Muffler Man #4

 Yay, number 5! This lumberjack is outside a hot rod shop (how excellent is that?)

Halloweenie Fun

Remember this? The fab red vintage tractor has gone away, alas, but this super-cool mini-car has appeared. And the creepy pumpkin-head man is now joined by two clowns. How I love this!

Arty

 Also in Santa Fe: Meow Wolf, "an immersive, multimedia art experience." (The name was chosen by pulling random words out of a hat!)

It is located in an old bowling alley, which was purchased with funds from George R.R. Martin, Santa Fe resident and author of the books upon which my beloved Game of Thrones is based.

The official greeter...

 You can see that it is, indeed immersive--lights, colors, music, sounds, interactive elements.

The exhibit is called "The House of Eternal Return," and it is a complicated narrative that starts out in an abandoned house and leads through...well, all of this (and MUCH more!). Here is a good overview of the exhibition.

Unfortunately, I didn't start at the beginning, so I was a bit confused about what I was seeing. And it was VERY VERY crowded, which made it less enjoyable than it might have been.

Still, very cool and quite unusual--very happy I went!

 Clouds. Of course!

 There were still a lot of lovely wildflowers along the road...

 Gnarly.

And these amazing clouds turned into an epic storm that evening--I watched lightning from my 15th-floor hotel room.

An exhausting but wonderful day in New Mexico!

On (and By the Side of) the Road

 On the way from Albuquerque to Santa Fe...

 I see a Yeti in the clouds!

 Um...

 Okaaayyy...

 Huh?

 Cool bottles!

 Wow.

 No, I didn't stop-- the "Mine Shaft" sign was a bit disconcerting!

 What do I spy with my little eye over there?

Oh yeah--roadside dinosaurs! Why? Who knows!

Tinkertown Love

 This is a picture-heavy post: my visit to Tinkertown, which is located on the so-called Turquoise Trail between Albuquerque and Santa Fe. It is a fantastic folk-art environment built primarily by one man, Ross Ward (he was a carnival show painter for 30 years, and obviously he was a talented painter/carver/creator [and collector!]). I spent about three hours here (22 "rooms" in this museum; many of the rooms are built from bottles).

 A collection of advertising mechanical pencils.

 A collection of wedding cake toppers.

 This circus was apparently the first environment Mr. Ward created.

 Scary.

And horses! (This gorgeous animal and a miniature one, too.)

I cannot express how much I LOVE places like this and am so glad they exist in the world! (There was not one digital or computerized thing in the whole place.) Heaven.