We had a much needed slower day today. In the morning, we drove northeast of Santa Fe to Hyde Memorial State Park for a little hiking. The weather was cool at the higher elevations (8,000-10,000') and the trail was deserted except for us. A perfect way to spend the morning. And while the hike was great, the real treat was when we saw a prairie dog town on the side of the road. The only other time we had seen prairie dogs was at the zoo.
For the afternoon we drove back to Albuquerque where we visited the Indian Cultural Center. The Center is run by the nineteen pueblos (Indian communities) that are in New Mexico and had both cultural and historic exhibits. The exhibits were interesting for us because they brought together some of the other things we had seen during the rest of the trip. They also gave us pause to think because they presented history from the Native American viewpoint instead of the New World settler's one. I also enjoyed reading the native legends and especially liked the one about the creator who said since man couldn't get along, he would give them different languages. That way they couldn't argue.
As we arrived at our hotel, the rain fell again. This time it came with 1/2 " hail, but was welcome all the same. Most of this week has been a very hot and dusty one. Now to find some place for dinner where I'm sure that Ward will want to have one last
carne avodado burrito. I think he has already had five this week.
Here are a few pictures from today. Until next time...
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| View from Hyde Park Road |
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| Hiking on Circle Trail |
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| Prairie Dog Town. Notice the prairie dog in the back doing the classic pose of popping up from a hole. |
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| At the Cultural Center, we saw dancers from the Zuni Pueblo. |
I LOVE the story about the different languages, if only that worked!
ReplyDeleteThere are several prairie dog colonies along the bike path where CatMan and I regularly ride. I just think they are the cutest little guys... and they make the sweetest little chirping noises. I'm always terrified that one will dart out in front of me and get hit, but they seem pretty bike-wary!
Prarie dogs are really cute, aren't they. I remember seeing them at the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans with my sister. They had an exhibit where you could pop your head up from underground just like the prairie dogs. It didn't matter that the exhibit was for kids. My sister and I had fun being a kid there that afternoon.
DeleteYou tricked me. I thought YOU were going to be the one dancing. :)
ReplyDeleteAlso, what did you think about hiking at that elevation? Did you feel noticeably different?
First, luckily, neither one of us got altitude sickness. And yes, we did feel a difference with exertion at the higher elevations, especially when we were climbing. However, sometimes it was hard to tell if it was the elevation or the heat.
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