Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

When your entire life is steeped in white supremacy, equality feels like discrimination.

Bark louder, little dog.

No offense, but this thread hasn’t been about you for quite a while.

T R E 4 5 O N

Infrastructure week. at last.

Putting aside our relentless self-interest because the moral imperative is crystal clear.

Authoritarian republicans are opposed to freedom for the rest of us.

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Battle won, war still ongoing.

Damn right I heard that as a threat.

You don’t get rid of your umbrella while it’s still raining.

Is it irresponsible to speculate? It is irresponsible not to.

Balloon Juice has never been a refuge for the linguistically delicate.

Peak wingnut was a lie.

Is it negotiation when the other party actually wants to shoot the hostage?

I did not have this on my fuck 2022 bingo card.

The poor and middle-class pay taxes, the rich pay accountants, the wealthy pay politicians.

Jesus, Mary, & Joseph how is that election even close?

Sitting here in limbo waiting for the dice to roll

rich, arrogant assholes who equate luck with genius

We’ve had enough carrots to last a lifetime. break out the sticks.

“woke” is the new caravan.

Whatever happens next week, the fight doesn’t end.

Too often we hand the biggest microphones to the cynics and the critics who delight in declaring failure.

You are here: Home / Politics / Trumpery / Hail to the Hairpiece / Monday Morning Open Thread: NO CHAOS YOU’RE THE CHAOS!!!1!!

Monday Morning Open Thread: NO CHAOS YOU’RE THE CHAOS!!!1!!

by | 121 Comments

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(Drew Sheneman via GoComics.com)
.

Himself being on vacation, and the other Repubs busy hiding out from their voters, maybe we’ll get some peace this week. Rod Rosenstein’s busily trying to clean up some of the nastiest recent messes left behind.

According to the NYTimes, “Reporters Not Being Pursued in Leak Investigations, Justice Dept. Says”:

Rod J. Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general, said on Sunday that the Justice Department was not pursuing reporters as part of its growing number of leak investigations, just two days after he and other department officials had appeared to signal a harsher line toward journalists.

“We don’t prosecute journalists for doing their jobs,” Mr. Rosenstein said on “Fox News Sunday.” “That’s not our goal here.”…

On Sunday, Mr. Rosenstein left open the possibility that reporters could carry some legal responsibility for information published, but said the department had not revised any policy on reporters.

“Generally speaking, reporters who publish information are not committing a crime. But there might be a circumstance where they do,” Mr. Rosenstein said on Fox. “I haven’t seen any of those today, but I wouldn’t rule it out in the event that there were a case where a reporter was purposely violating the law.”…

From the Washington Post, “Rosenstein: Special counsel Mueller can investigate any crimes he uncovers in Russia probe”:

… “The special counsel is subject to the rules and regulations of the Department of Justice, and we don’t engage in fishing expeditions,” Rosenstein said when asked about the probe in an interview on “Fox News Sunday.”

Rosenstein declined to comment on reports that Mueller is using a grand jury in a court in Washington to aid in his investigation but he said that such a step is a routine part of “many investigations.”

“It’s an appropriate way to gather documents, sometimes to bring witnesses in, to make sure that you get their full testimony,” Rosenstein said. “It’s just a tool that we use like any other tool in the course of our investigations. “…

Rep. Adam B. Schiff (Calif.), the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, called Mueller’s impaneling of a D.C. grand jury “a significant development,” noting that it has been more than a year since former FBI director James B. Comey launched a counterintelligence investigation into Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election.

“That means one year later, rather than turning that investigation off, rather than concluding ‘We’ve looked at this for a year; there’s really nothing to see here,’ as the president would claim, instead . . . it’s moving into a new phase,” Schiff said during an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “That wouldn’t be taking place if there was really no evidence, no evidentiary basis to move forward.”…

***********
Apart from wishing for a summer respite, what’s on the agenda as we start the week?

Reader Interactions

121Comments

  3. 3.

    Keith P.

    I’m still somewhat baffled by the idea that a former FBI head would, in the course of an investigation, find evidence of a crime but be obligated to ignore it.

  5. 5.

    Central Planning

    @OzarkHillbilly: I woke up at 4:45 after going to bed at 1am.

    I started watching GOT last week when I woke up early. Just finished S1E2. I like it so far. Almost too much work – I have to pay attention and not read BJ so I know what’s going on :)

  6. 6.

    NotMax

    “Gonna rest my eyes for a few minutes” turned into a delicious three hour nap from which just arose. Now to rustle up something or other for dinner…

  7. 7.

