Bandelier National Monument

Well -- here is a heads up...my blogging habits are changing and most of my recent postings are over at Wordpress  at

https://feralchats.wordpress.com/

 

I'll still post here at blogger from time to time......I'm not giving it up but I'm more engaged over there at present.   As you can see...cross posting doesn't work very well.

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Enchanted…More or Less: Bandelier National Monument (Part One)

Posted on May 12, 2015 by klh048

Ever since I was eleven years old I’ve wanted to visit Bandelier National Monument. A kid in the neighborhood went and came back with interesting pictures. My imagination ran wild. I was a junior Indiana Jones…before Harrison Ford was out of high school.

 

Bandelier was on my list but it took me fifty-five year to get there.  It was worth the wait. I made the trip this past week along with my daughter. We have been sidekicks in these adventures. We went to Machu Picchu together a few years ago and have explored a few other spots. This trip had a dual purpose — first, of course, was to fulfill my old desire to visit the place. Secondly, I wanted to check out the CCC era structures that were built in the mid-1930s. Bandelier is rich in these 80 year old depression-era structures and actually has the largest concentration of CCC buildings of any national park.

 

Adolph Bandelier, a self-taught anthropologist, began exploring and documenting the sites in Frijoles Canyon around 1880. The sites were not hard for him to locate…the Cochiti and other local Pueblo people considered the place their ancestral home and guided him to the canyon. He worked there about twelve years and then moved on to sites in Bolivia and Peru. He died in Seville, Spain, in 1914 while researching Spanish colonial records. Others followed in Bandelier’s footsteps and the site was of such importance that it was designated a National Monument in 1916…even though it was nearly inaccessible.

 

CCC Improvements (Bandelier CCC Historic District)

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was mobilized in 1933 to improve access to the monument and to assist in stabilization of the ruins. There was a small lodge built on the site in 1909 but access was on foot. Everything and everybody came into the canyon on foot until the CCC built the first road in 1933. A quarry was established and new stone structures were built for an expanded lodge and park administration. The buildings were designed and built in the Pueblo Revival style and are clustered together to resemble a small village. There apparently was a team of architects and designers but the primary architect on the project was Lyle Bennett who also is responsible for the lodge building at the Painted Desert National Park (Petrified Forest). The National Park Service was busy building structures in dozens of parks and NPS architects worked together or individually on various projects. The overall style came to be known as “Parkitecture”.

 

Park administration and visitor services have expanded and taken over all of the original lodge buildings. Some remain as park employee residences. There is a self-guided tour of the cluster of CCC buildings.  I found that the close proximity of the structures, the cut stonework, terraces and some of the detailed stone features all combined to remind me of my time spent among the Inca sites in Peru. These structures were occupied (and not ruins) but are held together in a cohesive plan similar to some of the smaller sites in the Andes. This may just be my impression but I wouldn’t be surprised if one of the park site designers had some exposure to the Peruvian Inca sites that were being uncovered in the early 1900s.

 

The buildings were constructed from blocks of volcanic tuff (consolidated ash) that came from the original quarry. The stone was soft enough that it could be cut into blocks by a crosscut saw at the quarry. The buildings were originally covered with a plaster or light concrete stucco/coating that has since melted away but there are plans to eventually replace the plaster covering. Personally, I like the cut stone look.

 

There is a strong Spanish and Pueblo emphasis on the interior details and features. Most of the ceilings have large vigas and latillas. The old lodge reception area has a particularly interesting ceiling structure. All of the original furniture and light fixtures were crafted by CCC workers during the construction of the buildings. There is a great deal of detail work and most of it seems intact and well preserved.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Recent Flooding

The Jemez Mountains and the area around Los Alamos have seen some serious forest fires in recent years. Bandelier and Frijoles Canyon are downstream from the large burn areas and have experienced major flooding from flash floods. The flood of August, 2011, came within a few feet of the historic CCC buildings. The important ruins are mostly on higher ground and were not seriously impacted by the floods. There have been several serious floods and the Park Service installed a series of temporary sandbag levees to protect the buildings. There is ample evidence of flooding in the park and several bridges have been washed out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In Part Two I’ll finally get to the reason why most people go to Bandelier National Monument….be patient.

