Ghost Ranch

Ghost Ranch, where Georgia O'Keeffe painted, is only a few miles up Hwy 84. As we drove along, the scenery was reminiscent of Sedona, but as Ken said, "less spectacular." Until we came to a view of the Chama River Valley--definitely spectacular, with colorful cliffs and mesas and views of the mountains beyond, We first visited the Piedra Lumbre Education & Visitor Center, which houses exhibits on geology, archeology, cultural history, and arts. It is also the site of Beaver National Forest, which is the nation's smallest at 1.25 acres.

We enjoyed the exhibits and the panoramic view of the red and yellow cliffs which O'Keeffe often painted, including an outstanding mesa that looks like it's got a layer of wedding cake frosting on top. We learned about the farming techniques of early dwellers who used rock borders to retain rainfall and pebbles as mulch to retain heat in the soil. We saw the New Mexico state fossil, the small Coelophysis (SEE-Low-FY-sis) dinosaur, discovered nearby, and lots more.

Model of Coelophysis

We visited the O'Keeffe Tower, which houses prints of some of the paintings of the artist Georgia O'Keeffe, painted when she lived at Ghost Ranch. There I learned what a Jimson Weed flower looks like (it's white).

Then we got our lunches from the truck and sat on a bench in the shade, watching the multitudes of birds attracted by feeders. Especially enthralling were the hummingbirds in their incessant activity. Sometimes six or eight were at one feeder. One even came and hovered a couple of feet in front of our faces.

We went next to the Conference Center site and checked in at the office. We planned to hike to Chimney Rock, a popular three-mile hike. In fact, we started off with our hiking sticks and water bottles, but got only a few yards before deciding that 2:00 p.m. on a hot sunny day was not the time to make this hike. We decided to come back another time, and meanwhile we visited the anthropology and paleontology museums, where we saw a Coelophysis skeleton. We also saw fossils of alligator like creatures that had bone plates embedded in their skin.

Before visiting Ghost Ranch, we took a side trip along Hwy 84 in search of some boondocking sites to update for Day's End. We also drove through the campground at Echo Amphitheater. We'd like to go back there to take the short hike into the natural rock amphitheater.

After leaving Ghost Ranch we drove to the Abiquiu Dam Visitor Center. It was open this time, and we got a map of the lake, but mainly learned that the Corps of Engineers controls only a small portion of the lake, and there are no hiking trails of note.

This morning we found an eye doc in Carrollton and made an appointment for both of us to get our eyes checked. We also ordered some prescriptions to be delivered to Ed's house.

Tonight we sorted through and organized some old photos, and we played five rounds of Boggle. Ken won the first three, so I'm still playing catch-up, even though I really trounced him on the last round, so that's some consolation.

I got a response from tech support at the company that provides the software for the fingerprint reader on my computer. The program had been malfunctioning, and they sent a link and said to reinstall the software. Yay! Now I can swipe my fingerprint to login to my Windows account!