WARNING THIS POST CONTAINS NAUGHTY WORDS…

So one extra week in Santa Fe morphed into two more weeks.  We are still enamored with this town and the surrounding area.  We stick around for Halloween, Dia de los Muertos and Election Day…. (Yes, even though we are on the road, we can vote by mail.)  It’s been an interesting two weeks… and thanks to John Stewart, who we can sometimes watch on-line we have a new vocabulary word… “cluster-fuckery.”  (check out theNovember 7th show over at Comedy Central.) 

More Museums are on the agenda, and fortunately at most of these establishments, we are not banned from taking photos  ;o)

We drive up to Los Alamos the home of the atom bomb and tour the Bradbury Science Museum.  This Museum is dedicated to the history of Los Alamos and the Manhattan Project.  We watch a short documentary, “The Town That Never Was” that explains the decisions behind the project, and focuses on the people who are involved in the development of the atomic bomb. The exhibits are somewhat informative and put a face on the scientists and support staff.  Years ago, when we visited Nagasaki Japan, we toured the Peace Park.  This put a face on the people on the other side of the bomb. All in all the Bradbury history exhibit is a nifty piece of propaganda designed to justify the use of atomic weapons against a civilian population and the Nagasaki Peace Park, shows the horror of this device.   Regardless of what position one takes regarding the decision to drop the bomb, we all hope that as humans we never have to cause or witness this kind of destruction and human misery.  The museum claims that the scientists at Los Alamos no longer develop nuclear weapons and deal more with containment of nuclear fuel and development of nuclear power used in space exploration.  There is an exhibit featuring the Mars Rover and advances in nuclear medicine.  OH… enough of all this serious shit… this blog is supposed to be about fun!

The Museum of International Folk Art is whimsical and fun. (OK back on target here!) Their ongoing exhibit, “Multiple Visions, a Common Bond” treats us to displays of colorful toys and folk art from over 100 countries.  Two current exhibits we enjoy are: “Folk Art from the Andes” and “Young Brides, Old Treasures: Macedonian Embroidered Dresses.”  Both collections are visually stunning and a joy to view and photograph.

The Portland Panels

The New Mexico Art Museum is a real treat.  Their ongoing exhibit, “It’s About Time” traces art in the Southwest from 14,000 year-old arrow points to contemporary works from the area.  It is both comprehensive and inspiring.  Their current exhibits include a wonderful collection of fused glass featuring the works of Klaus Moje, including The Portland Panels. 

The Georgia O’Keeffe Museum offers a great insight into the artist’s life and a comprehensive collection of her works. It illustrates the significance of O'Keeffe's art within the context of the history of American Modernism.  In Addition to works by O'Keeffe the collection includes stunning photographs of the artist taken by many notable photographers and artifacts owned by the artist.

We enjoy a great brunch at Santa Fe’s oldest and famous Plaza Café. Chris enjoyed his chicken fried steak and eggs and I noshed on the crispy fish tacos. The service was attentive and the atmosphere comfortable and laid back. No wonder this has been a local’s favorite since 1918!

Sticking in one place for an additional two weeks also gives us a chance to make a few upgrades and repairs.  Chris starts replacing all of the interior the fluorescent lights with LED’s and the Moen water filter that came with Dimples is dumped in favor of an Everpure system – since Moen filters are virtually impossible to find (except on-line) and Everpure filters are readily available.  Also Chris installs this filter in a better location under the sink, so we now have improved use of space.  Chris also orders and receives a sewer macerating system.  We held off on this type of system in favor of the standard fat hose sewer line, since it is relatively expensive and we couldn’t justify the expense. But in the five months we have been on the road we have encountered 3 situations where the simple low-tech system didn’t work.  (Shit may float, but it doesn’t flow uphill… sigh….)  Watch… now that we have this system we will never encounter a messed up sewer connection… LOL.

Well... this week we've has a dusting of snow and nights down to the high teens... so now it's off to lower elevations and warmer places....

k