Sabbatical Part 4: Last Week in Los Alamos
Our last week in Los Alamos seemed jam packed with activities compared to our first two weeks.
Monday, September 12
Bandolier National Monument is very close to Los Alamos and White Rock, adjoining Valles Caldera National Preserve. M had been there on her previous visit and wanted to go back, so off we went to the main visitor's center, which is in a comparatively narrow valley. Along one wall of the valley is a pueblo structure dating back to the 1500s.
After feeding Birdie breakfast at a picnic table in the parking area, we started out with the Main Loop Trail. This trail is paved and takes you up up to the pueblos, but we put Birdie in her backpack because there were several narrow stair cases and a few ladders so that you could look into select pueblos. We then left the pavement for a nice gravel trail out to the Alcove House. The Alcove House is a pueblo very high above the canyon floor that can only be reached by climbing a series of very steep ladders. The ladders were far too much to do with a backpack containing a wiggling toddler, so we opted to let Birdie run around at the base of the cliff while M and I each took turns ascending to the very top.
Having climbed more than enough ladders for one day, we took the gravel trail all the way back to the visitor's center parking lot. Our total distance was only a couple of miles, mostly in the shade of the trees and the canyon wall. Birdie's favorite part of the day was probably when she got to wave my hiking pole around, or when she got to play with the cap of my water bottle, which was like a little cup. She's pretty easy to please, sometimes.
That night, we did one more hike. There are a lot of trails in Los Alamos proper, and we opted to take the East Canyon Hike while the sun set over the mountains. This was more of a paved bike path than a hiking trail, and the canyon view was actually less spectacular than the view from the porch of the house we were sitting, but it was still a pleasant evening hike.
Tuesday, September 13
M wanted to do some window shopping at the various art galleries in Santa Fe, so we parked close to the Cathedral and did some wandering. I bought M a print that she had long craved at one gallery, and we glanced in several more.
For lunch, we stopped at The Shed, which has been a Santa Fe institution for nearly 70 years. We sat in their interior plaza under their umbrella. Birdie learned all about straws. While the food was excellent, the highlight for me was the "hot fudge sundae with chilis" in the sauce. It was a really interesting and enjoyable flavor, probably the most unique thing I ate on the trip.
We've been doing virtual trivia off and on with Jess and Robert since early 2021, but with all of us actually in the same geographic location it was a no brainer to get together and do virtual trivia together on the porch. A good time was had by all.
After trivia, I finished The Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan. The book is in 4 sections; the ones on apples, potatoes and tulips were very interesting and the one on cannabis was boring.
Wednesday, September 14
On our first trip to Taos, we took the low road there and the high road back. This time, we did it the other way around, which was substantially more scenic. We parked in Taos Plaza and wandered around some. We walked a few blocks to have lunch on the patio of La Cueva Cafe, which was delicious.
That night we met Jess and Robert and family at an outdoor patio attached to Bathtub Row Brewing Co-op, where we ate takeout from El Rigobertos. Their kids happily played with Birdie as she roamed all over the patio.
After dinner, I finished reading Why Some Like It Hot, which mostly did a subpar job of telling stories about how different populations of humans evolved to eat specific diets, and how forcing alternate diets (particularly the standard American diet) on those populations can have disastrous effects. Interesting topic, poorly presented.
Thursday, September 15
The previous day, M had a spa day with Jess while I watched Birdie. Today was my "spa" day. I started with a visit to the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe. This was my first museum since before the pandemic. Alas, it's not actually a great museum. It's not very large, and since it was only founded in 1997, most of O'Keeffe's most famous stuff was already in other collections. Still, it had a few moments, and I'm not unhappy that I went.
The museum actually took a lot less time than I had anticipated, so I walked a few blocks to the New Mexico Museum of Art, which is in a really interesting building in the pueblo revival style. Most of the permanent collection was just ok; despite Santa Fe's reputation as an artist's town, the contents of the museum itself were nothing special. There was a really remarkable photography exhibition going on, and the inner courtyard was a beautiful place to sit in the shade and watch the fountain, but I wouldn't rush back.
