Museum Walk

Saturday we started two days of visits to the local museums which are located in and around Old Town. You can park free of charge in the Albuquerque Museum Of Art And History and from there walk to the National Atomic Museum, the Natural History Museum, and visit Old Town. Short drives take you to the Botanical Gardens or the Pueblo Indian Heritage Museum. All nice and convenient, and certainly worth the effort.

I've lined up several photos taken on the two day walk about rather than make a separate photo album. I have so many images that I will put them in a photo gallery on Smug Mug.

Dancers



Making Bread



Statues on Museum Lawn



More statues.


Morning Glory Botanical Garden.

Reconstructed farm house Botanical Gardens



Four sections of sub launched missile.



Atomic Bombs can be small.

I'm probably all wet, but I like what I like and the collection of contemporary art in the art museum is easier on my eye than most of what we have seen in other collections, and that includes the Smithsonian.

We also liked the Botanical Gardens and the Pueblo Indian Heritage Museum. The National Atomic Museum is a must see for anyone remotely interested in the evolution of our nuclear weapons arsenal. As an added bonus, the gift shop has a gargantuan collection of funky mechanical toys on sale.

As usual, we haven't taken near enough time to appreciate all this stuff so, I guess, we'll have to come back some day.

Do I need it or just want it?

A year or so ago I got this yen for a turquoise ring -- don't ask why -- and when we were at the Pueblo Indian Heritage Museum Saturday I figured this should be the logical place to  buy indium jewelry. I looked at the vendors lined up outside and inside but didn't see anything that struck my fancy. Sunday evening, I bought a short book called "Turquoise Unearthed" at the RV park store. After reading it I decided that buying anything, in light of my limited knowledge, would probably be a waist of money. So Monday we went to the Turquoise Museum in Old Town in hopes of learning something. It turns out that the book I read was authored by the owner and his son.

The museum is attached to a jewelry store with a large display of turquoise jewelry, bought from private collections, pawn shops, or commissioned from contemporary craftsman. They do seem to be experts. There museum has examples of turquoise from around the world and they have a large lapidary shop to cut and polish stones. Of course I found something I liked; a bracelet not a ring. The bracelet was made by a Navajo craftsman named Darrell Cadman. The store owner said he try's to find new craftsman and they had been handling Cadman's creations for about a year. I liked the design because, to me, it seems more traditional; the newer designs are not to my liking. Much of the jeweler today, looks like it is churned out on an assembly line and has no character.