Traveling to and Arriving in Amarillo

May 27-29, 2005                                                    Most Recent Posts:
Tuesday – Thursday                        The Impressive Millicent Rogers Museum
Traveling East                                   I Took the Low Road and the High Road

TAOS VALLEY RV PARK
Taos New Mexico

It was a sad pull out at 11 am from this site at Taos Valley RV Park.  I could have easily stayed another 2 weeks or maybe a month if money were no object.

SANTA ROSA RV PARK
Santa Rosa New Mexico

Arrived 178 miles later without incident at the Santa Rosa RV Park on route 40 in Santa Rosa, New Mexico where the site was so unlevel that I didn’t put the slides out.  I’m only here for a night and don’t want to take the car off to jack the rig to level.   The park has a BBQ restaurant so I took advantage of it for dinner.  It was fine.  Not great but easy and close for those without a car.

Took a walk around and around the RV park the next morning and quit at 6000 steps.  The land around the park is undeveloped so there were some lovely wildflowers (aka weeds to some).

I think this is tree chola cactus.   I don’t think of cactus as trees.

I love the way it grows.  

I wish I were going to be near one to see it bloom.

Being unfamiliar with desert plants, I have no idea what all was blooming here beside the RV park in New Mexico.  If you know, please identify.

Love the bark and the prickly pear.

OASIS RV PARK
Amarillo, Texas

On Wednesday, I headed into Texas where I lost an hour coming into Central Time.   158 miles to Oasis RV Park on the west side of Amarillo.  Oasis is big and like an upscale parking lot.  Few trees.  Lots of sites in rows.  Each site is a wide concrete square with blacktop front and back ends.  $59 a night during the week, $62 weekends.  Seems like a lot for what it is but it’s full hookups.  I’ll be here 3 nights.

On the way here I saw an old metal windmill like I imagine Auntie Em had at her farm.  It was surrounded by rows and rows of wind turbines.   How things have changed.  Wish I could have gotten that picture but, I was driving.  A real drawback of not being just the navigator.  I miss you David.

Sadly, I also saw and smelled cattle pens LOTS of them right along the highway, still I-40, with cattle standing in what from the horrific smell could only have been above the ankle deep manure.  No green anywhere.  It was sickening. The smell was in the RV for over an hour afterwards.  How can we eat beef or chicken or pork knowing how these animals are kept in their own waste?   I had a grain bowl with tofu for dinner.

The next morning, Thursday, I was up early to stop by the famous or infamous Cadillac Ranch on my way to Palo Duro Canyon.

The “Ranch” is literally right along Highway.

The out of control spray paint started on the I-40 service road used for parking.

I struggled to see why it is such an “event” for anyone other than teens with spray paint cans.  I thought it was ugly and stupid.  What was beautiful was the waving fields of grain surrounding it and being spray painted by children who need parental supervision.

I could hardly tell they were cars.

The closer I got, the even less they looked like cars or trucks maybe??   I picked the costume clad beaver painter to follow.

Clearly she thinks this is fun.

I guess you have to paint every one until your can is empty??

Not sure why they wanted to paint the ground?   Use up the can?

I wondered if a friend had painted her hair with the yellow that was in her can or if she had done it herself.

I seen enough after perhaps 10 minutes and turned around in the Cadillac Diner to head toward Palo Duro Canyon.  Seems there is no shortage of Cadillacs.   Wonder how long it will be before sprayers will come in the dark to “decorate” these.

Definitely Texas.  He was several stories tall.

Does this mean we should all be able to own an AK47?  

I chose this stop in Amarillo to revisit Palo Duro Canyon which I had loved when David and I visited in 2011. For a blast from the past, you can see that post here.   I had always wanted to return.  It was a place that inspired O’Keeffe when she lived and taught art for a few years in nearby Canyon Texas.  The town is the closest to the Palo Duro.  She frequently visited and painted the canyon.   It deserves its own post.  Coming up next.

The Impressive Millicent Rogers Museum

Sunday May 25, 2015                                             Most Recent Posts
Taos Valley RV Park                            I Took the Low Road and the High Road
Taos, NM                                                Rio Grande River Gorge

Today was my last day to spend out and about in Taos. Tomorrow will be pack up day and Tuesday I leave.  I’m not usually a big museum goer but the Millicent Rogers Museum had been highly recommended for Native American Arts.  So I set out to catch breakfast on the way.

I was headed to the Farmhouse Cafe when I happened to catch a sign for The Taos Center for the Arts and pulled in to check it out.  It’s an interesting building.

I got out to see what information I could find and when I saw the upcoming features I couldn’t believe I’d missed  “Georgia O’Keeffe: The Brightness of Light” shown last week WHILE I WAS HERE.  What was the chance that it would be here during my two weeks  and  that still I would miss it.

The film was made by Paul Wagner a Charlottesville based Academy and Emmy award winning filmmaker who has done some wonderful things, many of which have premiered at Sundance.  I was crushed to have missed it.

The Farmhouse Café, whose slogan is “local, organic and made with love”, was very busy on this Sunday morning as I should have expected.  I waited 30 minutes outside where I talked to some local folks who live just outside of Taos and love it.  I must say that from every thing I’ve seen, Taos seems like my kind of place and my people.

There was seating inside and outside.  This room had the yummy bakery counter.

This was my favorite room and I was lucky to have the table on the far left.   The light that messed up the picture made me love the room.

I hope the fact that when I was seated I got no menu, the table was still wet and I had to dry it off and ultimately had to ask for silverware, was due to a shortage of staff or some good reason.   It was not an impressive beginning.

