Drive Decatur-> STL in old Camry. Forgot to fill gas tank day before. Running on fumes.Fly in Wed. Big storm brewing in Denver area. Flew STL->DEN->ABQ. Wind predicted for a couple days. rough landing. Gusty winds for the next 2 days.
First off, at the rental car, they were out of economy cars, so we took a PT cruiser instead. One of those deals: take any car parked in an aisle. I had booked it way ahead for $200, and it never got cheaper. Actually kept getting higher.
Our plan was to do our business in RR/ABQ, take the Turquois trail up to SF for a couple of nights, then get back to ABQ the last night and stay close to the airport to catch the early flight. So 3 different motels, rather than driving back and forth to SF.
Days Inn in RR. just below Northern Ave.
wireless didn't work at first. asked front desk to reboot the AP.
Southern, Northern, Kim, Idalia, Rivers Edge. Sierra blanca leads to WP.
drove up Unser to Paseo de Volcan to look at the new City Hall and Santa Ana Star Center. can see construction of HP facility. UNM Hospital. way out nowhere. but not that far from Kim Rd.
Note: on Southern, Sara Rd is an angled shortcut going south on 528. Sara is at the top of the hill going west on Southern. Golf is the other road you cross before Southern starts descending again.
Wind blowing dust everywhere in RR on Wednesday.
Drove by WP and Kim Rd. panel missing from swamp cooler on the roof. Later found out it blew off during a microburst. Stopped in at AllStar--they recommended Del Mesa.
dinner: ate at Banana Leaf. pad thai and chow fun. $$$ right next to the Days Inn motel. Albertson store right across the street.
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Thurs. interview property mgmt companies--Del Mesa, Kellogg, Red Rock.
Del Mesa is like Sunland-200 properties but stricter, more disciplined. 3 people doing it.
Kellogg specializes in relo's, internet referrals. strict credit report. placing newer, high rent properties. niche--sweet spot.
Red Rock is some young Indian guy. Appears to be really sharp. 80 properties. 1 PT associate. Charges only 8%.
Couple of other stops: no longer there for years, another--only shows up at odd hrs; hole in the wall office.
still windy. Cold. Storm to dump 2 ft of snow in Denver. Snow level to reach Taos, SF. Remember that Albuquerque is at 5000 ft elevation. and that Santa Fe is at 7000 ft. Las Vegas is at 2000 ft.
lunch at McDonalds.
Replaced watch battery at jewelry store.
4:30pm inspection at WP. 2 brothers there. Nice guys. lived in TX, NM, CO. They like the house very much--like the view, like the house, yard, like the Korean neighbor lady. 2 dogs. One brother does organic gardening. He was growing transplants in the sun room upstairs. Railing at bottom of stairs is still wobbly. House address numbers needs repair. A couple pieces of the vertical blinds is busted.Rod fixed electrical outlet in the garage. It was controlled by a ganged 30A breaker labeled 220--as if for a hot tub. Odd that airplane mechanics don't know about electricity and other home repair stuff. although one brother did work with landscape company.
Stopped in the new development past River's Edge III. saw a model for Stillbrooke custom homes. Say they can build on your lot for $98/sf. They have another devel off Southern, open on weekends. Nice feature--curved corner wall full of windows in the master bedroom with a view to the courtyard.
drove up the hill to Placitas--million dollar homes.
dinner at Guan Dong in Bernalillo.
Rio Grande at Coronado State Park with view of Sandia Mtns.
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Fri. meet with Cari at Sunland. met her sister Danielle. Office asst: Melissa.
Snowing....
checked Rock Stores: Big Mommas--didn't buy anything again. Wright's Indian store--same stuff, but they showed us all kinds of pottery incl. some Mata Ortiz village. They have Indians bringing stuff in directly.
Then headed off for lunch and old town. Saw LIU's drive thru Chinese. Taiwanese folks. Food a bit greasy, salty, but cheap. We left the car there, and walked over to old town.
Main good shops we hit: found the RC Gorman store which had moved. 
A lady in a store (Tanner Chaney Gallery) educated us on Mata Ortiz. They have a direct supplier.
and last but not least: Pueblo Pottery on the south edge. several pieces of Mata Ortiz. but Chi-Li wanted Santa Clara. The store owners had artisan geneology on the computer and would print out info sheets.
dropped in on Korean lady neighbor. She is happy with tenants now. She takes them food all the time. She gave us some choc cake.
dinner: Albertson fried chicken on sale with green salad, orange.
Saw Kill Bill 1&2 on HBO. Also watched True Lies.
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Sat. pack up and head for Turquoise trail, then up to Santa Fe.
First go to the Stillbrooke off Golf from Southern. We notice they might have tile roof in the front of the house, but flat pueblo roof in the rear. probably to cut cost.
Turquoise trail highly over-rated. We skipped Sandia turnoff because of snow.
I think the view from Sandia turnoff is the main attraction going up there, and is probably worthwhile.
Only signs of civilization at Madrid-->big hippie town, artists. Went in a shop that had several Mata Ortiz pots, larger size, cheaper.
Pull into SF. First thing we saw was a big outlet mall. A Wilson's Leather near the front. We got a couple wallets 70% off the sale price. Otherwise, it was pretty deserted; economy must be bad here too.Lunch at McDonalds--leftover fried chicken. Then check in to Days Inn. pretty run down property. but fortunately, room kind of refurbished. Pool still covered. Parking lot kind of sucky.
