Different Types of Art

Had a blast today. I drove about a half hour southwest of Santa Fe to Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument. No dogs allowed but I could see why once I got there. The tent rocks look like Xmas trees, narrow at the top, cylinder in shape and wider at the bottom. There are two trails, one easy 1.2 mile one that goes around the base of Tent Rocks and one that is three miles, with a steep 630 foot climb to the top of the mesa. I planned to take the easy hike because I certainly don't need to be climbing any tall structures.

As I'm walking along the easy trail, the trail breaks off to the climbing trail. There is a sign there that says Slot Canyon 300 feet. I have always wanted to see a slot canyon so I figured 300 feet – no big deal. I started walking down this Slot Canyon Trail and it was so very very cool. The rocks close in around you and there are so many different shapes – it was fascinating. So I kept walking. The walls were so tall that there was still snow on part of the trail because the sun doesn't shine all the way down to the canyon floor. There were short little climbs but nothing that was bothersome. Sort of a gradual incline. In parts of the canyon, it was so narrow that you had to turn sideways to get through. At the very end of the slot canyon the actual climb begins. I really debated going up any higher and decided that I would climb and see how it goes. I started climbing. As I've said before, heights and me don't get along. I got pretty high when I decided enough was enough because being plastered against the cliff wall with your stomach doing cartwheels is not enjoyable and as we all know I'm all about Joy. This is the part of the trail that dogs would have had a lot of difficulty in because the climb was rather arduous and there were some big steps that had to be made.

I thought going back down was a little scarier than going up. When you are climbing up, the rock face is right in front of you. You are not as aware of how far up you are. Going down, it was slipperier and you could see what would happen if you did slip. Although going down goes a lot faster than going up.

I am so glad I went on the longer, harder trail. The views were stupendous. I did finish off the easy trail when I got back out of the slot and it was no where as scenic as the slot trail.

The Slot Canyon Trail

 

 

 

Look how high up I climbed - Yay Me!!!

Thursday

I've been taking Nyquil at night because of the allergy thing and it has been knocking me out, meaning I got a very late start to the day.

Today was ART day. Santa Fe has a street called Canyon Road which is ¾ of a mile long. It is a very old neighborhood, filled with all of these old adobe homes. These homes have been converted to art galleries and studios. Very high end art for sale. Five figure art.

It is a cloudy day in Santa Fe and Canyon Road is pretty much deserted which means I pretty much have the galleries and their staff all to myself. Very bored staff, dare I say. So when I walk in, they are very chatty. In one Native American pottery shop (nothing below $3000), I learned all about the different pueblos and the different type of pottery they make. We also agreed that we would call all Native Americans First Nation people as the Canadians do. Another shop I learned all about Africa art, what areas of Africa art are now collectible. In another gallery, we discussed the spiritual nature of Santa Fe and how life changing it could be. I discussed allergies with one gallery keeper and learned about flushing my sinuses. I even learned all about Irish Terriers because Julie the resident Irish Terrier in one shop sniffed out the dog treats in my pocket and wanted to become a very close friend. The owner of the shop tells me that there are only three Irish Terriers in all of New Mexico. It took me about an hour to go through three galleries. All together I was there on Canyon Street for about four hours and only got about half through all of the galleries. I guess I will put Canyon Street on my list of places to come back to.

I noticed today that at my RV Park, they have designated Solar Dryers. It says that on the map of the park. When I look at the area in person, I see clotheslines. Nice.