    Immanentize

    Well I may be joining the insomnia crowd. Late to bed, stressful dreams, woken early by my cat gakking on my bed. Joy!

    How goes the platform project, Ozark?

  9. 9.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @raven:

    I became conscious of the incessant calling of rooks from the stand of trees beside the castle. Iron age man was obsessed with these birds. Archaeologists have often found rooks and ravens, the largest of the corvids, buried at hillforts alongside humans.

    What made them so fascinating to prehistoric man? The raven has always been a creature of myth, for its intelligence, longevity (living 25-40 years, Tennyson’s “many-winter’d crow” had the life expectancy of any human in the iron age) and capacity to mimic or follow human behaviour. But not necessarily for its loyalty – a raven is not like a dog. Corvids are cunning, and capable of stealing from an iron age camp.

    In ancient Europe, from Greece to Celtic Britain, raven calls were thought to be messages from the underworld. One can see how: that “caw” has the rasp of death – and prophecy. Apollo is said to have listened to the utterances of a raven. The Celtic raven god, Lugh, was told by his fellow ravens when enemies approached. In Celtic mythology, ravens were one of the creatures thought to be used by shape-shifters, themselves often old women dressed in black rags, known as Morríghan or harridans. Some ravens may have been domesticated by their Druid handlers, like the ravens at the Tower of London today. It would be an arresting sight, the priest with a large raven on his shoulder; for they are large birds, bigger than buzzards. (Such an image has been found at Moux in southern France, as a Gallo-Roman stone relief.)

    But above all, iron age man practised what modern Parsees call “sky burials” and archaeologists, more ponderously, “excarnation”: the exposure of a corpse on a platform or hill so that the bones can be picked clean by scavenging birds, of which the raven would be the largest and most predominant. Only then would the bones be buried, sometimes with some of the birds. There has been academic speculation that at the time of death the Druids may even have summoned the ravens with a special call, much as vultures are summoned by Parsee priests.

    As I stood on Barbury Castle, whose own bones have been picked clean by time to reveal the bare stones of ditch and rampart, and with the ravens calling in my ears, I reflected on how rich and strange the iron age hillforts are. And how little, until now, we have appreciated them.

    -Strolling the ancient hillforts of southern England .

  10. 10.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Immanentize: It rained almost all day but I managed to get all the dead tree limbs down without breaking any of my limbs in the process. So far so good.

  13. 13.

    ericblair

    @Central Planning:

    that’s the good (?) thing about insomnia club – someone is always on duty here

    Don’t forget the contingent on Yurpean time. In the mornings here, we get the West Coast drunken degenerates and the East Coast insomniacs and that’s about it.

    It has its advantages. The daily lunacy from the White House doesn’t really start until well into the afternoon after the start of the socially acceptable drinking period, and the really heavy shit happens when I’m asleep so I have the morning to process it.

  14. 14.

    Immanentize

    @OzarkHillbilly: 20 feet up limbs. I’d say a fine days work. I actually had an image of you sitting on one of them with your saw on the tree trunk side….

  16. 16.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @raven: and speaking of .50 cals, the obligatory:

    His name was Jeremiah Johnson, and they say he wanted to be a mountain man. The story goes that he was a man of proper wit and adventurous spirit, suited to the mountains. Nobody knows where abouts he come from and don’t seem to matter much. He was a young man and ghosty stories about the tall hills didn’t scare him none. He was looking for a Hawken gun, .50 caliber or better. He settled for a .30, but damn, it was a genuine Hawken, and you couldn’t go no better. Bought him a good horse, and traps, and other truck that went with being a mountain man, and said good-bye to whatever life was down there below.

    …

    I, Hatchet Jack, being of sound mind and broke legs, do leaveth my rifle to the next thing who finds it, Lord hope he be a white man. It is a good rifle, and kilt the bear that kilt me. Anyway, I am dead. Sincerely, Hatchet Jack.

  17. 17.

    Immanentize

    I guess the morning update is that no apocalyptic disaster happened overnight. I say Trump.should vacation at least a month at a time. More even. One of the advantages of the legislature in Texas is that they only meet every other year. Less opportunity for mischief.

  20. 20.

    Steeplejack (phone)

    @raven:

    Yours is likely a later model bulked up for bigger game. The original rook rifles are closer to a modern .22. The term “pea rifle” came from the fact that the shot was about the size of a pea.

    / Not a gun nut, just a collector of odd historical information.

  23. 23.