 

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Las Vegas Trip Day 7 -- I love the smell of burning waffles in the morning.

Woke up this morning to the smell of burning waffles. The motel offers a self serve breakfast room where guests can get Danish rolls, cereal or make waffles on one of those flip-over waffle makers. They have two but one runs hot and burns the waffles.  We stayed at this motel last week and they had only one machine plugged in but some helpful person plugged in the hot one.

The Belgian Waffle was a topic of discussion this week because the US Men's World Cup soccer team was due to play the Belgian team and some wise guy decided we should boycott Belgian Waffles. Well, they played yesterday and it was a good game but the US team lost in the last few minutes in overtime. So, today I ate my Belgian Waffle as a salute to the hard fought game and the final winners....Belgium.

At breakfast I looked at the USA Today newspaper and it is odd how different people can watch the same soccer match and see different things. Everyone praised our goalie - Tim Howard - for his saves (16) but then there were some who complained that the US team's defenses were nonexistent. Belgium was a tough opponent, we have the best goalie in the World Cup, we needed to take the ball to their goal. We lost by one point in overtime. Not bad.

We are in Flagstaff but we get home today. It shouldn't be much more than a four hour drive and we will be able to pick up Watson   He has been at the animal hospital with his Barbie doll.

On the way back we stopped in Winslow, Arizona, to take pictures of us "Standing on the corner in Winslow, Arizona."  They have a statue and a little scenario where folks stand and take their picture...complete with a flat-bed Ford. We went across the street to an old  Route 66 diner and had biscuits and gravy and watched the people come to take pictures. It's a continuous stream of people.

We made it home with Watson around 4:30. Happy to be home. Doing laundry. Gonna stay home for a while.

Las Vegas Trip - Day 6 -- Desert Storm

Today was our last day in Las Vegas. I always call it "Las Vegas" because I don't feel familiar enough to just call it "Vegas" and if I went only with its first name it would be "Las" and no one would know what I'm talking about. So, anyhoo, we checked out of the hotel. You can't beat the price of the room. Four days at the Riviera was cheaper than three nights at Econolodge on the interstate for the whole trip.

Jill went to the closing session  for the convention. B.J.Novak (The Office) was the speaker and he writes some kids books and was a good supporter of what libraries do. He will go to libraries and read to kids.

I spent my time drinking coffee and eating a scone and watching the World Cup. Even the workers were trying to watch the came. Argentina beat Switzerland but it was a tough match.  I walked around the convention hall...it was a little weird because crews were dismantling everything. The empty  rooms were a little spooky.... waiting for the next convention.

We finally hit the road around 11 AM and stopped for a lunch and then headed out of town. We got turned around a little but finally got it right. We stopped to take a look at Hoover Dam. It is a little costly to take the tour so we just did the pedestrian walk out on the new bridge.  Lake Mead is at its lowest level since it filled up originally. Power generation is curtailed to only a fraction of what it should be. The drought has everything in a tailspin but you wouldn't know it in Las Vegas.

It is a long drive from Hoover Dam down to Kingman AZ where you pick up I-40 going east.  I think I got a little too much heat walking out on the bridge to see the dam and that was added on top of all the other days of 110 degree heat in Las Vegas plus the motion and driving in the car. We climbed from the low spot near the dam (maybe 1200 ft.) up to over 7000 feet and I was feeling a little sick at times.

We headed east at Kingman into a huge thunderstorm that finally hit us a little east of Seligman. The rain was coming down in buckets and the roadway wasn't draining it off which made driving hazardous. A truck almost jack-knifed in front of us at one point. We saw a SUV that ran off the road and rolled several times in the median with smoke and steam pouring out of it. Some folks were stopped to help...it had just happened and it looked serious.  We had to creep along very slowly. The lightening was fearsome. Desert storms are extreme and dangerous but amazing to watch and experience.

We ran into a lot of road construction but finally made it to Flagstaff. We had a good supper and relaxed in the room.

