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Tag Archives: New Mexico

A Wondrous Road Trip!

23 Tuesday Jan 2018

Posted by danielwalldammit in Bad Photography, Travel

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

California, New Mexico, Road Trip, Route 66, Santa Fe, Summer, Taos, Travel, Wonder Woman

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Just south of Taos

It was the summer of Wonder Woman. I mean, I know she was in the theaters this last summer, and I certainly enjoyed the movie, but that’s not what I’m talking about. She was in our car. Wonder woman, I mean. She was in our car.

Yep!

We were wondering what that strange sound was coming from the back. We didn’t hear it often, at first anyway, but it was just an odd sound. Were the Jarritos bouncing up against the Mexi-cokes? Maybe something was falling out of the luggage? No, not that over and over like that, and it doesn’t sound like bottles. Neither Moni nor I could quite place it. And then an impression started to form, but it just couldn’t be right. I thought perhaps all those years of role-playing geeketry were playing havoc with my ears, because I couldn’t possibly be hearing it right. Still, the more I listened, the more convinced I became.

“Is that a sword?”

“It does sound like a sword, yes.”

Hearing Moni confirm my seemingly-impossible impression was a little reassuring. It was also a little disturbing. Why in the hell would the sounds of sword fighting be coming from the back of our vehicle? And then Moni remembered the costume. I had bought her a Wonder Woman costume for super-hero day at her gym. It came with a plastic sword and that sword made sounds whenever you moved it around. We meant to give it to one of of her nieces or nephews, but I guess we never got around to it. Instead, the noisy blade was buried somewhere in the back beneath a pile of luggage, snacketry, random shoes, and countless things we probably didn’t need. Evidently, the sword had room to juggle. So, Wonder Woman had room to fight in the back of our vehicle.

No matter! We would dig her out soon enough.

I think we first noticed the sound on a trip to Sequoia National Park. We could still hear Wonder Woman doing battle after a diversion to Monterey, another trip to Sacramento and San Francisco, several small trips around Los Angeles, a road trip to Santa Fe by way of the Navajo Nation, at least three trips back to to Taos Pueblo through Espaniola, one to Bandelier, one to Kasha Katuwe, and one each to Santa Ana Pueblo and Cochiti. We never did find her, or if we did, we missed the chance to find her a new home. Hell, she was still fighting her foes when we made it finally back to California at the end of the summer.

We actually did make an effort to find Wonder, but we were thwarted by the piles of unnecessary baggage. So, Wonder Woman spent the summer with us. She protected us from evils all across the southwest, and even scolded us when we did wrong. She could be kinda bossy that way, but otherwise, I must admit the living weapon herself was actually pretty good company.

Presumably, her sword is in storage now.

It’s been a little over six months now, so I guess it’s time to share some pics from our road trip, the one Moni and I took with Wonder Woman.

 

I’ve already blogged about a few of these things, but I do plan to produce at least one more post about the street art in San Francisco. I’ve posted about the Institute of American Indian Arts before, and about Santa Fe. These are definitely favorite stops of mine. Here are a few pics (click to embiggen)!

