5/17/15, “I Shall Return”
Taos, New Mexico (Taos Pueblo)
This is it, my big white whale, the WHS I have been trying to visit
for over a decade now, and it has always been waiting just around the
riverbend. It was definitely worth the
wait, now that I’m finally here. It is
perfect, and I love it here. I don’t
want to leave. Just one small
problem. Reader, remember the Stamps and
Plauqes I mentioned yesterday. Well, the
stamper is broken, and the plaque isn’t the Official one. What do I do?
Do I mope about the fact that I can’t get my stamp and plaque, or do I
forget about all of that and enjoy being where I am. Of course, I chose the latter. This is, I believe, the oldest living Native
American community in the country. For
over 1000 years, Native Americans have been living in this little village,
living much the same for the entire time.
As I sit in front of the river, smoking a pipe, in view of the Great
House, listening to “Just Around the Riverbend” on loop, the magic is not lost
on me.
This trip has been almost
entirely about visiting Native American ruins, but this one stop is not about
ruins. It is an active community, a
living village. For a modest fee, we are
invited into their home, to see how they have lived for over 1000 years. To the best of my knowledge, there is nothing
like it anywhere in the world. Reader,
do you see where I am going with this?
No? Well, what I’m saying is
two-fold. First, I can forgive them for
an unofficial plaque and a broken stamper.
Second, I shall return. What are
the odds that I do not come back to New Mexico at some point in the next two
years? It is my favorite state south of
the Mason-Dixon line, by far.
This trip
will leave a few NPS that I haven’t visited in New Mexico and, quite literally,
a blank space in my WHS passport. I
shall return, and, by then, they should have a new stamper, but I want to
return. I want to return during one of
their events to see more of their culture, to visit the other sites I couldn’t
visit this trip. New Mexico is called
The Land of Enchanment, and it is a well-deserved title. We got a slow start in the morning, but, in
the end, we were at the site only a few minutes after they opened. The fee was steep, even with the nominal
student discount. I asked if they had a
stamp. They did, but it was broken. Fuck!
Couldn’t I just try to use the stamp manually? No, but they had some stickers. They would only give me two. One for the passport, not sure what to do with
the other one. Of course, the simple
answer is that I shall return. Maybe
she’ll write the date in my passport, that would be a good placeholder until I
return. If my mother was here with me,
I’m sure we would have figured it out, just as we have figured it out so many
times before at so many other WHS.
Again, I shall return, and, next time, I’ll call to make sure the
stamper is working before I visit. We
walked around a bit, taking lots of pictures, and I was in total awe of where
we were, the beautiful mountain in the backdrop. Then we saw it. The river.
We started quoting lines from “Just Around the Riverbend,” Connor being
just as much a Disney fan as I. It
wasn’t long before I put the song on, which I have been looping for the past
hour now. I also found the perfect
souvenir, a little big, but perfect, the replica of the Great House. Connor’s brother was in the area, so we
agreed he’d meet his brother for an hour while I came back here to do my
writing. That was exactly what we
did. I found a nice bench with a view of
the river and the Great House, still looping “Just Around the Riverbend,” where
I lit up an Ardor and proceeded to write this entry, which I will now close so
that I can write something in my personal journal and finish this pipe.
Santa Fe, New Mexico
My time in New Mexico is coming to a close, but it does with the firm
knowledge that I shall return. Whether
in a month or three or a year or two, I shall return. Here I am in Santa Fe, the famous, historic
capital of New Mexico, and, instead of writing from the Capitol building as is
my wont when I write in capital cities, I have elected to write in front of the
iconic Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, the most famous landmark in
Santa Fe, perhaps in all of New Mexico. I have found the northern half of New
Mexico to be no less enchanting than the southern half, and this trip was far
more enjoyable, my previous trip marred by personal issues, but I think I’m
finally clean. Reader, if you don’t
catch that reference, well, I don’t think I want you reading my Travelogue. Just kidding, it’s a Taylor Swift reference,
and it has nothing to do with drugs or rehab.
