On Friday, our shorter drive from Eagle Nest to Santa Fe gave us time in the afternoon to explore the Museum of International Folk Art. With more than 130,000 objects from more than 100 countries, the museum is home to the largest international folk art collection in the world. The Girard Wing opened in 1982 with the long-term exhibition “Multiple Visions: A Common Bond.” This exhibit displays approximately 10,000 pieces of folk art, toys, miniatures, and textiles from the 100,000 items in the Alexander and Susan Girard Collection. Susan Girard’s favorite quote, “Tutto il mondo ѐ paese,” that is, “The whole world is hometown” is especially relevant in today’s connected world. The Bartlett Wing featured “No Idle Hands: The Myths & Meanings of Tramp Art,” a remarkable, wide-ranging collection displaying creativity from using only a knife, discarded wood, and V-notch carving. Henry J. Bolieau, for example, cleverly created a frame filled with carved and rhinestone inlaid peach pits. The Hispanic Heritage Wing is showing “Crafting Memory: The Art of Community in Peru.” We were especially impressed with the three-dimensional weavings of Alfonso Sulca Chavez. The exhibit also documented Peru’s difficult historical period from 1980-2000 when social justice activists end up as “disappeared people.” The Neutrogena Wing has a very interesting exhibition on beads that looks at how beads have been used around the world, including by Native Americans. I liked the weasel-tall shirt and leggings of the Blackfeet peoples, a scout coat of the Lakota peoples, and saddle, saddle bags, and saddle blanket of the Lakota Nation. Bead work from other parts of the world that impressed me: a woman’s wedding dress from Pashton, Afghanistan, a Haitian vodou flag designed by Evelyn Alcide, a Yoruba diviner’s necklace from Nigeria, and a sun hat from Kenyah peoples in Indonesia. Finally, let me mention the Mark Naylor and Dale Gunn Gallery of Conscience. Since 2010 this gallery is devoted to the examination of how traditional and folk artists navigate social issues by preserving traditions, expanding traditions, raising awareness, and transforming communities.
Apache Mountain Spirit Dancer
Although we didn’t visit the nearby Museum of Indian Arts and Culture, I spent time contemplating the dramatic sculptures around the plaza. “The Apache Mountain Spirit Dancer” by San Carlos Apache Craig Dan Goseyun is breath-takingly awe-inspiring. Other interesting pieces include “Sacred Knowledge” by Doug Hyde [who we later discovered lives in Prescott], “Prayers for the Future” by Rollie Grandbois, “Courage” by Retha Walden Gambaro, and “As Long as the Water Flows” by Allan Houser.
On Saturday, appropriately on Memorial Day weekend, we drove fifty miles to Los Alamos to learn about this secret city on the hill. At the Los Alamos Visitor Center we picked up area literature and tips about how to use our time. Our first stop was at the Bradbury Science Museum that has exhibits about the history of Los Alamos National Laboratory and its ongoing science and research. In the History Gallery we watched “Racing Toward Dawn,” a 15-minute films about the Manhattan Project and Los Alamos from 1942-1945. In the Research Gallery we learned about the Laboratory’s research in many areas of science and technology to help solve problems related to energy, the environment, infrastructure, and health. In the Defense Gallery Theater, we watched the 16-minute film, “Stockpile Stewardship: Heritage of Science at Los Alamos” which tells about the Laboratory’s mission to maintain aging weapons without nuclear testing. Of course, there are replicas on display of both Little Boy and Fat Man. Interestingly, this museum offers public space for alternative views such as given by Shannyn Greene Sollitt who pleads that “…all beings practice peace.” After lunch, we visited the Los Alamos History Museum, part of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park. Built as an infirmary in 1918 and later used as the guest cottage for Los Alamos Ranch School, the museum is the oldest continually occupied structure in town. We especially enjoyed their special exhibit of 50 photographs covering the life of Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer, the first director of the Los Alamos Laboratory and instrumental in selecting its location.
Cathedral Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi
Ashley Pond, Jr. founded the Los Alamos Ranch School in 1917 and director A. J. Connell ran it until the U. S. government acquired it during World War II. By combining Boy Scouting with first-rate college preparatory academics, the school promoted health, outdoor activity, responsibility to self and others. We were impressed with the massive logs that are part of Fuller Lodge, the Ranch School dining hall and now a public cultural event center. The Romero Cabin was built in 1913 on a nearby mesa, moved to its current location in 1984, and rebuilt in 2010. Adjacent is an ancestral pueblo site. The Hans Bethe House displays Cold War exhibits and proudly displays Frederick Reines’ Nobel Prize for his work at Los Alamos. We were impressed with the size of the Mesa Public Library. We enjoyed the flowers surrounding Ashley Pond. We drove to the nearby Aquatic Center where we hiked the 0.9-mile Acid Canyon Loop. Most of the loop follows a bedrock fire road through open pine stands. The return leg uses a steep trail built around 1920 by the Los Alamos Ranch School.
On Sunday, we attended an hour-and-a-half mass at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi. We had lunch at La Plazuela in the La Fonda Hotel. We walked around downtown Santa Fe, viewing the work of local artisans. Santa Fe is the city different!
A Battling Bishop 