    Dr. Ronnie James, D.O.

    “Trump tweets one thing, staff try to placate media ‘that’s not really what’s’, send 4-5 different messages tailored to different audiences” has been Team MAGA’s MO since the campaign.

  26. 26.

    NotMax

    FYI.

    Former war crimes prosecutor Carla Del Ponte has announced she is quitting a United Nations commission investigating human rights abuses in Syria because it “does absolutely nothing”.
    [snip]
    Ms Del Ponte, a former Swiss attorney general, made her name probing war crimes in Rwanda and the ex-Yugoslavia.

    “I am frustrated, I give up,” Ms Del Ponte told the Swiss newspaper Blick. “I have written my letter of resignation and will send it in the next few days”.
    [snip]
    The brief of the commission is to investigate human rights violations and war crimes in Syria since the conflict began in March 2011.

    It has released about a dozen reports but investigators have never gained access to Syria itself, instead relying on interviews, photos, medical records and other documents.

    Ms Del Ponte says she has never seen such crimes before, not in the former Yugoslavia or Rwanda. Source

  28. 28.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Immanentize: Nah, threw a rope over them, tied it to a truck and yanked ’em down. Much easier and a lot less dangerous. Besides, I have an experienced tree trimmer son for that kind of work.

  34. 34.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @satby: It is a victory, I even did it for a bit last night. Woke up at one, tossed and turned till app 2, woke up again at 3… That was it. Got up. Made coffee, sat out on the front porch for a bit where the crickets were absolutely deafening, could hardly hear the katydids over them.

  35. 35.

    debbie

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    Last night, I had one of those nights where I dream about everything that frightens me (spiders, that kind of thing). I’m already starting to forget all of it, but am going to be dragging myself through the entire day.

  40. 40.

    Central Planning

    @debbie: when I was in the Adirondacks this weekend, I got a picture of a huge spider, almost tarantula sized.

    I’ll submit a picture to Alain, along with a trigger warning :)

  41. 41.

    debbie

    @Central Planning:

    There was something on the news last night about San Diego being invaded by tarantulas, probably because of the heat. A man found one in his shoe and then there was one on someone’s refrigerator (I think). That must have been what set my night off.

    I appreciate the warning!

  43. 43.

    Central Planning

    @satby: I think you’re right. It looked like those, and I think it had an egg sac too. I’m glad the spiders up there are keeping the bugs at bay.

  44. 44.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Central Planning: After the eggs hatch, the mama wolf spider carry’s them on her back. Makes for a funny looking spider and then if you get too close they scatter in every direction. Pretty cool as long as one isn’t an arachnophobe.

  45. 45.

    Quinerly

    Good morning well traveled Juicers! I’ll be chauffeuring Poco through southern New Mexico in the middle of January. We hit Portales, Clovis, Roswell, Alamogordo, White Sands, and Cloudcroft in 2015. Need restaurant, lodging, sightseeing, off the beaten path suggestions for Carlsbad, Las Cruces/Mesilla and Silver City areas….of course, the obvious…Carlsbad Caverns, Guadalupe Mountains National Park, and Gila. Two nights in each area. Also, any El Paso suggestions for just passing through (Tony Lama outlet!!!!). Will be on my way to Bernalillo, NM for a month so pretty much anything above T or C and south of Albuquerque will be day trips. Everyone was so helpful when I was planning that northern AZ and southern Utah drive last February/March. I really loved all the suggestions. This trip will mark my 8th February in NM. All counties covered. Poco’s 4th wild ride around the state.❤??

  47. 47.

    Quinerly

    Randy Newman interview coming up on NPR’s Morning Edition! I ? Mr. Newman. New, very political album out!

  48. 48.

    Immanentize

    @Quinerly: Speaking of Tony Lamas,. I have an almost new (never broken in) pair of Original Tony Lamas in cream with a brown top. Brown tow caps in lizard skin? Beautiful boots. Men’s size 12. I never wore them because, although I am a 12, they were just too small for me.

    Anyone want them? Free to jackels. I would recommend a 10&1/2 or 11 foot size…. Let me know.

  49. 49.

    evodevo

    @satby: Here in Ky we always have a big female or two hanging around the house or the cistern. They kill off cockroaches, etc. so I let them be. Some of them get 3-4 inches in diameter lol

  50. 50.

    Cheryl Rofer

    @Quinerly: On your way to Bernalillo from the south, or as a day trip from there, check out Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge. There will be thousands of sandhill cranes, snow geese, and other birds. Evening or morning is best.

