I woke up in New Mexico to a considerable sprinkling of snow on my car. The storm would continue off and on throughout the day. This never happened in Breaking Bad. I slogged down the interstate, in order to avoid high altitudes, and wound up in Santa Fe.
I had high hopes for this town. My first impression of Santa Fe was favorable; despite the commercial stretches, it’s more organic by far than the Colorado suburbs. I pulled into the Santa Fe Bite, recommended by both the Food Bible and the Food Network, and ordered a plate of enchilada. They were… disappointing. I struggled to understand how the restaurant was held in such high esteem. Further reading revealed that I should have ordered the Green Chile Burger, a ten-ounce patty heaped with toppings. At least the enchiladas were healthy and, judging by taste, sodium-free.
I was still buoyant, though, because I had a ticket for another Meow Wolf installation. The Santa Fe location is the original, and was sponsored by a local bigwig named George R. R. Martin. The House of Eternal Return, in many ways, shares the DNA of Denver’s Convergence Station. Both are wild, immersive spectacles; both have fascinating levels of detail; both occasionally spiral out of control and feel disjointed.
I think where the Denver location succeeds, and this one struggles, is in the storytelling. Convergence Station tells a grand story through large visual strokes, like crashed vehicles and stadium-style video screens. I think The House of Eternal Return has a better plot, but it’s smaller in scale and focused on the absent inhabitants of the titular house. This means that most of the story is conveyed through journals, notes, newspapers, etc. I wanted to read every word of these, but couldn’t because other people were patiently waiting to do the same. Everyone wanted the documents, and it turned much of my time into assembly-line, slightly rushed speed-reading. This made me fairly anxious. I eventually gave up and tried to take in the installation holistically, like I had in Denver. It just didn’t work as well.
I tried to rebound in a coffee shop, but it was loud and chaotic, and the coffee was also mediocre. I was disappointed by Santa Fe, and it was cold. I set off for warmer climates. Three long hours of driving fixed my mood and brought me to Roswell. I will try not to get abducted tonight.
“Me and my uncle
Went riding down —
South Colorado, west Texas bound —
We stopped over
In Santa Fe —
Partly because
Was about halfway
And partly because
It was the hottest part of the day…” — John Phillips
I had to laugh when I read that you moved on to Roswell after having been kind of disappointed with Santa Fe. After we had been to the alien museum in Roswell Jeff and I asked ourselves what we expected to find there. Nothing impressed us much at all there. Not really worth the trip. It was just a side-trip on our way to the Casitas de Gila. There was an excellent lunch place there, though: The Cattle Baron, Jeff remembers it as. We had really good sandwiches there. I wonder what your next destination will be. And I just remembered something about Texas, if you are going there. They just passed an open carry no license required gun law. Anybody at any time without any background checks can carry a gun. Be very careful if you go to Texas. And may you not encounter any more snow for the rest of your travels. Love, Grandma
PS Jeff just read that there was a 110 car pileup in Denver because of slippery roads. We are so glad you are out of there! I hope you can stay out of the mountains and start traveling where the weather is warmer! Love, Grandma