The Alternate Route

On our way back from Santa Fe, we decided to take the infamous Turquoise Trail Highway and visit all of the ghost towns that occupy this scenic road.  First, we stopped in Cerrillos (a quintessential Old West mining town), but they were filming a movie there so we couldn't see much.  

  

Moments after getting back on the road, I spotted this quaint church perched upon the hillside in the neighboring ghost town of Golden.  Something about this little chapel caught my eye and although it was getting late, I felt compelled to go check it out.  I quickly grabbed my camera, and the children and I walked through fenced walls into a small cemetery.  

Most of the graves appeared to be unmarked and as we got closer to the chapel doors, a scary looking man walked out of the darkness.  He stated that he volunteered at the chapel -- giving tours, taking names of visitors and donations and that he was attempting to get all of the graves marked.  His reason: "I'm trying to make things right with God and make my way into heaven, Miss."  

Now, I don't know if you've ever had one of those moments where you thought, "This is it.  I'm going to die RIGHT NOW and this guy is going to bury us in one of those graves and I didn't even think to grab my cell phone because I couldn't imagine anyone would be sitting in this old church at dusk.  OMG.  I set myself up for this.  I'm in a ghost town with no one around.  HELLLLLLLP!!!"  

This was horror movie material if there ever was any! My body wanted to run as he gave us the tour, but I kept telling myself to have faith.  HE WAS A MAN OF GOD. Killing us would not get him into heaven.  

And just as he said he would, he gave us a tour with a brief history of the church.  (It was built in 1830, shortly after gold miners set up camp there.)  He let the children ring the bell and he allowed me to take some photos, as long as I would "please sign the guest book."  And yes, I tried hard to not think that guest book was aiding in the marking of the graves.

As we walked back to the car, he hugged me and proudly stated, "I'm the Mayor of Golden!" which I'm pretty sure is possible because he's the only one that lives there... but that is beyond the point.  Just before I got in my car, I asked if I could snap his photo. (Evidence.) 

Now... I do feel a little guilty for being so dramatic, because he turned out to be pretty nice in the end and he obviously spared our lives!  And if nothing else, I will certainly think twice the next time I follow my photographic compulsions to a ghost town.

Happy Hauntings, my little convict-looking church volunteers...  ♰  

Travelogue: La Esencia de Nuevo México

What do you get when you take back to back vacations?

  a. Lots of laundry

  b. Exercises in packing

  c. Strange viruses

  d. More photos than you'll ever know what to do with

  e. All of the above

Oy!  

Within one day, we went from the cloudy and green Northwest, to the sunny and dry Southwest. Talk about a 180/360!

Like Vancouver, I'd always wanted to go to New Mexico.  It didn't matter that I'd essentially be single parenting on the road for two more weeks (okay, maybe a little) because at least we'd be charting new territory.

Thanks to this insatiable need to travel and photograph the world... I wanted to present these photos as "an essence" of what I saw and experienced, just in case you've never been!

LA ESCENCIA de NUEVO MEXICO

Cultural:  Whether you want to learn more about the 19 Indian Pueblos of New Mexico, the blend of Colonial Spanish and Latino/Hispanic heritage, or the great American Cowboy - there's plenty of well-incorporated diversity within culture to take in here.  In many ways, this is the definition of Southwestern.
 

Flavor:  The official state question is "Red or Green?" and I quickly came to realize there's good reason for that.  It comes with everything!  I honestly thought I could handle "heat" (as in chile peppers) until this visit, but boy was I wrong!  They are not messing around here and when they say "spicy," they mean it.  I ate more enchiladas, beans and rice than I ever have in any two week period. Ever.  We made a point to ONLY nosh in local restaurants (no national chains) and eat mostly regional food, with a few interjections of pizza to keep the niños happy.

Historical:  Honestly, I had no idea that New Mexico was steeped in so much history.  Did you know that Santa Fe is the oldest capital city in the United States?  It's also one of the oldest cities in all of America, complete with the oldest house and public building!  While Adobe-Pueblo isn't my favorite architectural style, it harmonizes perfectly with the environment.  Plus, I like it's ancient quality. And speaking of the ancients, there are petroglyphs and cliff dwellings throughout the state.  We didn't get to see any of the latter, but plan to on our next visit.

Colorful:  New Mexico is chock full of color.  How can one not love all the turquoise, reds, oranges, and yellows?  Between the Native American and Spanish influences -- the costumes, the beads, the food, the chiles -- nearly everything was kaleidoscopic.

Museums:  Apparently, I'm attempting to break the world record of "most museum visits in one year!"  I will talk more about this later, but we went to a couple of fabulous ones in Albuquerque.  While the museum tour was getting a little tedious and predictable, I can honestly say that I'd never been to one devoted entirely to rattlesnakes until this trip.  I have the "Certificate of Bravery" to prove it.  Fun times!

Artistic: Between Vancouver and Albuquerque, I returned home with the overwhelming feeling, "Vegas needs more public art!" Everywhere we went, there were enormous murals covering walls due to new "urban enhancement" laws.  In my experience, the longer I live in the desert and the Southwest, I can see why this type of environment is strangely conducive to creating art.  It's no wonder New Mexico has been home to artists like Georgia O'Keefe, Laura Gilpin and Bruce Nauman.