Moni's Nephews in the Kiva at Old Pecos
Moni’s Nephews in the Kiva at Old Pecos
Little Sister isn't impressed with the Quinceañera pics
Little Sister isn’t impressed with the Quinceañera pics
Institute of American Indian Arts
Institute of American Indian Arts
Bandelier
Bandelier
We need one of these trucks here in Barrow before the next 30 days of night
We need one of these trucks here in Barrow before the next 30 days of night
Restaurant in Taos
Restaurant in Taos
Just south of Taos
Just south of Taos
Church at Taos Pueblo
Church at Taos Pueblo
Institute of American Indian Arts
Institute of American Indian Arts
Old Pecos Pueblo
Old Pecos Pueblo
Near Bandelier
Near Bandelier
Whaling Wall in San Francisco
Whaling Wall in San Francisco
Old Pecos Pueblo
Old Pecos Pueblo
Pecos
Pecos
Tragedy at La Brea Tar Pits
Tragedy at La Brea Tar Pits
Muckrock Mural at Taos
Muckrock Mural at Taos
Somewhere in Northern California
Somewhere in Northern California
Window Rock, AZ (I used to work a short stroll from here)
Window Rock, AZ (I used to work a short stroll from here)
Bandelier
Bandelier
Santa Fe
Santa Fe
Three Amigos?
Three Amigos?
Fat Man replica at Los Alamos
Fat Man replica at Los Alamos
Horseshoe Bend
Horseshoe Bend
Taos Pueblo
Taos Pueblo
San Dimas
San Dimas
Santa Fe
Santa Fe
Kiva at Old Pecos Pueblo
Kiva at Old Pecos Pueblo
San Francisco
San Francisco
The Institute of American Indian Arts
The Institute of American Indian Arts
Somewhere in Los Angeles
Somewhere in Los Angeles
Madrid, New Mexico
Madrid, New Mexico
Getting some shade near Horseshoe Bend
Getting some shade near Horseshoe Bend
This guy was bathing in a fountain at Window Rock, Navajo Nation
This guy was bathing in a fountain at Window Rock, Navajo Nation
Note the building from another pic
Note the building from another pic
Face off!
Face off!
Women's Building in the Mission District in San Francisco
Women’s Building in the Mission District in San Francisco
Yeah...
Yeah…
San Francisco
San Francisco
Horseshoe Bend on the Colorado River
Horseshoe Bend on the Colorado River
Moni and Annie at Harvey Milk's old haunt
Moni and Annie at Harvey Milk’s old haunt
Seems to be a car show in town (San Dimas)
Seems to be a car show in town (San Dimas)
Coastline near Monterey
Coastline near Monterey
Stump in Sequoia
Stump in Sequoia
Big Stump
Big Stump
I think Moni wanted to drop me off here, not sure why
I think Moni wanted to drop me off here, not sure why
Pomona
Pomona
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San Juan, Fiesta
San Juan, Fiesta
Thai Restaurant in San Francisco (I think this was our waiter)
Thai Restaurant in San Francisco (I think this was our waiter)
The Ned Hatathli Center at Diné College
The Ned Hatathli Center at Diné College
San Francisco Mural
San Francisco Mural
This Guy lives near Williams, ARizona
This Guy lives near Williams, ARizona

 

 

 

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Meow Says the Wolf

01 Monday Jan 2018

Posted by danielwalldammit in Travel, Write Drunk, Edit Stoned

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

Children, Creepy, Fun House, George R R Martin, House of Eternal Return, Meow Wolf, New Mexico, Odd, Santa Fe

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I told Danielito, his name is ‘Bob’ for the balance of our visit. I was Daniel first.

I could easily wish the crowds away, but that would be foolish. They are a big part of the experience here at Meow Wolf. Mere moments after entering the fun house, our party is already separated into at least 3 separate groups. Moni is nearby, but I’m not sure where. Her sister and I are together. She is nervous and worried the place will be scary. I’m not entirely re-assuring. We catch a glimpse of her two kids. They rush on by as their mother tries to call them back.

It’s no use going after them. Did they go up into the tree house, or over to the musical mastodon? Perhaps into the fish-tank? We’ll find them eventually, but not by looking. No matter. One is old enough. The other has been here before. They will take care of each other. So, we let them have their fun.

I’m recovering from a bad flu, so I tire easily. Luckily, there are places to sit and watch the people. This is my second time at Meow Wolf, so I am happy to take my time; happier still to rest when I can. A woman walks by urging her child to stay nearby. A few minutes later she walks by again, alone.

“Baby, where are you?”

I get up to help her look for the child and instead find myself helping a couple women trying to connect a completely different child with his parents. They are on it; I’m just trying to see if I can help, but it’s difficult. You’re never more than one room away from getting completely lost in this place. Give yourself time and you’ll find your way back to the main entrance. But how to search more than one room without losing these two and their momentary ward?

A solution takes the form of a stumbling old man in mad scientist garb. I’ve seen him before. He gets lost in corners and regularly stands motionless for odd periods of time. Soon after meeting the women, our shambling scientist becomes a competent staff member with an intercom and a clear set of procedures. Unfortunately, the first step (getting the kid’s name and that of his parents) doesn’t seem to be getting anywhere. The kid is just too disoriented to answer even these questions. Another child is screaming in my ear. It’s disconcerting, but this child is already in her own mother’s arms, so that’s probably a good sign. Still those are blood-curdling screams for such a little girl. What has her so scared?

“I don’t want to leave!”

Ah, …got it!

The girl keeps screaming that she doesn’t want to leave. She screams this as though her life depended on it. Nearby, the once-shambling scientist calls three names into his head set. He is well on his way to solving the problem.  I wander off to find something new. I’m told there have been some changes to a few rooms, and the people scrambling about me add a whole other layer of new things to see.

