Eureka Springs Spas

Our next vacation is to Holiday Island, located about 10 miles north of Eureka Springs and about an hour west of Branson. A downtown map of  Eureka Springs is available. The largest grocery appears to be Goodall's at 55 Center Street. On the south side of town, however, at 2100 East Van Buren, there is located W.T. Focker's Discount Outlet -- described as a place where one can find "retail and wholesale merchandise at ridiculously low prices. Groceries, pet food, personal care, housewares, electronics, clothing, toys and more."

The town itself contains several old bath houses:

• Palace Hotel and Bath House - 135 Spring Street

 

•  Grand Central Hotel & Spa  - 37 North Main Street

•  Suchness Spa  - 63 Spring Street

 

•  Gryphon's Roost Day Spa & Gallery  - 137 Spring Street

  

 

•  Serenity Spa  - 12 Spring Street in Basin Park historic area

Scenic Tour--Miracles to Minerals

In Search of Miracles

We set out west from Angel Fire early one day headed toward Rancho de Taos and turned onto Highway 518 south through a mountainous terrain. Presently we came to Highway 75, which curved around through villages of Vadito and Penasco with a turn on Highway 76 to the west, which soon also faced south. We found a friend there, a pleasant and talkative native who sold us a few mementoes and gave me several rocks he had lying around his small shop. He told us he had been an extra in the movie, "Milagro Beanfield War," which had filmed some scenes at Las Trampas in addition to the somewhat larger tiny town of Truchas, a few miles up the road. "Milagro, of course, is Spanish for "miracle."

We were looking for lunch by that time, and he thought Truchas had such a cafe. He was mistaken. All we could find there was a small store where we bought a bag of blue corn chips for the road and a cold drink. From Truchas to Espanola, a distance of less than 20 miles, took us about 45 minutes. But when we spotted an historic restaurant called El Paragua, we knew the wait was worth it.

  
After a tasty Mexican lunch, we took Highway 84 north and west to Abiquiu, where we got out  of the car to explore. 

 

Abiquiu Churches

The focal point of the village was clearly the lovely adobe church, surrounded by an assortment of colorful desert flora. But the church was not the only thing in Abiquiu, which also had a library and a small museum.

As we wandered down the dusty streets, taking photos, however, we discovered another intriguing sight, which we could hardly wait to ask about. Another church that appeared almost abandoned could be seen a hundred yards or so beyond the museum. It was a breathtaking sight! Next to the church stood three enormous crosses.


As we walked past the crosses an even more beguiling scene caught our attention. Mere words do not do it justice. After making an inquiry at a grocery store a few miles away, we learned this weathered building was the meeting place of the Penitente Brotherhood.  My husband googled the name and became quite fascinated by this religious sect which, in times past, engaged in flagellation, or self-whipping, to atone for their sins.  According to Marc Simmons'  review in The New Mexican of a book written by George
Wharton James--New Mexico, The Land of the Delight Makers (1920):

One of the first outsiders to comment on the Penitente phenomenon was Santa Fe trader Josiah Gregg in 1844. He wrote of viewing a procession at Tomé below Albuquerque, in which a man bore a 100-pound cross on his shoulder with a large stone attached to increase the weight.

Thereafter, toward the end of the century, American observers in growing numbers wrote books and articles describing the bizarre rites they witnessed. In response, the Penitentes attempted to maintain secrecy and exclude intruders.

After filing away our lesson for the day, we headed back to Angel Fire -- completing a circle through the resort of Ojo Caliente on Highway 285.

Ojo Caliente

Because the day was almost gone, we took a quick look around, determining to save a more luxurious visit to the famous spa for another day. Possibly America's oldest mineral spa, its name is Spanish for "hot eye".

Another missed opportunity last year was a visit to Georgia O'Keefe's house and the Ghost Ranch. We'll definitely try to fit that in this year.

Visiting Taos

From Angel Fire to Taos Pueblo

Taos Pueblo

One decision we have already made is to make a visit to the Taos Pueblo. I just located a walking tour map of it, as well as a map of the art museums. Photography in the pueblo is very restricted, subject to a list of rules to follow. It appears that the pueblo is several miles north of the casino once we go into the gate at Taos. This village, which is one of 19 in New Mexico:

"stands as the largest surviving multi-storied Pueblo structure in the United States.  We have endured even after 400 years of Spanish and Anglo presence. The crystal clear waters of the Rio Pueblo, which originate high in the mountains at our sacred Blue Lake, still serves as our primary source for drinking and irrigation. To visit our Pueblo is to experience the spirit and unique way of life that continues mush as it has for nearly ten centuries."

Take a Llama to Lunch!

Now the big question is whether we'll splurge this year and take two of these darling creatures out for lunch. Or maybe they'll take us?  We did visit an alpaca farm last year and fell in love with those cuties from the same family. I'd appreciate the comments below of anyone who has been on this trek, or anyone who has any advice for us about whether or not we should go.

Speaking of lunch, the first place we ate outside our condo was the Alley Cantina in Taos, where we had some great nachos. I didn't realize we could have had fish and chips! During the week we'll be there this year, I notice they have a variety of musicians. This one looks good:

Sept. 22, 2011 (Thu) 9:30-12:30 Jimmy Stadler Solo  - Taos's favorite musician!!!