  53. 53.

    raven

    @Immanentize: I have a pair of handmade Acme cowboy boots made in 1971. You traced your foot and sent them off and in 6 months you gots your boots!

  55. 55.

    satby

    @evodevo: I always leave spiders alone. I move them outside if I find them inside somewhere I don’t want them, but never kill them. Anything that eats mosquitoes is my friend.

  56. 56.

    Immanentize

    @raven: Nice. I bet they still fit like a sweet glove. My Tony’s are also handstitched, just not made for my feet.

  57. 57.

    Immanentize

    @raven: in 1861, there were still huge flocks of all sorts of birds in the US. Including pigeons and dove. If that gun really was for birds and not big beasts, it was made to shoot down dozens of birds with one charge.

  58. 58.

    Quinerly

    @Cheryl Rofer:
    Cool! It has been on my list for years but in the past stayed the month in SF or Madrid or Cerrillos. Never could coordinate it as a day trip and so looking forward to it on this winter trip. Also, I will finally do a trip from Bernalillo to Acoma Pueblo. It will the last pueblo on my visiting list. I think the tours that time of year are only on certain Saturdays…probably will do my last Saturday in the area. Going to try to get Chaco Canyon in after I leave the rental. Still struggling with timing on that. Love your state! Keep the suggestions coming! Maybe lunch at “Tune Up” in SF or somewhere on one of my favorite streets….Marcy Street. New restaurant suggestions for SF area???

  60. 60.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Quinerly: I have spent more than a little time in Carlsbad and associated areas. They don’t have any caves there…. to speak of. A couple words of warning, the deer in CCNP are suicidal, especially at night. January in southern NM can be warm and pleasant or as cold as the Antarctic, especially at elevation. Nothing like spending a week underground in sweaty shorts and t-shirt at 68 degrees and come up from the darkness into white out conditions and a howling wind. If it does snow, it won’t stick around for more than a day or 2. You probably already learned this in your many travels down there, just making sure.

    You should go to Carlsbad in summer some time. The evening bat flight can be spectacular. The cave is very nice, and there are several “off trail” tours. IIRC they loan out the necessary gear for those. I don’t remember which one impressed me the most, but there all worthwhile.

    The Walnut Canyon loop road is worth the trouble, with a number of parking spots along it to stop and go for a hike, plenty of beautiful views from the tops of the hills.

    Rattlesnake springs is a nice picnic spot which should be all yours in Jan.

    And for something a little more strenuous but not suited for a dog, the Slaughter Canyon Cave tour is very worthwhile.

  61. 61.

    Quinerly

    @Immanentize:
    I have two pairs of the rubber sole ones, square toes, 15 inch shaft (love me some tall and long shaft?). My favorite fitting boots of my collection (yes, I have weaknesses…don’t judge me). They are the only boot that I feel comfortable just ordering on line (shout out to “Country Outfitters” on line store, great discounts) because they are true to size. Odd that yours are off. I do always buy a 1/2 size bigger in most boots but the Tony Lama woman’s 6 is perfect. Get those boots of yours need a home! “Those Boots Were Made for Walking”? ? ? ?

  63. 63.

    Cheryl Rofer

    @Quinerly: Acoma Pueblo has a website with information about tours. There are fewer tours during the winter, but also fewer people.

    Let’s talk about a restaurant when it’s closer to when you are here. Restaurants come and go at a rapid pace.

  64. 64.

    raven

    @Immanentize: It’s a British made Purdey and sold to “Captain Lowe” of the British Army in 1861. I don’t think he used it here. Also, it’s a rifle, not a shotgun.

  68. 68.

    Patricia Kayden

    @Quinerly: I’m starting to feel jealous about Poco. Lucky doggie. Hope he enjoys the ride.

    @Baud: Why would Trump being on a working vacation deserve lavish praise from GMA? I must be missing something. This is why I watch Parking Wars in the mornings. Can’t be bothered with morning news programs.

  69. 69.

    Quinerly

    @satby:
    That would be so cool. I have a lot of friends out on Highway 14 (Turquoise Trail) in the Madrid and Cerrillos areas. O Felix is over in Galisteo, which isn’t far. We met in February at a favorite breakfast spot of mine…”San Marcos Restaurant and Feed Store” (cinnamon rolls almost the size of a baby’s head!)
    We were both on the move that Saturday so not a lot of time. Let’s start making some plans. I’ll be back and forth in her area and SF. Great dinner spot in Madrid, NM…”The Holler.”

