Blue Goose ~ Day 305

March 28, 2015 ~ Albuquerque, NM to Socorro, NM

We were to visit Acoma Pueblo today but impulsively chose to eat breakfast in the hotel before starting out. The restaurant was empty and waiting to serve, and they needed our patronage. We both ordered a quinoa, kale and sweet potato hash with two lightly and perfectly fried eggs on the side. Elegant, really quite simple and delicious.

Breakfast at the Andaluz in Albuquerque, NM

DHC had reserved a rental car so we walked half a mile to pick it up, through the very quiet, early Saturday morning downtown streets of Albuquerque, past buildings adorned with murals and decorative tiles, past pots of pansies, in glorious sunshine. As happened repeatedly on this trip, DHC ran into a woman who was out walking and who had moved to Arizona from South Bend, Indiana. She and her husband had first tried living in Tucson, but it was too hot, and they returned to Indiana before trying again in Albuquerque, which they love. DHC had spotted a bird across the street and spent 30 minutes trying to figure it out. Knowing nothing about the habitat of Rosy Finches, she was hopeful she was seeing one, but it was only an orangey House Finch, a color phase she had never seen before.

Oops....her driver's license had expired, so I became the designated driver of a small new Buick; we headed west to Acoma.

Downtown Albuquerque - building mural

When we got off the Interstate for the 12 miles of secondary road to Acoma, we stopped for a photo and immediately saw a Black-chinned Sparrow, a lifer for DHC and, skulking near the base of a nearby bush, I saw a Greater Roadrunner. Deborah just missed seeing more than a flicker of movement even though she walked into the scrub to try to find it.

DHC chasing a Roadrunner near Acoma - NM

No luck, and we continued to Acoma, arriving minutes before the next tour began. The way it works is that every hour guided tours are offered, and a van transports visitors up the short steep road to village on top of the mesa.  It is the oldest continuously inhabited village in North America.

Seeing and hearing about Acoma, built on top of a steep-sided mesa, was an amazing experience. There are 13-15 families who live here permanently but hundreds of other families have homes, visiting and staying for shorter periods of time. There are some 300 dwellings; no electricity; no plumbing. Vehicles have been allowed since the road was built but only Natives are allowed to use it (and school buses). The pueblo "roads"are barely more than open spaces of rutted, hard-packed sand between the homes, which are a jumble of adobe structures, one to three stories high. Often the second and third floors are accessed only by outside ladders. There are large freestanding beehive bread ovens outside. Vendors and artists had set up pottery on small tables right outside their homes, but we were asked to wait until after the 90-minute tour was over before buying anything. However, there were food items available as we walked along – frybread or fruit cakes or tamales.

Acoma Pueblo - AZ
(DHC photo)

A few kids wandered about, usually sticking close to the pottery vendors. At one point a middle-aged handsome gentleman came out of his home. He wore jeans and had striking long white hair, unrestrained by braids. Immediately people asked if they could take his picture and he agreed (of course he did, which was obviously why he came out as we walked by) and he motioned to a small “photo” jar for contributions. To me, it was amusingly so Indian...so modern day Native American and totally fine.

Acoma Pueblo - AZ
(DHC photo)

Our guide was Geri, also middle-aged, dressed comfortably in tennis shoes, a T-shirt and loose capri-length pants. Her long black hair blew in the wind until halfway through the tour when she casually braided it as she moved along. She had immediate and total control over our group of 20, telling us both the generic history (Spanish versus the Native tribes) and more specific stories of Acoma. There is a cemetery where people have been buried in layers, but which has now reached capacity after the fifth layer. There will be no more burials up on the mesa. Sand would be brought up from below by women and children in buckets and placed between each successive layer. The thick-walled adobe church was several degrees cooler than outside, in fact, almost chilly. Geri explained the paintings and decorative features and how the present day Acoma people use the church. High-set windows let in some light. There were 14 stations of the cross along the side wall. The floor was dirt, mostly hard packed, but with a covering of fine loose sand. Those who wished to take photos had to get a permit before the tour and some areas were off limits (the cemetery and inside the church). 

To me, Acoma was the curious mix of a Native American experience with components of their concession to what most white people expect, the subtlety of their sly humor, their lack of taking themselves seriously and the juxtapostion of modernity and old ways of living.

Acoma Pueblo  - AZ
(DHC photo)

DHC and I both bought a beautiful piece of pottery from Terrence Chino. Acoma pottery is known for its thinness and intricate designs. We had to pay cash, and the artist met us down below at the ATM machine. A small black-haired boy came with him. He had carefully packed our pieces for travel.

