Day 8

Spent the morning wandering around Durango, then set off for Aztec, 30 miles south, which hosts what must be the world’s most unlikely Highland games. Spent the afternoon watching very large Americans with some Celtic heritage throwing tree trunks while dressed in skirts:-) Excellent.

The event also featured a display of Scottish country dancing by some very Hispanic young ladies – we now know what the Gomez tartan looks like – a Jethro Tull sound-alike band, the local IRA supporters club, and the oddest sign yet… (see below)

Moderately disgusting fish meal in Durango – I should stick to the beef.

Photography 7/10
Food 5/10
Large Animals 3 (excluding strongmen)

Just in case you can’t picture Mesa Verde, here’s a more traditional shot of Cliff Palace, with Frances behind the lens this time!

Day 6

We started today with a visit to Shiprock, basically a big lump of rock jutting up out of the plain. This is sacred to the Navajo, and can look very dramatic in the right light, but was a bit boring in the mid-morning light we found. However, I was very impressed by the long “blade” of rock which leads up to it from the South, which must be two miles long and only a few feet thick.

After that we set off for one of the highlights of the trip – Mesa Verde National Park. This is where the Puebloan Indians built dramatic villages into rock alcoves on the cliff sides of the mesas. Very inspiring, and stunning photography, particularly with the sun setting on Cliff Palace.

First Prime Rib of the trip, at the diner next to the hotel in Durango.

Photography 9/10
Food 9/10
Large animal count 8 (2 wild horses, 2×3 deer)

Day 7

Not much to write about, but very much the photographic core of the trip. We spent the day in Mesa Verde, exploring all the sites. In the evening we went into the historic centre of Durango (absolutely heaving!) and had a very good meal.

Photography 8/10
Food 9/10

Day 5

We had an early start today – up at 5.30 and a 50 mile drive to get to the “Bisti Badlands” for dawn. This was initially a bit disappointing, but then we bit the bullet and followed Martres’ 2 mile hike route into the centre. This was absolutely the right decision – the rock formations are stunning. Frances was rather worried about getting lost and our bleached skeletons only being discovered in years to come, despite leaving an SOS note in the car, and tracking on multiple GPSs. However after being accosted by both German and Japanese tourists following the same route she relaxed a bit!

After a lazy afternoon at the hotel, we decided to try another of Martres’ recommendations for the end of the day, and spent golden hour at Angel Peak, which is just a few miles from Broomfield. This proved to be yet more photographic gold, with dramatic Badlands lit by the fading sun, and then a sunset which turned the sky crimson above them.

Food at Broomfield’s sole diner OK, but a constant battle to spot and reject the enforced carbs! I am not prepared to publish Frances’ description of the guacamole – suffice to say it was inedible.

One delightful highlight – being treated like royalty by the young teller at Broomfield’s Wells Fargo bank, and for her reward, she just wanted us to say “cheerio”!

Photography 10/10
Food 6/10
Animal count 4 (rabbits)

Day 4

We moved North West from Albuquerque, via the Jemez Mountain Trail, a very pretty mountain road providing an excellent alternative to just sitting on a very boring dual carriageway. As usual, Laurent Martes’ recommendations of what to photograph are spot on. The Jemez Monument and Soda Dam were the real gold mines, but I also got some very nice shots of “fall color” on the perfectly serviceable dirt road down to Cuba.

Hospitality was very variable. The Jemez Indians don’t make visitors at all welcome in the Jemez Pueblo area, and most of the cafés on the route appear to be closed on a Wednesday. The local winery was much more inviting, although all we really wanted was coffee. We did manage a few sips, but there’s a limit to how much red wine we can drink before 10am! We finished the day in Bloomfield which has a decent hotel, but only one diner, which is very much “fries with everything”.

Photography 7/10
Food 3/10
Hospitality patchy

… And here she is, now in her new home. “Spirit Maiden”, by the New Mexico sculptor Greg Gowen. This guy really does amazing things with a few bits of copper!

Day 3

We drove the Turquoise Trail from Albuquerque to Santa Fe via Madrid (pronounced with the accent on the first syllable to avoid confusion with that other place in Spain). A pleasant drive although with some boring stretches.

First stop was the Sandia Mountain Crest, which overlooks the whole Albuquerque area from 10,678 feet. A bit of a challenge for photography, but the view certainly blew the cobwebs off. On the way down, tried playing my collection of “Albuquerque Songs”, but was stymied by the fact that the latest Mustangs can’t play files in WMA format, so we had to settle for Prefab Sprout 3 times in succession!

The next stop was in the village of Golden, where the tiny Church of San Franciso is being rebuilt as a labour of love by the local plasterer. He’s making a lovely job of it, and was only too pleased to show us around and let us take some pictures.

Madrid is very friendly and pretty, but basically just a collective of arty shops and a mining museum. Unusually films (like the excellent Wild Hogs) make it look more modern and industrious than it actually is.

We both latched onto a stunning piece of art – a “spirit maiden” sculpture in coloured copper – and then realised we could afford it. Now the only challenge is getting it back to the UK…

Bought some shirts at the Van Huesen outlook store in Santa Fe, then took the freeway back to Albuquerque. Dinner at rather nice steak house. No ID required.

Shopping 9/10
Photography 6/10
Food 7/10

For 2012 we decided on a return to the American Southwest, but following a more easterly route exploring Northern New Mexico and Southern Colorado, ending up at the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta. Once again our main guide was Laurent Martres’ excellent Photographing the Southwest, this time volume 3 which covers our target states. This is how we got on…

Day 1

23 hours travelling from home to Albuquerque. However, apart from a short delay at Dallas before the second leg of the flight everything worked fine. Seats remained firmly attached to plane, which apparently is not guaranteed with American Airlines, but food moderately disgusting.

Got through US immigration with only a few minutes wait, although it would have been different if we hadn’t found out about the new visa system two days before flying! Customs confiscated ham sandwich, and biscuits set off wheat detector, but they were very good about it…

The Albuquerque freeway is very complicated, with effectively 7 lanes each way past hotel, but we got in on second attempt.

Hotel very comfortable, food and beer at brewery next door fine.

Travel 7/10
Food 5/10
Photography 0/10

Day 2

Awake at 5! By 9.15 were at the mall ready to start shopping, but nothing open before 10, even coffee shops! Local McDonalds doing roaring trade in coffee…

Morning spent on practical shopping and other initiation rites, then moved to much more photogenic Albuquerque historic area for lunch and browsing old buildings and multiple arty shops. Some good photo opportunities, but a bit limited by parked vehicles and harsh lighting.

At dinner had to prove my age, but apparently only the expiry date of my ID is important!

Shopping 9/10
Photography 3/10
Food 7/10