Wednesday, August 29, 2012
The sunsets in Flagstaff are pretty, the clouds are so close to the ground.
Along Interstate 17.
I spent much of Saturday in an anti-histamine haze. I did awaken enough to make a delicious strawberry cake. I didn't have enough white sugar, so I replaced 1/2 cup with brown sugar. I'm definitely making this cake again.
Cake!
The next morning we went looking for wildflowers.
Evan and Homer.
Evan stopped the truck so I could go say hello to four young pigs. They were so happy to see me, they ran over to the fence and snorted hello. They wanted me to scratch their little heads. Pigs are just like dogs, I really, really don't see how people can be wicked and eat them.
At 11:00 I hopped in the Fiesta and drove to the Phoenix airport and hopped on an airplane and flew to Albuquerque and then drove a rental car to Santa Fe, where I checked into the nicest hotel I have ever stayed in. It would have been perfect except I was by myself and I kept thinking how much I wanted Evan to be there.
The next morning I drove east to Pecos National Historic Park. I climbed down into the kiva.
Second Pecos church.
The Park Service has to maintain the adobe ruins, which otherwise would melt away in the rain and wind.
Arched doorways.
Handprint.
I drove east on Interstate 25 and visited Fort Union. Back in 1987 and 1988 I worked as an archaeologist at the other Fort Union, in North Dakota.
Fort Union, 1861-1891.
The fort served to protect the area and as a supply depot. Scraps of adobe walls and brick chimneys remain.
Quartermaster buildings.
A walk around the site gave you a good sense of the scale of the fort. What was missing were the hundreds of soldiers and civilians who once lived and worked there. I was the only visitor.
Jail.
I drove back to Santa Fe, gave my talk (which went very well, as unusual). Later I went downtown Santa Fe and walked around the expensive shops, most of which were closed by 7 PM.
I spent much of Saturday in an anti-histamine haze. I did awaken enough to make a delicious strawberry cake. I didn't have enough white sugar, so I replaced 1/2 cup with brown sugar. I'm definitely making this cake again.
Cake!
The next morning we went looking for wildflowers.
Penstemons.
The distant fields were bright yellow.
Evan stopped the truck so I could go say hello to four young pigs. They were so happy to see me, they ran over to the fence and snorted hello. They wanted me to scratch their little heads. Pigs are just like dogs, I really, really don't see how people can be wicked and eat them.
Me and two of the pigs.
The next morning I drove east to Pecos National Historic Park. I climbed down into the kiva.
Kiva.
The Pecos Pueblo ruins are enormous and I wandered along the trail, admiring the occasional wall poking up and the sherds of pottery lying everywhere.
I did not see any snakes.
The Spaniards came and built a church, which was destroyed in the 1680 Pueblo Revolt. They later built another church and stayed for a while, and the last of the Pecos people walked away in 1838, decimated by European diseases.
The Park Service has to maintain the adobe ruins, which otherwise would melt away in the rain and wind.
Arched doorways.
The museum inside had interesting exhibits. My favorite pot was a reminder that people once lived at the site.
I drove east on Interstate 25 and visited Fort Union. Back in 1987 and 1988 I worked as an archaeologist at the other Fort Union, in North Dakota.
The fort served to protect the area and as a supply depot. Scraps of adobe walls and brick chimneys remain.
Sunflower and ruins.
Park Service employees, paid with our socialistic tax dollars, were busy maintaining the adobe walls.
A walk around the site gave you a good sense of the scale of the fort. What was missing were the hundreds of soldiers and civilians who once lived and worked there. I was the only visitor.
I drove back to Santa Fe, gave my talk (which went very well, as unusual). Later I went downtown Santa Fe and walked around the expensive shops, most of which were closed by 7 PM.
Cathedral.
I hate eating alone, and the restaurants were so fancy and expensive. I eventually went back to the hotel and had a fancy and expensive meal there. The vegetarian entree was mediocre.
At least the soup was delicious.
I got up very early Tuesday morning, drove to Albuquerque, flew to Phoenix, drove to Tucson, went to work, came home, slept, woke up with a migraine. Next time I go to Santa Fe, Evan will have to come with me to keep me company.
