to work on the Manhattan Project. The government appropriated much of the land and built up a self sustaining city with schools, a hospital and housing. No one owned their homes and housing was delegated according to the person’s rank in the laboratory. The city was surrounded by fencing and did not show up on maps during that time. Citizens were not supposed to talk about their city and it was never mentioned on driver’s licenses, birth certificates or mailing addresses. The city was only supposed to last through the end of WWII but because of the Cold War, the laboratory was here to stay.

There are many historic sites to visit, outdoor trails to hike and even skiing nearby in the Pajarito Mountain ski area. The Bandelier National Monument is not far from the city limits and has plenty of history, as well. (Ed. Note – They all looked interesting from the outside!!!)

And, of course – who’s “day” was it supposed to be again?!?!?!?

As we drove down the main street, I noticed a quilt and yarn shop, Atomic City Quilts and Close-Knit Yarn Cooperative, and since the museums were all closed (stupid COVID!) we had plenty of time for a quick look-see. I ran in for a quick few minutes 😉 just to see what they had. I spoke with a lovely woman working in the shop about the amount of business they do in such a small city. She assured me that with so many visitors to Bandelier and Los Alamos, they weren’t hard up for customers. Actually, she told me the tour buses stop right across the street and some people quietly slip away from their tour to take a quick peek in the shop (see, Editor, I’m not the only one). She had plenty of fabric and notions for those who sew and quilt and a good bit of yarn for knitters and crocheters. I picked up some lovely fingering weight yarn hand-dyed in New Mexico, Mesa Roja Designs in a colorway called Newpaper. (Ed. Note – Of course you “picked” something up – isn’t that what these day-trips are for?!?!?!?!?)

  

After grabbing some lunch at Boese Bros Brewpub – they had fantastic sandwiches, we headed to Bandelier National Monument. We passed through the southern most pine forest at the edge of the Rocky Mountains on our way. It was full of beautiful Ponderosa pines. I just love those big ole red pine trees!

Okay, this won’t be on the test!!!

Bandelier National Monument was named after anthropologist and historian Adolph Bandelier who came to New Mexico in 1880. He was sent there to trace the social organization, customs and movements of southwestern and Mexican people. Men from Cochiti Pueblo led Bandelier to their ancestral homes in Frijoles Canyon where he saw cave room architecture built into the sheer cliffs. These ancestral people built homes at the bottom of the cliffs and rooms were carved in the cliffs. The surrounding area was farmed – growing corn, beans and squash. They began by living in units of 2-3 families and later grew into larger groups, eventually migrating along the Rio Grande River.

I’m getting too old for this &%^$

There is a nice paved trail loop that takes visitors along the bottom of the cliff and through the woods back to the Visitors Center. The beginning of the trail takes you past areas that have brick borders that reminded me of raised garden beds. There were also several circular areas that were dug about 6 feet into the ground. The trail goes closer to the cliff and there are stairs (those stairs really did me in!) that take you up to the dwellings. Several have ladders that can be climbed so you can go inside the caves. There are blackened ceilings from fires and to help keep the soft “tuff” (soft volcanic rock) from crumbling. There are also petroglyphs throughout the cliffs.

  

  

  

It’s a thing, not a people!!!

We have driven past many Pueblos, all which have been closed to visitors to stem the spread of COVID. There is so much history in this area. I would love to learn and understand more about the Native people here. The traveling we’ve done has opened my eyes to the vastness and diversity of our country – there is so much to see and if there’s so much in this country, imagine what else is out there on our earth. Amazing! (Ed. Note – Yes, yes it is!!!!)