A young woman opens up a closet, then stands in awe as people behind wait for the moment to pass. Others charge into rooms and devour them. An elderly woman has trouble navigating a narrow staircase. The crowds wait patiently. There is plenty to see. Just about every where you look, there is something odd to see, something weird to wonder about. Kids open the drawers and study their contents. A middle aged man yanks out a drawer a little too far and spends the next few minutes putting its spilled contents back. Some tap on shiny mushrooms, hoping to know what sound they will make. You can play a piano, an odd piano, or even a lazer-lyre.

 

 

I found myself in the entrance to the place, a large area resembling a classic suburban home. It is two stories tall, filled with all the usual features of a middle-class home; a kitchen, a living room, a study, several bedrooms, a nice bathroom, and so on. There are also a few things you don’t find in most middle class homes. A few inter-dimensional portholes, lots of odd scenes. You can find the beginnings of a narrative here in this home. Notes and booklets scattered throughout the rooms allude to scientific experiments gone wrong, perhaps a bit of a cult gone wronger.

I sit here and watch the crowd. Within minutes a little girl asks if she can sit on my lap. She is adorable, but her mother isn’t having any of it. That’s understandable, of course, but I have to wonder. I’m no Santa Clause. Is there something about this place that softens my resting-bastard-face? The next little girl seems to want my attention to. Her parents shuffle the family by without any event.

Perhaps they just want to sit down?

I free up the chair.

Standing on a narrow bridge a woman turns towards me saying; “that’s just the weirdest thing I…” It’s at that point, she realizes I’m not the person she thought she was talking to. It’s understandable. At one point, I mistake a woman for a manikin. In my defense, she wasn’t moving. I find another mad scientist repairing a refrigerator door. That may seem an odd job for a scientist, but in his defense, not every fridge serves as a porthole into another dimension. The condiment rack on the door of this porthole is loose, and there is no telling what that could mean!

I bump into Moni and her family a couple times. All are happy. The kids are positively glowing.

Just like some of the exhibits.

Other things, you may hear in this place?

“This is the most ridiculous thing.”

“Don’t go in there!”

“Oh, oh, oh!”

“that’s how we came in”

“we came in through the fireplace?”

“How do you suppose that kid got stuck in the toilet?”

“What’s the big deal about this place? …Oh, I see.”

 

 

***

Meow Wolf is the brain-child of George R.R. Martin. Yes that George R.R. Martin! It’s an artist collective and a non-profit located on the south-side of Santa Fe, New Mexico. What they’ve created here could be described as a fun house, but that doesn’t even begin to do the place justice. Suffice to say that a lot of very creative people have invested a lot of brilliant thought into this project, and the results are spectacular. I reckon it can be a little stressful for the parents, but they will live through the experience, and so will their kids (who will no doubt keep the memories well into their own grey years). For the rest of us, I expect the key to this experience is opening ourselves to its disorienting qualities. You may think for a moment that you are beginning to figure something out, or that you know what’s around the corner to the left, but don’t be surprised if you are wrong. No matter! If you can make sense of this place, you are probably doing it wrong.

Thanks to Moni and her family who have contributed pics and suggestions. As usual, you may click to embiggen.

Hm...
Hm…
Moni and her Mom, at home in any kitchen
Moni and her Mom, at home in any kitchen
A surplus of doorknops
A surplus of doorknops
A performance artist and her pet dragon
A performance artist and her pet dragon
Belongs with the musical mastadon
Belongs with the musical mastadon
Fish Tank (mirrors a normal-sized tank in the front room)
Fish Tank (mirrors a normal-sized tank in the front room)
Lots to read
Lots to read
Wonder what kind of sermon you could hear in this place?
Wonder what kind of sermon you could hear in this place?
Life in the fish tank
Life in the fish tank
An oddly normal corner
An oddly normal corner
Southwestern weirdness
Southwestern weirdness
...among other things
…among other things
A cool family
A cool family
Do not climb on the spider!
Do not climb on the spider!
When aspen have eyes
When aspen have eyes
Motivational Weirdness
Motivational Weirdness
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Creepy
Creepy
The head of the musical mastodon
The head of the musical mastodon
Hm...
Hm…
Most kids just take a bath
Most kids just take a bath
Teenagers room, ...a teenager with a bit more angst than usual
Teenagers room, …a teenager with a bit more angst than usual
I wonder if she will teach me to weave?
I wonder if she will teach me to weave?
yep
yep
More creepy lit
More creepy lit
Should I run or give it a big hug?
Should I run or give it a big hug?
An Angstier teen
An Angstier teen
Yes, you can enter the ice box
Yes, you can enter the ice box
Poor little guy! ...er, big guy.
Poor little guy! …er, big guy.
A special kind of Hell
A special kind of Hell
Parking lot
Parking lot
More lit
More lit
Little Guys
Little Guys
The ribs make music
The ribs make music