For aural pleasure

As you probably have gathered... music is an integral part of my life.  I'd say it falls just outside the life-sustaining category... so yeah, kinda big.

When I started this blog I had all intentions of sharing the "Songs du Jour," but had no idea how to do so.  (Unlike other blogging platforms, Blogger makes it really difficult!) Thankfully, I finally realized I could upload a mix to a separate source for easy downloading. (Duh!)

Despite my ignorance, I love making and sharing mixes. I've been doing this since junior high and while the days of "pause mixing" are long gone, I still enjoy compiling my current faves and rocking them non-stop for a couple of months.

I won't lie -- I spend a ridiculous amount of time making sure that everything flows perfectly and sadly, half the time I never share them due to said silly perfectionist standards. Such is the case with this one... I meant to post this two months ago, but never did for fear a song or two might be in the wrong order.  (Someone help me!)

So before I change my mind, I present you with...

The Modern Mixtape, Vol. 8 ~ Radiate Your Essence  (click HERE for the download)
I hope you like it!

Or listen to it HERE on 8Tracks.

PS.  If I can get it together, I'll repost the other Modern Mixtapes.

Travelogue: Vancouver, B.C.

If you can believe it, up until September of this year, the only Canadian stamp in my passport was from Dawson City in the Yukon Territory! I've always wanted to visit Vancouver, so when my husband landed a photo shoot there, we decided to tag along.


Now, for the first time ever, I didn't do a lot of advance planning for the trip. In fact, we booked our flights less than two weeks before the shoot! Thankfully, I had a few friends willing to help me out! I owe a huge shout out to Casey, who kindly sent me a great list of places to "Eat, Shop, and Explore." (I got to most of your recommendations, Casey!) Also, my friend Mike graciously shared his expertise from his hometown. (Mike, I promise we'll catch a hockey game next time!) Lastly, my cousin Korene (and her daughters) decided to journey over from Victoria Island to hang out with us.  She drove us around the city and gave us a great tour so we could get our bearings.


But truly, taking a city in on foot is one of my favorite things about traveling and Vancouver was no exception. Rain or shine, we'd set off early in the morning and not get home until after dinner.  We walked and walked, to the point where my legs ACHED every, single night. (I am so proud of my children -- they were such troopers! Literally.)  I feel like we saw most of the main part of the island.

The Seawall:  We almost always started and ended our days by the water. Walking along the seawall on a beautifully sunny day reminded me of just how gorgeous the Pacific Northwest can be.

But one of my favorite things about Vancouver was all of the public sculpture.  It's everywhere! Below is "The Drop," located next to the Convention Center. (The first photo is from an installment called "A-maze-ing Laughter.") For more information, check out this website.


Science World:  Is a top-notch museum for children and adults alike.  We didn't realize that our tickets included admission to the Body Worlds exhibit.  (Umm... that was definitely not for younger children!  OOPS.)  Otherwise, it was a wonderfully interactive museum that we literally spent hours going through and of particular note was the live show for children.  Ava was even called up on stage to help with one of the experiments.  So fun!


Gastown:  Is a fun, historic area with cobbled streets, gaslamps and hip boutiques.  This "original downtown" neighborhood was the perfect mix of old and new.  It seemed fitting that I should have my first poutine here!


Chinatown:  We just happened to walk through Chinatown after leaving Gastown one day.  Browsing through international markets is like taking a vacation within a vacation.  The sights, the smells, and the energy is so different! We do this at home regularly, too.
I'd highly recommend it, if you never gone before!


The Vancouver Aquarium at Stanley Park: This is the third aquarium I've been to in 4 months and I must say, it was pretty stellar. The beluga whales were amazing!  Plus, we were greeted by three, wild raccoons.  If I ever get back to Vancouver, I'll be sure to hike around Stanley Park more.



Japa Dog:  I probably wouldn't have thought twice about eating here if it weren't for Casey's recommendation, but I'm glad I did!  It was the most unusual hot dog I've ever had in my life.  Apparently, this street food vendor has quite the cult following!  I tried the #1 and while I'm not sure I actually liked seaweed on a hot dog, it was still fun to try.


Granville Island: By the time we got over to Granville Island, the children weren't really in the mood to look in shops. Luckily, we found a play area and some gelato to tide them over until dinnertime. I enjoyed looking through the farmer's market, but the rest felt pretty touristy. Perhaps we didn't look around enough?!


Eastside Main Street: One afternoon we trekked over to the eastside for a quick bite at Coco et Olive and to do some shopping. It was a bit off the beaten path in a semi-suburban area with eclectic shops and a few cafes.


The Troopers: They are such sweet, little vagabonds. Exploring the world with them is the best! Okay, so we have to occasionally bribe with sweets, and not to mention local parks/playgrounds have become my new best friends... but when you travel, it's important to balance the touring, shopping and museum-going with child friendly activities, too. It makes for happy campers all-around.


So as you can see, Vancouver was wonderful. I will say, it seemed quite expensive (lunch cost the three of us no less than $50-70 every day!) and the food was nothing to write home about. But it was clean, safe, friendly and definitely a city I'd like to return to someday.

*Be sure to keep an eye out for more Vancouver photos on Bird + Worm and 180|360 Photography!

On the road...

Again.

Photos and stories coming soon!