Drove into SF downtown, parked on street. Forgot to bring lots of change. First, walked past the vendors at the Palace. Talked to Santa Clara Indian Merton Cisneros. He was selling 2 pots for $300-600. He says he only sells direct, not to stores.Went inside 2 high end pottery stores. Then found the same 2 rock stores.
Dinner--finish off the fried chicken with salad.
The wireless signal at this Days Inn is very low. must be the AP is downstairs, and we're on the 2nd floor. but it works. This one has a refrig/small microwave.
We are planning to hit pueblos tomorrow--Santa Clara, San Ildefonso, Chimayo, Tesuque.
Chimayo: sanctuary church, heirloom pepper, Mercantile store.
hope we can find the Tesuque flea mkt on a Sunday.
expecting pueblos to charge a car fee, plus maybe a camera fee.
Sunday-----------------------------------------------------------------
Tesuque flea mkt
On up to Espanola. Can't find the turnoff for Santa Clara pueblo. Ask directions.
Turn into pueblo. Community center is closed. Turns out everybody went to church.
Stop at a house where there is an Open sign. Corn Moquino.
He looks like Charles Bronson. (who is not Indian but from Pennsylvania)Drive around further. Nobody around. Talk to another lady.
Nobody else around. We drive on. Come up on the turnoff to Puye cliffs--nice gas station/convenience store at the entrance. Eat lunch there: fajitas. http://www.legendsofamerica.com/NM-PuyeCliff.html
We go on down the road looking for San Ildefonso. See a barn with Martinez Pottery painted on it. Turns out to be an old sign. Guy comes home from church, tells us the pueblo is a ways down the road. All the way down, switch to the 502. Turn into the pueblo. Cottonwood trading post is first left. A large grove of old cottonwoods along the driveway. This trading post has been remodeled museum style. Young couple running it. Their goal: to keep one piece from every artist in the pueblo. Either you drive in further where you park, and then can walk to about 5 different homes that sell pottery.
Lesson learned: When Indians bring pieces into galleries, they get only half of retail. What they sell from their house, they can sell at retail or slight discount--up to half. Problem is--if you go to the pueblo, you can only buy what is available then. Or if you have a relationship, you could order a certain design from an artist. When you buy at a gallery, you can assume they bought it for about half of list.Go on to Chimayo. 3 goals: sanctuary church, chimayo trading/mercantile, chimayo heirloom pepper seeds.
Up 84 a bit, switch to 503. Stopped at a Nambe trading post-minimal. Long windy drive. Finally locate the turnoff to sanctuary.
http://www.evanderputten.org/special/newmexico/chimayo.htm
When we finally get to 76, we turn left. 1/2 mi. to Chimayo Trading & Mercantile. http://www.chimayoarts.com/ The Chimayo Trading & Mercantile building is more than 100 years old, a local landmark for many years. The present building has been beautifully restored from the former Martinez Mercantile building by owner John Abrums. The structure is a classic example of of traditional northern New Mexico architecture, with hand crafted vigas, latillas and arched doorways.“There are many galleries in this area, but we’re different,” said Abrums. “Our selection and prices cannot be beat for this type of art, especially the Navajo weavings and Pueblo pottery.”
Abrums’ father, John, started into this line of business in high school. He cut turquoise after school and traded for jewelry and weavings on the weekends. After developing a deep understanding of Native American artists and their artistry, he opened Chimayó Trading and Mercantile seven miles east of Española. That gallery was well received, and its 15 successful years inspired the new Chimayó Trading del Norte.
“This is a family business that now has two locations,” said John Abrums. “We buy weavings on the Navajo Reservation for both stores. Our stores also carry fine Hispanic weavings from Chimayo.”
Much of the art offered in both Chimayó Trading del Norte and the original Chimayó Trading and Mercantile has emerged from ancient indigenous cultural traditions and techniques. This is enduring art, and it will continue to endure.
We bargain with John for a hour or so. He says his grandkids will have to go without shoes. While we are there, Corn Moquino's son brings in a piece to sell.
How pueblo pottery is made http://www.chimayoarts.com/native.htm
Back to SF. Google up places for dinner. Find this Chinese restaurant nearby called Yummy Cafe, just opened 18 months ago. given 5 star reviews by 5 people. Not bad. Decorated to SF standards with art for sale on the wall. Priced moderately for SF, but not cheap. We got a seafood dish and a spicy cold noodle dish.
Checked out the strange antique/rug shop next door, that is visible from the motel 2nd floor. Packed with Eastern rugs mostly.
Monday -------------------------------------------
drove past the SITE (not sure what it is); past the Farmer's Market (not open yet); and the train station. Fly fishing shop not open yet.
Drove to museum hill. Only the Wheelwright museum gift shop open. All museums closed on Mondays.
Fabulous. We yakked with the 2 shop keepers about all kinds of things. We determined which Greg Schaaf book has 750 biographies of potters, and that it is out of print. Oh yeah--the wood floor creaked like crazy.
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Jumped on 25 back to Albuquerque. about an hour drive. Got off the exit for Bienmur trading post. Schaaf book selling for $140. Ate lunch at the Subway right nearby.
Then went looking for Petroglyph park on the edge of RR. After that, take the road south until it hits Central (route 66) over the Rio Grande into the University district. and down Yale to the Sleep Inn.
We checked online: Schaaf book originally sold for $55. Now $100 used and $250 in shrink wrap.
Tuesday-------------------------------------Fly back home thru Denver.
http://www.abqstyle.com/photos.htm
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