 Now here's another map Les will love. It has all the shops and parking areas marked. It's located on the website of a used bookstore, one of our favorite places to browse while vacationing; cute name, too, Moby Dickens. It's located on the shopping area we enjoyed so much with Bettie and Bob last year, with the big tree in the center. Here's a pic from the Coffee Cats website:

That about covers shopping in Taos. More updates later.

Angel Fire, here we come!

Sun Lodge Condos

Perhaps we'll do some hiking. Late September should be beautiful weather for that. We had hoped to share at least part of our week this year with a nephew who's an avid hiker/ photographer. However, he declined after checking his vacation schedule and found no time available at our chosen time. But that won't stop us from looking into what's available for hiking enthusiasts. There's always next year for Jeff as well.

Perfect event for photographers

Search & snap your way around the Enchanted Circle Scenic Byway and win a 7-night getaway!  The communities of Taos, Questa, Red River, Eagle Nest, Angel Fire, and Taos Ski Valley, along with the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial State Park in Angel Fire, are challenging you to get out of town and hit the road!  Beginning September 2nd head to the Enchanted Circle Scenic Byway in northern New Mexico. Take a photo of you and your friends/family with each of the landmarks listed on our site. Post those pictures here and you'll be entered to win a 7-night stay in the Enchanted Circle to be used in 2012!

Remember, the photos must have you or your group in them to qualify. Photos will be posted for all to see while the challenge is running. Good luck!

That will give us the opportunity for more practice using our timed photo gadgets and tripods, which we must remember to pack.

Connect with Family Live from Angel Fire

Angel Fire also has lots of live Cams streaming to the internet. We first visited one of these when we left on our one and only cruise a couple of years ago from Galveston. We chose a restaurant primarily because of that, then called our daughter while waiting for our food order. She logged into the site and saw us wave at her. Exciting stuff for children like us! We just turned 63 this year. Growing old is mandatory; growing up isn't.

We'll have to scope out this location. It looks like the easiest place to find for our antics while we're there.

Now, for today's weather:  Saturday, Sept. 3.

High 75
Low 46
T-Storm

Sounds much better than Central Texas at the moment, where today it's expected to exceed 100 degrees! Currently in Angel Fire it's 52 degrees.

Stuff to do
It's too bad our granddaughter won't be with us this trip. I just found one of her all-time favorite things to do

• bungy jumping. Or we could have both grandchildren with us on a weekend day for 
• a chairlift ride. She would also enjoy ...
• playing tennis, but my husband and I can do that on our own if there's time; must remember to pack our rackets, too. There's also something I'm not sure I'm quite up to,
• a climbing wall, otherwise known as absailing. I think I'll pass this year. But if we bring our grandson with us when he's old enough, I know he'd go crazy on the
• ATV tour. He loves cars, motorcycles and anything that goes vrrrrooomm.

Speaking of grandson Jackson, he will be four years old on Sept. 11, and we'll be celebrating his birthday the Saturday before we set out for Angel Fire via a somewhat circuitous route. First stop is a brief one in Lubbock to check in on the Jones family. Early Wednesday morning we head for Colorado Springs to see my sister and her crew until the following Sunday--with our afternoon check in later that day in Angel Fire.


I'll also have to remember to send some e-postcards while we're there. But for the time being, I'm still in Texas, where it is hot enough to go for a quick lake swim with our dog, Rhea, who won't be traveling with us. We'll miss her though. More later as the countdown continues.

Capulin Volcano in Late Summer

Angel Fire in August 2010
We spent a delightful week (our very first) visiting this ski town last year at the peak of the summer, and will be returning again this year in late September. Not being skiers, we find that time is the perfect season for camera nuts like us.

Before planning this year's activities, it's a good idea to review last year's photos to see what we enjoyed most about that trip. The highlights we'll repeat and attempt to enhance, if not recapture, that special ambiance.

Driving from Texas to Angel Fire necessitated a stopover in Lubbock, with a brief visit with a brother and his family--always eventful in itself. We allowed an extra day to drive to our time-share (Sun Lodge Condominiums) in order to tour a site my husband had long wanted to see, but which I thought would be boring.

Mt. Capulin Volcano
Boy, was I wrong! The extra day allowed us to arrive early in the day before steam vapors began to rise from the desert plants. Actually, that's an exaggeration. With an altitude of
it's somewhat cooler than Central Texas weather that we are accustomed to and much lower humidity, which helps to make it more bearable. The experts tell us:

Nestled in the Cimarron River valley in New Mexico's northeastern corner, just miles from the state's northern border with Colorado and about 210 miles northeast of Santa Fe, Folsom typically sees mild to moderately warm and usually dry weather in September, when the town's average monthly temperatures range between 76°F and 48°F, and rainfall totals average just under 2 inches for the month. On the day of the race (Sept. 25), the average high is 74°F and the average low is 45°F.

What's this about a race, you may ask. Aha, little did I know before I began sharing the first highlight of last year's vacation that we could be in store for the last highlight of this year's trip to that delightful little volcano:

Capulin Volcano Run Half Marathon, 10K, 5K & Fun Run

Folsom, NM  •  Sunday, September 25, 2011

Course map

Now for a few photos from last year.

Approaching the volcano from Folsom.

Flora and Fauna:

Ladybugs were everywhere.

Unknown white flower.

Red flower.

The Vista from the volcano's peak:

The Crater from the peak: