Finally, we saw a roadrunner.

First stop, visitor center and the guy manning the counter is a very chatty local. We got the real lowdown: Coronado’s Bridge, well actually the historical marker got moved so its not at the actual location any more plus what we would see if we did go to the right location is remnants of an old bridge foundation….pretty easy to miss. We didn’t go back. Oh, those old boulder billboards, yeah they are still out on old 66 but vandals have shot them full of holes and painted them full of graffiti. Rats, but we are going to see them anyway. Blue Hole, yes that is exactly as described. It is a artesian well fed lake, actually a sink hole about 80 ft deep with crystal clear water. Folks scuba dive in it. Not us though, 61F is still a little cold for this pansy of a diver! It was beautiful though. Very nicely landscaped around and if it were 95F instead of 60F out today, a cool dip might sound tempting.

It’s a park ranger. “Just need to let you know, we are closing the campground today for the winter.” No wonder it was so quiet! Fortunately the full hookup campground is remaining open so all we have to do is move across the park…no biggie.

Off to Santa Rosa and an old stretch of Route 66, pre 1937. I had a big list of “sights” but the visitors center was closed (it is Sunday) and we didn’t find ANY of them. Bummers. We took a drive out the valley cut by the Pecos River. It was pretty with some old adobe buildings and some huge, maybe a tad ostentatious, new homes. The Santa Rosa Lake State Park is very quiet. We might take the boat out tomorrow. We haven’t had it out of the trailer since Elkhart. We are going to try the visitor’s center too tomorrow so we can find those must-see sights.

As I write this I have a full-face face painting of a butterfly, glitter and all. Pretty cool. The gal who did it is the daughter of a face painter and a magician. Married to a clown and balloon artist. Her daughter is a licensed balloon artist (I didn’t know they licensed them!). In the blood it seems. Fun. Pictures to come. Just like a kid, I can’t bring myself to wash it off.

Costume contests for pets, kids and adults. It was a beautiful 70F+ sunny day so we hung out in the plaza in Old Town to take in the celebration. We tried the horse drawn hayride. Listened to street musicians. Did a lot of people watching. It was great fun.

Pueblo Cultural Center and native Indiana dances. Small troop but very well done. What is it about the power of their cultural ties that leads young people to learn these dances and want to perform them? The costume for the white buffalo dance was the best but I liked the water dance. The women did that one and they had water carrying pottery balanced on their heads the whole time. Wouldn’t be pretty if I tried it.
Exhibits of fantastic weaving, basketry, and beadwork from the 19 New Mexico Pueblos.
We ate there too. I had Festival stew (shredded pork in red chili) and Kent had ribs with red chili and chipotle sauce. All very good. So was the Pueblo apple pie…

New Mexico was the first State (they say) to make wine.
Those Spanish explorers and the Franciscan Monks they brought with them! They have been practicing for about 400 years. We found a pretty good Cabernet Sauvignon at Corrales Winery. It pasted my taste test, we bought a bottle. I got a list of many other wineries around here to check out. Maybe more recommendations to come