WWW.WESTERNARTANDARCHITECTURE.COM

The Four Matriarchs were Acoma women — Marie Z. Chino, Lucy Lewis, Jessie Garcia and Juana Leno — born around the turn of the 20th century. These women, with their bare hands and the most primitive of tools, revived the ancient style of Acoma pottery. And, in so doing, they gave rise to a style now preserved and nurtured by their descendants — and prized for its design, color and workmanship. 

Occasional wind gusts blew the fine yellow sand between houses and all over us as we walked about. Acoma is a hodge-podge of homes – some very old; others quite new, but all of earthy colors, although some window and door frames are brightly painted. A White-throated Swift flew by. 

Geri said that there are now some generators, and on football Sundays, when the Cowboys are playing, the noise is the loudest.

Barbara - Acoma Pueblo - AZ
(DHC photo)

We left and headed back east to the Interstate. Along the way we stopped for a meadowlark tutorial as we listened to one singing on a wire above us. Eastern and Western Meadowlarks are not easy to distinguish and their ranges do overlap, but since DHC has advanced aural capabilities, she learned and remembered vocalizations which is one way to tell them apart.

I remembered a small highly recommended crossroads bar / restaurant (Owl Bar and Cafe) just eight miles north of Bosque del Apache NWR where we stopped for delicious green chile cheeseburgers, and where I also bought earrings (Arizona turquoise) from a Native man who had his wares in the small entryway and had set up for a few hours of trading.

Acoma Pueblo - AZ
(DHC photo)

The cheeseburger was far and away the best burger I've ever eaten!

As we left the Owl to drive the north loop of Bosque, right across the street, we saw Gambel's Quails, a life bird for DHC. On the refuge, we saw another lifer for her - Neotropic Cormorants. For me the best sighting was a trio of javelinas, poking in the roadside brush.

Gambel's Quail - near Bosque del Apache NWR - NM

Deborah was in awe of the landscape, especially on the refuge, which has impoundments for waterfowl, with fields and small wooded areas, with mountains on the western horizon and the Rio Grande to the east. As it always is in these sanctuaries, Bosque was peaceful, serene, soothing....a nice ending to this day.

We then spent the night in Socorro, 20 minutes up the road to the north. 

Blue Goose ~ Day 304

March 27, 2015 ~ Kansas to Albuquerque, NM

I woke early and sat in the observation car hoping for a sunrise, but an early morning cloud precluded that.

DHC reappeared and we discussed our respective wanderings through the coach last night.

We ate a marginal breakfast in the dining car. The evening meals are better. 

It was a good day moving west across the plains into eastern Colorado, slowly turning south at Trinidad down into New Mexico. The sun came out as we moved over flat dry land, through small towns. The Colorado Rockies came into view as snow-covered peaks rising from the prairies. We were near National Grasslands; buttes and mesas appeared on the northern horizon by late morning. We started to see sage and prickly pear. Some of the land is irrigated but much is barren. The night skies would be spectacular out here....and the weather changes and sunsets and sunrises.

The highest elevation on this route is approximately 7500 feet where we went through the Raton Tunnel near Raton, NM. The topography became much more striking and southwestern with impressive red rocks, dark green junipers / cedars and straw-colored grasses on the foothills as we traveled south. Aridity defines this vast landscape; small dusty towns were spaced at intervals along the train tracks and isolated homesteads baked in the sun. 

New Mexico with Rockies in the distance (from Amtrak)

There were more and more adobe homes as we got closer to Albuquerque, some modest and some large and artistic, the latter often in the foothills with views over the valley to the east.

The train was only an hour late; we schlepped our baggage the few blocks to the wonderful Andaluz Hotel. (We both had over-packed inspite of thinking we had done better than our trip to Texas last spring.)

The Andaluz is the first Conrad Hilton hotel and was the perfect respite after 24 hours on the train. We entered through a modest side door and expected a generic downtown big city hotel but were delightfully surprised as we entered a spacious lobby with couches and small tables, lamps and overstuffed chairs, and cozy dining alcoves for small parties preferring more privacy than the open restaurant.

Outskirts of Albuquerque, NM

We were on the 6^th floor and had no desire to leave the Andaluz to seek an outside restaurant so immediately went downstairs to eat. We also had the choice of second-floor outdoor patio seating which was now in the shade and rapidly cooling as it does in the southwest right after sundown. People definitely learn to live in dry heat.

Our food was superb. We chose from a tapas menu and split a salad of greens with beet slices / goat cheese “sandwiches.” DHC had a shrimp dish and I had salmon. The portions were perfect. We left feeling satisfied and relaxed in our wonderful corner room, which faced east toward the Sandia Crest. 