Las Vegas Trip - Day 5 -- Stick a Fork in Me, I'm Done

Well....the merriment continues.  People are starting to get a little bedraggled and some are grumpy...but not me. The temperature today is 110 degrees and walking across the parking lot to the convention center (more than 2 football field lengths) is an ordeal.  Our hotel is one of the closest but it is still a 10-15 minute walk in the heat.


One of the vendors at the convention hall is selling shoe inserts. I bought a pair because of my sporadic foot problem (plantar fasciitis) and they work great. I went back today and bought another pair and got a coupon for a third pair.  I've been walking a lot and it feels good to be this active....especially since my feet are feeling OK.

So, what did we learn today?

• The publishers are starting to just give books away so they don't have to take them back home with them. Some are selling them for $1 to $5 each. I have somewhere around 50 books so far and I've paid $3.00 for the bunch. Librarians are starting to cull their collections and you find books laying around on tables or chairs in the convention hall or in the hotel. I found one at breakfast this morning that looks pretty good: Gutenberg's Apprentice by Alix Christie. 

• Librarians are more conscientious than corrections employees and are actually trying to attend the sessions even though this is day four. The sessions are still filling up.  I can recall some ACA congresses I attended where folks didn't last as long and sessions sometimes had only a dozen people.

• Slot machines are unkind. I brought a fair amount of gambling money with me and have only used a portion but it is easy to lose money.

•  I can't find where they keep the strippers.  I know they are here somewhere.

Well it is evening and Jill is at a librarian 'hunger games'  event where they act out the parts. I opted not to attend. This blog doesn't need to report on that. (Update....she had a good time.)

I watched the World Cup games: France and Germany won and will move into the quarter finals. Algeria and Nigeria go home. They are all good games.  USA plays Belgium tomorrow but  we will be on the road again.

We hauled some of our stuff to the car so we don't have to wrestle it all tomorrow
morning when we check out. The place is starting to thin out and is less crowded around the pool. We went down to the food court and had fast food. Eating here is expensive.

The Riviera Resort Casino is interesting because it dates to the era when entertainers like Jack Benny, Liberace, Barbra Streisand, Frank Sinatra and Elvis all performed here. Pavarotti performed here as did the Village People. It's a Rat Pack place. They have a plaque on the wall with the names of the performers who appeared in the showrooms. Now they have a Crazy Girls show, a Men show (sort of a Chippendale's thing) and a comedy club and sometimes a magician.

I think that Riviera's history is a strength.  If they try to compete with Bellagio or The Venetian they will fail.   Across the street is a huge construction site for some new casino development. I'm sure that it will try to out-do the top tier casinos and will make the Riviera look even older.  

Our room was nice but a little bit 1970-ish. Some parts of the hotel have been recently renovated but ours is still untouched by the 2010s.  We have blond furniture, a lamp that sags over to one side, a little make-up station and a flat screen TV.  The bathroom is very nice and roomy.  There is no microwave or refrigerator. There is no coffee pot. The hotel doesn't provide a breakfast.


So we head for home tomorrow.  I'm ready to go home but I might come back. This was my first time here and there's a lot to do. I had a good time.

Las Vegas Trip - Day 4 -- Suspending Reality

A person can lose track of reality here and I think that is the business strategy for the resorts and casinos along the strip. Some more so than others.   They really need people to disregard the fact that it is 110 degrees, for one thing. Secondly, they need you to drop some of the defense mechanisms that you have about money.  Years ago, Las Vegas was an inexpensive vacation in some respects. That was years ago....now it is pretty costly -- especially if you stay at the top tier casino/resorts.  We are staying at the Riviera. which is not in that realm, but you can get there from here.

We went into several big casino resorts in the  evenings and it is as if you have become someone else in a fantasy world.

We were in the Paris, the Bellagio and Caesar's Palace last night and they are just opulent and dripping with wealth...not for middle class folks unless they want to pretend they are part of the moneyed world. The Paris resort/casino is a fantasy world for folks who want to pretend they are French or in France.

