Tuesday, 25 August 2009 03:34 pm
(no subject)
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
deckardcanineAbout time I posted a follow-up to my New Mexico family vacation. I expect to leave out some notable details as usual, but here goes.
We spent five days in Santa Fe. I was interested to learn that it has the same patron saint as I chose, Francis of Assisi. It's also reputedly quite liberal. These factors together bring to mind San Francisco, which has the same initials as well. I'm not sure of any causality here.
Whatever the case, it's a pleasant city to visit, particularly for the art galleries. There are so many vendors in such a small area that we can hardly imagine how most stay in business, aside from distinctive niches like the Chuck Jones Museum (a favorite, which includes surprising Dr. Seuss pieces). For once, I was the first in the family to buy a souvenir: a little black-glazed clay owl.
I was apprehensive about going to New Mexico in the summer because of the heat. Turns out it was about the same as in DC, only drier, which is fine by me: chapped lips are a small price to pay for no mosquito bites. Early weather reports told us to expect rain, as typical for the region in August, but we hardly saw any clouds the whole time. I did get a little sunburned in the vicinity of my neck; good thing I always wore a hat outdoors.
Santa Fe is pretty old among U.S. cities. We got to see the country's oldest church and oldest seat of colonial (Spanish) government. I attended mass at the former, as suggested by a guidebook.
Much of our other non-vegging time was spent hiking trails. This was partly to enjoy the gorgeous natural formations and partly to view the artifacts of ancient Pueblo people. (Note: "Anasazi" has fallen out of favor, because it means "ancient enemies.") We didn't see as much exotic wildlife as we'd hoped. We did ultimately see several lizards, hummingbirds, hummingbird moths, a couple cute roadrunners (who bear about as much resemblance to their Looney Tune as real Tasmanian devils bear to theirs), stinkbugs, rock squirrels... oh, and a western diamondback rattlesnake. Fortunately, it was slowly crossing the path and paying no mind to the nearby humans.
The other animals we saw a lot of were dogs, particularly tiny ones. For some reason, bigger dogs were less common in Santa Fe than in Taos. Those who weren't out walking or basking guarded the indoor galleries. Only one feline was up to that task.
Possibly my favorite part of the visit was seeing the earthships in Taos. I'm not quite as environmentally minded as my sister, who worked on earthships elsewhere and now recognized some companions building new ones, but these part-natural and part-recycled buildings look mighty stylish. I'd like to live in one if it weren't located in a blazing nowhere. Small wonder that everyone there was far tanner than me.
For the most part, I didn't notice much difference in accent between New Mexicans and us. It was more pronounced among people of native descent, who were plentiful in Taos.
We had plenty of good restaurant meals, focusing on local styles. It was a relief to see so many vegetarian options (rarely even had fish), but I guess I've had enough spicy salsa for a while. After a while, I learned to expect huge portions and not opt for an appetizer every time. No inspiring new culinary discoveries, but I would like to find Blue Sky sodas here in the east.
Both my parents were able to connect with friends they hadn't seen in decades. With them and the earthship crew, I was the only family member not to recognize anybody. Well, that's what happens when you're me.
It was good for me to have much less computer access than usual for a time. I was much missed at work, but at least nobody emailed me without knowing I was gone. Better not forget to arrange an away message on Outlook next time.
We spent five days in Santa Fe. I was interested to learn that it has the same patron saint as I chose, Francis of Assisi. It's also reputedly quite liberal. These factors together bring to mind San Francisco, which has the same initials as well. I'm not sure of any causality here.
Whatever the case, it's a pleasant city to visit, particularly for the art galleries. There are so many vendors in such a small area that we can hardly imagine how most stay in business, aside from distinctive niches like the Chuck Jones Museum (a favorite, which includes surprising Dr. Seuss pieces). For once, I was the first in the family to buy a souvenir: a little black-glazed clay owl.
I was apprehensive about going to New Mexico in the summer because of the heat. Turns out it was about the same as in DC, only drier, which is fine by me: chapped lips are a small price to pay for no mosquito bites. Early weather reports told us to expect rain, as typical for the region in August, but we hardly saw any clouds the whole time. I did get a little sunburned in the vicinity of my neck; good thing I always wore a hat outdoors.
Santa Fe is pretty old among U.S. cities. We got to see the country's oldest church and oldest seat of colonial (Spanish) government. I attended mass at the former, as suggested by a guidebook.
Much of our other non-vegging time was spent hiking trails. This was partly to enjoy the gorgeous natural formations and partly to view the artifacts of ancient Pueblo people. (Note: "Anasazi" has fallen out of favor, because it means "ancient enemies.") We didn't see as much exotic wildlife as we'd hoped. We did ultimately see several lizards, hummingbirds, hummingbird moths, a couple cute roadrunners (who bear about as much resemblance to their Looney Tune as real Tasmanian devils bear to theirs), stinkbugs, rock squirrels... oh, and a western diamondback rattlesnake. Fortunately, it was slowly crossing the path and paying no mind to the nearby humans.
The other animals we saw a lot of were dogs, particularly tiny ones. For some reason, bigger dogs were less common in Santa Fe than in Taos. Those who weren't out walking or basking guarded the indoor galleries. Only one feline was up to that task.
Possibly my favorite part of the visit was seeing the earthships in Taos. I'm not quite as environmentally minded as my sister, who worked on earthships elsewhere and now recognized some companions building new ones, but these part-natural and part-recycled buildings look mighty stylish. I'd like to live in one if it weren't located in a blazing nowhere. Small wonder that everyone there was far tanner than me.
For the most part, I didn't notice much difference in accent between New Mexicans and us. It was more pronounced among people of native descent, who were plentiful in Taos.
We had plenty of good restaurant meals, focusing on local styles. It was a relief to see so many vegetarian options (rarely even had fish), but I guess I've had enough spicy salsa for a while. After a while, I learned to expect huge portions and not opt for an appetizer every time. No inspiring new culinary discoveries, but I would like to find Blue Sky sodas here in the east.
Both my parents were able to connect with friends they hadn't seen in decades. With them and the earthship crew, I was the only family member not to recognize anybody. Well, that's what happens when you're me.
It was good for me to have much less computer access than usual for a time. I was much missed at work, but at least nobody emailed me without knowing I was gone. Better not forget to arrange an away message on Outlook next time.