What do Pueblos, Petroglyphs, Stilt Walkers and the President Have in Common?

Yesterday, Sunday, dawned overcast and chilly.  Not just chilly for us, oh no...it was chilly for everyone here!  It was only 57 degrees upon waking, and we were told that is the coldest temp they've had since June 25!  Oh my, I think that means Winter is on its way!  So, what else happened Sunday?  Well, we discovered that we have double-booked ourselves!  How on earth did THAT happen?  I know I checked and checked our dates, and that shouldn't have been the case.  Well, it WAS.  Turns out, when we registered at the Air Force Base, we leased a site for a week.  Further research showed that we should have only purchased four nights!!  Well, crapola...now we have to fix it!  We called Camp Verde, in AZ, and got them to push our reservation back a week, then we called Meteor Crater, in Winslow, AZ, and got them to adjust our incoming date, plus add a day.  Good thing we had an extra 3 days to play with...we were planning to go to Gila Bend, but we had no reservations, so it was no trouble to just alter the dates and route a bit.  That (and a big, hot breakfast & cleanup) took all morning.  After that, we decided maybe we should get to work on Aunt Grace's financial report.  Oh.My.Gawd.  It was after 5 pm when we got to a stopping spot!!  I'm sure glad that report is only due once a year!

Sooo, today, we had planned to stay on base, because President Trump is due to fly into Albuquerque and go deliver a campaign speech at Rio Rancho, just a bit north of town.  All weekend, they've been warning us of road closures and detours, and being unfamiliar with the streets, we thought we could just avoid the crowds and stay in.  HA.  That plan didn't last long - both of us wanted to get out and about and see some sights!  So we figured we could head WEST of town, to go see the petroglyphs.  That we did!  See the sign?  We were there!  That picture is devoid of people because we waited for another couple to move away from the sign.

We meandered up the path and stopped to read this sign.

As we were reading about this facsimile of a petroglyph, this couple came up and explained that they knew the artist (Zia Pueblo Native) that had made it, and they had just come from seeing him, where he presented them a special rock of their own.  Can you see it?  Star (the lady on the right) is holding it in her hand.  That's Rich, her husband of 10 years, on the left.  Peter Pino is the artist, and the carving on the rock is the story of their friendship.  We spent about 3 HOURS with this couple, trading life experiences, travel stories, and sharing tearshed over loss of fur babies.  They are absolutely charming and fascinating, and we were so very honored and privileged to share a little of their life's journey.  We are absolutely certain our paths will cross again.  In fact, we came to a stop light (most people call them traffic lights, we call them stop lights, because they're always RED!), Rich and Star pulled up beside us, handed us their calling card, and we both reached out & pinky swore we'd meet again!

 The large rock is the petroglyph Circle of Life that Peter carved specially for the Visitors' Center.  It is the only one you're permitted to touch, because oils and the pressure of rubbing fingers actually destroys the carving.  As we chatted, and watched the informative movie, Star held her rock (the smaller one) in her hands, the entire time.  When she opened her fingers, you could see where it had become darker and the design appeared more faint.  As it was exposed to the air again, the design reappeared.

The photo on the left shows the back of the small rock, with Peter's signature.  You can see a P, looking back & honoring his ancestors, and a forward facing P, looking to the future, both incorporating the Circle of Life, flanking the stacked "M" signifying the Present, the Nadir, representing the lower world where the spirits of the Ancients live with the supernatural beings representing the caves, springs and lakes, and the Zenith, where the spirits of the upper world reside (sun, sky, clouds).  The dots along the bottom represent water, a precious commodity in this part of the country.  The ones on the left signify that water is plentiful, because there are more, and the ones on the right signify that it is farther away (see the spacing?) and less of it.  So, if you were traveling, and saw this, you would know which way to travel safely.  Star is modeling the front of the stone, where she and Rich are portrayed on their stilts. So, you can find Star and Rich, traveling from fair to fair, all over the country....today, they are heading toward Miami-Dade area, or maybe Raleigh, NC, first, I can't remember.  NC is for the state fair, and Miami is for a specific commissioned performance.  Together, they run StiltCircus, an entertainment provider, and basically, dance, entertain, and bring joy to the world and its inhabitants.  They had just wrapped up a two hour stint (with NO BREAKS!) at the New Mexico state fair today.  She makes ALL their costumes and booth backdrops, and we talked for quite some time about the logistics and emotion of life on the road.

