Merle Haggard is crooning "I'm proud to be an Okie from Muskogee" on the Volvo's cd player as we arrive in Oklahoma City at it's top attraction, the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum which celebrates the life of the cowboy and the Old West with historic artifacts and one of the country's finest collections of Western art.
Yeeeee-haaaw!!!
Pedal to the medal, on the asphalt of independence that once stretched all the way from the wind-buffeted shores of Lake Michigan in Chicago to the balmy beaches of the Pacific in sunny Santa Monica, we're on the Mother Road, Route 66. Beginning in 1926 it was one glorious, eight-state, 2,448 mile road show. For the scores of communities and thousands of businesses it once serviced, it became the Main Street of America.
A popular shrine to America's love of the open road, Cadillac Ranch, just west of Amarillo, Texas, was created by the San Francisco-based Ant Farm artists' and architects' collective in May 1974 under the patronage of eccentric Amarillo helium millionaire Stanley Marsh the Third. The cars were all bought, some running, some not, from local junkyards and used car lots at an average of $200 each and buried nose-down in the dirt, their up-ended tail fins tracing design changes from 1949 to 1964.
Route 66 leads us into Tucumcari, New Mexico, straight to the famous Blue Swallow Motel, which no less an authority than Smithsonian magazine called "the last, best, and friendliest of the old-time motels."
Being so young, Sandi has no idea what this mural means so Tim informs her it was from the classic '70s cult movie, "Easy Rider", starring Peter Fonda, Jack Nicolson and Dennis Hopper and featured Tim's alter ego in Steppenwolf's classic hit single, "Born to Be Wild".
The Tee Pee Trading Post tempts us to start a collection of Route 66 souvenirs (or "Damn Fine Stuff," as their business cards have it).
Is this the Joad's jalopy from Steinbeck's 1939 novel, "The Grapes of Wrath"? We thank God for our 2003 Volvo XC70 Cross-Country wagon and the Holiday Inn Express chain.
New Mexico's state capital (the oldest in the country) and one of the prime vacation destinations in the country, Santa Fe has been at the center of Southwest life for centuries. We walked around town starting at its center, the Plaza, towards St. Francis of Assisi Cathedral (above) built in the style of the great cathedrals of Europe and an architectural anomaly here.
Chile-stringing is a New Mexico tradition passed on to the generations. There's possibly a strain of Espana in the Lovell bloodline.
The Santa Fe Trail was a 19th century transportation route through central North America that connected Missouri with Santa Fe.
San Miguel Church is said to be the oldest church structure in the USA. The original adobe walls and altar were built by Tlaxcalan Indians from Mexico under the direction of Franciscan Padres, ca 1610.
Tim should be reading the Bible but is actually in reverent contemplation with the Santa Fe guide book.
Santa Fe's distinctive Adobe-style buildings - a genuine representation of the city's history as a confluence of Spanish and Native American cultures, among many others. Adobe, a durable material used for centuries to construct the area's pueblos (villages), is produced by combining sand, clay, water, and fibrous organic matter like sticks or straw.
An old stagecoach in the Palace of the Governors museum that chronicles 400 years of New Mexico's history.
Before leaving Santa Fe we stop at the exciting Museum of Indian Arts and Culture that takes us through thousands of years of Native American history. More than 70,000 pieces of basketry, pottery, clothing, carpets, and jewelry are on display.
The strange combination of desert and snow-capped mountains in the surrounding countryside.
New Mexico's favourite arts town, Taos, is a place where its 5,000 residents combine 1960s hippiedom with the ancient culture of Taos Pueblo (150 residents still live without electricity and running water as their ancestors did 1,000 years ago). The Pueblo is a World Heritage Site and looks much as it did when first discovered in the 15o0s.
Horno is a Spanish word to describe the outdoor adobe oven that is used mostly to bake bread and pastries by the women of the Pueblo.
The church was built around 1619 by Spanish priests with Indian labour. The people of Taos Pueblo were forced into Catholicism and slavery in order to become "civilized".
Onto Crested Butte, Colorado for a visit with our friends Angela and Gordon who welcomed us into their luxury log home for the night. Gordon arrested, jailed and charged this adorable baby porcupine with gross misconduct - eating the foundations of their house. We are hoping the punishment will be extradition to the outer regions of Crested Butte county rather than the more ominous fate proposed by Gordon. Thank you Angela and Gordon for the warm hospitality!
The historic landmark city of Crested Butte is among only 12 listed under the US Register of Historic Places for a city of its size and is a great ski resort to boot.
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