On the road–Ojo Caliente Mineral Springs Resort to Silver City NM

Greetings from Silver City NM–located in the southwestern part of the state, where I am writing this story in our vintage trailer Marion. We’ve just emerged from an experience staying at Ojo Caliente Mineral Springs & Spa, and visiting friends in and nearby Albuquerque.

One of the country’s oldest health spas, Ojo Caliente’s hot spring healing waters evolved from the ancestral mother volcano Valles Caldera, which was formed about a million years ago, following volcanic eruptions, creating material more than 500 times grater than Mt. St. Helens’ 1980 explosions. This climactic display followed the previous 13 million years of volcanic activity, which formed the landscape, including mesas, hoodoos and canyons that dramatically frame this part of Northern New Mexico.

Tewa-speaking Pueblo people live in the area, and the Posiouinge Pueblo once housed the Tewa people from the 1350 through 1550. A current Tewa artist, sculptor Michael Naranjo, celebrated his 80th birthday last August. Blind from war time Viet Nam, Naranjo’s work is celebrated internationally. Please read the link in this paragraph showing a photo of Michael in 1986 touching the face of Michelangelo’s David at the invitation of Pope John Paul II. Descendants of the Tewa refer to the area as ‘Little Eye.’

With this background in mind, Bill and I experienced the land through our senses: smelling the piñon-scented air, feeling the slippery relaxing qualities of the lithia hot pool, with its view of pink tufa cliffs, seeing the blue sky against yellow cottonwoods, hearing the music of Ojo Caliente Creek, and tasting and appreciating the food we cooked in Marion.

Highlights? Meeting Natalie Gaza and her partner Wendy, traveling full time the past two years in a vintage Argosy trailer. Natalie is a retired special education teacher, and now a singer/songwriter who occasionally peforms with an all female acoustic David Bowie tribute band: Lady Stardust.Wendy continues to work remotely with the medical field, using Starlink to stay connected. Natalie and I had a long talk about our experience with special education, politics, and the state of the world while enjoying the lithia hot springs waters.

One morning while Bill and I walked along the bosque–a forest of mostly cottonwood growing along the banks of Ojo Caliente–we met four sisters celebrating ‘Mike’s’ 80th birthday. We chatted with them quite a while and promised to send this story to them. The sisters, part of an Irish Catholic family with 16 children, felt like family–they were so familiar to us. Mike said their sister Kate–“We wish we could shimmy like my dear sister, Kate!”–had passed on, leaving among others, a daughter who lives in Freeland. We promised to look her up.

Fueled by the great energy of the four Irish sisters, we drove to Abiquiu once again–about 45 miles–for another infusion of the ‘high’ we experience there. We ordered tacos at Cafe Sierra Negra and I hugged Ben, our server. I was also gladdened to see the restaurant’s endorsement for president in the upcoming 2024 election.

Next stop was seeing Sharon Garcia, the librarian at El Pueblo de Abiquiú Library & Cultural Center in the tiny hamlet of Abiquiu. We talked a long while about our families in a heart-to-heart conversation.

Stopping by the Tuesday farmer’s market in Abiquiu, we saw Lauren, a friend of our friends Rob and Leslie. Lauren and her husband Chuck joined us for dining el fresco at our Abiquiu campground the weekend before, sharing with us the light shows, including views of the Tzuchinshan-ATLAS comet and a rare display of Northern Lights.

She invited us to stop by and see their place.

First we wanted to see our Cerro Pedernal, the prominent mesa that dominates the Abiquiu Lake campground skyline.

Afterward we followed Google Map’s pleasant AI voice directing us to Chuck and Lauren’s high desert home with vistas. We feel alignment with this wonderful couple. They also have a vacation rental, cozily appointed, Casita de Chuparosa.

The following day was spent walking along the Ojo Caliente bosque–pronounced bō-skay–and Bill rescued a tiny lizard from an abandoned bathroom. A reflective pond at the back of the trail sported a willow with a rope attached to swing out into the lake and plunge in to cool off. We did not take this plunge! We later lounged around the resort’s pool and mineral springs, returning at night to admire the lights on the surrounding rock walls of Ojo Caliente. The lithia pool is so relaxing and makes our skin slippery feeling. I was surprised to see a woman I knew from when I worked at the Whidbey Island Waldorf School. Her children attended the school. Her name is Lynette. I had not seen her in years, yet saw her twice in the same day at Ojo Caliente!