  70. 70.

    Baud

    PSA:. While the Dow has been going up, the dollar has been steadily declining. I can’t say whether that’s good or bad, but American investors aren’t necessarily getting any richer even if they are seeing more dollars.

  71. 71.

    Quinerly

    @Patricia Kayden:
    Luckiest ex street dog ever. Leo made the first 4 trips (hated NM, chow mix, really floofy tail that picked up everything). I will always feel guilty because he died out there on the 4th trip. Undiagnosed tumor on his spleen that ruptured will he was in the casita chilling and I was at “Del Charro” having very cheap margaritas. He totally collapsed within minutes of my return. Had to say goodbye to him at SF Animal Emergency very early on a Sunday AM.

  73. 73.

    Quinerly

    @Gin & Tonic:
    Obviously, CS has a life without us. Time to move on.? In unrelated news, didn’t you have all those great Escalante and Torrey are tips for my Utah trip? Not sure I ever got to thank you. I really loved Torrey and Capital Reef…bad news though for that suicidal turkey at dawn when we were heading to Goblin Valley SP. That still haunts me a bit.

  74. 74.

    bemused

    Taking our 9 year old dog to vet this morning. She has one eye damaged by glaucoma and it looks terrible this morning after the two dogs were digging in ground after some critter. Worried about the eye she still has sight in too. Sigh.

  77. 77.

    raven

    @bemused: Our Lil Bit has awful eyes, cataract surgery on both, no tear glands and 7 meds twice a day for every day of the 9 years we’ve had her. She can see shapes but not much else ad she’s deaf. She’s also perfectly happy and just wants to be scratched and given cookies!

  78. 78.

    Quinerly

    @Cheryl Rofer:
    Acoma has posed a problem for me on every trip. Know that website almost by heart…and phone calls. Spent 3 nights in the El Morro/Ramah area on one trip and was all set to scoot over for the scheduled tour (January). Had a sitter lined up for Poco (Zuni?). Tour was cancelled because of wind and temperature. I think mostly wind, though. Ice storm the next day. I’m going to keep trying. Thanks!

  79. 79.

    bemused

    @raven:

    Our Sammy is perfectly happy and physically active with sight in just one eye. She doesn’t know the difference but to lose sight in other eye would change things a lot for all of us. We also have a consulting retired vet on her case that we talked to this morning and will probably have to up an eye drop if eye pressure is higher. He and our main vet will coordinate.

  81. 81.

    Adria McDowell (formerly LurkerExtraordinaire)

    @Quinerly: Have you been to the Trinity site? Too bad they only have tours in March and October, though.

    There’s a steakhouse just over the NM border near NE El Paso. Right down the road from the Otero County prison. It’s alright. You might enjoy it more than I did.

    Used to live of McCombs in NE El Paso when my husband was stationed at Bliss.

  82. 82.

    satby

    @raven: that’s my old girl Rosie! Bad eyes, hard to control epilepsy, getting a little deaf, skin problems, and she’s 13. But happy as a clam just to hang out with me and her buddy Hershey and get cookies, skritches, and play.

  84. 84.

    Quinerly

    @OzarkHillbilly:
    Yep on missing the bats. Almost was going to skip Carlsbad because of missing the bats, Poco, and caves really aren’t my thang. But, there’s a kennel there. Mostly I flipped on going because of my dad. In 1934, he took a cross country car trip with his uncle, aunt, and grandmother from NC to CA to visit another adventurous uncle who had moved to CA. They stopped at Carlsbad and when I was little he talked about it a lot. I think it was the highlight of his trip…farm boy was just amazed. I found all tjose pictures of his visit…(on this last trip to NC in the never ending house clean out/organization). Also, found a box of pieces of the actual caverns…travel brochures from his trip where they encouraged people to take a piece home. I remember in the mid 60’s Kindergarten or First Grade taking that box of goodies to “Show and Tell.” Can’t be that close to a place that so impressed my 12 year old dad without checking it out. Thanks for piping in. Now, I’m tearing up a bit.

  85. 85.

    Chris

    @Quinerly:

    “What’s going on?”
    “Ah, these bums won their court case, so they’re renting out my basement tonight.”
    “What bums?”
    “The fucking Nazi Party!”
    “AirBnB Nazis…”
    “I hate AirBnB Nazis.”

  86. 86.