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The Murals of Española

24 Friday Nov 2017

Posted by danielwalldammit in Street Art, Travel

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

Art, Española, Murals, New Mexico, Painting, Photos, Southwest, Street Art, Travel

22426453_10214539482825886_622094195494757406_oRegular readers may have noticed already, but when I (and now Moni too) experience a bout of southiness, we frequently do this somewhere in the southwest. Santa Fe is a common destination. We mostly travel through nearby Española on our way up to Taos, Pueblo, but this last summer, we also traveled through on our way up to Ghost Ranch, and that meant going though more of the town. The murals were very cool!

Moni gets mad at me when she sees these, because she doesn’t remember many of them. I think she was on the phone while I ran loose with a camera.

So, brought to you with just a trade of schadenfreude, the murals of Española!

(Click to embiggen)

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DSC02216
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DSC02210
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DSC01827
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DSC02219

 

 

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Route 66 Under the Tires and on the Screen

01 Monday Aug 2016

Posted by danielwalldammit in Bad Photography, Movies

≈ 11 Comments

Tags

Arizona, Cars, Driving, New Mexico, Photography, Road Trip, Route 66, Tourism, Travel

Cars_2006So my girlfriend has this theory that the Pixar movie, Cars, did a lot to help revive the tourist trade along Route 66. I don’t know how serious she is about this theory, but it’s as good an excuse to talk about Route 66 as any, and about Cars, so here goes…

What has Monica talking about Cars? We’ve taken a couple trips along I-40 this summer and last. This year, we’ve taken a few of the detours off I-40 to see what we can find along Route 66. It’s nostalgia for me. I’ve driven large parts of the southwestern route enough to get to know quite a few of the stops quite well. Having someone unfamiliar with it all is interesting though, because I get to see these old sites through her new eyes.

Also she gave me an assignment.

…to watch Cars.

I’ve certainly done worse duty. The movie is cute, perhaps a little too cute. I should probably gruff it off, but I actually enjoyed it. Funny though, I spent the first half of the movie thinking the judge-car (Doc Hudson) sounded an awful lot like Paul Newman. Couldn’t figure out who else it could have been until I mentioned it. Turns out the voice for the car is Paul Newman, and the film turned out to be a little older than I thought.

It’s fitting that Newman would appear in Cars, because I think The Hustler is pretty much the prototype for sports movies. I know, straight pool is a bit of a stretch for a sport, and perhaps a cartoon race-car is an odd subject for a sports film, but I’m sticking to my guns on this one. It’s a story of a prodigy in a competitive field, one who needs to get his priorities straight. That’s almost every sports movie I can think of, and the voice of Fast Eddie Felson (Newman’s character in The Hustler) haunts them all as far as I’m concerned. In this case Fast Eddie’s voice sounds a bit aged, but it’s literally there. And this is certainly a film about a prodigy that needs to get his priorities straight.

…which is an interesting theme through which to explore the relationship between I-40 and Route 66.

***

…er spoilers!

There are no people in this movie; just cars, cars that seem a lot like people. The film’s main character is a race car named Lightning McQueen. Lightning is a talented race-car who is tearing up the tracks during his rookie year on the circuit. He is one of three contenders for the annual Piston Cup award, which would effectively make him the biggest champion of the year. Unfortunately, Lightning’s ego alienates his pit crew and so they leave him just before the final show-down, a race against two great rivals to be held in California. Lightning plans to win the race all by himself, but first he must get to California. For reasons best watched for yourself, Lightning ends up stranded in the tiny southwestern town of Radiator Springs. Having accidentally destroyed the towns main road (a section of Route 66), McQueen finds himself sentenced to repair it before he can go.

