Tag Archives: New Mexico

An Amazing Adventure~Part 4

16 Nov

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

JUDY

 

As a child growing up in New Mexico, it seems I had always known about “Shiprock” New Mexico. It wasn’t until many years later, that I knew what or where Shiprock was, or the Indian lore about it. It is a majestic piece of rock—possibly volcanic but probably sandstone—that is just out in the middle of nowhere. It just sprouts up by itself. It is absolutely magnificent, and for some reason, holds a special place in my heart.

2

 

Brian had not thought that we would have time to cross into New Mexico, but then proclaimed that it was a “pilgrimage” for me, so we went to see it. I’ve had a framed calendar photo of it on our wall for many years, but Karen and Brian had never seen it in real life. They were AMAZED.

As we were leaving Shiprock, I made the statement that “it’s dirty, it’s dusty, it’s scrubby—and I love it! This is home!” Of course, I hadn’t lived in New Mexico for more than 50 years, but it still felt like “home” to me. Funny how our minds work.

From Shiprock, New Mexico, we crossed into Arizona, heading to Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park that is in both Arizona and Utah—Navajo Nation land. Absolutely AMAZING!!

3

 

This picture is of the two formations called “Mittens” – and you can see why. They look like right and left handed mittens.

4

 

And here is Brian, trying to hold up The Cube. Those are enormous rocks! It reminded me of a “saying” that my dad had, i.e. “I sure wouldn’t want that pebble in my shoe!” I asked Karen if I had told her about that “saying” of her grandfather’s, and she said “no.” So she got another touch from the grandfather she had never known. I keep wanting to pass along those things to our girls and their children – so they will know him, as well.

5

The roads in Monument Valley are just dirt—and, as you can see by the car—it just covers everything!

6

 

We stopped by the side of the road there and had a picnic lunch right at the car. The wind was blowing in such a way that the dust made by any cars passing by would blow the other way from us, so we weren’t eating dirt!

At many of the stops along the way, there were Native American women selling hand-made jewelry. I bought a neat beaded necklace with a silver Kokopelli at the center. He’s my favorite Indian character—the flute player.

After we had packed up from lunch, we headed to Grand Canyon National Park. I don’t remember how long it had been since Fred was there, but I think I was about 8-years-old the last time I visited the Canyon! It hasn’t lost its appeal at all for me! Absolutely breathtaking!!

There are so many pictures we took of the Grand Canyon, that I just can’t show them all. But here are a few of our favorite sights.

 

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

These were taken at sunset. Absolutely gorgeous!!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

On the side of one of the buildings up top, this sign was posted. Marvelous!

15

~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~

 

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

THE SAILBOAT

19 May

MEMORIES

Judy Wills

JUDY

Growing up in New Mexico, there wasn’t a lot of water around – no swimming pools (except at the public ones), no ponds or lakesides, no oceans, etc. So, consequently, I was not really familiar with boats of any kind. That really didn’t bother me too much I had a lot of other interests.

If you have ever lived in government quarters – as we did on any military base where we were stationed – then you know that, when you leave that posting, you are required to have those same quarters absolutely immaculate! Better than when you moved into them! And there would be an inspection of those quarters by an official inspector. If they found anything wrong – you were required to “fix” it before you were allowed to leave the base.

We had lived in quarters on Tyndall AFB, Florida for five years. That’s almost too long, actually. Our usual moves were about every three years. I told Fred that we needed to leave soon, because I was beginning to put down roots – in a government duplex!!

He was finally given orders to relocate. So then the work of packing up and moving out began. After the movers had taken our belongings away, we started cleaning the unit. We had always thought we could do that ourselves, rather than hire someone to come in and do it for us. So I set Fred and the girls to cleaning, and I thought I would tackle the kitchen. I had planned on the weekend to do the entire kitchen. Unfortunately, the stove was so old that, in taking it apart and cleaning it – it took the entire weekend just for the stove!

By the time we had finished, we were exhausted.
Now….you may think there is no connection to cleaning and boats…but wait….

page1image16592 There was a gentleman who worked in the Weather Station with Fred, who LOVED boats! And especially sailboats. Not being able to purchase one for himself, he had contracted with another gentleman from Alabama to care for his sailboat.

It was a 33-foot Hunter that would sleep six people. It had a full galley and full shower. It had a small auxiliary engine to get us in and out of port. It was set up for ocean voyages and was one-person configured. Whenever the owner wanted to “play” with it, he would call and come down and retrieve it. That usually only happened once or twice a year. The rest of the time, our friend could take it out whenever he wanted.

And that’s what happened with us. He had offered to take us out for a sail, on the last day we were in town. And so we did. I was a bit confused when we motored out of port, thinking “what does this have to do with sailboating?”

But then he cut the engine and unfurled the sail. It was the most wonderful thing – so very quiet, and peaceful, and RESTFUL…just exactly what we needed after all that cleaning.

He even let our 8-year-old handle the wheel for a while. She loved it!

We’ve never purchased a boat of our own – never felt the need to. But it was an experience that we savored and have remembered all these years.

