WINDING DOWN FOR RETURN TO MURPHYS

Yesterday I blogged my stroll through town, but didn’t finish. We left Durango and visited the Aztec Ruins in Aztec, NM. and parked at Navajo Lake St. Park where we will stay until Sunday.  We are winding down as I prepare to fly to Murphys for my family reunion. Jim is still on pain meds and needs to slow down as well. We both seem to run out of energy, and need more sleep since the accident.  First I want to take you to an unusual museum.
The photograph I took  is poor in that a museum of historical documents, all under glass, do not photograph well.  And, since this is my first photograph to load, I’m finding the signal here is painfully slow. Located in a nice plaza surrounded by other businesses, a cafe, etc. at 835 Main St.,  it may be just what you’d like to see. R. H. Crossland was a dynamic collector of old documents, and this museum and foundation was started in 2003.  It has since benefited local and national charities with $1,200,000.


Ocoma pottery is famed for its strength and thinness.  This piece from the Durango Art Center is stellar but the price was way out of my price range.  I knew that from looking at smaller pieces. This one had no price tag.


An alabaster sculpture by James Joe III, another Native American piece in a Gallery with great diversity;  six exhibits yearly of national and international artists. High end fine arts and photography.  With pictures loading so slowly, I will hasten on to mention the plethora of choices in this very concentrated area of Old Town Durango.  Wildshots-Claude Steelman landscapes and wildlife. Toh-Atin, specializes in Navajo weaving, jewelry, pottery, paintings and sculpture. Azul features  unique jewelry, glass wall art and multimedia pieces featuring local, national and international artists. Earthen Vessel features hand crafted eclectic pieces, handmade and unique, metal and wearable art, pottery, jewelry. There are many more galleries to visit. I needed another day.


We stopped to have a micro-brew at the Steamworks.  Great atmosphere, good food. Peanut shells on the floor reminded me of Larry Blakes Long Table Dinners in Berkeley, CA in the 1950′s.  I like stouts and porters with nice thick butter, chewy chocolate and coffee hops.  I found this large foamy headed beer disappointing, and a taste of the wheat beer left me wondering wherze the fruit?  But, Coloradans seem to like it that way and you may too.

On the side street, St. Marks Presbyterian Church had an interesting labyrinth in honor of a revered rector.

And this apparatus is an electric meter, like nothing I’ve ever seen before. One neighborhood person told me that from the inside of the house, the customer slides a card and gets, say, $20 worth of electricity, or whatever that person can afford. On this particular meter, someone has placed a lost set of keys found nearby.



But, hurrying on to the Aztec Ruins in Aztec, N.M.   We’ve seen so many beautiful ruins that we  hesitated to drive the 20 miles out of our way in the wrong direction to come here.  The first thing you learn is the ruins are not Aztec, but early on people thought so. The town was named after the ruins, so the name sticks. It is Anasazi as the others. Each one has unique features and this place had some very complete areas, showing how inhabitants moved from room to room to get anywhere.  There were no hallways. The construction points are much more obvious here. They didn’t know how to dovetail corners in their masonry and that is why  many walls fell.  But the major jewel of this ruins is a huge, reconstructed, kiva.

An overview of the grounds shows this kiva with a square  entrance attached to a round building. And, all around are keyhole entrances only useable to get out from the bottom half of the building which is underground. You didn’t have to enter this kiva through a hole in the roof, quite an advancement in building skills, compared to the builders at Chaco Canyon which we missed because of the accident.

An overview of the inside of the great kiva, shows the huge columns used to hold up a heavy roof.  The keyhole entrances are a way out, and are windows for light. Stone steps led into the chamber from two sides, also very advanced.

Stone benches surround the circular kiva for the celebrants.  The keyholes reveal a strong ladder but only eight inches wide. It would take some practice to go out in such a manner. Perhaps the ladders are just for building repair?

A reveal of the column’s foundation shows how it was constructed. It is centered on a huge round stone slab.

A second reveal shows construction of the column itself.   And, in the background, huge stone slabs that were carved by some unknown stonemason of long ago.  This was worth the visit, even though we’ve seen other great ruins.