One possible plan was to drive to the top of Sandia to look for Rosy Finches, all three species of which can be seen there from November to March, but as it turned out, we never made it. 

Traveling on Amtrak; a 10-minute shopping opportunity from vendors on a train platform.

Blue Goose ~ Day 303

March 26, 2015 ~ Galesburg, IL to Kansas

Since Amtrak wasn't leaving until 1730, Emily, Deborah and I had coffee downstairs, drove to Green Oaks (a Knox College property 25 miles out on the prairie), went to lunch and then to Storey Lake with an eye out for birds. It was sunny but cool and breezy...a great early spring day.

DHC and Emily - Galesburg, IL

The train arrived on time; we both had too much luggage, and I didn't have my rolling suitcase which was in storage in Holland. This makes boarding and unboarding the train a bit clumsy but we managed.

I then had to find a piece of my luggage that went missing. When we boarded, the coach steward said she would bring it to me once we started moving. The deal is that the very narrow stairs into the upper level has two right-angled turns, and with a large crowd trying to board, there is pressure to hurry. Train stops are often only a couple of minutes. So some of the luggage is usually stored on shelves in the lower level. But when I went to retrieve mine (containing computer /camera, etc.), I couldn't find it. I finally asked the steward who peered into the recesses of the shelves with a little flashlight, looked into alternative areas and then remembered something: "Follow me..." We went upstairs to the back seat in the coach where a young nerdy-type guy was sitting working on a laptop. The lady had taken my bag to this guy who did, in fact, have it on the floor beside him. She said, “This isn't yours, right?” and he said, “No.” Yeah, I know, why didn't he say something when she set it down by him....C'est la vie.....

I immediately made dinner reservations for 7 o'clock because eating in the dining car on a train is often one of the more pleasant aspects of traveling Amtrak. 

Our dinner companions (and Amtrak always seats people randomly and guests have no choice) were Hugh and Nicole from Toronto, traveling to see her mother who lives out in the country near Lawrence, Kansas. We had an animated conversation about politics, families, our respective lives and why we all were on the train, etc. Hugh was to meet her family for the first time. Nicole was eager to “ride horses again with my high-school philosophy teacher.” As best as we could tell, she had started a graphic arts company, hired Hugh and they “fell in love.” We got a glimpse of their lives in Canada; both were articulate, telling us anecdotes about their personal history, their work and a bit of the darker side of social activism in Canada.

My dinner choice was a vegetarian lasagna with a generous side of thin green and yellow string beans; DHC had a small beef eye of round with a vegetable and dark gravy. Both were acceptable. The pleasure wasn't the cuisine but dining as we travelled in the last light of day through the Missouri countryside. We had crossed the Mississippi at Ft. Madison, Iowa, where DHC spotted a Bald Eagle, rather common up and down the grand rivers of the Midwest this time of year. 

DHC wanted to touch the ground in Kansas as she had never been in this state, so when the announcement came on that we were approaching Lawrence about 10:30, she went to “de-train” to do this. But she never returned. I was getting sleepy and went in search of two empty seats so we both would have more room during the night, found some, got settled with my blanket and pillow and realized she still hadn't come back from Kansas. Being a Hoogstrate, I played out the scenario of her standing bereft on the train platform as it moved on without her. Trains do not tolerate people who leave the train and don't have the wits to be aware of this possibility, and people do periodically get left behind. I didn't REALLY think she was witless but where was she? I went in search (checking the bathrooms downstairs with no success) but then spotted her dozing in the lower level area which are usually reserved for those not wishing to (or unable to) navigate the stairs. I figured she also had just found two empty seats for the night, went upstairs and slept intermittently, waking a dozen times to switch positions, trying unsuccessfully to get comfortable. Sleepers on Amtrak are costly. Traveling through the night on a train is romantic in the broad sense but requires a certain tolerance. The coaches have 70-100 people, and it is very quiet all night, which always amazes me. Since DHC was not forlorn and distressed in the Lawrence train station, I moved back to our assigned seats and spread out. 

The next morning, she said she had eventually come back to our seats where I was soundly sleeping, so she did, in fact, end up sleeping downstairs. She kept thinking the train was imminently GOING to stop at Lawrence and was waiting in the lower level seats wondering why I told her she better go down if she wanted the Kansas Experience. I think it had already stopped and moved on as she was going down the stairs. As I said, the train doesn't linger at most of the stations. 

