We arrive at Bandelier National Monument around 5:15 p.m. We’ve been driving since 11:30 but we want to see the cliff dwellings so we go in. We haven’t eaten since breakfast and try to get a sandwich at the visitor center snack shop, but they’ve closed early. So we take the mile long self-guided tour to the cliff dwellings. It begins thundering. Tell you what, when you’re that high up, the thunder is huge and close. Lightning flashes are a hundred miles long and really inspiring—in an intimidating sort of way. We continue on. Halfway up, after climbing narrow stone steps and wooden ladders, it begins raining, and at this altitude, the raindrops are like ice. We crowd under an overhanging rock by a small cave and wait it out with a guy from Chicago. His daughter had run off but comes back and takes him to a cave where they sit in dry luxury. After the rain, we continue the tour, take some photos and leave. We find our motel in Los Alamos, then eat at the only place open, a little diner called the Hilltop Inn. Good home cooked food. We’re exhausted and sleep till 9 a.m. the next morning. We tour the Los Alamos museum which is the only one in the world that takes you from Pueblo culture to the settling of the area by the white man, to the development of the atomic bomb. It’s a very eye opening, thought provoking experience. We’re standing on a spot that’s just shown me how this continent went from prehistoric hunters and farmers to empire of the world. (I hate the concept of “empire” but that’s the way our leaders and much of the world see us). I realize, after listening to a German woman and a French woman, how much we take Los Alamos for granted. God, here was a city that officially did not exist, where young scientists worked literally around the clock to develop the atomic bomb, a technology that changed the world and our consciousness. In the history of our world, these people changed the world in the blink of an eye. We leave about 11:30 and head to Santa Fe where we shop for six hours. Food vendors and crafts people line the park. We have a beef burrito made by a dark-skinned man who looks like he really knows burritos. He does. He specializes in making burritos that are tougher than the leather jacket I’m wearing. We bite, tear at the meat and then chew until our jaws hurt. Road kill would be easier to eat than this. This cook is either a fake Mexican or a hateful one. In one of the countless shops we visit, I find a ring exactly like the one I bought at the foot of Pike’s Peak. I ask the sales girl to see it. “I bought one just like this,” I say, being honest about my intentions. She looks at the ring on my finger. “You’re right. It’s exactly the same.” I look at the price. I had bought mine at the special half off sale and paid $16.50. This one is $15. So much for my ability to spot great deals. We look around for a place to eat supper. The underground Sleepy Dog Saloon looks intriguing. We’re served two of the largest sandwiches we’ve ever seen. We find the car and head toward Albuquerque. Leigh makes reservations as we drive. We arrive at The Best Western and are given the Los Alamos suite. Figure the odds…. * * * Click here to
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