johnboystravelblog

Look at this picture and see if you spot anything interesting.

Let’s try a little closer…

See it yet?

Don’t feel bad, the first time I was here I didn’t see it either, although I had an idea of what was coming.

I was on Route 64 West, about 10 miles outside of Taos, when suddenly I was dangling (well, that’s not the right word exactly – driving) approximately 565 feet above the Rio Grande River.

Throwing caution (and my fear of heights) to the wind, and keeping a firm grip on my smartphone, I marched out on the bridge to take a few photos.  I was here a few years ago and I hadn’t heard that it had collapsed and been rebuilt since then so I had a little confidence that it would remain standing.

Looking north from the center:

Looking DOWN from the center (one eye closed, phone held out over the edge):

Looking out towards the south:

And looking down towards the rapids on the south side:

And not to make light of a serious problem, but this suicide hotline call box was out in the middle of the bridge.  I wonder how many calls they actually get, once someone has come this far….

Looking back towards Taos.  The reason suddenly appearing on this bridge was such a surprise is that there is no superstructure above ground level indicating what you are about to do.  One minute you’re driving in the desert, and the next you are high above the Rio Grande.

Some Native American artwork on the bridge railing:

This community is located out in the desert west of Taos.  It is apparently sustainable living, structures built to utilize solar power and natural light and minimize the dependence on conventional utilities.

These are the two main structures, located near the entrance.  There are signs posted that this is private property and that you are not to trespass beyond these two buildings, although there were many similar houses out in the desert.

This is the Visitor Center.  There was an admission charge and I opted not to go inside, figuring I could read all about it on their website.

This is a larger unit, across the dirt road from the Visitor Center.  It is apparently still a work in progress.  You are not allowed inside.

There are lots of solar panels, satellite dishes and south-facing windows.  The north side of almost all the structures were covered by mounds of dirt, apparently to minimize the dissipation of heat and cold from within the houses.

The houses were somewhat futuristic in appearance but, frankly, looked like Epcot Center at Disney World if it had been abandoned for 10 years.  The inside might be nice, and I admire the intent to be self-sufficient, but I can’t say as I was impressed.

There are some of these houses listed on Airbnb but they are higher than my normal rate (because of the novelty factor, I’m sure) so I doubt if I’ll be staying in any.

 

 

I decided to just spend the day today in and around Taos.  Being a Sunday morning, things in town were pretty quiet and parking was free and plentiful.  I tried going back into town later in the day and the traffic was crazy so I turned around and headed back up towards Arroyo Seco and the ski area.

Taos is a small, artsy town which reminds me very much of Chapel Hill, North Carolina.  Lots of restaurants, craft and jewelry shops, art studios and high-end clothing stores.  When I was here a few years ago there was a guy dressed up as Zorro riding his horse around town, posing for pictures but I didn’t come across him in the five days I’ve been here.

This is a side street I parked on:

Many of the stores are around the park in the middle of town square:

And there are lots of nooks and crannies, pedestrian-only side streets:

This was some interesting artwork.  A stand-alone nose and mouth, bordered on each side by figures whose heads give the appearance of eyes on a face.

And this stuffed bear at the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory was taking a break, getting rested up for his big day ahead.

This was my big surprise of the day.  As I approached the eastern end of my scenic drive, about 85 miles east of Taos near the town of Raton, NM, I saw the entrance for this facility.

I drove down the flag-lined entrance road (flags representing each of the 50 states)

Once inside the Visitor Center I was soon greeted by a young man named Greg.  He told me about the facility and told me I was free to look around and take pictures.  He said to be sure to go through the museum.

The Whittington Center, named for a former president of the National Rifle Association (NRA), is a non-profit enterprise and is not actually owned or operated by the NRA.  They get their funds from donations, membership fees, facility entry fees (I could have paid to go out on the shooting range) and contest fees.  This 30,000+ acre facility is the largest of it’s kind in the United States.  They have over 15 shooting ranges (the largest over 2 miles long!), as well as cabins, an RV park, primitive campsites, a cafeteria, and lots of other buildings.  They host numerous competitions throughout the year and have professionals on staff who train people (average folks as well as law enforcement officers) in the safe and proper use of firearms, as well as defense tactics and precision shooting skills.  They also have organized “hunts” on the property.

Greg rattled off all kinds of various firearm types as well as the numerous competitions for specific skills.  I’m not very knowledgeable about such things but it was fascinating to listen to and he is obviously very passionate about it.

Following Greg’s advice I went through the museum.  Again, not being a gun person myself it was kind of lost on me but I’m sure an enthusiast would get a lot more out of it.

And it’s not all about guns.  This knife has an affadavit behind it which explains it’s significance.  It was given to the gentleman for which this facility is named by a legendary “Mountain Man” named Ben Lilley, one of the last of his kind.