Having concluded my museum-going for the day, I swung by a bookstore to browse the discount bins, had a snack and window shopped a few of the ever present art galleries in the area of the museums. I've had worse days.
That evening I got followed M's example and got my covid bivalent shot. I stopped at the scenic overlook outside Los Alamos that was named in honor of former senator Clinton Anderson. We had dinner on the porch with Jess & Robert.
Friday, September 16
The booster shot impacted me far more than any prior shot, and I napped a lot on Friday but we did make it to the Puye Cliff Dwellings. This was basically like Bandolier but more so - the row of pueblos went along the entire cliff face as far as the eye could see, and up multiple levels. We took a short uphill hike to reach the bottom level of the pueblos. Puye is run by the local tribe, and as a result you can only access the dwellings with a guide. This was no hardship, as our guide was extremely well informed and was able to answer every question we threw at him. If Birdie hadn't gotten aggravated about being in the backpack too long we would have kept talking to him for much more time. It's less scenic, less shaded and more expensive than Bandolier, but if you want to learn more about pueblos it's a much better option.
Saturday, September 17
Our last full day in Los Alamos involved a lot of packing and relaxing. We had dinner with Jess & Robert and family again. I finished reading my sixth and final book of the trip, a memoir by Sławomir Rawicz of his purported escape from a Russian gulag during WWII with a group of other prisoners and the walk from Siberia all the way to India through the Himalayas. I say purported because after Rawicz passed away, some evidence was found that he may have been released by the Soviets. Whether true or not, it's a compelling adventure tale and easily the best of the books I borrowed from our hosts on this trip.
Trip Stats
We bought one tank of gas, taking us to 10 for the trip.
We had meals on three different patios (two lunches and a dinner). We also had takeout dinners twice, and I had one takeout dessert on my 'spa' day. Trip totals: 13 patios and 8 takeout meals.
Monday, September 12
Bandolier National Monument is very close to Los Alamos and White Rock, adjoining Valles Caldera National Preserve. M had been there on her previous visit and wanted to go back, so off we went to the main visitor's center, which is in a comparatively narrow valley. Along one wall of the valley is a pueblo structure dating back to the 1500s.
After feeding Birdie breakfast at a picnic table in the parking area, we started out with the Main Loop Trail. This trail is paved and takes you up up to the pueblos, but we put Birdie in her backpack because there were several narrow stair cases and a few ladders so that you could look into select pueblos. We then left the pavement for a nice gravel trail out to the Alcove House. The Alcove House is a pueblo very high above the canyon floor that can only be reached by climbing a series of very steep ladders. The ladders were far too much to do with a backpack containing a wiggling toddler, so we opted to let Birdie run around at the base of the cliff while M and I each took turns ascending to the very top.
Having climbed more than enough ladders for one day, we took the gravel trail all the way back to the visitor's center parking lot. Our total distance was only a couple of miles, mostly in the shade of the trees and the canyon wall. Birdie's favorite part of the day was probably when she got to wave my hiking pole around, or when she got to play with the cap of my water bottle, which was like a little cup. She's pretty easy to please, sometimes.
That night, we did one more hike. There are a lot of trails in Los Alamos proper, and we opted to take the East Canyon Hike while the sun set over the mountains. This was more of a paved bike path than a hiking trail, and the canyon view was actually less spectacular than the view from the porch of the house we were sitting, but it was still a pleasant evening hike.
Tuesday, September 13
M wanted to do some window shopping at the various art galleries in Santa Fe, so we parked close to the Cathedral and did some wandering. I bought M a print that she had long craved at one gallery, and we glanced in several more.
