Susan Barrett Price's Blog, page 52

Taos NM to Farmington NM

We had a wonderful meander across northern New Mexico today — the Rio Grande River gorge toward Santa Fe, the mind-boggling red rocks of Abiquiu that inspired Georgia O'Keefe, and the white rock mesas of Apache country that looked like old cowboy movies. And cowboys driving a small herd of cattle!

Our afternoon's destination was the "Aztec Ruins National Monument" which really has nothing to do with Aztecs. They are  the amazing stone "apartment" dwellings of the Ancestral Pueblo people...

Taos NM

Gallery crawl and a stop at the Kit Carson museum. You can't travel the Santa Fe Trail or hang out in Taos without immersing yourself in the old Kit Carson saga. We had the pleasure of joining a sixth grade social studies class (ethnic Mexicans), lectured by a descendant of Carson's Mexican wife's family. While Carson was an amazing guy, there is still a tad of controversy about his role in getting the Indians and the Mexicans out of the way for the "Pax Americana" and our Manifest Destiny.

Th...

Colorado Springs CO to Taos NM

Today was about wind, gusting across the roads, challenging our grip on the steering wheel. It made for swirling blue horizons and occasional tan duststorms. I was happy to be in our low-slung heavy Camry (with its new tires) rather than an RV contraption, even though we could have used an extra couple cylinders on the long ascents.

We had been kind of planning to route ourselves around northern Colorado, but I'm still antsy about weather in the Rockies. Last night, as we gazed at our maps...

Las Animas CO to Colorado Springs CO

Recharging in our hotel room, getting ready for dinner with Sarah and Kelly — my cousins who work here in the "shadow" of Pike's Peak. Gorgeous.

It is not a long way from Las Animas to here, so we took in some great sites. On the spur of the moment we stopped at Bent's Old Fort near La Junta. It is a reconstruction of an old trading post operated along the Santa Fe Trail in the 1840s. The US border with Mexico was up here in what became Colorado, along the Arkansas River. It was nice to learn ...

Council Grove KS to Las Animas CO

We're relaxing in a defrocked Best Western ("too many requirements!" said the Asian owner) in Las Animas. Colorado — the part of Colorado where you can't see any mountains.

Again, we made our drive longer than necessary by avoiding interstates and taking the rolling old highways. The land is gorgeous, even if we Americans did ruin it by destroying the prairie and establishing pastureland for cattle ranches. The cattle — handsome when they are grazing, but those feedlots! — where they are all c...

St Louis MO to Council Grove KS

After a great talkative weekend with my family, Jim and I enjoyed just quietly driving along today — raft mode, floating along the winding roads and rolling hills, no need for words. Around Sedalia MO the cloud cover and intermittent rain broke and nice weather ensued.

We're staying at the Cottage House, a restored "prairie victorian" hotel, where the Santa Fe Trail crossed the Neosho River. The "historic" steak house was (naturally) closed on Mondays, so we did modern Kansas cuisine — in...

News! "Kathleen's Machine" Purchased!

Just got a notice that my radio production "Kathleen's Machine: Home Audio in the Days Before Tape" was licensed for broadcast at WAMC Northeast Public Radio. This 6-min documentary stars my mom telling her story about recording voices in the 1940s. It was also my ardent attempt to incorporate some principles of sound art into the straight documentary form. I'm thrilled the station picked it up. (Full web page>>>)

Springfield OH to St Louis MO

It would have been our ordinary get-the-hell-through-Indiana-and-Illinois rush but I promised myself to be more "present" in my environment. So just west of Indianapolis, we dared to exit the I-70 chute onto the Old National Road — US Highway 40. What a great change of pace. We could still go fast on what seemed like freshly paved highway, but now we could actually see the farmhouses, the fields and the little towns (some cute and prosperous, others not so much).

Now we're kicking back with...

Rochester NY to Springfield OH

It seemed like a good idea at the time — find a more interesting, more scenic way to make the tired old Interstate trek between Rochester and St. Louis. Sitting at my desk, playing with the AAA Triptik tool, I had a great time plotting secondary road scenic views.

As a result we packed an 8-hour 500-mile drive into 12 hours. Long day.

But — now that it's over and I'm having a glass of wine — what a glorious ride it was. Sunny. Flowering trees. The other trees are not leafed out enough yet to...

Week In Review: Busy

Rapid recover from our Corolla being bashed… Queen Camry to the rescue. In high planning mode for roadtrip… a thousand steps just to get out the door. Great week for socializing but also loving the calm quiet of my studio. Read more>>>

Don't forget International Walter T Price Day on Monday. Contact someone you've been long out of touch with and let them know you remember why they are special. In honor of my dad (1922-2005), who never met a stranger.