Today was very busy.
We started out in Carrizzozo. Another cool little town.
Soon we found life sized burro statues around town, painted very nicely.
So we had to look for those.
Then we went to the petroglyphs. Another national monument. This place has thousands of pictographs done by Indians several thousand years ago. They are pretty mystical and there is not much knowledge of who they were.
They don't seem to be related to the Navaho or Apache tribes that were prevelant here in the last few hundred years.
That was interesting.
We went back to Carrizzozo. Went into this little local diner, Manny's Cafe. Tiny place. An older man and his daughter invited us to sit with them. People are really friendly here.
But the place was very packed.
Got some more real authentic mexican type food there.
Everywhere you go they have Green or Red chilis. The thing is, you have to ask which is the hot one. Down around Carlsbad the Red was the hot and the green was mild. At Manny's today, halfway up the state, its just the opposite.
The guy and his daughter turned out to be ranchers who live near there.
They explained about the burros, which gives me ideas for ark City.
The burros are brought in and are plain white. Local artists paint them, and they are auctioned off, and put around town, whereever the winning bidder wants i guess.
The idea has possibilities.
After lunch we went to this place that has had a lot of lava flow over the past couple thousand years. Its called the fire lands.
We saw rabbits there, as well as several lizards.
We went back to the mountains after that.
We found some ruins of old Spanish missions from the 1600s. It is easy to forget that when the americans arrived in this part of the world, the Spanish had already been here a few hundred years.
It was pretty interesting.
We saw three of those that were in the same area.
From there we made our way to Interstate 40, and are in Santa Rosa, about 50 miles from the state line.
Hope to get back home tomorrow night.
Probably will be driving straight through.
Glad I dont have to go back to the .... place you know.
:)
but it will be good to be home.
Thanks for the pictures. They are nice break from ole River City.
ReplyDeleteI don't think your that previous place let you use your artistic talent. Have you ever thought about teaching a photogrophy class?
ReplyDeleteIt's true that in the right hands a picture is worth a thousand words!
I also wonder if all those things you saw in New Mexico aren't just everyday sites to those who live there - they probably don't even cherish them but take them for granted - except for the tourism money!
There are alot of interesting things in Kansas and Oklahoma as well - things you have to go out of your way to see or experience. But few if any that know how or can show the way!
I am enjoying all your pictures too, thanks for sharing them and your adventures!
ReplyDeleteBTW: Did you notice that in the pictographs one hand has six digits while the other has just five?
ReplyDeletejj. i to love the photos. lets me see places i can only dream about. keep up the good work. l'll talk to you about ads when you get back. from a fan.
ReplyDelete