Radiator Springs is very much in decline. It had its heyday in the fabled days when Route 66 was alive. The creation of Interstate 40 effectively rerouted the traffic just a few miles off the old route, and in this case, that few miles proved enough to be the undoing of the town. Its inhabitants can only hope to catch the attention of an occasional tourist, but it gets precious few of those.

…even before Lightning comes disastrously to town.

Pressed for time, Lightning struggles first to escape and then to finish the repairs in time to make his final race. In the interim, he must contend with a small cast of character-cars (most of whom were based on actual people living along route 66), including a love interest (a lovely little Porche). He wants out badly, of course, but in time Lightning grows to appreciate the town and its four-wheeled denizens. Having finally grown to appreciate the human side of things, …or at least the personified motor-car variant thereof, Lightning finds himself both a better race-car and a better person car for it. In the end, he doesn’t merely repair the damaged road and make a good showing the race (I’m not going to tell you who won, ha!). Lightning also revitalizes the town, establishing it as a thriving tourist trap with a promising future.

***

So, what does this movie have to say about Route 66? Well, I think one of the best lines about that topic comes from Sally (Lightning’s love interest). She tells Lightning that people moved through the landscape differently when it was Route 66. Asked how, she says:

Well, the road didn’t cut through the land like that interstate. It moved with the land, it rose, it fell, it curved. Cars didn’t drive on it to make great time. They drove on it to have a great time.

So there it is, the claim this movie makes about Route 66. It represents the rich experience that travel can be in direct opposition to a modern strictly utilitarian form of transportation.  The question is which matters more? The experience of traveling across the landscape or simply getting there? This theme smacks of nostalgia, of course, and I can’t help but begin to imagine counter-examples (great road-trips on I-40 or the near certainty that at least some people must have taken to Route 66 for the specific purpose of getting somewhere fast). If there is a concrete difference between the actual roads, it also lies in way the old route goes through small towns while the new one goes around them. Which approach is more welcome may depend a lot on why one is behind the wheel, and how much time one has to get where they mean to go. Still I-40 does nudge things a bit in the direction of getting from point B to point A with a bit more efficiency, and that does come at the cost of seeing a stretch of small-town America.

This nostalgic moment has its own creative force. Many of the small towns along Route 66 have indeed made precisely the transformation depicted in Cars, turning themselves into tourist-traps in the hopes of diverting people off the main highway. As far as I can remember, references to Route 66 have always lured tourists off the main highway along the route, but I can’t help thinking the scale of Route 66 marketing has gone up a notch in the last decade or so. Perhaps Moni is right. Maybe that’s a post-hoc fallacy sweetened with a dose of confirmation bias on my part, but I was rather surprised to see just how much draw some of these towns seem to be getting out of the subject. Whether or not people used to drive Route 66 to have a great time, many do seem to be pulling off onto the small detours now for precisely that reason. No doubt, such traffic brings a few smiles to the faces of locals to match those of those taking in the sites.

Moni and I couldn’t help but notice at least one person who wasn’t so happy about all the traffic. Sitting in gridlock traffic in the middle of downtown Williams, Arizona, neither of us could quite tell what the woman a few cars ahead had been ranting about. The words; “Oh my god, Get out of my fucking way!” clarified things a bit. We watched as a tourist slowly decided to take advice from a green light and the exasperated local finally got around him and made a little headway along main-street. A few minutes later, I heard the same woman shouting “One way street” as she walked along behind a vehicle making a rapid and quite unplanned side-turn.

Yep, there are definitely definite down-sides to tourism.

Didn’t stop Moni and I from taking pictures.

(Click to embiggen; it’s what Fast Eddie Felson would want you to do.)

Seligman *
Seligman *
Williams *
Williams *
Williams again *
Williams again *
Willaims ^
Willaims ^
Nuther Sligman Pic *
Nuther Sligman Pic *
Seligman Again *
Seligman Again *
Ruins Somewhere East of Flagstaff
Ruins Somewhere East of Flagstaff
Seligmania *
Seligmania *
Aging Perpendiculars
Aging Perpendiculars
WIlliams is probably more than a 1 horse town, but it has 1 for sure. *
WIlliams is probably more than a 1 horse town, but it has 1 for sure. *
Seligman Bison *
Seligman Bison *
Ruins East of Flagstaff
Ruins East of Flagstaff
Moar Ruins
Moar Ruins
Whole Lotta Ruination Goin On!
Whole Lotta Ruination Goin On!
Mural Holding Up Well Actually
Mural Holding Up Well Actually

 

* Pictures marked with a star came from Moni’s camera. She also helped me find a source or two, and of course it was Moni’s request that we take some of these detours that led to this post in the first place. She also reminded me to give a fuck to a certain quote, so to speak. Moni is solely responsible for the good parts of this post. I of course am the devil messing up the details.