There were two other guys walking through the museum and I asked them if they were allowed to bring one thing home with them, what would it be?  After a second or two of thought they both said “the Gatling Gun”.  I didn’t want to show my ignorance by not knowing what that was but tracked Greg down and asked him.  He said “well, they’d have trouble getting it out the front doors…”.  This is the Gatling Gun:

Here is Greg (on the left) and his co-worker Bryan.  Greg only took up shooting about a year ago.  Bryan likes to “bench shoot,” which is trying to put multiple bullets through the first bullet hole he makes in a target.  He does this with the target at 100, 200 and 300 yards away (that’s 1, 2 and 3 football fields, folks…).  I want these guys on my team.

Oh, and they’re having a raffle!  You could win this Ruger AR-556 with bipod, plus the Leupold Mark 6 1-6×20 scope.  Given my luck with r/c helicopter raffles I should have bought tickets.  I don’t know exactly what I’d do with it if I won, but living in Durham, North Carolina these days it just might come in handy.  I don’t know when the drawing is but if you’re interested call Greg and I’m sure he could hook you up with tickets.

These are some of the things I saw on Saturday as I drove a big scenic loop east of Taos.

These are some of the things I saw on Friday when I took a scenic road called the “High Road to Taos” down to Santa Fe.  I enjoyed the drive so much I took it going back to Taos as well.

These were taken once I got to Santa Fe:

And these were taken on the way back home:

This was set up in a room I went through soon after entering the “house”.  It was looking at a dish of seashells.  As you moved the dish ever so slightly, the images changed.  I had seen something like this at a botanical garden in Oklahoma City earlier this year (pre-blog).  It used various tiny plants as the thing being observed.

Once I knew the trick about the refrigerator I stood back with my camera ready and captured this sequence of three people being surprised by a group of people (a total of 6, I think) coming out of it.  It starts with our unsuspecting victims reading the note on the door….

Here are more of the bizarre things I saw while at Meow Wolf:

When you went in the Refrigerator you went through a white tunnel and ended up in a futuristic room with Star Trek like doors.  There was a projected image of a woman in white who guided you through various areas you could visit.  You placed your hand on the panel and the doors would whoosh open.

These guys were laying almost on their backs, operating a steering wheel and projecting colors on a screen high above.

This white mouse appears on a video screen behind the round running cage.  Although the two events are unrelated, the cage spins at various speeds as though the mouse were inside, propelling it.

Kind of hard to tell from the blurry photo but the floor in the upstairs bathroom was uneven and things were at odd angles.  I didn’t try climbing in the toilet to see where I might end up (I think I already know…).

This was a room where everything, floor/walls/ceiling/items on a table were black and white (and in incredible detail).  No tricks, no colored lights.  Just different.

Two of the men in white lab coats, conspiring against us and plotting new rooms, perhaps…

The guy on the right was the one I asked if there was something people typically missed.  He asked me what things I had already seen, then took me to the laser-organ room.

There, a triangular structure in the center of the darkened room had a series of laser beams which went from floor to ceiling.  As you broke each light beam with your hand, arm, or whatever (remember, there are young children present!…) musical notes would play, a different note for each beam of light.

Another black and white room, this one upstairs, set up as a small eat-in kitchen.

And finally, the aquarium, which had lots of primary-colored fish and one big black one.  They were all real fish, very much alive.

 

I spent most of the day Thursday on a train.  I spent about 3 hours today in a bowling alley.  Well, a former bowling alley….

Welcome to Meow Wolf, a 20,000 square foot immersive, interactive art facility located in Santa Fe, New Mexico.  My Airbnb hosts in Las Cruces, NM told me about this place when I stayed with them Memorial Day weekend earlier this year.  This facility represents the work of over 500 artists.  A segment on National Public Radio called it “Pee-Wee’s Playhouse on steroids” (and those of you who know me know how much I loved Pee-Wee’s Playhouse!).

Once inside you enter the Victorian-style home of the fictional Selig family.

And after that, nothing is quite what it seems.  Over 70 rooms with colored lights (including black-lights), secret passages and tunnels.  Guests are encouraged to open doors and drawers, listen at audio stations, and explore the mysteries of Meow Wolf.  There was a laser-organ, which played different notes as people broke the light beams with their hands and arms.  There were some rooms which were all in black and white.  Some rooms had constantly changed colored lights which made the various painted surfaces change appearance.  Enter the closet in an upstairs bedroom, take a spiral staircase down and crawl out from inside the fireplace in the living room.

I was standing in the kitchen reading a note on the refrigerator when two people walked up, said “excuse me”, opened the refrigerator door and disappeared inside it!

And there WERE people in white lab coats spying on us!  They work here, and were scattered throughout the facility to answer questions and help anyone who might need assistance, although they left people alone unless they were spoken to.

I’ll post pictures in the future of people who were reading the note only to be surprised by other guests emerging from the refrigerator.

Meow Wolf is an amazing concept and I hope it spreads to other parts of the country.  I took lots of pictures and will post more in the coming days.  Not all of them turned out to my liking (inside, in dark rooms) but they should give you some idea what I experienced.  It was really cool, and I’m glad my Airbnb hosts in Las Cruces told me about it.

Oh, and I won’t keep you in suspense waiting for this: