On Wednesday, August 8th, we had another nice breakfast, then got into the car and headed north, past the Opera, to Pojoaque, where we turned west, and then southwest, until we came to White Rock. There we drove out to the lookout point overlooking the Rio Grande's White Rock Canyon.
We then went to Bandelier National Monument. During the summer, private car are not allowed in Bandelier between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. It was necessary to catch a shuttle bus at the Visitor Center in White Rock, eight miles away. We just barely caught the 11:00 bus, which was jam-packed with people. A twenty minute ride brought us to the Bandelier National Monument Visitor Center. We got into the park free, with the lifetime Senior Pass I bought for ten dollars in 2009 (as of this year, they now cost $80).
Bandelier, less than fifty miles from Santa Fe, is principally about an Ancient Puebloan (the term "Anasazi," which means "ancient enemy" in the Navajo language, is, understandably, no longer in official use) settlement in Frijoles Canyon, which includes a walled village and cliff-dwellings in the caves above. We paid two dollars for a pamphlet and did the self-guided tour. The place was crowded and noisy, but nonetheless interesting. We saw carved petroglyphs and even paintings on the cliffs.
As we walked, we saw black clouds appear above the far end of the canyon. Then we heard rumbles of thunder. While weather in the southwestern mountains is often highly localized--heavy rain in one spot, completely dry less than a mile away--we thought it prudent to hurry to the finish, and go back to the Visitor Center. We were hit by raindrops as we arrived, but it didn't turn into anything heavy. We saw most of the video about Bandelier showing in the theater, but had to leave early to catch the 1:30 bus back to White Rock (also jam-packed--as we were nearly the last on, we stood at the front of the bus.
We drove back to Santa Fe, and at 5:00 went for dinner to La Plazuela, in the central atrium of the La Fonda hotel. This had begun in the 1920s as a Fred Harvey hotel, part of his chain for tourists on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, which included several National Park lodges. The interior was designed by Mary Jane Coulter, who designed a number of the buildings at the Grand Canyon.
The meal was very good, and amazingly inexpensive. Mary Joy's huitlacoche tamal was her second-favorite meal of the trip.
The reason we were eating so early was, again, that we were going to the opera, this time Madama Butterfly. This production was not the usual version that we had heard before (the 1907 "Standard" version), but the 1904 "Brescia" version. It seemed to me to be more dragged-out, less crisp and pointed, but I would have to see the other version again, which I haven't seen in a long time, to compare the two. But the singing and staging were otherwise wonderful.
We then went to Bandelier National Monument. During the summer, private car are not allowed in Bandelier between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. It was necessary to catch a shuttle bus at the Visitor Center in White Rock, eight miles away. We just barely caught the 11:00 bus, which was jam-packed with people. A twenty minute ride brought us to the Bandelier National Monument Visitor Center. We got into the park free, with the lifetime Senior Pass I bought for ten dollars in 2009 (as of this year, they now cost $80).
Bandelier, less than fifty miles from Santa Fe, is principally about an Ancient Puebloan (the term "Anasazi," which means "ancient enemy" in the Navajo language, is, understandably, no longer in official use) settlement in Frijoles Canyon, which includes a walled village and cliff-dwellings in the caves above. We paid two dollars for a pamphlet and did the self-guided tour. The place was crowded and noisy, but nonetheless interesting. We saw carved petroglyphs and even paintings on the cliffs.
As we walked, we saw black clouds appear above the far end of the canyon. Then we heard rumbles of thunder. While weather in the southwestern mountains is often highly localized--heavy rain in one spot, completely dry less than a mile away--we thought it prudent to hurry to the finish, and go back to the Visitor Center. We were hit by raindrops as we arrived, but it didn't turn into anything heavy. We saw most of the video about Bandelier showing in the theater, but had to leave early to catch the 1:30 bus back to White Rock (also jam-packed--as we were nearly the last on, we stood at the front of the bus.
We drove back to Santa Fe, and at 5:00 went for dinner to La Plazuela, in the central atrium of the La Fonda hotel. This had begun in the 1920s as a Fred Harvey hotel, part of his chain for tourists on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, which included several National Park lodges. The interior was designed by Mary Jane Coulter, who designed a number of the buildings at the Grand Canyon.
The meal was very good, and amazingly inexpensive. Mary Joy's huitlacoche tamal was her second-favorite meal of the trip.
The reason we were eating so early was, again, that we were going to the opera, this time Madama Butterfly. This production was not the usual version that we had heard before (the 1907 "Standard" version), but the 1904 "Brescia" version. It seemed to me to be more dragged-out, less crisp and pointed, but I would have to see the other version again, which I haven't seen in a long time, to compare the two. But the singing and staging were otherwise wonderful.
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