The New Settlers of New Mexico

Enjoying these pics by photographer Irwin Klein (1933-1974), who lived & traveled in northeast NM from 1966-1971 taking pics of the 'new settlers' of the time. We went thru this area on our recent travels.

In the last week

Tonite = Friday night feast = fresh Georgia shrimp fried to perfection

A treat from Colorado - we brought back several pounds of these and Anasazi beans = one of the few crops cultivated by the Anasazi Indians, best identified for their architectual achievements known today as cliff dwellings. Sweet flavor with a faster cooking time.

have been making handbags as of late - the one now on the work table

a pic from our last day in Colorado = ice cream for breakfast, our 3-year-old's wish

Quite possibly the best hamburger I've eaten, from a hole-in-the-wall joint in Ouray. We both got cheese&mushroom. Messy & perfect.

I'm working on the third one of these. #1 & #2 where mostly handsewn.

harvesting end-of-the-season basil

seed heads

On Silence

Among the sages whom [Ralph Waldo] Emerson sought out on his visit to Europe was the notoriously reticent and difficult Thomas Carlyle. He called on Carlyle one evening and was given a pipe, while his host took one himself. They sat together smoking in perfect silence until bedtime, and on parting shook hands most cordially, congratulation each other on the fruitful time they had enjoyed together. Bartlett's Book of Anecdotes

Blessed is the man who, having nothing to say, abstains from giving us wordy evidence of the fact. George Eliot

Just be quiet and sit down. / The reason is you are drunk, / and this is the edge of the roof. Rumi

Home!

We're home! Got the house cooled down again. Lots of great mail. Grass not too bad for over 2 weeks of no mowing. Terrific thunderstorm outside. A child completely captivated by toys left behind. Reunited with the dog. A beer in hand & some mindless TV-couch time. Thinking back on Pagosa Springs & the Piedra River...

From Ouray, CO

Okay, so 42 pictures uploaded & we discover they're chronologically backwards. So if you want to be correct by the calendar, scroll to the bottom and view the whole shooting match in reverse.

Ouray, Colorado (today). We had no idea we'd end up here. But a flat tire and a high country thunderstorm landed us here. I love the randomness of our trips = no itinerary.

The pictures do absolutely no justice. This was the most hair-raising nail-biting road I've ever ridden on - the road between Durango & Ouray. 1500 foot sheer drops from the edge, no guard rails.

After a river bath. Stripping down & diving in.

Excitement! A trout in hand.

San Juan River rainbow.

Coloring in camp.

Three Abbey books accompanied us. Kerouac. The Red Tent. Green Eggs & Ham.

A bad habit we are trying to break = peeing in rivers.

Breakfast.

San Juan camp. A waxing crescent moon setting nightly.

San Juan valley. East of Pagosa Springs.

Natural hot springs on the Piedra River. Magical.

Cairn on the trail to the hot springs. Each rock deposited by a traveler, a symbolic lightening of the load.

"Horse poo good for your garden."

Typical mode of transportation.

Piedra River, upstream from camp.

Elk skull.

Exploring what's left of the carcass = mostly fur.

Berries everywhere!! Huckleberries here.

Snacked on wild raspberries all the while.

Learning.

Camp breakfast = homemade granola, Wildwood blueberries, Athens honey.

T-Bones by the river!!

Stonefly. River rocks. And an arrowhead found in camp.