What will my next trip to New Mexico entail? Where will I be in my life? Who might accompany me on the trip? I have no idea, but I know that I shall
return. The next trip might even allow
me to say New Mexico Complete, but that is not a necessary goal. Another interesting turn of events is that
one of my Instagram followers might be meeting us for dinner in
Albuquerque.
After I closed in Taos
Pueblo, I went back to the registration desk and asked about the Official Plaque. Well, turns out they had it but it wasn’t up
for display yet, and she told me they were going to put it up in a month or
so. Well, once the stamper is
fixed/replaced and the Plaque displayed, I shall return. For now, I have enough that I will be able to
say in good faith at Glacier, “Mainland US Complete.” We then headed to Bandelier NM, tarrying a
bit too much on the way, cutting into our already tight schedule. I had wanted an hour at Bandelier and half an
hour at Pecos. It was now looking like
half an hour at each site, if we didn’t stop for food, but I was starving. We didn’t even see anyplace to stop. Fortunately there was a snack bar at
Bandelier. We spent about an hour there,
enjoying the ruins and the views.
Including the time to eat, we spent about an hour there, which meant we
were looking at precisely a 4 PM arrival at Pecos NHP, and I was getting hungry
again. I don’t why I’ve been so hungry
this trip, having four big meals a day.
I had lit up my smallest cigar, an Aging Room, for the thirty minutes we
spent walking around Bandelier NM, and I saved the rest for Pecos. I called to ask if it was possible to get the
stamps like at 3:59 PM and then walk around for a few minutes. She said they locked the gate right at 4
PM. Fuck! We went for it anyway. It was 3:58 PM when we pulled into the
parking lot, which was still filled with cars, a good sign. I got out of the car and grabbed my cigar
while Connor parked. I saw someone
coming out, another good sign. I then
heard a click, a bad sign. The door was
locked, a very bad sign. She opened the
door, saying they were closed. I showed
her the clock on my phone. 3:59 PM. She let me in, and even let me buy the pin
while I got my stamp. Perfect. I did everything else that I needed to do to
make it Official, possibly making it my shortest NPS hit ever, including
relighting the cigar and taking a ceremonial picture. We then went to leave, but the gate was
locked. Fortunately, someone was coming
the other direction. She let us out.
We stopped at DQ for a very late lunch before
we headed to Santa Fe, straight to the Capitol Building, where we took our
Official pictures, and I lit up an Opus X.
Our next stop was the Plaza, and Connor wanted to drive. I walked and, due to issues with parking, got
there long before he did. We went back
to the car to get my laptop and headed to the Cathedral, where I proceeded to
write this entry, which I will now close so that I can find Connor at the gift
shop and get my souvenirs before we head back to Albuquerque.
Albuquerque International Sunport, New Mexico (ABQ)
Here it is, the triumphant airport entry, time to close out the
trip. Well, technically I’m sitting
outside the aiport, so I won’t be able to formally close out the trip until I
get to my gate, but I can do the reflections here. I have already done most of my reflecting,
but what I have not really reflected on is the joy of travelling with a good
friend. When I last went to New Mexico
three months ago I did not know Connor at all.
I had seen him once through our mutual friend, and, within three months,
the three of us become “the three best friends.” The person whom I call my best friend, well
he is engaged, and I barely ever see him anymore. In fact, over those three months I just saw
him once. The other two people whom I
might consider to be among the people I call my best friends are the two girls
I love like sisters. There is almost
nothing I would not do for either of them, but one lives in Florida, and I
haven’t seen her in over six months, haven’t spoken to her on the phone in four
months, but we text every day, and that is more than I can say of any of my
female cousins or my brother’s fiancée, whom I call “my sister.” The other girl, we used to text every day,
too, but we’ve stopped. I have brunch
with her and her fiancé about once a month, but we never hang out for any kind
of extended time.
By most definitions,
Connor and our mutual friend would have to be considered my two best
friends. Snapchat would certainly agree
by the insane amount of Snaps we send each other. Reader, do you see where I’m going with
this? In the past three months, my life
has changed so much. I mentioned the
Taylor Swift song, “Clean,” and that’s exactly what that is about. After my breakup in January, I immediately
turned to my two female friends for comfort, no, not physical comfort,
emotional comfort, which they both readily provided. They both said exactly what I needed to
hear. One called my ex “dumb and
annoying,” the other said I was one of the most “genuine” guys that she’d ever
met. In short, what they were both
saying was that I was too good for my ex, and they were right.