Tags: , , , , , , ,

OUR CRUISE TO MEXICO – Part 3

24 Mar

SUNDAY MEMORIES

 Judy Wills

Judy

                                                     

The next day, our port of call was Cozumel.  We docked at a small island and caught a fast ferry boat to Playa del Carmen.  Very touristy town.

1

Brian had pre-arranged a car/van for the six of us to take us to Tulum and the Mayan ruins there.  The car was arranged through Avis, so we thought we were safe.  However, when we tried to find the address where the Avis rental store was – it wasn’t there!  We even checked in with the police station, and they had no clue where it was!  Brian actually called Avis to find out what was going on.  Finally, after walking around the town for about an hour, he was able to find out they had built a lovely new showroom – on the outskirts of town!  Apparently the Avis company didn’t realize this – had no record of it, etc.  In any case, we climbed into two taxi’s, and were on our way.

While the rest of us freshened up, Brian got the car.  Turns out, they had given away the van he had reserved, and the only vehicle they had was a Jeep that only held five bodies, so Katie sprawled in the luggage area of the vehicle.  Not very comfortable.

And especially not comfortable when we were hurtling down the road at 60 mph and came to an unmarked HUGE speed bump!  She was literally bounced to the roof of the car, and banged her head, causing her to cry out!  After this happened the second time, she tearfully announced that Forrest was riding back there on the way back!!  There were three speed bumps on that road, and only the third one was marked!

We finally arrived at Tulum.  We had a light lunch, and Brian arranged with a local to be our guide through the ruins.  Before we headed off, we were treated to a show of pole dancers.  No, it’s not what you think – this was a group of four men, dressed in native costume, at the top of a tall pole, who allowed themselves to be dropped nearly to the bottom of the pole (and the ground!) and swung around.  Very festive, but certainly not something I would want to attempt.

2

3

And then we began our tour of the ruins.  Fred and I have always enjoyed roaming around ruins – whether in New Mexico, Texas, Europe, or now Mexico.  Our girls enjoyed it, as well, so this would be a fun trip.We were quite interested in seeing the “village” and the building there.  We saw the temple and it’s outbuildings.

4

5

6

One structure that interested us quite a bit was at the top of a hill.  Our guide, Ernie, said that it was an “early warning system” that the Mayan’s had built-in for hurricanes.  When a hurricane was coming, the wind would blow through that building – or the “hole” within it – and make a unique sound.  And it only sounded when a hurricane was approaching – no other storm would make that same sound.  Fred, being a meteorologist, was fascinated by this piece of information and the ingenuity of those ancient peoples.

7

When we returned to Playa del Carmen, Brian dropped us off and he went to return the car.  We were concerned that he wouldn’t get back to the ferry in time to make the ship, but did – running at top speed!

More to come……….

 

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Fiesta Dresses

9 Dec

SUNDAY MEMORIES

 Judy Wills  

Judy

Growing up in New Mexico was a great experience.  Of course, we moved there when I was only four years old, so I didn’t know any different.  The Indian/Mexican culture was just something that was normal to me.

 When I was old enough to learn how to sew, my Grandmother and Mother began teaching me the sewing machine by having me sew row-upon-row-upon-row of trim on yards and yards of fabric.  It was all straight stitching, but some rows were metallic trim, some were rick-rack, some needed only a single stitch to hold it down, others required stitching on the top and bottom edges of the trim/braid.  Very boring.  But it gave me a sense of what sewing was all about.

All those yards and yards of fabric would eventually be made into a Fiesta Dress, or Squaw Dress, as some called it.  Three tiers, each one “longer” than the one above it.  Those dresses could be made from just about fabric and color combination.  I remember a royal blue fabric with nothing but copper trim – one of my favorites.  I remember a winter dress made from blue corduroy – no trim needed.  I remember one made from fabric that looked like bandana design – no trim needed on that one, either.  I remember one that was made in light cotton – white – with red and red-and-white trim.  It was great – until I washed it the first time – and the red ran like crazy!!  So my Aunt Jessie took the dress (blouse and skirt) and dyed them beige.  For some reason, the red didn’t show where it had run, and really looked rather classy with the red trim.  Another favorite of mine.  Oh, so many dresses.

And the skirts were not left “pouffy” like they might be today – they were hand-pleated after being soaked in starch!  And to keep the pleats in, we rolled the skirt into itself and stuffed it into a nylon stocking.  Jessie’s dogs LOVED to get at those to fight with them!

Dogs fighting

But those dresses were considered in good taste no matter where they were worn.  They could be worn to a very casual setting…..they could be worn to work….they could be worn to a fancy dinner setting – all worked equally well.

I’ve never seen them worn outside of New Mexico, however.  So when I took them with us to Texas, they were not the “in style” to wear.  I still have them, but can’t seem to find the right place to wear them now – even if I could fit in them anymore!

But they were just right for New Mexico.

Blue skirt

red skirt

                    

                    

Tags: , , ,

Newer Entries →