Indian market and Sandia Crest

It's been a full weekend here in Albuquerque.  I may not have gotten much else done, but I did have fun exploring.  On Saturday, my new friends (Sandra & Dara) and I drove up to Santa Fe for the 91st Annual Indian market.  It is the largest and most prestigious Native Arts market in the world and the largest cultural event in the southwest - over 1100 exhibitors are present.  We went on the last Saturday of the event.  The plaza in Santa Fe had been closed off to car traffic and the streets and plaza were lined with white tents and vendors galore!  We saw the most amazing and gorgeous pottery, art, textiles, sculptures, paintings, carvings, jewelry, clothing, and more!  Hard to take pictures there, as many artists rightly do not want pictures taken of their work.  The artists represented 100 different tribes and indigenous people from the U.S. and Canada.  I saw works from Lakota, Sioux, Navaho, Apache, Pueblo, Northwest & Canadian natives.  All of the products for sale are authentically Indian made and come with a certificate of authenticity according to the Indian Arts and Crafts Act.  They tend to be more expensive than your average souvenir because they are authentically hand made works of art. So be prepared for higher prices. We only had about three hours there due to a previous commitment, but I highly recommend planning to spend a large amount of time there - if not the entire weekend.  There are also native performances (storytelling, singing, dancing) and lots of food!

On Sunday, I decided to take a drive.  I recently found out that you can drive up to the Sandia Crest without taking the tram (which I'm leaving for another day).  My friend, Sandra, tells me that the views are spectacular and there are lots of hiking trails there.  So I headed out I-40 east to Hwy 14 - the beginning of the Turqoise trail.  The weather had been hot and sunny, but I did see clouds up over the Sandia Mountains that did not bode well.  Out here, you can see the weather coming from miles away.  But the flip side is that if you don't like the weather, wait 15 minutes and it will probably change.  So despite the heavy clouds, I proceeded.  Sure enough, as I pulled onto Hwy 14, it began to rain, and continued to shower off and on as I reached the Sandia Crest drive just to left after passing through Tijeras.  Turning left off 14, I started up the drive with headlights on and wipers swishing.

The Sandia Crest by-way is about 11 miles long, traveling through the Cibola National Forest and rising to roughly 11,000 feet above sea level!  By the time I was halfway up, the skies had cleared and it was dry and sunny!  But much colder.  While it had been close to 90 in ABQ, by the time I reached the top of the drive, the temperature was down to 60!  Very refreshing for a summer drive!!  On the way up, I had to pull off twice for a group of red corvettes cruising up behind me.  I guessed that they were having a rally at the top, and since my little Soul wanted to go slow and take in the scenery, I pulled over to let the sports cars zoom past me - two groups of them.  Once I reached the top, a permit was required to get to the summit and since I did not have one, and wasn't sure how to get one, I turned around and slowly meandered back down.  The road was dotted along the way with sunflowers.  And the forest was filled with Aspen and fir trees.  I rolled down the windows and cruised my way through the switchbacks and hairpin turns.  For a moment, I felt as if I were back in the Virginia mountains!!  The views were incredible!  Sadly, my little camera doesn't do it justice.

Near the bottom of the drive is an amazing place called Tinkertown.  According to their brochure: It took Ross J. Ward over forty years to carve, collect and lovingly construct what is now Tinkertown Museum....over 50,000 glass bottles form rambling walls that surround a 22 room museum.  Wagon wheels, old-fashioned store fronts and wacky western memorabilia make Tinkertown's exterior as much a museum as the wonders within.  Inside the magic of animation takes over...inhabitants of a racuous little western town animate to hilarious life...under the big top, diminutive circus performers challenge tigers and defy gravity.  Throughout, eccentric collections of Americana (wedding cake couples, antique tools, dolls) fill winding hallways.  Otto the One-Man-Band and Esmerelda, the Fortune Teller need only a quarter to lay a tune or predict your future...and a 35 foot antique wooden sailboat that braved a 10 year voyage around the world.

While Ross passed away in 2002, his wife Carla and family continue to keep the museum open.  Inside I saw numerous newspaper reviews, Good Morning America and even Bette Midler visited Tinkertown (the latter when she was in the area filming Outrageous Fortune).  It's an amazing little place and worth the $3.50 price of admission!

One last note for the weekend... as we are reaching the middle/end of August, it is chile harvest time in New Mexico.  And on Sept 1 & 2nd, the Hatch Valley Chile Festival takes place in Hatch, New Mexico - green chile capital of New Mexico.  Chile ristras are showing up everywhere.  But apparently, you really know it's harvest time when you start seeing bags of roasted chiles in the stores for $10; and, like today, the stores set up a chile roaster in the parking lot!  Just don't stand downwind! LOL!

Until next time...Love and Green Chiles from New Mexico!
Jules