Tues-Wed, Oct 3-4…
Greg will
tell you (correctly) that I do a lot (he’ll say too much) of research as I blog. Today one of us should have done a
little more research before we set off. Awhile back, someone recommended
visiting Abiquiu while we’re in this area. Never having heard of Abiquiu, we
asked the obvious Why? “It’s this
great little artsy place… Georgia O’Keeffe lived there – you can visit her
ranch.” OK, those sound like good reasons. I booked a 90-min sunset horseback
ride at Ghost Ranch for this
evening. (From 1949 to the late '70s, O’K typically spent every summer & fall at the ranch. She owned her house & 7 acres, but had nothing to do with the rest of the property.) Anyway, Greg and I figure we’ll go out early, have lunch and check out the art
studios, then mosey over to the ranch. (NOTE: I had googled Abiquiu, read the Wiki article, and noted pics and ads for studio tours. I had
not followed through on details.) |
| Best ever! |
It’s about
a 45-minute drive. As we approach, we pass the Abiquiu Inn and see an arrow for
the post office a mile or so later. We turn toward the post office (tiny, isolated), pause, reverse and head the other way, presumably into the town. We reach a bldg w/ a small sign reading STUDIO,
but no cars or other signs of life. The road has ended. We head back toward the
highway, where Bode’s General Store looms larger than life. Bode’s is equal
parts supermarket, gift shop, café, gas station, and social center. We split a really good green chili cheeseburger and decide to return to the MH, catch up on odds & ends (the blog always
needs work), and drive back in the late afternoon. We feel pretty silly.
 |
| Heads up, heels down. |
Around 4:30 we climb back in the car and head north again, zipping past Bode's and the Abiquiu Reservoir and turning east toward Ghost Ranch. After a quick sign in and potty stop, we drive to the corral, where Jeff and Mark share photos of some of O'Keeffe's paintings so we'll recognize the landscapes, then provide mini saddlebags for our phones and see that everyone is comfy on his/her steed (Dusty for Greg, Morgan for me). The next hour and a half we roam the property, enjoying stories of its colorful history/scientific significance and O'Keeffe's love affair with the location. Delightful. (I wasn't sore when I dismounted, but I did wobble for the first few minutes.)
 |
| Perfect end-of-ride moon. |
WEDNESDAY afternoon we took the scenic route to Los Alamos and visited the Bradbury (Norris E, not Ray 😃) Science Museum. Norris Bradbury was the second director of the LA Nat'l Lab. Two good films, one I wish I could have shown to my students when I was teaching Hiroshima. Models of Little Boy & Fat Man, with explanations even I could understand, and much much more. I was on overload quickly but still really glad we were there.
 |
| Fuller Lodge |
Also, sometime in the last 3 days (neither Greg nor I can find a single photo to confirm the date), we visited a museum housed in one bldg of the former Los Alamos Ranch School, a private boys school combining rigorous outdoor experience w/ college prep classes. The school opened in 1918 and included 54 buildings (dorms, staff housing, classrooms, carpentry shop, etc). In 1942, Leslie Groves decided the site would serve well as the center for the government's top secret "Project Y." Several of the main buildings are still in active use (but no longer by the Nat'l Lab). Fuller Lodge (left) now functions as a center for many community activities.
PartingShot... Lots of natural beauty at Ghost Ranch, but I'll close with this bit of whimsy in the gift shop. (Do you remove the boots or just upend the whole thing to gather the postcards?)
Postscripts... 1. Tuesday, while we were riding around the ranch, there's a tingle on my left wrist - the "fireworks" tingle that comes at 10,000 steps. But my feet haven't touched the ground for at least 40 minutes. Fitbit's not as smart as I thought. 😃
2. Wednesday evening we had another round of killer thunderstorms. The photos below were caught between downpours.
Mike B. Here my grandmother's certificate making her port mistress of Abigui is hanging in the post office. I donated it to them. Great description of Bode's grocery store, gas station, etc.
ReplyDeleteThe home in Abiqui where Georgia O'Keeffe lived is the same home my grandmother grew up in.