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With Apologies to the Moths Along I-40; My Summer! (Includes Pictures)

10 Thursday Sep 2015

Posted by danielwalldammit in Bad Photography, Las Vegas, Write Drunk, Edit Stoned

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

Cooking, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New Mexico, Road Trip, RPGs, Story-Telling, Summer, Vegas

Just an excitable boy!

Just an excitable boy!

Stays in Vegas, my ass! What happens in Vegas gets bigger, wilder, and more sordid with every retelling of the story!

My summer in Vegas might even have included the slaying of giants, for example. Dice might have been involved, but let’s not dwell on the details. Other frequent activities included book night. Book club did involve Scotch I believe, or at least a Corona. I could say that I really don’t remember the books and leave it at that, but it’s entirely possible that no books were to be found at book night.

…or even discussed for that matter.

And if RPGs and an occasional beer ain’t wild enough for a good Vegas yarn, then let me tell you about the museums. Yeah, that’s right. Vegas has museums! No, I’m not going to tell you about the mob museum, because that’s just what you’re expecting me to do. But Las Vegas does have a Mormon!

…Fort.

I do recall a bit of neon!

And then there was the place that went boom! Lots to lean at the museum that goes boom. More on that on another day. The Mojave Penguin at the Clark County Museum was cool! The Springs Preserve was annoying, then amusing, then kinda cool, but there were absolutely NO butterflies, dammit! Pin Ball, you already know about, and of course there is the sexy museum that isn’t really that sexy! I took a former student to that place.  He declined to go next door. Otherwise, we’d have some real story to tell.

I met an old friend in an alley. Shhhhhh….

Downtown is always fun, and the Container Park rocks!

…sometimes literally.

I narrowly escaped a giant flame-spouting mantis somewhere in that area. No big deal. So did the others, you might say. I know. I saved everyone!

Hoover Dam is still there. Much of the water isn’t. Dammit!

Also I biggened the moon while I was in the area. Yes, I did!

The strip? What happens on the strip might as well stay on the strip, cause I couldn’t care less.

Apparently, I am now on Instagram.

Bob still makes great steaks, and Pam hasn’t greened a chili in a long time, but this summer was special. Plus Moni approved my gringo tacos, so I is a happy cookery-guy!

Vegas might well have included the Santa Monica Pier and a visit to Church, unless I was just sober. Not that I’m not often sober, or that any of this will make sense to you, but I don’t give a damn.

If you make sense to people, they will only make sense back at you!

Vegas might also have included a Corn Dance and a lovely stay in Santa Fe, New Mexico, but hey, I told you what happens in Vegas gets bigger with every retelling. Sometimes Vegas itself gets bigger with every retelling.

Or so I telled you!

Big skies happen!

Big skies happen!

Moni almost went boom at the corn dance. My fault on accounta I’m a bad person, but red chili be praised! She came out okay. My thanks to the kind people at Santa Ana Pueblo!

On a serious note, I really enjoyed our stay at Rancho Gallina and a chance to visit a couple of old friends. If you are ever planning a stay in Santa Fe, do yourself a favor and check out this bed and breakfast!

Yeah, there were utility boxes too, in vegas I mean, and the utility was sometimes amazing! I mighta seen a few other street-arts, some of which were quite cool. Or maybe they were hot, but only if being hot is cool, if you’re cool with that, I mean!

Hot pots also happen!As does Kimchi! And Origami statues happen! Lots of happenings happen, as it happens.

The View from Pikes Landing

The View from Pikes Landing

I would tell you that Vegas included the Chena River, but that might be stretching the bounds of credibility, so I’ll just admit that was Fairbanks. I went to Fairbanks before I became really Southy, and Fairbanks was cool. That said, credibility is a damned kill-joy and he’s not invited into any more of my stories!

Also, I really am a bad man, and I will probably be kicked next time I go to Vegas.

That’s ‘boiled alive’ in What-happens-in-Vegas talk!

***

You may click to embiggen!

Biggish Moon
I’m pretty sure this counts as metagaming!
A kind and helpful sign.

Container Art
Yeah, this is kinda creepy.
Hot Pot!

