June 21, 2009 Sunday
We get an early start and head to Taos, quiet in the early morning and we find the Unity Church located in an alternative school and have a lovely connection with like-minded new friends. We talk to Jenny the singer performing today about the famous "Rainbow Gathering" and she says she is going. She tells us more about it and wets out appetite. You can read more about it on their website – amazing concept! No money involved, no leaders, rainbow of light warriors etc. etc. http://welcomehere.org/

We go to the "Summer of Love 2009" Festival in the Taos Plaza. People dressing like hippies having lots of fun dancing to 60's music in the background.
We then head to Santa Fe to see what it is like. A friend in Taos tells us there is no reason to go there, but we go anyway. As We arrive in the Central Plaza as Myia's sisters call to have our weekly conference call. I ask them if they know where I am and they guess. They say "Isn't that where Father Earl lives?" Fr. Earl is a life long priest friend of the Wannemiller family in Indiana and moved out "west" for his health and to retire some years ago. They don't know where he is but suggest I call our Parish Church to find out his info. They give me the number and I call getting a Sunday answering machine. We also find the historic La Fonda Hotel, which was "The Inn at the end of the Santa Fe Trail". Lovely Spanish architecture, so much history here. Here was one of the paths early pioneers came to this land. We celebrate Father’s Day by having dinner at one of Sunset’s prize winners we stumble onto the Whole Hog BBQ restaurant – delish!

We take a little look around Santa Fe before the setting sun calls us out and back to our river camp by Taos.


June 22, 2009 Monday We awake on our riverside paradise spot and head up toward Taos. As we are driving the "High", mountain road (vs. the low river road) the Sister from the Indiana parish calls and gives us Earls’s contact info!! We phone him and surprise him. We make a plan to go back to Santa Fe to see him later that day! We find out the Visitors Center has wireless, so we spend some time handling affairs and getting out some blog editions. You lucky folks, you! On the way to Santa Fe Gerrit notices that the van's tires are bulging and looking at the rest think it is time for new ones! Good to notice!!In Santa Fe we find Myia's dear friend, Earl.

They haven't seen each for so many years and it is a fun reunion talking about M's childhood days and Earl sharing her secrets and stories with Gerrit. Also catching up on his life and how he LOVES living in Santa Fe, the nature, the people, the space, the sunsets, the mountains, his work as a part time priest and his life as a professional metal sculpture artist. He had been fooling around with "Junk" sculpting" since Indiana, but got serious with a teacher etc. when he came out to Santa Fe. Now he is selling his work. He is very active in the peace movement thru the Catholic Church.

We go to the tire shops to find out about tires. At first good news that we may be able to get some for $40/each. A bargain in our thoughts and experience with this van. As we progress in understanding we find that these are different from the ones we now have and with our heavy load etc. we find we need SPECIAL tires, thicker walls. Of course! And they cost more. Of course! So we decide to call early tomorrow to sort it out and hope to make this a short repair shop. Fr. Earl shows us around town and takes up to one of the best “New Mexican” cuisine at restaurant, La Choza. Really good! In this world they have green (milder) and red (hotter) or “Christmas” (both) salsa. We catch the end of a beautiful sunset and spend the evening having fun talks about politics and religion encountering again the deep kindred spirits we are.

June 23, 2009 TuesdayA good sleep in a bed that doesn’t move, a hot shower, washing clothes, a wonderful visit with an good friend gives us a renewal on traveling. Headline story in the local newspaper is about “Arrests at Rainbow Gathering” and it hasn’t officially started! Story explains later that these are for no seat belts, marijuana possessions, etc. We call around the tire shops and find out that no one has our tires in stock! One says he has to order them from Louisiana and it will take till the end of the week!! But a couple say they can get them nearby and they will be in later today. About $200 vs. the $40 we heard yesterday. And we are glad to get them! Earl takes us to “his” church on the edge of Santa Fe. A marvelous large adobe building which has won so many awards and has some beautiful artwork, much of it done by the parishioners themselves.

One of the sisters at the Church talks We meet our friend Lainie from our SF coaching class for lunch, so good to see good friends, and introduce her to Earl and she takes us to a great lunch restaurant called Counter Culture where we enjoy sitting outside like in Europe. Also very good! We have taken the van into the tire shop for the tires and we get out with literally new wheels for the rest of the trip!! They the rains come. Again, it is early for the “monsoon” season which they can get in these areas, but the cloudy and overcast day makes for easy relaxing and working again on the computer.