    Quinerly

    @Adria McDowell (formerly LurkerExtraordinaire): I’m always out there in January/February (cheap time to travel, back roads to myself, meet locals). Haven’t done the Trinity site and looks like I won’t. Not sure my timing on hitting El Paso. Not a fan of Texas anyway. I’m hoping to scoot over from Las Cruces to White Sands for a second visit. Poco loved it in 2015. We were there right at sunset. Thanks for piping up.?

  87. 87.

    Denali

    @Quinerly.

    Hope you make it to Acoma. It is a very special one. And keep going west to the Hopi mesas- they are really interesting and not as crowded.

  90. 90.

    Quinerly

    @Denali:
    LOVED THE HOPI MESAS! Spent a lot of time prowling around up there last year. Took back roads north out of Winslow and through that area over to Tuba City and down to Cameron. Felt like I should be looking for Chee of Tony Hillerman fame when I had a fantastic lunch at the Hopi Cultural Center. He was in out and out of that place constantly in the three Hopi centered novels. I was there in snow and ice. That entire drive was surreal. Thanks. Happy memories.

  91. 91.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @satby:

    ha! I woke up at 3:30 but stubbornly tossed and turned until 4:30, then I must have dozed off because next thing I knew it was 6:30. Which felt like a victory sort of.

    So you were channeling my sleep pattern then.

    Good morning!

  94. 94.

    Denali

    @Quinerly,

    By chance we spent the night at Second Mesa and I overheard the desk clerk telling someone about the Harvest Ceremony which was to be held at sunrise. Visitors are welcome, but photographs are prohibited. We got up before dawn and were shown theway to the rooftops before the ceremony begain. It was spellbinding. Yes, there were two golden eagles, teathered not far from us – they were not sacrificed, but were released at the end of the ceremony. The kachinas processed in beating on their drums; others carrieds sheafs of wheaf. We left silently at the end. The ony record I have of this experience is my memory, which has faded, but I am grateful to have been there.

  95. 95.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @Quinerly: Acoma is worth it, so keep trying! Pro tip: If you’re inclined to buy any of the wares as the tour proceeds around the site, do it right away. You don’t get the opportunity to double back to revisit the vendors.

  97. 97.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @satby: ☕ And I hoist mine to the wilds of Indiana! Missouri! Massachusetts! And all other places where the BJ jackals reside.

  98. 98.

    A Ghost To Most

    Each day at dawn
    comes the petulant squawk
    Of the Great American
    Chickenhawk

    /stolen from WaPo comment

  99. 99.

    Quinerly

    @O. Felix Culpa:
    Great tip. Thanks. Here’s a sweet story…when I was 12, my parents and I took a month to drive to CA and back (yes, to see the same uncle all those years later that my dad had visited in 1934). For some reason AAA didn’t route us through Santa Fe and I remember very little about NM (except my mom complaining from the back seat that if “they gave me NM and AZ and told me I had to live here, I would turn it down. (My mom was a solid beach chick, though and through). We were making our way to the big stop…the Grand Canyon when the 1967 Pontiac Bonneville broke down in Grants, NM ( yes, my father drove cars to death, this car was already on its second transmission when the three of us started out). Very long story short, found a run down motel (my mother was very scared of the locals)..it was a weekend…all car places closed…there was a street festival. Might have been the start of my love of all things festival…music, food, arts…(I’m not sure there is anyone who loves to fest as much as I do…at least that’s what “they” say). My dad found some local Native American guys who had a garage and tools…they worked through the night on the car (got it done). Then the next day, my dad’s new friends and families invited us to stay for the festivities. I was over the moon…met a little Acoma girl about my age who was selling her little pottery. Bought a little pot from her and exchanged addresses. We were pen pals for a few letters then lost track of each other. Still have that little pot…it might have been my prized possession of that trip. Stopped off in Grants on 2016 trip…tried to find the little motel that my mom was convinced we were going to be killed in while my dad was working on the car. Had no idea where to look 43 years later.

  103. 103.

    Quinerly

    @Denali:
    WOW. Incredible story. How lucky. I’m reading a great book about Hopi culture. Just a few chapters in it. Just fascinating.

  105. 105.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @Quinerly:

    I’m reading a great book about Hopi culture.

    Title? Author? Inquiring minds want to know. Have you read The Pueblo Revolt? A good read for history of the only successful effort to drive the Spanish out of New Mexico and provides insight into events that helped shape Pueblo culture today. The author inserts himself a bit too much into the narrative, but still worth reading.

  106. 106.

    A Ghost To Most

    @raven: Some bird guns of that era were very large, and used to shoot flocks of birds at a time.

    .50 caliber? Pea shooter next to my .58.

