Wednesday, 15 June 2011
Arts and Science......
Another day of discovery in amazing New Mexico....a huge, colourful, state with a population of only two-million! We drove north to 'Taos' this morning, a town which we had not previously visited and had no idea what to expect.
Well, its 'small' compared to Santa Fe, but its Historic Plaza is disproportionately large and around ninety percent of its inhabitants are accomplished artists and include some impressive names in the art world.....once regarded as USA's 'Art Capital' it has since (reluctantly) relinquished the crown to Santa Fe!
Taos is also famous for its role in the 'old western' days, having been the 'home' of Kit Carson, who amongst other triumphs finally dealt with Billy the Kid. 
Its also one of those places that attract contemporary celebrities.... Julia Roberts being one of those choosing to live there. But prominent artists and celebrities are not the only residents of Taos and calling-into a local coffee shop we encountered some of the hippies who have chosen to live on the nearby Mesas (where 'rules' simply don't exist!) and who regularly surface in town for coffee!! One famous local community "Hogs Farm" featured in the film "Easy Rider" has now disappeared, but a YouTube clip captures one of its accolites explaining how 'dynamite' was used to 'loosen the bolts' in an old vehicle....'yep', that oughta do it!! In summary, Taos is a wonderful place to visit and probably ideal to reside in! Having spent the morning there, we headed south for 'The City that never was', Los Alamos. Nestled in the Jermez mountains, Los Alamos was established in the 1940's as the international centre of scientific excellence, to develop the world's first atomic bomb. The scientific team was led by 'Robert Oppenheimer', a New Yorker whose personal biography is fascinating.
Los Alamos remains at the centre of atomic research today and its Bradbury Museum is a must-see for any visitor.
And here's the ideal track to play when in this part of the world.....taken from a documentry about a bygone hippy-fest down here..its 'well-chilled'!
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Hi Bill thanks for the pictures and informative narrations and in certain cases the trips down memory lane. We are due to set sail on our five star floating hotel cruise and will return on the 4th July. We wish you a safe return home to the fair Jenny and your 'son and heir David'.
ReplyDeleteWatched the England Under 21 qualifying games and basically somewhat like the new England strip unimaginative lacking in inspiration but the men of the match should be Smalling and Jones. Time to ditch the white strip this is the colour you wave to indicate your surrender.