Amaya's Day Out

Amaya found herself in the mood of the forgotten child.

She had been with us in Taos, but didn't get her individual

photo taken very often. Voir's photo was taken alone.

Ella's photo was taken alone.

But poor Amaya stayed in my bag too often.

 I took photos of Voir for her person,

and photos of Ella, for me, but poor Amaya ended up being the piece

in my handful that ended up left aside. 

I realized that her bangs were too long, and it took too long

to set her up for a good photo. It also was a challenge with the time

to take similar photos with three different dolls posed individually.

So, I have now trimmed her bangs.

I replaced her blue eyes with brown ones, 

and I sought to smooth things over with her.

Today, I took Amaya to Old Town to look for postcards

or another souvenir for Voir. It seemed like a good idea
 since Amaya also needed to smooth things over with Voir 

after her being jealous and wanting the attention for herself again.

The clouds were gray and the weather report listed rain in the forecast,

so our time outside focused on what we liked best as we wandered

into a few stores.

Amaya smiled. We love fountains!

After our trip through some shops,

Amaya wanted her photo taken by San Felipe de Neri.

This center of Old Town is also a familiar landmark for this location.

Yes, and the plaza is green and full, too!

I felt a few drops of rain start to fall from the sky,

so we moved to the Albuquerque Museum,

which is located to the side of Old Town.

Amaya had heard about the new exhibit "Only in Albuquerque"
from Ella, who visited this exhibit when it first opened in March.

What is not to like about the map of Albuquerque

that is the entrance floor for this exhibit?
We looked for where we live and places we like to go.

Amaya found an interesting location.

The photo below shows the Rio Grande flowing south

toward to top of the photo. She stood on the location of Tingley Beach.

Central Avenue, also known as Route 66, stretched out in front of her.
The green patch is the Albuquerque Country Club.
The Botanic Garden is across the street from Central.

ADAD Smooth

How many museums do you go to in order to sit on the floor

and study what is there? I double checked the locations by looking
up a satellite image of Albuquerque and focusing on the area where
I stood Amaya on the map.

Google Satellite Map

As a side note, I later did a Google search for aerial images of Albuquerque

to write this blog, and I found a comparison image that shows the same

location I had placed Amaya earlier today on the museum floor map.
Very interesting coincidence!

Rio Grande Through North Albuquerque

After enjoying the map, we continued through the exhibit 

showing the history of Albuquerque and New Mexico.

My favorite museum displays show how daily life

was lived by most people. One area of this exhibit shows an early diner.

Would you order posole or carne adovada at the diner? 

Posole

Carne Adovada

Tacos with Carne Adovada

The exhibit progressed through history to transportation

and other life events. One of the earlier forms of travel and trade 

through New Mexico was the ox cart.

El Rancho de Las Golondrinas
Living History Museum
Santa Fe

Ox carts were used to bring objects for trade up and down

the El Camino Real between Mexico City and Santa Fe.
In 1821, Mexico gained its independence from Spain,

and allowed the Santa Fe Trail to open trade up to

Americans, who often traveled by horse and wagon.

New Mexico became a U.S. Territory in 1848.
By 1860, the Santa Fe Railroad was established.

The Santa Fe Railroad and Fred Harvey

created an easier, more comfortable travel experience

for travelers in the late 19th century and early 20th century.

The Alvarado Hotel in Albuquerque contributed a train stop,

and an upscale hotel experience that also shared local

culture and arts with visitors.

Our history moves from the pre-Spanish native populations,
the early Spaniards, the growing diverse populations in the 20th century,
Route 66, and the development of sciences like computers and 
space sciences.

The Tiwa People

 Spanish Style Weaving Loom

Route 66

Voyage to Sky and Space

 Despite changes in technology and progress over time,

New Mexico is still an arid region for farming.
Water is an important resource. This mural with a gate in

front of it shows an acequia. Farmers take turns using

water runoff, and it can be stopped and re-routed for all

to share as they water their crops.

Some aspects of our history seem to be memories in time,

while others have left their impression on the climate and culture

of New Mexico. Most people do not live in authentic adobe houses.
We do not travel by ox and ox cart or horse and wagon.
Our units of trade now have to do more with our income than the products

we produce and offer to others. Our roads are mostly paved,

and interstate highways and airline travel have replaced the road trips

of Route 66 and train trips of the Santa Fe Railroad.

But, water is still life here. Acequias and water rights

are a part of present day water usage and irrigation of crops.
New Mexico still has its own regional cuisine that includes foods

like posole, carne adovada, tamales, empanadas, biscochitos,

chile stew, and chile on foods like pizza and cheeseburgers.
Objects like pottery, ladders, chile ristras, and traditional weaving

can be found in modern homes, and while stucco is used,

there is a traditional New Mexico style or feel to many homes.

New Mexico has earned its unique feel and the state motto

"The Land of Enchantment".

As we left this exhibit, we visited a few more rooms in the museum.

The room across the hall holds their collection of 

practical vintage metal items. 

Amaya saw this airplane, and suggested that she would

fit right in the cockpit. I had visions of not being allowed to touch

most things in the museum, cameras watching from the ceilings,

and the security guards wandering around.

Add to it that the light probably wouldn't have made a good

photo anyway.

Yeah...it was time to go.
I had smoothed things over with Amaya by giving her
her very own outing, and we didn't need a new conflict
to start another round of pouting.