Captain’s Blog
10/14/05
KOA, South Bernallilo, NM
Odometer Reading: 12372.2
We decided to head into Santa Fe this morning via the Turquoise Trail, the National Scenic Byway between Albuquerque and Santa Fe. Ron decided to take a less traveled path of unimproved road on the backside of the Sandia Mountain.
Before we could get on the road we had to wait for John. It seems that he is sooooo very relaxed he didn’t notice he put his under shorts on backwards. He thought something didn’t feel right!!!!
The road that Ron chose was definitely unimproved (dirt) but the scenery was beautiful.
About three miles down the road we saw a sign and a picture of a young woman posted on a barrier.
I guess she had been killed and there was a reward for information leading to her murderer. Then we saw some people walking out from behind the sign who had been hiking in the mountain.
Ron spoke with them and they told us about a man-cave approximately ½ mile up the
mountain. We decided it would be an interesting hike so we pulled into a parking area and began our ascent. The trail was fairly easy although uphill and the views were incredible. John did extremely well and really put his new hip to the test. 
Way to go John! There were two sets of cement stairs to climb before getting to the spiral staircase that led to the cave. The views from the top of the spiral staircase were never ending and beautifully different.
Unfortunately we did not have a functioning flashlight so were unable to venture too far into the cave. If it were up to Ron we would have entered without light.
Interestingly, when he flashed the camera into the cave it captured water in the area just below where we were standing. Then it was back down the mountainside and on to our next adventure.
We still had another 5 miles of dirt road to travel but the vistas made up for the bumpy roads.
Next stop of the day – Tinkertown Museum
which houses the lifework of Ross Ward’s renowned folk-art collection, including a miniature Western town, 3-ring circus display and a building compound surrounded by more then 52,000 bottles encased in cement. 
His work was very intricate and prior to his death at age 63 of Alzheimer’s Disease he became famous after a visit from Charles Karault. While everyone else was watching TV Ross Ward was carving his legacy. The museum is run and maintained by his widow. Of interest is the car he drove until Alzheimer’s took that ability away. His wife suggested to her ailing husband to turn his car into a work of art. He took his car, painted it and decorated in with a variety of bric-a-brac. The car was the last art project he completed prior to his death.
After a stop at another great restaurant for lunch on the Turquoise Trail we headed into Santa Fe. Santa Fe is a beautiful city with
hundreds of shops.
As you know Ron dislikes shopping so at Linda’s suggestion we stopped at the Museum of New Mexico for a visit to the exhibit Digging for Egypt which was excellent. 
There was also a China artifact exhibit and an art exhibit all of which were great.
Then it was on to shopping in Santa Fe. Shopping in Santa Fe is not for the faint of heart what with the huge variety of shops and stores. In order to see and experience Santa Fe a full 3-4 days is needed. We had three hours.
Returning to the Albuquerque area we stopped at a Restaurant about three blocks from the campground. Once again the food was delicious and cheap (Ron likes that).
It’s hard to believe that Linda and John are flying back to Massachusetts in the morning. The last 5 days have flown by.
Captain’s Blog
10/14/05
KOA, South Bernallilo, NM
Odometer Reading: 12372.2
We decided to head into Santa Fe this morning via the Turquoise Trail, the National Scenic Byway between Albuquerque and Santa Fe. Ron decided to take a less traveled path of unimproved road on the backside of the Sandia Mountain.
Before we could get on the road we had to wait for John. It seems that he is sooooo very relaxed he didn’t notice he put his under shorts on backwards. He thought something didn’t feel right!!!!The road that Ron chose was definitely unimproved (dirt) but the scenery was beautiful.
About three miles down the road we saw a sign and a picture of a young woman posted on a barrier.
I guess she had been killed and there was a reward for information leading to her murderer. Then we saw some people walking out from behind the sign who had been hiking in the mountain.Ron spoke with them and they told us about a man-cave approximately ½ mile up the
mountain. We decided it would be an interesting hike so we pulled into a parking area and began our ascent. The trail was fairly easy although uphill and the views were incredible. John did extremely well and really put his new hip to the test. Way to go John! There were two sets of cement stairs to climb before getting to the spiral staircase that led to the cave. The views from the top of the spiral staircase were never ending and beautifully different.
Unfortunately we did not have a functioning flashlight so were unable to venture too far into the cave. If it were up to Ron we would have entered without light.
Interestingly, when he flashed the camera into the cave it captured water in the area just below where we were standing. Then it was back down the mountainside and on to our next adventure.We still had another 5 miles of dirt road to travel but the vistas made up for the bumpy roads.
Next stop of the day – Tinkertown Museum
which houses the lifework of Ross Ward’s renowned folk-art collection, including a miniature Western town, 3-ring circus display and a building compound surrounded by more then 52,000 bottles encased in cement. 
His work was very intricate and prior to his death at age 63 of Alzheimer’s Disease he became famous after a visit from Charles Karault. While everyone else was watching TV Ross Ward was carving his legacy. The museum is run and maintained by his widow. Of interest is the car he drove until Alzheimer’s took that ability away. His wife suggested to her ailing husband to turn his car into a work of art. He took his car, painted it and decorated in with a variety of bric-a-brac. The car was the last art project he completed prior to his death.
After a stop at another great restaurant for lunch on the Turquoise Trail we headed into Santa Fe. Santa Fe is a beautiful city with
hundreds of shops.
As you know Ron dislikes shopping so at Linda’s suggestion we stopped at the Museum of New Mexico for a visit to the exhibit Digging for Egypt which was excellent. 
There was also a China artifact exhibit and an art exhibit all of which were great.Then it was on to shopping in Santa Fe. Shopping in Santa Fe is not for the faint of heart what with the huge variety of shops and stores. In order to see and experience Santa Fe a full 3-4 days is needed. We had three hours.
Returning to the Albuquerque area we stopped at a Restaurant about three blocks from the campground. Once again the food was delicious and cheap (Ron likes that).
It’s hard to believe that Linda and John are flying back to Massachusetts in the morning. The last 5 days have flown by.
Captain’s Blog
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