The best table was occupied by Daniel and Lassendra from Clovis NM and Lubbock TX respectively.  She had the biggest pancakes I’d seen in a while.  Made with almond flour and served with seasonal fruit, powdered sugar, pecans, butter and real maple syrup.  She said they were delicious and if I hadn’t already ordered I might well have gotten them.   Wish I had time to return on another day.   But I took a picture of them.  They definitely covered the plate.

I ordered the Farmhouse scramble with squash, bell pepper, onions, greens, mushrooms, and cheddar cheese served with potatoes and sour dough toast.

Despite the sketchy beginning, my waitress was great!

From there I went to the Millicent Roger’s Museum which  is a former home of friends of the family and set in gorgeous surroundings with interesting sculptures on the grounds.

Inside I was introduced to Rogers whom I knew nothing about.

Millicent Rogers (1902-1953) was the granddaughter of the co-founder of Standard Oil and as such entertained people from around the world.  She was a fashionista of her day and a trendsetter known for her signature look of many silver and turquoise bracelets on each arm, large earrings and vibrant beaded and silver necklaces .   She settled in Taos in 1947 and established a rapport with members of the Taos Pueblo Community through many friendships and her patronage of Native American Arts.  As a child she had rheumatic fever and battled life long health challenges which eventually resulted in her death at the relatively young age of 51 from heart and lung complications

In 1956, at the age of 25, Paul Peralta-Ramos (1931-2003) her youngest son established the museum to showcase the arts and culture of the region  .  He spent his life building the collection of now more than 7000 items all in honor of his mother.

The museum is a bit of a labyrinth beginning in large open rooms and wandering further and further.  I loved the many large windows and glass doors letting in the brilliant sunlight.

The collection includes artistry of all kinds including beautiful weavings, basketry, pottery, jewelry, sculpture, religious iconography, paintings…..you get the picture.

I was thrilled to see the large collection of Maria Martinez pottery.

Maria Martinez (1887-1980) of San Idlefonso Pueblo is an icon in Native American Art. She is famous for her traditionally made black-on-black Puebloan-style pottery and is the main reason I wanted to come to the Rogers Museum.

There was wonderful information about Maria and her husband Julian(1879-1943) explaining their collaboration in the pottery making.  She made most of the pottery with superb skill in creating a uniformly consistent and very fine surface.  The close attention to detail which is a hallmark of their work is thought to have come from Julian’s influence.   Many of the prehistoric designs on their work are also thought to have come from his notes taken while working for the Museum of New Mexico.  Together they developed most of the forms and decorating styles that would be used by their family for the next century. 

Julian at a Kiva being excavated at Bandelier in 1908.

Their third son Popovi Da (1922-1971) continued and expanded their tradition of pottery making.  By 1960 he had become so skilled that he began decorating Maria’s pottery in the same way his father had done.  In five years, he extended the techniques of firing by creating a new pottery color, sienna.   He experimented further to produce sienna and blackware pots.  This difficult technique involves firing a piece twice in order to obtain the two different colors.

Maria and her husband Julian had a close relationship with Millicent Rogers and her youngest son and museum founder, Paul Peralta-Ramos.   These ties resulted in several major gifts to the museum by Maria’s family beginning in the 1980’s and continuing to the present.  The newly installed Maria Martinez Gallery houses these gifts.

The display of traditional firing was intricate and very  interesting but too detailed to include.  Suffice it to say that firing a piece twice is a very tricky business.

Also on display was pottery from other nearby pueblos including more recent pieces from Taos Pueblo circa 1980-90.

A contemporary piece (1985) from the Hopi Reservation.

Various forms of sculpture were displayed both outside and inside the museum.

Another major exhibit in the museum was Native American Jewelry much of it owned and worn by Millicent Rogers.  There is a progression of styles beginning with the late 1800’s and continuing to the present.  I read that a lot of the jewelry here was produced by the Diné people (Navajo Nation) along with some by Zuni Pueblo, Hopi Pueblo and Kewa Pueblo Communities.  Also there is a section of the jewelry collection designed by Rogers herself. 

This necklace is made of 294 pieces of Cerillos and Blue Gem mined turquois and is described as the most iconic of the pieces of Southwestern jewelry owned by Millicent Rogers.  It was purchased for her by a friend at the Gallup Intertribal Ceremonial in 1946.   It is stunning to see in person.  The size of the pieces is incredible.

This is only the beginning of the art in this museum.  What follows is a quick look at the other art works and the amazing building itself.  If you are in Taos do not miss it.

There are rooms of religious art.

It’s not a painting, just the view out this artistic window.

My wandering took me down these stairs from the balcony from which the picture above the chest was taken and through the doors in the picture below this one.

From here, the only way to go was back but no problem as there were branches of hallways seemingly everywhere.

These narrow hallways felt as much a part of the art as the displays seen in them.

So many curing hallways.

So many lovely arched doorways and beautiful wooden doors.

Walking down this hallway, at first I didn’t know what I was seeing.

Then to my surprise I was faced with two wonderful portraits of Taos Pueblo Indians including Mable Dodge Luhan’s husband Tony, by Ansel Adams, probably my favorite photographer,  who spent time in Taos with both Mable and Georgia O’Keeffe.  If you saw my post on her Abiqui house you may remember his phone number on a list of numbers beside her bed.  I love everything Adams has done.  These photographs are magnificent.

It was the perfect way to end my day at the museum.

I wish I had not saved the Millicent Rogers Museum to the end of my time in Taos.  One day is not enough as I could only take in so much before I was on an overload of awe.  There was definitely more to see.  My advice is to do it earlier in your stay so that if you are as impressed by it as I was, you can return perhaps again and again.