July 2015: A Quick Stop in New Mexico Before Exploring Utah in Depth (page 4 of 15)

Hi Peggy,

I’ve been following your travel journal from the start, just like I did with the others, by the way 😉 (I’ve got your 2014 one with Wyoming and Yellowstone bookmarked—our next U.S. project 😉...). It’s funny because just yesterday, on MaryElectra’s journal, there was also a mention of the Classical Gas Museum in Embudo... I *love* places like that, so Route 66 vibes, which reminds me of Hackberry General Store—I really enjoyed that spot last summer. Though I must’ve misunderstood because I thought not everything was for sale.

I’m discovering New Mexico through your journal and MaryElectra’s—such beautiful, authentic architecture. Another state to add to my wish list...

Love the Pow Wow idea—we would’ve enjoyed that too...🙂.

As for your emotion during the mass, I felt the same this summer in Harlem during gospel singing at a small neighborhood church. Before the service, we were also invited to join the congregation for refreshments. The service was at 10:30 AM, and the refreshments started at 9:00 AM. Of course, we didn’t dare show up that early, so we arrived around 10:00 AM. It was such a special moment of sharing and connection—one of the highlights of our trip.

Anyway, thanks for your story and your always-stunning photos 🙂

Hi,

We bought the tickets in August (never bought them so early before...) and got them even cheaper than last year: 654 € per person, and for Las Vegas on top of that! We really couldn’t pass that up...😎

No doubt—at that price, you had no choice! You had to buy them 😛 If I find the same price today, I’m buying them right away!!! But even for Easter break, it’s expensive 😕

But now it’s the hotels that are giving us a hard time—the prices are skyrocketing everywhere!😠 We’re seriously reconsidering the camping option, even though Yannick was always dead set against it until now...

Ouch 🏴‍☠️ Camping...

Hello,

As for your emotion during the mass, I felt the same in Harlem this summer during the gospel songs in a small neighborhood church. Before the service, we were also invited to join the congregation for a snack. The service was at 10:30 AM, and the snack started at 9:00 AM. Of course, we didn’t dare show up that early, so we arrived around 10:00 AM. It was truly a wonderful moment of sharing and communion—one of the highlights of our trip.

Which church was it? Because if we don’t find any good deals on flight tickets for the West, we might head back to New York, this time with the kids. And during our two trips to NYC, we never made it to Harlem, which I definitely plan to fix! Thanks in advance.

Darn, we missed those two chapels!

They’re gorgeous.

Ah, chance or the wrong path—it’s often how you make the best discoveries.

Ouch 🏴‍☠️ The campsite...

What’s up, Virginie? 😮 😉

Hi Virginie

It’s the Kelly Temple Church at 8 East Harlem 130th (between 5th and Madison Avenue). Very few tourists and lots of locals—that’s exactly what we were looking for. We really loved Harlem. For me, it’s one of my favorite neighborhoods along with Greenwich. Beautiful architecture, a super friendly and lively area, and a warm welcome from the locals. I talk about it in my travel journal, but I didn’t take any photos during the service out of respect since it’s not allowed.

😛 😉 For a die-hard camper like you, my reaction must seem odd! I must’ve had an allergic reaction to camping. Too much camping killed my desire to do it again! But otherwise, all’s good 😏

Thanks, Elisabeth. A church that isn’t crowded with tourists—that’s exactly what I was looking for.

I’ll check out your travel journal.

Hi Peggy,

I really love the photos of White Sands with the plants—your kids must’ve had a blast sledding!

For a die-hard camper like you

Not really, actually... Let’s just say that now, I don’t see camping as just a cheap way to sleep. Some people only see it through the "low-cost" lens, and that’s a real shame. It’s all the potential that a night in a hotel can’t offer that interests us. And now, that’s the only way we camp.

I’m particularly interested in your day on July 12th.

Thanks for the plan—it’s super helpful for visualizing the places you’re talking about.

I’m noting where the San Juan de Los Lagos chapel and the San Francisco de Asís church are. It’d be a shame to miss them! They’re really cute.

I’d also love to attend the pow-wow, but we’d need to make sure we arrive on the right dates.