Today we were in Circus Circus, the Lynn and the Venetian. The Wynn is wealth and opulence and seems to cater a lot to the young college crowd...although I don't see how those two things match.   There is a beach 'club' there that I guess is the big draw. Most of the young ladies (mostly women) seemed to be barely 21.

The Venetian is amazing in the way they have recreated Venice (the good parts) complete with gondolas cruising the Grand Canal. We ate there in one of Mario Batale's restaurants...an upscale burger spot...and it was very nice sitting outside in the evening heat. They have umbrellas and misters to keep things cool and that made a difference.

Of course these places all have shopping sections with Cartier and Rolex and many other upscale shops. You won't find Mr. Bulky but you will find Godiva.

Circus Circus is designed for folks who want to fantasize that they are in an insane asylum. That was the most crazy whack-job of a place. It is geared for families so there are young families and lots of kids and noise and turmoil. We ran into people carrying huge (4' or 5' tall) stuffed animals wandering around as if they were in a trance. The noise was deafening. We could not wait to get out.

I spent some quality time with the slot machines at the Wynn casino and won enough to buy a couple beers and watch the World Cup game between Costa Rica and Greece. Costa Rica won, finally, on penalty kicks. Earlier in the day Mexico was eliminated in a lightening fast turn of events when Netherlands scored two goals in th final minutes. The two beers cost about $25. There went my winnings.  I refuse to pla anything other than slots or video poker --  table games are made for other people. I don't need the drama. Jill tried her hand ad roulette but made a fast retreat.

So...I'm actually ready to go home but we still have another day and a half. I'm grouped out. I don't need no more stinkin' books.  I wonder where they keep the strippers?

Las Vegas Trip - Day 3 - Carnegie Awards

I'm pooped.  If you have ever been to a large convention you know how you get worn out.  Part of it is carrying books that they give you. So far the free book count is up to about 35 books.  I'll need to build on to the house for a library.

I am not going to the sessions...I have a pass to the exhibit hall but not the sessions, although I could get in to most of them since nobody checks. I don't need to know about most of what is being covered in the sessions. My time in the exhibit hall has been productive. I learned how to make cheese in an hour out of whole milk and vinegar....there's a book for that.  I learned how to manage stress...there's a book for that.  I threw in the towel around 2:30 this afternoon and walked back to the hotel in 100+ heat carrying two tote bags full of more books.

I'll rest up for tonight (Award ceremony for books) and maybe play a few slots until Jill gets back from her sessions.  She is dutifully going to the sessions but she did get to meet Stan Lee and got an autographed book.

We took a shuttle down the strip toward Bellagio and got something to eat at the Paris casino. This is really the high rent district compared to the Riviera, although the Riviera has some authentic "Rat Pack" era charm. It could use a little renovation here and there.

Bellagio

We walked through Bellagio to Caesar's Palace where the Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction were to be awarded. The Caesar's Palace is like a maze and it took us a while to find the ballroom where the awards event was to be held.

Doris Kearns Goodwin won for nonfiction for her book "Bully Pulpit" about Teddy Roosevelt and William Taft.  She made a very nice acceptance speech. The fiction medal went to Donna Tartt for "The Goldfinch".  All six books nominated looked very interesting. We stayed for the reception and then caught a shuttle back from Caesar's Palace to the Riviera.  for the awards and then ride the shuttle back to the hotel.

Las Vegas Trip - Day 2

Day 2 was relatively uneventful....driving from Flagstaff to Las Vegas.  Northern Arizona is sort of pretty.  Bur...The stretch from Kingman AZ to Las Vegas is not much to look at.

We are staying at the Riviera on the strip close to the convention center. If I remember right that's where the murders take place on CSI....so far, nothing has happened.   We haven't wandered out much except to go the the convention hall which is across a large parking lot. It was a hot walk in 102 degree heat.  We went through the exhibit hall and brought back a couple dozen free books from publishers.  Jill gets to see Stan Lee tomorrow and get an autographed copy of his newest Marvel comic.

Jill did go to a librarian event at the Ceasar's Palace in the evening while I played the slots (with mixed results...won and lost).   That was about it.