April 1973,
Bob and I made a road trip with our friends Jim and Sue Foster, from Waverly, Colorado, south down I-25 all the way to Taos, New Mexico. Driving a 4-door Ford sedan, provided
by my employer Union Mfg and Supply Co., the trip was comfortable with plenty
of leg room for us long-legged travelers. Jim and Sue were great traveling
companions, easy going, never a raised voice, and quick to laugh. It was a leasurely drive with plenty of stops along the way, to
stretch, fill up the gas tank, and visit the restrooms.
In
Taos we rented a two-bedroom motel with a
kitchenette where we ate some of our meals, mostly breakfast. We learned quirky things
about one another such as how Jim liked hot water on his dry cereal rather than
the traditional cold milk.
And they were astounded at how many diet Pepsi’s Bob
consumed in a day. Jim was trying out new health-enhancing techniques including hanging upside down every chance he got.
Visiting Taos
Pueblo was a cultural experience for us all. This pueblo has been occupied
continuously for over 1,000 years.
It is a sovereign nation representing the
Tiwa-speaking
Taos people.
We ate freshly baked bread
from the onsite horno oven and marveled at the structures and ancient cemetery.
At a small grocery store Bob loved the group of dogs gathered at the door, led
by a cat. Jim marveled at the way the dogs took to Bob right away.
We
found a picturesque jewelry store outside the pueblo where silver and turquoise
handmade pieces were offered for sale, but we didn’t buy any jewelry.
We met a group of Jim's friends from his college days, artists who invited us to their studio. An eclectic group whose non-traditional art was exciting and inspiring. This photo of Ruth (on the left) and her friend whose name I have forgotten is one of my favorites from the trip. We went out to dinner with them, too, and I remember it well, because I became upset when one of Jim's friends raised his voice in complaint at dinner. I don't remember what his complaint was but he was certainly vocal about it!
On Easter
Sunday we attended an outdoor “Blessing of the Animals”, honoring St. Francis
of Assissi.
It was chilly and windy that day as we watched the ceremony move
along the street, the priest blessing each pet and farm animal brought forward.
Surrounded by children and animals we felt blessed to celebrate Easter this unique
way.
On our return
trip we detoured to Bent’s Old Fort in southeastern
Colorado near LaJunta.
I recently read that the
adobe structure is in disrepair and needing serious structural reworking, but
in 1973 it was beautiful.
Bob and I had visited Bent’s Old Fort with our son
Patrick in 1972 and fell in love with the place.
We knew Jim and Sue would
appreciated it, too, and they certainly did.
Back on I-25
headed north for home we stopped at a rest stop with trees and running water
close by. Jim took a photograph of me while Sue walked along the creek gathering
stones and bark and other odds and ends which she used to make a charming
impromptu
arrangement of nature’s
bounty.
And then there
were several hours of driving, talking, and listening to music on the radio. We
were all grateful to the grandparents for keeping our children while we experienced
an extraordinary Easter in
New Mexico.
