{"id":84,"date":"2022-04-27T12:00:43","date_gmt":"2022-04-27T12:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/redrideraz.com\/2022\/?p=84"},"modified":"2024-05-14T12:12:31","modified_gmt":"2024-05-14T12:12:31","slug":"day-three-tucumcari-nm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/redrideraz.com\/2022\/2022\/04\/27\/day-three-tucumcari-nm\/","title":{"rendered":"Day Three – Tucumcari, NM"},"content":{"rendered":"

Some people have told me that the SPOT tracking button isn’t working correctly. \u00a0I deleted the old one and re-did the link SO – hopefully this one will work.<\/p>\n

Did you notice, or already know, that the Arizona Hopi Indian reservation is right in the middle of the Navajo reservation? \u00a0I rode through the Hopi reservation thinking I might check out a trading post or two and maybe find a good deal on an authentic Kachina doll. \u00a0Nope – all of the trading posts are closed – still trying to get the Covid under control up on the REZ. \u00a0Here’s a little information you might not know about Kachina Dolls.<\/p>\n

Kachina Dolls –<\/strong>\u00a0It is a bit of a misnomer to call the Kachina figures dolls. \u00a0The stylized icons are a tangible way to teach Hopi children about their religion. \u00a0Authentic Kachina figures are carved from the root of the cottonwood tree and are painted and dressed to represent one of the over 250 mythical beings<\/a> in the Hopi religion. \u00a0The central theme of Hopi beliefs is the presence of life in all objects that fill the universe. Everything has an essence or life force and humans must interact with these or they will fail to survive.<\/p>\n

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The Hopi Kachina carvers aren’t too happy that the Navajo started carving Kachinas to sell, as this impacts one of the Hopi revenue streams and puts inferior products in the market. \u00a0Most knock-offs are carved of balsa wood and will be much lighter that authentic kachina figures. \u00a0Also the Hopi carved figures are always meticulously carved, painted and dressed; if it looks cheap (or is inexpensive) it’s not an authentic Hopi carved Kachina.<\/p>\n

I wasn’t interested on waiting for it to warm up this morning so I broke out the cold weather gear and was on the road by 8:00 – this is what that looks like.<\/p>\n

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It’s not that good for really cold, but it was 42\u00b0 when I left and the wind chill was below freezing. I wasn’t warm and toasty – but it was certainly tolerable. \u00a0And by the end of the day, the temps were up and the heavy leather was stored.<\/p>\n

Here in Northern New Mexico there is quite a bit of natural gas being taken out of the ground. \u00a0What’s kinda nice here as opposed to other places I’ve seen, they paint the equipment to match the landscape. \u00a0A casual glance around wouldn’t reveal any natural gas wells. \u00a0These tanks and pipes were roadside, but you get the idea.<\/p>\n

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Every time I cross the Continental Divide I try to take a picture. \u00a0Continental Divides are hydrological divides. \u00a0On one side, the water flows into the Pacific Ocean. \u00a0On the other side, it flows into the Gulf of Mexico or toward the Atlantic Ocean. \u00a0The Western\u00a0Continental Divide extends all the way from the Bering Strait to the Strait of Magellan and has mostly very high mountains. \u00a0There is an eastern divide but it is much less prominent<\/p>\n

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I was getting tired of the road I was on so I turned up into the mountains. \u00a070 mph isn’t my idea of fun on a motorcycle – unless it’s in a 45 mph turn. \u00a0The mountain roads proved to be just what I was looking for.<\/p>\n

This is the Abiquiu Lake. \u00a0I looked and looked for a boat somewhere on the water but didn’t see one. \u00a0There’s gotta be some bass in that lake that are just waiting to see that plastic worm dance in front of them. \u00a0Looks like prime water…..<\/p>\n

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Coming down out of the pine trees the first real town is Espa\u00f1ola. \u00a0The Jimmy Dean sausage sandwich I had when I left Bloomfield this morning was long gone and I didn’t want to wander around Santa Fe looking for a place to eat. \u00a0Eating local in New Mexico means Mexican food (of course) and its gotta to include Hatch Green Chilis. \u00a0If you want good advice on where to eat, ask a cop – That’s a Rule. \u00a0I saw a cop car at a gas station as I rolled into town and headed straight toward him. \u00a0He was very helpful, not only did he point me to La Cocina (The Kitchen) but he gave me a menu suggestion as well.<\/p>\n

Jessie’s Combination<\/em>: beef enchilada, cheese enchilada, pork tamale, beans & posole. \u00a0Covered with cheese and sauce Christmas style (both red and green – Hatch). \u00a0Also, served with sopaipillas instead of tortillas – with a honey in a squeeze bottle right there on the table. \u00a0Your meal automatically comes with dessert – Who could ask for more.<\/p>\n

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I ate it all but I was full as a tick<\/strong>. Big shout out to the Espa\u00f1ola cop at that gas station and you can bet that next time through – La Cocina will be on the list.<\/p>\n

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One more last view from altitude and it’s down to the flat land below. \u00a0If it looks kinda hazy, it is.. smokey actually. \u00a0There are several fires burning in Northern New Mexico that have been burning for a couple weeks. \u00a0The wind kept the smoke away from the roads I was on, so – lucky me. \u00a0Another great day.<\/div>\n
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Some people have told me that the SPOT tracking button isn’t working correctly. \u00a0I deleted the old one and re-did the link SO – hopefully this one will work. Did you notice, or already know, that the Arizona Hopi Indian … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-84","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/redrideraz.com\/2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/redrideraz.com\/2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/redrideraz.com\/2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redrideraz.com\/2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redrideraz.com\/2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=84"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/redrideraz.com\/2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":104,"href":"https:\/\/redrideraz.com\/2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84\/revisions\/104"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/redrideraz.com\/2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=84"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redrideraz.com\/2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=84"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redrideraz.com\/2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=84"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}