THEY have returned!!

BREAKING NEWS - ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO:

Giant orbs have been spotted hovering ominously over the city!!

Authorities are urging the populous not to panic and to arm themselves with cameras.

Invasion is immanent!!

AMERICA'S BEST IDEA

Tonight PBS premiered a new mini-series THE NATIONAL PARKS: AMERICA'S BEST IDEA.

This is an excellent series on the people and history and the development of our national parks.

T-Rob and I were privileged to have been able to visit several of them this past spring.













If you ever get the chance to visit some of these magnificent places please do.

As a companion piece, some PBS stations are showing The Mystery of Chaco Canyon as well.

Feel free to check out my links to the right and be an arm chair traveler!!

October is looking to be a busy month so check back. Check my post for next weekend as I will be traveling back in time as well as posting on New Mexico's biggest event of the year. Also, later this month look for the season finale of Land of the Zia.

Back soon!!

The Tourist

I've mentioned Pandora Internet Radio in the past. The thing I really like about it is that you program it yourself by suggesting music you like and Pandora suggests music to you based on music you have selected.

Case in point: Mason Jennings.

Since Pandora suggested this artist I have picked up several of his CDs and have yet to be disappointed. Mason Jennings is a contemporary of Jack Johnson and has a similar style.

Check him out.





Tune in the weekend of 3 October for a very special edition of Land of the Zia, here's a sneak peek:





I'm out.

The Look You Give That Guy.

home

The weather man today said, today was most likely our last day of 80s temps. Tomorrow we are supposed to drop 20 degrees or more and by Wednesday our high could be 58!! Hello Mr. Cold Front.


Weather-dude also said snow in the north is possible.


SNOW???!!!!!

Who kidnapped summer?

I'm fine with winter...as long as I am under the quilts and comforters.

I digress.

The weather this past weekend was awesome.

Every time this year I take my dad back to our hometown in Airzona to visit with his brothers and his dad.

The desert is awesome this time of year as the monsoons have made the desert soooo green. Wide open skies, the open road. I love it.




We always stay with my aunt. Her house has not changed much since I was a kid and that is how I like it.



Not to mention the home cooking.




My aunt, the reader.




We stopped to visit my cousin Gary, the hunter.





We swung by McHood Park, an oasis in otherwise flat shrub land.








We had to stop by and say hello to mom.

Hello, mom.



It was just a short weekend trip but went well.
The drive home was interesting. I love driving across the desert, you never know what you will see.














I'm out.

Zozobra

We had actually arrived in Santa Fe a little late as we made a stop in Madrid, NM.

Madrid is a very cool little artist community on the east side of the Sandia Mountains. There are all kinds of arts and crafts shops and a restaurant or two. Madrid has a kind of funky/kitschy feel to it.

By the time we got into Santa Fe the plaza had pretty much closed up shop so we missed all the cool booths.

We parked a couple of blocks away from Fort Marcy Park and followed the crowds.

There was not much to be seen once there. The obligatory souvenir booth which had ok t-shirts [wtf - no black T's?? I would think that would be a given]. I saw a cool bobble head of Zozobra for $25 bucks...eh I could do with out it. I ended up not purchasing anything.

Next, the food vendors....err.. only 8 of them?? Kinda disappointing. We had some shredded pork that was ok.

Once on the field we pretty much just waited with everyone else. There were bands playing but nothing else.



What suprised me most were the people having picnics on picnic blankets. It was crowded enough with tens of thousands of people around you with out having to worry about stepping on someones blanket.

Also I was very suprised smoking was allowed on the field. Most curious.




The festivities started around nine pm -- for five bucks it was worth the wait. The light show was pretty cool and the burning it self was pretty awesome.

Pagan type dancers came onto the stage first and danced around the giant marionette, followed by dancers with fire sticks. The music was perfectly eerie.




There was something eerie about the whole event. Thousands of people chanting "Burn him, burn him" the whole thing had a pagan feel to it. As I mentioned before, if I were a four year old in the audience it sure would freek me out.

Did I mention the odor of 'ganja' was very apparent...lol.

I would think an event as old as this one, 85 years, would be able to afford 'known' bands. I guess too many peoples pockets are being lined.

Anyway... Zozobra was 'burned'. It was very creepy seeing his head on fire with flames shooting out of his eye sockets and mouth and him moaning and wailing about, ultimately seeing his head fall off in flames.








When all was said and done, it was pretty cool. The crowd then proceded to wander the streets of downtown Santa Fe yelling, "Viva la fiestas!!!"

Another one bites the dust.

I'm out.

www.zozobra.com