And congrats on those close-up shots of the butterfly pollinating!

See you soon!

Sure enough, I just uploaded our photos from the Gas Museum to my travel journal, and we also spent a good while looking for this place in the village of Embudo, only to find it on the Highway heading toward Santa Fe. But it’s a really nice spot! We would’ve loved to be there during a pow wow—oh well, maybe next time (I’d seen dances during a previous trip to the Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque).

Hi Elisabeth,

It's funny because just yesterday on MaryElectra's travel journal, there was also a mention of the Classical Gas Museum in Embudo... I really love this kind of Route 66 place—it reminds me of Hackberry General Store, which I enjoyed a lot this summer. But I must have misunderstood because I thought not everything was for sale.

I was surprised to read yesterday that MaryElectra had also talked about the Classical Gas Museum since I follow her account too, and I hadn’t seen that part... 🤪 Turns out the explanation was simple—I thought her journal was in my followed discussions, but it wasn’t! So I hadn’t been notified there was a follow-up... Anyway, all this to say it’s actually funny that we both mentioned Embudo, Taos Pueblo, and Chimayo within a day of each other! 😉

Love the Pow Wow idea—we would’ve enjoyed that too...🙂.

Yes, but it was hard to include since the Pow Wow was on Friday the 10th, Saturday the 11th, and Sunday the 12th of July, and we didn’t arrive in Phoenix until Tuesday the 7th... We rearranged the itinerary several times before settling on this version. We wanted to see the Pow Wow but not rush through the parks beforehand... We would’ve needed to arrive in the U.S. a few days earlier to make it work better.

As for your emotion during the mass, I felt the same this summer during gospel singing in a small neighborhood church in Harlem.

I remember—I read your travel journal! 😉

Anyway, thanks for your story and your always amazing photos 🙂

Thanks! 😊

Hi Christine,

the kids must have had a blast with the sled.

Yes, they had a great time, but I think it would have slid even better if the sand had been less damp (after the storms the day before). It was pretty packed down.

And I can confirm what I read in another post today—your comments are always so pleasant and kind... thanks! :)

Hi Jean-Philippe,

It’s all the potential that a night in a hotel can’t offer us that interests us.

Well, in our case, I’ve been trying for a long time to convince Yannick by showing him beautiful photos of sunrises and sunsets (like on your blog, for example 😉)—but so far, the advantages of camping hadn’t managed to outweigh his fear of not sleeping at night... And it’s finally the "low-cost" side that’s tipping the scales this year because most accommodations have seen a pretty steep price hike, I think... But in the end, whatever reasons bring us to camping, I don’t care—as long as I get to try it! And I hope he’ll like it !😉 We’re not going to overdo it, but we’ll try to pick spots where it really adds something. I’ll definitely reach out to you later with some practical questions, by the way!

I’d also like to attend the pow-wow, but we’d need to arrive on the right dates.

In Taos, it takes place every year around the same dates: it’s the second weekend of July.

Hi Chris,

Indeed, I just posted our photos from the Gas Museum in my travel journal, and we spent quite a while looking for this place in the village of Embudo, only to find it on the Highway heading toward Santa Fe.

Yes, I read that now! It’s great to see your photos of the Gas Museum and Chimayo because we still have so many images in our heads, but there are things we didn’t photograph, so I’m rediscovering them through yours!

We would’ve loved to be there during a pow wow—oh well, maybe next time.

It’s tough to plan a trip so that it lines up with multiple events, especially when you can only get away for 2 or 3 weeks... You already had to lock in your dates for Sturgis! But yeah, you’re right—there’ll be another time since there’ll be more opportunities to travel. Wishing you both that!

Hi Peggy,

I’m jumping in mid-conversation. I’ll be following along—your start is really enticing, especially my favorites: the little Chiricahua park and the stunning White Sands. More to come soon! 🙂

This Chiricahua park didn’t seem small at all to me—quite the opposite! It’s a place to get lost or hide away.

A beautiful memory

Small in the sense that it covers 48.5 km² 😏 ... Compared to Death Valley (13,518 km²), I think the term "small" isn’t exaggerated 😏