We left Thursday, October 24, for Corrales, near Albuquerque, and parked at Diana Kellerher’s comfortable adobe ranch home. We treated her to dinner in thanks for her invitation to stay at her place. We’d met Diana the year before, in front of Bode’s General Store in Abiquiu. She had stopped by the nearby Fire & Ice food stand. We’ve enjoyed their brisket tacos the past two years. In the year since, we’ve stayed in touch with Diana, who reads This is Whidbey on occasion. The following morning we walked with her dogs–Colin the Border Collie, and Peanut the mixed breed–leading the way along the Rio Grande bosque nearby Diana’s home.

Leaving our trailer at Diana’s we drove to nearby Rio Rancho to visit our former Whidbey friend Juanita Busot-Morgan and her partner Mike. They moved last February to the Neighborhood Life Plan Community.They are pleased to be living in the retirement community, knowing they’ll need advanced care eventually. In the mean time, they enjoy their apartment view of the Sandia mountains which dominate the Albuquerque skyline, the new friends they’ve met and all the activities provided at the community. We’ll see them in summer of 2025 when they visit Whidbey once again.

Back to Diana’s, we hitched up Marion, said adios to Colin and Peanut, and followed Diana to visit the historic–built in 1868–adobe San Ysidro Catholic Church, now used as a venue for community events. Saying our goodbyes we drove to our friends and former neighbors, Claudia Mitchell and Gerard Del Monte. We sat in the front yard before sunset enjoying happy hours and later, dining by candle light with Claudia’s excellent dinners. We talked of many things, and look forward to our visit with our artist friends next year. Claudia had set out some of her paintings for a gallery on Canyon Road in Sante Fe, the Art Mozaik Fine Art Gallery.

Having taken painting lessons for three years with Cary Jurriaans at the Whidbey Island Fine Art Studio starting in 2014, Claudia learned the techniques of painting still life and has since evolved to paint her impressions of what she sees. Besides the sense of being ‘in the zone’ while painting, Claudia said she enjoys meeting the people who buy her art as well. Her pet portraits have a created following.

“I enjoy meeting the people who buy my paintings,” Claudia said.

We talked often about how travel expands our awareness. Claudia and Gerard had once considered living in Portugal, where they had visited, and fell in love with some of the small towns. As they made plans for the move, though, COVID hit and they had to recalibrate their intention which found them moving to Albuquerque. While visiting the beautiful country, they recalled a chance visit to a local fado concert with a woman singing. So that we might get the sense of its haunting gypsy-like beauty, they played a YouTube video from a fado diva, Amalia Rodrigues.

At dinner last Saturday night, Gerard quoted Mark Twain, from his book, The Innocents Abroad, and Claudia researched, and found the entire quote: “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad wholesome charitable views of men and things, cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.” Amen!

With that being said, we left the following morning, driving all day to land in Silver City NM, where we camped 2 1/2 years ago. We noticed the city is showing wear in places, and that there are a number of folks living on the edge. Traffic is loud during the day at our campground, Silver City RV Park.

While having coffee at the city’s heartbeat cafe, Tranquilbuzz Coffee House, we met a beautiful young woman named Katie dressed in camo, wearing a camo cap advocating Harris/Walz as her presidential voting preference. She was taking a break from deer hunting with her partner, and said she was a journalist. We also met a couple of ladies, pickleball amigas, who thoroughly enjoy each other’s company and love the sport.

Now it’s time to have spaghetti dinner with our next door ‘neighbor,’ Becca, whose home burned last November, taking her beloved pets in the fire. The owners of this RV park gave her a break while she recovers. Becca is very friendly and has been embraced by the Silver City community. She said part of it is due to her dog, Ghetti, who charms the locals. He protects Becca with total devotion. Becca regaled us with her knowledge of vintage marbles, some dating back to the 1800s. Check out Becca’s Facebook page, Better Than Yours Vintage Marbles.

Adios, Amigos and Amigas from Cactus Kate and Bajada Bill.