DURANGO,COLORADO

Our trail took us to Durango, Colorado, a known Western Railroad town. Our plan is to take the old steam train from Durango to Silverton,  and back , today.   When we arrived at the friendly American Legion on 9th St. yesterday afternoon, I was greeted by this lovely planting of hollyhocks. I didn’t realize how my eyes hungered for flowers after weeks in desert wilds.  We set out for a walk downtown to find a restaurant, turned a corner and more flowers greeted us.

Flowers bring instant smiles. Jim, too, stopped to take pictures of pansy faces. I think we were both  a bit lonesome for familiar sights.

We hooked a left on Main St. and there in a window was this interesting ceramic sculpture of a pile of chairs in a high chair. I had to go in and inquire and look around Sorrel Sky Gallery.  Proprietor Amanda  Nicols shared the story of this piece done by artist Deborah Rael-Buckley, entitled Cosecha Amarga which means bitter harvest.  It is intended as a political statement, representing the  empty chairs at the table, discarded and piled up haphazardly like the  victims of rape and murder in Juarez,  Mexico,  where the bodies were discarded a piled up in the desert. Powerful stuff from an artist who usually does warm, fuzzy pieces, explained Amanda.

The piece sits in pools of blood from the victims. Price, $2,900.

This bronze raven, from Jim Eppler, who bought barren land in Texas and became fascinated by the birds.

Coming from the desert, we’ve seen a number of soft jack rabbits cavorting among the prickly pear. The Puebloans first made blankets by twisting rabbit skins pieces around a leather cord, then tying (weaving) them together for a solid blanket.  A bronze by Gerald Balciar.  Quality work and deep pocket prices in this gallery and I wanted to linger and look at everything, including the restored buildiing with reproduction  original wallpaper. Lovely.  Amanda gave me a map of the other galleries around town. I’m already drooling.

We found Franciscos for lunch, and had good food, reasonable prices,  and a great micro beer from Durango Brewing Company, Pinstripe Ale.   Finally fed, we walked for a couple of hours to explore Old Town Durango.

We stepped into the plush lobby of the General Palmer Hotel, Victorian elegance greeted us in carpets so thick we felt like we were walking on sponges.  But one signature of the owner is new- teddy bears.

For over 21 years, according to one clerk, the female owner has placed a teddy bear in each room because she felt they add a bit of homey warmth and comfort to people far from home.

Those small pieces of comfort were everywhere in contrast to the old Victorian furnishings in cozy sitting nooks. I loved it.

Visitors are encouraged to look around, and we did.

Then a right turn out the door,  seated on a street bench?  A giant teddy bear.

I peeked in to the old west style building that now serves as a French restaurant and bolangerie, (bakery).

The street is so appealing. Try a winebar, Thai food, Cowboy Girls, or get information on wild river rafting, and skiing (for winter.)

Pretty sidewalk cafes; they are dog friendly.

The fun stuff;  old theatre,  an old tymie photo shop  to take your picture in Victorian or Western garb.

Even a place to tie up your horse.  In fact, I saw an old cowboy with his big truck putting money into a meter and I wanted to talk to him about riding his horse into town, but he got away before I caught up to him. But, then, another contrast, a bevy of beauties walking down the street.

We were told by our friendly host at the American Legion to be sure and stop for a drink at the Strater Hotel.

You can’t miss it. It probably has the most gingerbread of all the old buildings in town.

I took a close-up of one of the fancy corbels.

Inside the lobby, the clerk’s cage has some of that beautiful old wood that no one can afford to buy anymore.

Cozy sitting areas.

It kind of reminds you of the old romantic movies. They’ve preserved the room key slot holder from former days. I’m sure that piece of furniture has a name, but I don’t know what it is.

And, you can still use their old letter box.

The fixture is new, but the reproduction wallpapers and Victorian decoration is true to its former glory.  We never did have that drink in the bar.  The Strater offers tours if you want one with all of the history. But, just peeking in and wandering around was fun.
We were headed for the train station to pick up our tickets and visit the train museum.  I guess I’ll have to blog that tomorrow. We only covered about six blocks.  If you visit, plan to stay more than a day.  In fact, the prices at the posh hotels were quite reasonable.  And, let’s face it, you can’t visit all of those wonderful galleries in one short afternoon.
To look at the rest of my pictures, click on the link:
https://picasaweb.google.com/106530979158681190260/2012611DurangoDwntwn?authkey=Gv1sRgCK6V7Ya9yI_vcw