For lunch, we stopped at The Shed, which has been a Santa Fe institution for nearly 70 years. We sat in their interior plaza under their umbrella. Birdie learned all about straws. While the food was excellent, the highlight for me was the "hot fudge sundae with chilis" in the sauce. It was a really interesting and enjoyable flavor, probably the most unique thing I ate on the trip.
We've been doing virtual trivia off and on with Jess and Robert since early 2021, but with all of us actually in the same geographic location it was a no brainer to get together and do virtual trivia together on the porch. A good time was had by all.
After trivia, I finished The Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan. The book is in 4 sections; the ones on apples, potatoes and tulips were very interesting and the one on cannabis was boring.
Wednesday, September 14
On our first trip to Taos, we took the low road there and the high road back. This time, we did it the other way around, which was substantially more scenic. We parked in Taos Plaza and wandered around some. We walked a few blocks to have lunch on the patio of La Cueva Cafe, which was delicious.
That night we met Jess and Robert and family at an outdoor patio attached to Bathtub Row Brewing Co-op, where we ate takeout from El Rigobertos. Their kids happily played with Birdie as she roamed all over the patio.
After dinner, I finished reading Why Some Like It Hot, which mostly did a subpar job of telling stories about how different populations of humans evolved to eat specific diets, and how forcing alternate diets (particularly the standard American diet) on those populations can have disastrous effects. Interesting topic, poorly presented.
Thursday, September 15
The previous day, M had a spa day with Jess while I watched Birdie. Today was my "spa" day. I started with a visit to the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe. This was my first museum since before the pandemic. Alas, it's not actually a great museum. It's not very large, and since it was only founded in 1997, most of O'Keeffe's most famous stuff was already in other collections. Still, it had a few moments, and I'm not unhappy that I went.
The museum actually took a lot less time than I had anticipated, so I walked a few blocks to the New Mexico Museum of Art, which is in a really interesting building in the pueblo revival style. Most of the permanent collection was just ok; despite Santa Fe's reputation as an artist's town, the contents of the museum itself were nothing special. There was a really remarkable photography exhibition going on, and the inner courtyard was a beautiful place to sit in the shade and watch the fountain, but I wouldn't rush back.
Having concluded my museum-going for the day, I swung by a bookstore to browse the discount bins, had a snack and window shopped a few of the ever present art galleries in the area of the museums. I've had worse days.
That evening I got followed M's example and got my covid bivalent shot. I stopped at the scenic overlook outside Los Alamos that was named in honor of former senator Clinton Anderson. We had dinner on the porch with Jess & Robert.
Friday, September 16
The booster shot impacted me far more than any prior shot, and I napped a lot on Friday but we did make it to the Puye Cliff Dwellings. This was basically like Bandolier but more so - the row of pueblos went along the entire cliff face as far as the eye could see, and up multiple levels. We took a short uphill hike to reach the bottom level of the pueblos. Puye is run by the local tribe, and as a result you can only access the dwellings with a guide. This was no hardship, as our guide was extremely well informed and was able to answer every question we threw at him. If Birdie hadn't gotten aggravated about being in the backpack too long we would have kept talking to him for much more time. It's less scenic, less shaded and more expensive than Bandolier, but if you want to learn more about pueblos it's a much better option.
Saturday, September 17
Our last full day in Los Alamos involved a lot of packing and relaxing. We had dinner with Jess & Robert and family again. I finished reading my sixth and final book of the trip, a memoir by Sławomir Rawicz of his purported escape from a Russian gulag during WWII with a group of other prisoners and the walk from Siberia all the way to India through the Himalayas. I say purported because after Rawicz passed away, some evidence was found that he may have been released by the Soviets. Whether true or not, it's a compelling adventure tale and easily the best of the books I borrowed from our hosts on this trip.
Trip Stats
We bought one tank of gas, taking us to 10 for the trip.
We had meals on three different patios (two lunches and a dinner). We also had takeout dinners twice, and I had one takeout dessert on my 'spa' day. Trip totals: 13 patios and 8 takeout meals.