However, I was not ready to move on. One provided me with the emotional comfort I
needed and, as long as she was texting me every day, I could ignore the pain
that I knew was inches away from sweeping in.
Actually, no, it was not emotional comfort that she was providing
me. It was distractions, texting me
every day about Taylor and Disney and Harry Potter and movies. It was exactly what I needed, a change of
pace. I embarked on my Oscar quest,
something to thoroughly distract me. It
worked, for a while, but the pain was always inches away. While I was in New Mexico last time, it came
rushing in, and it almost ruined the whole trip. My female friends were only able to keep the
pain at bay for so long, not that they know what they did for me, and I doubt
they are reading this entry.
To truly
forget about the pain, to move on, I needed the company of my male friends, and
the three of us started hanging out almost every night for about three months,
now, drinking and watching movies, mostly Disney movies. It was truly the change in pace I
needed. About a month ago, I started
dating again, since I was truly ready to move on, and things look promising in
that regard. All in all, I have managed
to put the pieces of my life together in the past three months, to stop using
my female friends as crutches, to develop genuine friendships with my male
friends, to look to enter again a meaningful relationship with someone who
won’t toy with my emotions. In other
words, I think I’m finally clean.
To
that end, what about travelling with Connor?
We had a great time together, all the phone we have together hanging out
amplified over the 50 or so hours we’ve spent together, not fighting at all. We share the same tastes in music and food,
and he was fine with my agenda, so we had little to fight about. We enjoyed hearing each other’s stories, we
got all of each other’s jokes, and we played along with all of each other’s
pranks. In short, he was practically the
perfect travelling companion. That is
not to diminish the other travelling companions I’ve had, but my mother is
never going to ask if I want to stop at the river so that we can take Official
Us.
It’s weird, though, we’ve hung
together almost every night for like three months now, and we won’t see each
other again for six weeks. Well, here I
am at the airport, getting ready to close out this trip. After I closed in Santa Fe, we headed to the
gift shop. It’s funny, other than
airfare, souvenirs were the biggest expense of the trip, more even than meals
or the hotel room. I usually buy things
for everyone I know, but I decided not to do that this time, though I might
give away some arrow heads. I just got a
notification that my laptop was going to restart in 15 minutes, so I’ll have to
wrap up.
We headed back to the car, and
I got the text from my Instagram follower, saying that he couldn’t make it and
that we’d have to meet up when he was in NYC, great plan (not being
sarcastic). We headed to El Pinto for
dinner, the most iconic restaurant in New Mexico and had a great meal, three
plates to share, which was actually way too much food. I was surprised how cheap the total was,
since, in my mind, I ate three dishes.
Afterwards, we went to get gas, where I also got my newspaper and headed
to the airport, where I proceeded to write this entry while I smoked an
Avo. Connor sat with me for a bit before
we said our goodbyes. On that note, I’ll
close, since my computer is about to restart.
I’ll have to formally close out my entry once I get to the gate.
Here I am at the exact same gate I am that I found myself almost three
months ago, where I found out a bit of upsetting news that almost brought me to
tears. I will not mention it again,
referring my reader to the original entry.
To think about it, it was really very minor, but I was in a vulnerable
place, and it upset me far more than it should have. It worked itself out a day or two later, but
I was still very distraught by it. Once
I realized that I would be at the same gate, the memory came rushing back to
me, along with the some of the happier memories from the last trip here. Anyway, Connor called me as I soon as I
closed outside, and he told me that I had forgotten my credit card with him
when he had gotten gas, but he was stuck behind an accident. I told him he could mail it to me if he
couldn’t make it in time, as I would not need the card again until I left for
my next trip. He made it in time, and I
went to check-in, breezing through with now line at security. I sat down in the same bench I sat down last
time and proceeded to write this entry, which I will now close, along with
closing out the trip. Next stop: Sweden,
Estonia, and Finland.
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