Land of Beauty

Behind us for now, land of drought. Where the ancient ones lived, we have been surrounded by beauty. And, we have seen rain.

In beauty, happily I walk.

With beauty before me, I walk.

With beauty behind me, I walk.

With beauty below me, I walk. 

With beauty above me, I walk.

With beauty all around me, I walk.

It is finished again in beauty.

It is finished in beauty.    -- Hozhogo Naasha

El Morro National Monument and ruin:
 

Hello, again! It appears that this blog has not been nurtured! I guess we’ve been  enchanted.  Since leaving Austin, we’ve been roaming the awesomely beautiful lands of northern NM and southwestern CO.

Taos: St Francis de Asis front and rear:
 
                   1890 merry-go-round at Taos fair:
              
The High Road landscape; Truchas Church:
 
Echo Amphitheater and Ghost Ranch
 
Ute Mountain Indian Reservation; road to Telluride:
 
Now we’re in east-central AZ. We just left Show Low and Lakeside, a mountainous summer retreat area for folks living in lowland AZ. There, we rendezvous’d with sailing friends and Chuck accomplished surprise truck repairs and planned RV repairs. I’ve had budget busting surprise dental work and done a bit of hooking – and if that sounds odd, check our previous blogs!
Oh, a couple more pix… Old Zuni Mission (awesome murals inside) and cemetery, men’s graves to the left, women’s to the right. Craftsmen selling hand-carved and painted light switch covers.
 
Zuni Pueblo ovens, where women work together baking bread, and sacred mesa:
              

Getting Unstuck

When we’re stuck for reasons beyond our control there’s not much to do but make the best of it.
 
In 2009 we were stuck on the beach at the Red Snapper Campground in Punta Perula, Mexico with a truck that wouldn’t run. But it was a really nice beach! We learned about the town and made new friends between bus rides to the Dodge dealer in Manzanillo.
Finally, we got the truck back after the dealer really stuck it to us. Never go to a dealer in Mexico! Choose a street mechanic shop! Bus or fly to the states and buy your own parts! We were about the last to leave the Red Snapper that spring.

While stuck in Austin we saw fun sights and consoled ourselves with Amy’s ice cream. Ice cream helps.­ At Amy’s they flip the ice cream in the air and wield paddles to beat in coconut, Butterfinger chips, Junior Mints, M&M’s and such. What a yummy, sticky mess. They’ll sing, too, if you suggest it!

Today we’re on the road again, on the long drive to Taos, NM! We experienced a fine exhilaration and freedom as we hooked up the Laredo, our life in our own hands again!
The cat is last to enter the truck. We’re off and all’s well for ten minutes, then suddenly….
Uh, oh! Rojo’s been away from the road too long, turning anxiously on the console between us, finally sitting and settling down. Well?…will he or won’t he? A small drop of moisture falls from his lip to the floor. Uh, oh. Then he’s on his feet, hair atop his neck rising as I grab a blue polishing cloth from the folded pile tucked under his seat and stick it over his mouth. My other hand is on his harness, holding him forward as his shoulders lurch. He’s strong! Eeeeeeuw! He does it again…twice more! I toss each cloth on the floor and hurriedly grab another.
Then he whirls and lays down, tense, shedding hairs. Chuck has stopped and gets out, retrieving something from the RV, and the cat wants out, too, howling!
At last he calms down, his interior and his demeanor, and zones out on my arm. He should be ok tomorrow, once again acclimatized to travel. We sure hope so. It’s a five day drive to Taos, NM, and he’s stuck with it. And us with him, too!