Eventually, we had to leave their company, because they had business to tend.  Just like normal people, they had to get their oil changed, and a few other routine and mundane chores.  We were heading to find The Madonna of the Trail, in downtown Albuquerque.  We invited them to come along, and even join us for dinner, but, they really had things to do before they moved on to their next gig.  We, on the other hand, headed downtown.  We had no idea what we were looking for, but I had marked it down as a point of interest, so there must have been something that caught my eye.  We found an empty, metered spot, fed it a buck, and started down the sidewalk.  Embedded in the sidewalk were various plaques, engraved with quotes about truth and justice, from various famous people, ranging from Abraham Lincoln to Cesar Chavez.  When we arrived at the State Courthouse, we were impressed by a huge representation of the Scales of Justice.

 After walking completely around the block, yup, all four sides, we found what we were looking for...a monument memorial to the pioneer women that blazed the trail for all the rest of us.  The Madonna of the Trail.  Right across the street from where we had parked.  But, if we had gone directly there, we would have missed that beautiful sculpture of the scales and all those inspiring quotes.

 Also, down the street, was this little shop.  Right down in the middle of all the skyscrapers and huge courthouses, this little unassuming Pueblo-style pink storefront, Sunwest Silver.  We still had about 30 minutes on our parking meter, so we headed on in.

Holy Moley!  I've never in my life seen such an impressive array of turquoise!!!  See those display cases?  They were on every wall.  See those racks in the back?  They held tray after tray after tray of loose stones, of all shapes, colors and quantities.  

Click on this panorama to make it full size, and you'll see the extent of what is in store!  And this is only out in the PUBLIC area!  There was a whole 'nother room in back, with a sign on the door, reading $300 minimum purchase!  It was the wholesale room, and there were THOUSANDS of trays of loose stones there too!  What was really funny, we were greeted by a clerk when we first entered and she let us know they were having a 30% sale on all their jewelry.  Yaay.  So we looked in every case, walking all around the room....we got to the back wall, and there were two young ladies there that wanted to see Bailey, so of course, we obliged.  We found a rack of bolos, and you know Dick is on the lookout for a new one, so of course, we asked to see the pretty blue one.  It was only $575!!!  But the young lady informed us that everything was 50% off, so it would only cost about $280!  What a bargain, right?  But, did you catch that discrepancy??  We did.  And when we went to checkout, we made sure to take our purchase to the younger clerk, with the larger discount! 

While we were browsing, this young man came out with a new bolo he had just completed.  It was HUGE and heavy!  The slide is a horny toad, silver, inlaid with coral colored stones, and the silver tips are a two-part poured cast, but they're in the shape of the little toad's feet!  They were also inlaid with the same stones.  It was heavy!  Obviously, they'd not priced it yet, but I can only imagine, a lot of bread would be exchanged for that piece!

Soooo, dinner was done, and we were contemplating taking a hike (walking the dog) and a little blurb came on the news about President Trump should be landing any minute at Kirtland Air Force Base.  What a sec - WE are at Kirtland Air Force Base!  We should be able to go watch, right?  We may or may not agree with Trump's policies and/or politics, but, daggum, this was a presidential plane arriving, right here, where we were! Here it is, coming in for a landing.

Here is a link to a video of the helicopter taking off.  We are not really sure if the Pres was on it or not!  But it was a heck of a sight!

And here is the plane, in all its glory, waiting for his return.  It was pretty darned big! Those little dark shadows under it, towards the front, are full-sized people!!

That was about all the excitement we could stand for one day, so we headed back to the camper, where the trash and dirty dishes waited.  So that was our day, dear friends, what went on at your place??  We never did get up to see the original petroglyphs, so, perhaps tomorrow!  Always tomorrow, free beer tomorrow!  If you've been to Rotten Ralph's, down on Anna Maria Island, you know that story!  Y'all stay safe, remember to open your hearts to the people around you -- you'll never know who you'll meet!Wha