The Explore All 50 States Project
Let's Go!
One of the all time coolest and most meaningful souvenirs we've gotten on any trip are the Native American fetishes we purchased on our trip to New Mexico. If you are like me, when you hear the word fetish you think of a weird obsession with sexual overtones like a foot fetish. Fetishes are also amulets or good luck charms and every culture has them. In Native American culture fetishes are small stones or other … [Read more...]
New Mexico is known as The Land of Enchantment and after visiting here we can see why. The desert colors in the natural landscape are beautiful, but it goes much deeper than that. There is a spirituality here, an unexplained peacefulness and harmony that is difficult to explain but yet you feel it all around you. It is the beauty in small things and the simple things that somehow gets magnified in the New Mexican … [Read more...]
The Indian Pueblo Cultural Center was our first stop after an early morning flight and a great place to start our introduction to the region and connect with our theme, Cowboys and Native American Indians. The Center was founded to preserve and perpetuate Pueblo culture, and to advance understanding by presenting their accomplishments and evolving history with dignity and respect. It was boiling hot so it was … [Read more...]
La Placita Dining Room is a truly authentic New Mexican dining experience. After a hectic start to our first day, Shari and I treated ourselves to a Margarita and it was just what the doctor ordered. Though it felt a lot like a typical Mexican restaurant back home in Los Angeles, the kids and I did notice some things that were different. After sitting down and ordering, we were brought some "sopapillas" … [Read more...]
Old Town Albuquerque is just a great place to walk around and explore. There are tons of nifty shops with all kinds of handicrafts made by local artisans. One item we became obsessed with on our trip were "fetishes". These are little animals carved out of stone or natural substances like horn or bone. They are carved by Native American artisans of the various local tribes like the Zuni or the Navajo. … [Read more...]
A little off the beaten path is the Taos Drum Factory, was both a fun and interesting stop. After learning about the Taos Indians at the pueblo, we understood a little about the role the drum plays in their culture. At the factory we learned how the drums are made and saw a huge variety of them, some tiny and some massively huge all with interesting an unusual shapes. Walking into the warehouse we immediately smelled … [Read more...]
Exploring the Taos Pueblo is to step back in time and to understand the lifestyle of the Taos Indians who occupy the structure today. The pueblo stands as the largest surviving multistoried Pueblo structure in the United States and is the only living Native American community designated both a World Heritage Site by UNESCO and a National Historic Landmark. The multi-storied adobe buildings have been … [Read more...]
Shari and her kids were hooked on the road trip experience after our journey through Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana, and so they jumped at the chance to join us on our odyssey through the heart of the American Southwest. Flying in and out of Albuquerque, we traversed a loop moving up to Santa Fe and across the border as far north as Pueblo, Colorado, and then cutting through the Rocky mountains to Montrose where we … [Read more...]
