Here's to not burning the RV down

May 13, 2018

We usually get a very slow leisurely start to the mornings. But we had to set an alarm on Tuesday at 6 am because we had to drive an hour north at the New Mexico River Adventures headquarters to start an all-day river raft experience. We met Jacob, who certainly looked like he could pluck us out of the water with one hand, and got our instructions and our helmets and life-jackets.

It was just Steve and me and Jacob in the large raft, along with provisions for the day. Jacob gave us a running narrative about the river, the geology we could see along the way, some of the trees, and some of the homes along the river.

I was wrong last week. The Rio Grande was not formed from the river wearing through the canyon for many years. The canyon was formed by an earthquake many years ago and in some places you can see where the two sides used to fit together.   (Actually, it wasn't a single earthquake that formed the canyon.  Over a long period of time a rift opened in the crust.  It is still opening.  The rift is filled with debris, which if removed would make the canyon 36,000 feet deep.  The Grand Canyon would be lost in it.)  Rocks fall from the sides into the river at times. One place we saw a 360 ton rock that was on the side of the river and could see the ditch it had left when it fell down the wall of the canyon about 25 years ago. Of course, it did major damage to the road beside the river on its way down. No one was hurt.

At lunch, Jacob pulled out a small box that unfolded into a two burner propane stove. He hooked up the propane and started cooking. After an appetizer of orange slices, we had a yummy hot lunch of chicken fajitas and Oreos for dessert. Steve skipped rocks across the river and I found lovely rocks for our rock collection.

To get us through some of the rockier places, we had to learn “load left” and “load right”. That meant when Jacob shouted one or the other, one of us had to go to the other side of the raft in order for the raft to come up on one side and fit between rocks. It was a lovely day so we did not mind getting wet and in two places where the rapids were fast we “surfed” in the churning water and got soaked. It was exhilarating and fun.

Santa Fe street views:

One day we biked a trail near Santa Fe and another day we took a trolley tour of Taos. That was really interesting as we visited an Indian Pueblo. These Indians are living in the same homes and on the same land as they did 1000 years ago. They were not driven off their land and a have about 100,000 acres, mostly mountain forest, and they are their own sovereign nation within our nation. Their homes are made of bricks made of mud and straw and the walls are 3-6 foot thick covered with more mud and straw.

They have farmland and bison and eat the deer and fish from their land. Their ovens are outside their homes, about 4 foot high domes with small holes in the sides. We bought some bread made in one of those ovens and it was yummy. There is no electricity  or public water in this village. They do use propane for lights and heat. Some of their members live out on the surrounding farms and they have electric and wi-fi, etc. Within the village they are trying to preserve the ancient ways. They have both Catholic mass and traditional Indian rituals. They have Mary in the center of their small church altar because she matches their belief of Mother Earth. Jesus is a smaller statue and off to the side. 

In 1847, during the War with Mexico, the U.S. Army came to the Pueblo village to take revenge for the assassination of the governor of NM. Most of the tribe left the village and went into the mountains but 143 women and children who could not make the trip hid in the church. The U.S. army killed them all. Only the bell tower (the bell was brought by a priest from Spain) was left.

Saturday we went to our glass-making class and each of us was assisted in making a glass paper weight. Mine has flowers inside and Steve’s has a rope of multi-colors. Eager to see them Monday. They had to stay in a 900° oven to slowly cool for 24 hours so they will not break.

We enjoyed this creative activity and admire glass artists so much more.

Dipping the hot glass into colored glass fragments

These homes have been here for over 1000 years

“Here’s to not burning the RV down.”  Yes, that is what we said when we clicked our glasses over our spaghetti and meatballs Saturday night. It was my turn to make a big mistake. Earlier in the day I had warmed up some soup on the stove. I had turned the flame down very low and had forgotten to turn it off. After lunch I put the top down over the burners and spread a towel over that to hold the dishes to dry. An hour or so later we started to smell something like gas and Steve noted the gas was still on one burner. He turned it off and opened windows. Then I noted the dishes were hot as I started to put them away. The burner had not only been on but so was the flame and it had started to burn the solid countertop I had pulled down over it. The worst that happened is a slight discoloration in the top of the countertop lid. But if we had left and it had been left to burn—hate to think how bad it could have been. Another lesson learned.

We have a new favorite quote from watching past episodes of “Call the Midwife”. The older nun said, “ I always think two opinions are better than one, particularly if one of them is mine.”

And my opinion on this Mother’s Day is that if we spent more effort in making good mothers, from their birth experience to support during the stresses of raising children, we could achieve world peace.

Edited by Steve