Kimchi!
The terrible beast at the gates of the container park
A great guardian mantis stands outside the container park.

Container Park is Contained!
Container Rock
I geek! yes, I do.

Carpe no diem. …in lake Meade
Hoover Dam (Kinda sad)

Er, …the Los Angeles part of Vegas.

Santa Monica is pretty, but I worry about the fauna. ..flora. …fauna. …Argh!
So this is what people do in sunny and beautiful places!
Piers happen!

Comedian John Fugelsang and the Choir.
I wish I could tan like that!

Moar Street Art!

Back of the container park.
A Phoenix in the back of the old Huntridge Theater. …Irony is a cruel mistress!
The Precious Slut Tattoo Parlor

Run away!
Splash of color!
Zebra’s happen!

Mural by ARG
Back of the Beauty Bar as I recall.
Also the back of the Beauty Bar.

Nuther one from the back of the Beauty Bar.
Hammerheads also happen
oooh, …sexy!

Pretty!
Near downtown.

Museums. …I like the one that goes boom!

The Neon Museum (AKA the Boneyard)
One Aisle
Inside the Mormon Fort!

Told you the museum goes boom!
You need these at the museum that goes boom!

Okay, the Springs Preserve had plenty of these butterflies.
Desert Bighorns! …the artsy kind at the Springs Preserve.

On the road again…

(My friend Monica took a lot of these images, and I think she even tweaked the colors a bit for her Instagram page.)

Blue in front of us and blue behind us.
Road
Clouds

Near Gallup
A bluing path
Me Drivinating!

Sunset
Moni likes clouds!
Near Gallup

the road is cloudy and cool!

Santa Fe and thereabouts.

Rancho Gallina
Entrance to Rancho Gallina
The dining hall and office for Rancho Gallina

Rancho Gallina
Interior of Rancho Gallina
Common Area (Rancho Gallina)

Desk and Fireplace at Rancho Gallina
Santa Fe
Spanish Market

View from a friend’s house.
At the Museum of Contemporary Indian Art associated withe the Institute of American Indian Arts
We have no pictures of the corn dance.

My friend had another guest.
Origami Tower
Airplanes taking off

Rock,Paper,Scissors

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Santa Fe isn’t Cold Enough (…but it Has Mad Arts!)

17 Monday Dec 2012

Posted by danielwalldammit in Bad Photography, Street Art

≈ 43 Comments

Tags

Art, Murals, New Mexico, Photography, Photos, Santa Fe, Snow, Street Art, Travel

Railroad Station

Railroad Station

Santa Fe isn’t cold enough.

I was sitting down for lunch at a conference in Santa Fe as a snow storm settled on the town when someone asked me how the cold here compared to the cold back home. I told her it wasn’t cold enough here.

After the laughter, I explained that I had stepped in a puddle of melted snow that morning, the result being that my foot was cold and wet. This was not the sort of thing I had to worry about in Barrow, at least not for much of the year.

Santa Fe just isn’t cold enough.

Oh but it’s a beautiful city for a walk, even with the wet snow that melts around your feet and makes them wet.

***

Quite a few of these murals are from a sort of youth center, called Warehouse 21.

In other news, I added a couple pics to the photo-gallery for the Institute of American Indian Arts, in Santa Fe.

(If you click on it, it will grow!)

Railroad Station
Epic battle Under the Sun
Santuario de Guadalupe (Old Mission Church)

Back Wall
Health Theme
Dumpster Wall

Icicles
Walking Dead
Hm…

Mural Near the Train Station
Locomotive, Train Station Mural III
Train Station Mural IV

Cathedral II
Saint Francis of Assisi Dancing on the Water
Pink Wall

Wiener Dog
I think it represents the totality of man in his quest to find the inner objectification of all that is not what it really is, …on a Thursday.
Native American Motif

Giraffes in the snow! (W21)
Bird Mural (W21)
Moar Confusilating Images! (W21)

Aerosol Art in and on the wall (W21)
I had a feeling someone was watching me. (W21)
Hulk! (W21)

I dunno, looks powerful. (W21)
Spidy (W21)
Eye From Below. (W21)

King (W21)
Feather Head Woman (W21)
If I have to tell you who this is… (W21)

Parking Lot I
Parking Lot II
Parking Lot III

Parking Lot IV
Parking Lot I
…and Jimi closes the show, as well he would (W21)

71.271549 -156.751450

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