Art in ABQ

Better late than never, I guess, to tell you about my brief but fun stopover in Albuquerque on the way home from my extended Colorado stay.

In addition to the fun of a New Mexico United soccer game played at the Isotopes' field, plus of course enjoyable visits with good friends, I was also able to take in a couple of cultural high points. (High points not related to ABQ's most famous recent cultural phenomenon, however  )

First stop was the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, a very nice museum featuring—along with an excellent restaurant that made a fine lunch stop—not only live action art...

...but also modern pieces...

...as well as charming folk art, like this cheerful bird and the storytelling snake at the top of the post...

On next to the Albuquerque Museum, whose grounds were all we had museum-energy left for, but which offered some wonderful, and whimsical, pieces. (I'll have to take in the whole shebang on my next visit.)

The gates that lead out the back of the Museum to ABQ's old town are impressive works of art themselves, we thought (this is just part of one set):

But whimsy is the most common theme of this sculpture garden. The lady below isn't always holding her cell phone, but it's easy enough to add that detail...

Here's one of her "colleagues," getting his news in a more old-fashioned manner:

I thought this amalgamation of a lovely rock and some industrial chic was quite arresting...

...and this handsome take on the King Kong motif is terrific, don't you think?!

I couldn't help but be reminded of the etched panels at the American Air Museum in Duxford, which I visited in 2008. Although of course that sculpture is much more somber in tone, I still noted the resemblance of the planes here. And art can always call up multiple emotions, especially when you've been treated to such a wide variety of forms in such a wonderful setting.

Wordless Wednesday: old and new tourism magnets

Wordless Wednesday: Somos unidos! [and go Isotopes]

Wordless Wednesday: first steps

Wordless Wednesday: sign of the times

Rocks, rocks, rocks!

You don't always think about it at home, but we don't really see very many, if any, impressive rocks in our neck of the woods. That's one of the things that makes visiting Colorado so much fun.

And a rock exhibition place extraordinaire is the somewhat unfortunately-named Colorado National Monument, which I last visited ten years ago!

This time we took a different (and slightly shorter) trail and was it ever spectacular! The formation at the top of this post was the "Devil's Kitchen," our destination.

The photo above might not give you the best idea of the scale of these beauties, but as you can see here, they are BIG!

That's my sister at the entrance to this amazing natural space. And here she is again, inside, along with our other hiking companion...

It was shady and cool when we were there, in the morning. But apparently in the afternoon, when the westering sun shines directly into the entrance, it really heats up...therefore, the colorful nickname.

Of course looking through the rocks back out onto the countryside is one of the big attractions, photo-opp-wise, of such formations...

...not to mention the oddly-shaped stones, some of which you'd swear were the work of a human sculptor...

isn't that an eagle on his perch?

The Monument isn't the only place I got to see some great rocks last weekend. On my way "home" to Garfield from Grand Junction, I took a recommended scenic route and was treated to some wonderful views of the canyons adjacent to the Black Canyon National Park. (The link will show you how much more amazing the Park scenery is.)

It's been even longer since I've been to that place (I think it wasn't even a Park back then!) and I didn't have time to visit it this time, either. 

But the nice scenic pullouts along Colorado 92 (handily furnished with potties as well!) provided glimpses of the same sorts of canyon scenery. Isn't this view, on the right, stunning?! I took it at Pioneer Point, not far from the Blue Mesa reservoir's dam, but it looks like it's miles away from any such artifacts of civilization.

Here's another view from the Point, showcasing the "Needle," a formation that you might be able to distinguish from the background canyon rocks.

Colorado really rocks!

Some good luck for some hapless boys

As I mentioned last time, I got to go to a Rockies game during a short Denver interlude in my Colorado "vacation." The poor guys are having a miserable year, but the ballpark is beautful, the guys are (mostly) fun to watch...AND, we brought them luck in the guise of a smashing 11-4 victory! Yes, they should pay us to come to games all the time.

Those eleven runs were generated in part by 5 homers by the good guys. The ballpark has a neat feature to celebrate Rox home runs...not as wild as the old Astrodome scoreboard, but more in keeping with the nearby mountain scenery:

fountains erupt when Rox go yard

We got to see another interesting feature of the ballpark on a stroll around the Wells Fargo Club level, where our great seats were thanks to a friend's fortunate status. Here's the control room, not of Cape Canaveral, but where this small army of technocrats operates all the many screens on offer around the park:

this would be an interesting place to work, don't you think?

I really think they have too many of these devices distracting from the game (especially between innings) although I find the out-of-town scoreboard and the strikeout tallies interesting. But I've never seen where the sausage is made for these things before. Fascinating!

One good use of the video board is to show closeups of the musicians playing the national anthem. This night it was a fine brass ensemble...

Altogether a fine, fun evening at one of my favorite ballparks. And in the company of some of my favorite people...