Monday, June 29, 2015

Postcard Adventures

I decided to take a break from sharing postcards
with Voir. She was getting too many ideas for where to go!


But then, Ella pulled out the miniature version 
of vintage postcards of Taos and Santa Fe.



Voir decided that her next destination is the
Ranchos de Taos mission church,
San Francisco de Asis.



It has been immortalized by artists like Georgia O'Keefe


and photographers like Ansel Adams.


The problem?
It is 2 1/2 hours away!!!

Sunday, June 28, 2015

Route 66

"So I heard you live near Route 66!!! 
  So when do we get to go visit Route 66?!!! "    
                             

Late this afternoon Voir talked me into a Sunday
evening drive. At first, I was just going to stop at this
overpass that is over Central Avenue on the west side,
but Voir suggested we keep going.
She wanted to see Route 66, not just the sign!





Route 66 was first commissioned in 1926.
The original placement of Route 66 through Albuquerque
was a north-south alignment that went through Santa Fe.
The original route up until 1937 is now known as 4th street in Albuquerque.
The route through Albuquerque after 1937 is Central Avenue.
http://www.visitalbuquerque.org/albuquerque/route-66/history/





We kept driving east, headed toward downtown Albuquerque.
Soon, we reached the Rio Grande bridge at Central.





It did not take long before we were driving through downtown
Albuquerque on Central Avenue.



The Kimo Theatre, which Voir saw on the postcard image,
is located at 5th and Central.


The Kimo Theatre was built and designed as a
"Pueblo Deco Picture Palace" in 1927.
The "Pueblo Deco" style is described as a short-lived
architectural style.






A fire in the 1960's created a substantial damage.
The Kimo fell into disrepair. It was saved and restored in 1977.








One street down is the only intersection of Route 66 in the US.
Central and 4th Street offers an unusual but unassuming perspective
of history.


Vintage Postcard
Eastbound Central at 4th Street

Eastbound Central and 4th

Westbound Central and 4th







2nd Street was a short distance away.



Westbound Central and 2nd

I drove down some side streets and found a new destination:
The Alvarado Transportation Center.


But first, a piece of history:
The Fred Harvey Alvarado Hotel was established in 1902
as a part of the Santa Fe Railroad.
It was torn down in the 1970's despite efforts to save it.






The Alvarado Transportation Center
is now the regional transit center for the railroad and bus services,
including local and long distance services.





In our detours down side streets,
we drove past the Albuquerque Convention Center


and the downtown public library main branch.


I had finished with my Sunday evening drive.
Voir had fallen asleep on the car seat. It was time to head home.



But you know Route 66. It keeps going and going.
We only visited a short portion of it,
but we still found a portion of Albuquerque's history.



 As a blogger confession, many of these photos were not taken
by me because I was driving. I relied on online photos
to supplement what we saw.



Friday, June 26, 2015

Voir Visits the Botanic Garden

This morning I announced that I was going 
to go to the Botanic Garden for a few hours. 
Ella groaned, "Not again!". 
Amaya was busy playing with the gecko who went to Florida with her.


Voir spoke up. 
"I arrived on Monday, and I have only been out once this week. 
I thought I was going to go out and do fun things! 
I will go see flowers with you!


The entrance area of the Botanic Garden
has the most flowers.
Voir enjoyed them all!





Since we arrived shortly after it opened,
some of the plants had just been watered.
This snail crept out in a shaded are.
Voir found him to be quite fascinating.

"Look! It is a snail! Can I keep him for a pet?" 

ADAD A Pet

"No, but you can enjoy watching it creep back into the plants."


Then, there were more flowers!
Small flowers! Big Flowers!


Flowers with bees or other bugs on them!
"I am not going near the bees!!!"





Some areas were very landscaped.
Some areas looked more like yards 
or undeveloped land here in New Mexico.









When we arrived at the main pond,
we watched the train go by.
I pointed out the Butterfly Pavilion on the opposite side
of the pond.
Voir was more interested in the ducks and geese in the pond.


A large pot had potted flowers just her size!
"Don't I look pretty with the flowers?!!!"



On the other side of the potted flowers
was an area with the natural trees and plants in New Mexico,
including cactus!



I started getting hotter after our short walk around,
so I hurried to the secret of the Botanic Garden.
The adobe farmhouse has bathrooms and running water,
and has an air system turned on during the summer.


My inner teacher and educational guide also joined us.
After all, Voir is a visitor.
As a visitor, she would want to learn about where she was visiting!


Heritage Farm is an exhibit area representing Albuquerque
farm life in the 1920's and 1930's.
It has an adobe farm house, a barn with livestock,
a produce barn used to turn apples into cider in the fall,
and several orchard areas.
It is a working farm that contributes its produce to the zoo,
which is a part of the larger Bio Park organization.



Yes, time to cool off!!!!


Voir was interested in the animals in the barn.



She saw the sheep eating near the barn.



She was astounded by how big the cow is.



The goat was hanging out with the cow.
Maybe it needed more room to roam than its own pen.
Maybe the cow and the goat had become friends.


An area behind the barn shows how big an acre is.



There is also a display of old farm equipment and wagons.




To the side of the barn was the orchard.




Apples and some kind of peach or apricot grew in the orchard.



Voir found the vineyard to be more fascinating.
"Do they make wine with the grapes?"
I don't know, but they have a variety of grapes and could
be making wine, or could be feeding the grapes to zoo animals.






We looped back toward the adobe house.
Another exhibit area demonstrated that clothes were once
washed by hand.
Voir found posing in the jean pocket to be much more fun
and comfortable than sitting on top of the clothes line and hanging
onto the clothes pin!




I told Voir that I really was getting hot and thirsty,
and it was time to head back toward the entrance.



We paused to enjoy the flowers near the adobe house again.
I captured a butterfly!






Before leaving, Voir insisted that we see the model trains.
I agreed. Mostly because they are under the trees.



She watched a faster, modern train speed by.






She was most interested in the more old fashioned looking train.




At one point, we watched the two trains pass each other.


There is the older train again!


Voir thanked me for bringing her to such a fun and beautiful place.





"..but wait...can I watch it again before we leave?"




Voir, we are leaving!!!


"Okay, okay...."