Spent some time in Santa Fe and Taos New Mexico with Aunt Kcate. We attended a Pow Wow in Taos and took the scenic route north from Santa Fe to Taos through the mountains. The winding mountain roads and the high elevation made Lesa a bit car sick but it was a stunning drive. We didn't have the presence of mind to take a couple of pictures of the drive but from a philosophical standpoint, we never get as much satisfaction from the photos as we had from the experience itself so we don't want to diminish the experience sometimes by stopping to pose for a pic. This pic was taken outside of Taos at the Pow Wow we were at- just looking away from the festivities into the distance- the blue sky and fluffy clouds and mountains in the distance...
Here's Shaw at the Pow Wow. It was either the fake smile or the thousand-year-old-man pose... with his shoulders slumped. I chose this one. We actually arrived before the formal festivities began, but still had a great time talking to some artists and craftsmen and women that had their wares on display.
We had delayed our Santa Fe run for a funeral and then a birthday party. This is our friend Allison and her son on her hip. This was his third birthday party at Matuku's (indoor commercial playground for kids with a giant tree house and tunnels and rope bridges and slides etc). It really felt good to be there with her. Her mom is taking the picture.
There is a giant Catholic church building in downtown Santa Fe that we visited. The courtyard has a labyrinth that me and Shaw walked. It's only 40 or 50 feet across but surprisingly complex and it took a good amount of time to finish and it came complete with a good measure of satisfaction at the end.
Santa Fe is tough for little ones but in the summer months, there are lots of music and art festivals and shows throughout the region. This was just a band playing in the town square. It was kindof a fusion of reggae with classic rock and added elements of both Spanish and African music.
Here are a couple of people dancing. It turns out, Gloria Estefan was right; Eventually, the rhythm IS gonna get you!
We had some fried bread tacos from a street vendor adjacent to the bandstand. I don't know if the food tasted good because it was extra good, or because I was extra hungry, or because the music sounded so good, or I was in such good company. Maybe the music sounded good because the food was so tasty. All of the elements just came together to make a great time.
This guy was a street performer that would have fit right in at Venice Beach CA. He was juggling and balancing things and cracking jokes.
Aunt Kcate on the left, Lesa in the middle and Shaw on the right.
Paid a visit to the Santa Fe Children's museum. Shaw was making bubbles in one of the displays. You can see the size of the bubble he's creating kinda behind him.
This thing had a huge magnet in the middle and you could make sculptures out of nuts and bolts and washers. Lesa on the left and Shaw on the right.
Here's Shaw being adventurous at the Children's Museum. He got strapped in for some rock wall climbing. They made him wear some ill-fitting shoes so I don't think he did as well as he would have liked but he climbed well over my head.
On the way back to Santa Fe from the Pow Wow in Taos, we stopped for a late lunch at the Guadalajara Grill.
Shaw is getting to be a pretty good photographer- it's good to get some pics of us.
Lesa ordered a kiwi-watermelon Soda shipped here from Mexico. It was Deeeeee-LISH!
Summer is about to wrap up and we went on a hike in the local mountain range- about 15 miles east of us- The Superstition Mountains. It had rained for a couple of days and even though it was a bit humid, the temp was expected to be only 97 that day so we hit the desert.
I'm always amazed at all of the plant life out there that is so green even though it may only get water 4 or 5 times in a whole year and brave temperatures over 105 for 3 months and survive. This was just a lovely cactus flower doing it's thang out there. Making a living under another desert plant.
Here's Shaw doing some major rock climbing WITH a pack on his back. It was only some leftover rain water that had puddled below him but for the sake of this picture, it was a dangerous climb over a crevasse filled with dangerous desert animals and a raging torrent below... yeah, that's it.
This is a prickly pear cactus. The red bulbs are rather sweet if you can get to them. Lots of people make prickly pear punch or make a marinade for chicken with this stuff.
It's a shame that the summers are so hot around here. We spent several days at the local water park and at the mall and such... some days, we just stay in and enjoy the air conditioning. Shaw made a major creation today out of Legos. We finally got rid of all of the parts that "belong" to a set- things that specifically make a fire truck or that make a catapult. All that is left are raw bricks and a few actuating parts that rotate or have some other axle or hinge of some kind. His imagination skyrocketed when he learned that he could build whatever he wanted instead of what the instructions told him to build.
There aren't any pictures of it, but the summer also included a road trip to Salt Lake city, a trip to the Phoenix Zoo, a night time trip to the Desert Botanical Garden, a few movies projected outside on a giant wall with some of the neighborhood kids in the evenings, some gardening and some quiet evenings around the dining room table playing dominoes or Uno or Mille Bornes.
Aunt Kcate on the left, Lesa in the middle and Shaw on the right.
Paid a visit to the Santa Fe Children's museum. Shaw was making bubbles in one of the displays. You can see the size of the bubble he's creating kinda behind him.
This thing had a huge magnet in the middle and you could make sculptures out of nuts and bolts and washers. Lesa on the left and Shaw on the right.
Here's Shaw being adventurous at the Children's Museum. He got strapped in for some rock wall climbing. They made him wear some ill-fitting shoes so I don't think he did as well as he would have liked but he climbed well over my head.
On the way back to Santa Fe from the Pow Wow in Taos, we stopped for a late lunch at the Guadalajara Grill.
Shaw is getting to be a pretty good photographer- it's good to get some pics of us.
Lesa ordered a kiwi-watermelon Soda shipped here from Mexico. It was Deeeeee-LISH!
Summer is about to wrap up and we went on a hike in the local mountain range- about 15 miles east of us- The Superstition Mountains. It had rained for a couple of days and even though it was a bit humid, the temp was expected to be only 97 that day so we hit the desert.
I'm always amazed at all of the plant life out there that is so green even though it may only get water 4 or 5 times in a whole year and brave temperatures over 105 for 3 months and survive. This was just a lovely cactus flower doing it's thang out there. Making a living under another desert plant.
Here's Shaw doing some major rock climbing WITH a pack on his back. It was only some leftover rain water that had puddled below him but for the sake of this picture, it was a dangerous climb over a crevasse filled with dangerous desert animals and a raging torrent below... yeah, that's it.
This is a prickly pear cactus. The red bulbs are rather sweet if you can get to them. Lots of people make prickly pear punch or make a marinade for chicken with this stuff.
It's a shame that the summers are so hot around here. We spent several days at the local water park and at the mall and such... some days, we just stay in and enjoy the air conditioning. Shaw made a major creation today out of Legos. We finally got rid of all of the parts that "belong" to a set- things that specifically make a fire truck or that make a catapult. All that is left are raw bricks and a few actuating parts that rotate or have some other axle or hinge of some kind. His imagination skyrocketed when he learned that he could build whatever he wanted instead of what the instructions told him to build.
There aren't any pictures of it, but the summer also included a road trip to Salt Lake city, a trip to the Phoenix Zoo, a night time trip to the Desert Botanical Garden, a few movies projected outside on a giant wall with some of the neighborhood kids in the evenings, some gardening and some quiet evenings around the dining room table playing dominoes or Uno or Mille Bornes.In a couple of days, we'll go meet Shaw's new 4th grade teacher- Ms Ritter. Then, school starts on Wednesday, August 11th. We'll all have to fall back into our school-year rhythm.