  107. 107.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Quinerly:

    In unrelated news, didn’t you have all those great Escalante and Torrey are tips for my Utah trip? Not sure I ever got to thank you. I really loved Torrey and Capital Reef.

    Coming back in late to say you’re more than welcome. I’ve been to the Boulder/Escalante area three times now, and love it.

    There was one time I was there in March, and went for an overnight hike on Upper Muley Twist Canyon. I was hiking along the ridge there, the “reef” in Capitol Reef, which parallels the Notom-Bullfrog Road, and you can see what seems like a hundred miles east. Entranced by the views I didn’t see the clouds coming in rapidly from the west until I heard some rumbling. I realized quickly that I was hella exposed up there, but there was no easy way down at that point in the “trail”. Kind of a hair-raising time trying to get myself down. Obviously I did, but the storm came in, the temperature dropped overnight and I woke up to snow on the ground and my hat (which had gotten thoroughly wet before I found a sheltered area to set up my tent) was frozen solid.

  109. 109.

    Quinerly

    @O. Felix Culpa:
    I read a couple of books on the Pueblo Revolt when getting reading for the first and second trips out there. Should have read this one last year since I wandered around quite a bit on Hopi lands. This is “The Book of the Hopi” by Frank Waters, written originally in the 1960’s in reprint and used on Amazon (There’s a companion one “The Book of the Navajo” that I also bought). Tony referenced these books in the forwards of the Hopi series and in one other. I’m such a nerd…I study before these trips….for the Taos trip I read about Kit Carson, Millicent Rogers, New Buffalo Commune, and Mabel Dodge. Several books on O’Keefe for Abiquiu adventures. Countless books on the history and settlement of Santa Fe and New Mexico. Love anything about Fred Harvey (a must…”An Appetite for America.”) There’s a great old book written by a resident of Los Cerrillos (Marc Simmons) from the 1960’s…”An Interpretive History of New Mexico.” Read about the Code Talkers in prep for a stay at Window Rock. I’m an odd duck….you are probably sorry you asked about my reading habits. Got a stack of books on Cuba that were ready for a trip that was planned with a now ex from 15 years ago but not taken. Since I travel mostly alone now, I like to know about areas I’m going into. Some base of knowledge to engage in conversation and to ask questions (yes, there’s a notebook in the car with questions).

  110. 110.

    Denali

    @Quinerly,

    Have you toured Abiquiu? I’ve been to the area twice, but tours were full. Been to Chaco Canyon- not a canyon, but fascinating.

    There is currently an O’Keeffe exhibit at the Art Gallery in Toronto – well worth seeing with works from around Abiquiu.

  111. 111.

    MomSense

    Any word on the well oiled trump machine’s response to NOLA flooding and OK tornadoes?

  112. 112.

    tobie

    @Quinerly: There’s a place called ‘cosmic campground’ in Gila that’s supposed to have the cleanest air in the US with virtually no light pollution and hence the most spectacular view of the stars at night. As in Chaco, there’s no electricity there so be prepared to rough it a bit. I haven’t been to the campground but am planning to go in the future.

    P.S. House of Rain is a beautifully written book about the Anasazi. Well worth a look.

  113. 113.

    Quinerly

    @Gin & Tonic:
    What a tale. You are lucky. I did a bit of hiking at Capital Reef but it’s so different when you are alone and/or with a dog. Just can’t be that adventurous. I really liked Boulder quite a bit. Nice stop. I think I recall that it was one of if not the last place in the country to get telephone service. Or something about the mail? Need to refer to notebook. I really wanted to get to that restaurant…”Hell’s Backbone,” I think was the name but was still closed for the season at the beginning of March. Definitely want to get back to Torrey with a friend and a babysitting situation for Poco. Have you checked out Bluff, Utah? Near 4 Corners and Monument Valley….where Bears Ears is. I’m definitely going back there for the hiking…. Comb Ridge.

  115. 115.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @Quinerly: Thanks for the book recommendations. I’m a tad nerdly myself, although you have me beat by far with the notebook questions in the car!

  116. 116.