My Amtrak experience has often been synonymous with traveling Hutterite families, and there were several on this trip also, including twins babies, probably about 1 year-old, and as precious and photogenic as humans can be. They were usually wearing the dark blue dresses and thin cotton starched white bonnets.  

Blue Goose ~ Day 302

March 25, 2015 ~ Indianapolis, IN to Galesburg, IL

DHC and I worked until early afternoon. We had packed before going to school so left from there, stopping to look for the Smith Longspurs, unsuccessfully, unfortunately....DHC even actually walked into the slightly muddy field (wearing my green Wellies), and I kept watch on the road. There were only a few Horned Larks and Killdeer about so after 30 minutes we continued on to Galesburg, arriving at Emily's apartment just about full-on dark.

She lives above a coffee shop and there was an extremely loud band playing which resonated throughout her whole building, but when we returned from dinner (just down the street in this small college town), all was quiet. Emily kindly offered her bedroom. Her roommate was gone so there were two beds, and I slept the wonderful sleep that the right bed and bedding facilitates; DHC stayed up until 2 a.m. tying loose ends for work.

Blue Goose ~ Days 299 to 301

March 22, 2015 to March 24, 2015 ~ Indianapolis, IN

I spent 4 days in Indy, working in DHC's very nice office, meeting her coworkers, going to Aristocrats for a lovely dinner on Sunday with Jack and Deborah, washing clothes, checking out cameras, going to Second Hand Books....and generally getting ready for what we are calling Bird Odyssey #2.

Blue Goose ~ Day 298

 March 21, 2015 ~ Terre Haute, IN to Indianapolis, IN

The sun was out, always the very first thing I notice (or look up on a weather app if it's still pre-sunreise), and a good day to visit Goose Pond and Beehunter Marsh, premier birding spots for Indiana residents. (Beehunter Marsh make take first place in wonderful names for a sanctuary.) The area is mostly fields, ditches, impoundments and dikes. Water levels vary throughout the year and is managed for wetlands like many of the refuges. I spent a couple of hours driving slowly on gravel roads seeing the usual late winter / early spring birds, including a large group of White Pelicans.

Song Sparrow - Goose Pond, IN

Song Sparrows were singing; hawks and vultures flew overhead; American Pipits and Horned Larks worked the fields of corn stubble.

American Pipit - IN

DHC had told me the Smith Longspurs had been seen in a very specific location an hour west of Indianapolis and an hour north of Goose Pond, so I headed there next. I sat in the car on a gravel road for an hour without a single other vehicle passing me. The longspurs were somewhere in the stubble field to the south and one was advised to walk into the middle of the field to "flush them" and that one   probably "would not see them from the road." But I did.....finally. There are often tantalizing twitterings when one is chasing a specific species, but for a long time I only saw a Killdeer and sporadic Horned Larks. But then there was a slight movement on the ground, soon followed by a small group of birds rising and flying a few hundred yards west. I followed, waited where they had landed and eventually got good enough looks at this life bird; in fact, there were at least two I saw clearly. They are very well camouflaged and I was lucky. As often happens, I go with bright expectations, thinking I will drive to a location, wait a few minutes and the bird(s) will be there. But at least half the time, they aren't that cooperative, so I wait until I get impatient and loosen up my general "bird anxiety" and then I see what I'm looking for. Not always, but often enough, which was the case today.

It was lovely out in this habitat of open fields and far horizons and sunshine on the cusp of a new spring.

Indiana (Smith Longspur fields)

My destination was Indianapolis and I arrived there late afternoon, where I stayed the next four nights, preparatory to DHC and my birding trip to New Mexico and Arizona...our Bird Odyssey #2.

Blue Goose ~ Day 297

March 20, 2015 ~ Springfield, IL to Terre Haute, IN

I intend to make this a year blog, even though most of the road tripping is done, but not all, however, as there is a river to be run in Oregon in May and a couple of NWRs to be visited on the return trip to Michigan.

It has been nearly a month since I last posted here so the day of March 20 is not well-defined in my mind anymore and I have no photos to help clarify the day. What I do know is that I drove from Springfield, Illinois to Terre Haute, Indiana, where I stayed in a Holiday Inn that was big and busy with restaurants and a pool and families and kids. I changed my first room; it was dismal with computer ergonomic issues (now one of my prime requirements in a motel). The second room was fine except I could not access my work network but could troubleshoot enough to know it was a motel deficiency. This constitutes a modern crisis, pathetic as it is....

However, the complimentary breakfast the next morning was generous and without plastic or styrofoam serving pieces. So it goes....

Meredosia, IL (from yesterday)