    Quinerly

    @Denali:
    Several trips to Abiquiu and Ghost Ranch over the years. Spent two nights in the the area last year (very doggie friendly Abiquiu Inn…great restaurant there too…was once owned by the large Muslim mosque in the area that I have also visited when hiking at O’Keefe’s Plaza Blanca..very interesting). Never have done the actual tour of her Abiquiu home, though. It’s a time of year thing but I have peeped over the wall and was asked to leave. Personally, I think the O’Keefe Museum in SF is a bit overrated but to each his own. Love Abiquiu Lake (just gorgeous in the winter) and some of the old cemeteries in the area. A must is the trek to the beer brewing monks at Christ in the the Desert Monastery outside of Abiquiu near Ghost Ranch……and green chile cheeseburgers at Bode’s General Store. Some of the best in the state. Now I’m hungry. Thanks for mentioning Abiquiu.

  117. 117.

    Quinerly

    @O. Felix Culpa:
    That little weirdness was added after the first trip in 2011. I really didn’t plan that trip at all. Thought it would be neat to go to Taos for my 50th birthday that February, in my beat up Subaru with Leo, the dog. I don’t ski and the town was pretty dead…. I was looking for the commune remains from the movie “Easy Rider” (found it and got a tour!) and Earthships. Felt so ignorant about the SW on that trip b/c we get really none of that history in our southern NC education. That’s when the notebook in the car with questions for locals in gas stations and trading posts started…the 2012 trip. Those questions got me to your area and Highway 14 that year……

  118. 118.

    Cheryl Rofer

    “Anasazi” is no longer the favored term. It means “enemy” in Navajo, in the timeless pattern of naming one’s own people “The People” and those on the other side of the hill “Enemies” and other uncomplimentary names. “Ancestral Pueblo” has replaced it.

  119. 119.

    Quinerly

    @Cheryl Rofer:
    Yep…tell that to the Anasazi Inn on Washington.:). I was so busy trying to not offend new friends one year at Santo Domingo Pueblo….I kept thanking them for their hospitality “here on Kewa.” Eva, the lady who invited me into her home for a traditional pueblo lunch (beans, fry bread, hand tied tamales, instant coffee), laughed at me. She said everyone says, “Santo Domingo like the old days. Quit trying so hard.” She was in her 70’s. :). Love your state, Cheryl…..love your posts. Thanks for all you do around here. Sure do look forward to meeting you if we can make it work.

  120. 120.

    DesertFriar

    @Quinerly:

    Here are some suggestions. Post again in December and I can give you an update:

    Accommodations:
    Staybridge Suites or Hotel Encanto

    Attractions:

    Farm & Ranch Museum
    Dripping Springs (at the base of the Organ Mountains – was a sanitarium 100 years ago)
    White Sand National Park
    Zuhl Museum at NMSU ( over 1,800 specimens of petrified wood, fossils and minerals)
    Gila River Catwalk (5 miles from Glenwood, NM)
    City of Rocks (Deming, NM)
    Luna Rossa Winery (Deming)

    Events: (a lot of the events will be published once the University is back in session):

    At the Rio Grande Theater in downtown Las Cruces (1/13 Classic Cinema – Casablanca)
    Flamenco Fridays @ Ramada Palms

    Food:

    Chope’s (La Mesa – has been reviewed by the NYT)
    Challa’s Wood Fire Grill (Mesilla)
    The Shed (Las Cruces – breakfast)
    Indulgence Bakery and Cafe (Las Cruces)
    Milagro Coffee Y Espresso (las Cruces)
    Zeffiro’s (Las Cruces – Italian)
    Thaindia (Las Cruces)

  121. 121.

    Quinerly

    @DesertFriar:
    Thank you. This is so great! Much appreciated. Love the restaurant suggestions…always need them. I had wondered about the best winery in the area…love NM wines (“Everyone talks about my drinking; nobody talks about my thirst.” Kidding aside, my favorite is Casa Rondena in Albuquerque…beautiful grounds! I always try to check at least one out in the area…I had a pleasant afternoon with Poco at one in Alamogordo….Heart of the Desert, I think….pistachios, too.) Had read about the two SPs…City of Rocks and Rock Hound, so they were on my list. Weird reviews on line about Dripping Springs but I’ll take your advice. Think I recall there is a cemetery there, too. I love NM cemeteries! Definitely Flamenco Friday if I’m there then. Haven’t gotten to the point to really get into accommodations…sent emails to a few places to find out if big dog friendly. That Art Deco Murray Hotel in Silver City looks kinda interesting for two nights….other option was a cabin in that area. Kinda want to stay in Mesilla for the Las Cruces leg but a bit costly even in January. Have no idea about the Carlsbad stay…might end of being the Motel 6 so I can splurge in Mesilla. Means a lot that you took the time to post this. Thank you so very much. Let’s stay in touch, if you like. My email is [email protected]. You obviously know the area well.

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