Another sleepless night on the train. Try sleeping on Amtrak, and then try sleeping on Amtrak while it is sitting still in San Antonio for 7 hours. The train left Austin only an hour late, not to shabby for Amtrak, and got into San Antonio around 10 PM. We all had to get out and look at the skyline and the weird restaurant on the concrete stick that rotates. Everyone on the train seemed restless, and it took a while to separate the people that were there to sleep, and the people that were gonna go out in San Antonio and party it up.
View from the train of mile 812 of Texas.
We eventually consented to sleeping. The kids seem to be able to sleep nicely on the train, but Zac and I get shorted. Sometime in the middle of the night the train coming from the east joined up to our train, and suddenly we weren’t the last coach, but rather the coach in the middle with the seats turned the opposite way. The next morning the conductor came through and made everyone get up so he could turn the seats around, one by one. Amazing! Who knew? Amtrak, so clever.
Rock City here we come!
We entertained ourselves all day, cutting across Texas. Going from trees and green to scrub and desert. I didn’t realize the Amtrak would go through Marfa, but it did! (didn’t stop) We were way south right close to Big Bend National Park. Somehow I missed that in my planning, I would have loved to have stopped there.
Our living quarters in the backyard (thank goodness for our AAA discount)
We got to Deming, New Mexico right on time and moments after we hauled our stuff across the gravel parking lot that is the train station, Dan and Raven showed up. I actually hadn’t met Dan yet, he is the last of Barbara the midwife’s children that I didn’t know. We went straight to a grocery store and stocked up. Then drove the hour to their house, which is somewhere in the Mimbres River Valley. Not exactly Silver City, not exactly San Lorenzo, not exactly Mimbres. Just in the hillside there somewhere. On the way we went to Rock City, which Zephyr thought to mean rock-n-roll city.
We were greeted at the house by Juniper and the two kids: Semilla and Escher. And extra kid Quinn. After unloading our stuff to the guest quarters in the back yard, we sat around until our eyes couldn’t stay open. It was really hot, and dry, and the noises of New Mexico were loud: Cicadas, strange plants, dogs barking, big beautiful sky.
Better than TV, a rope in the living room!
The next day I was planning on going into overdrive to make pizzas for the gig at the Living Arts Studio, but seemed Dan had it all under control. He made a 24 cups of flour round of pizza dough, and just seemed to have the whole thing under control. We mostly stood around and watched, and just made sure we had enough coffee. Dan and Juniper have this beautiful house that used to be a barn, and on the beam in the main room, they have a rope hanging down. It was amazing to see how strong their kids were, and how they could just climb up it like monkeys. My city slicker kids could hang on, but just for a moment. They eventually got the hang of it, but, I tell you. We need a rope in our living room.
hot springs hair style from the neck up
We got all caught up on the fun people we know in common, all about the movies we should see together, Juniper showed us her Mandala Yoga video, which was an amazing combination of group activities for teenagers mixed with art and body movement. Got it? Watch the video
We went to the hot springs and had a soak, and then jumped in the pond which was cold. Just the refresher we needed, and it was good for the kids to watch other kids who know how to swim. I hope it is contagious.
The Living Arts Studio in Mimbres, New Mexico
We headed out to the venue, and boy howdy I was excited to see it! I knew they had converted some old thing into a new and shiny thing, which is an excellent thing to witness. You can enjoy life moving forward without ever having to lift a skillsaw.
The Freakout Dance floor for young kids on wheels
Their building was all new, nice smooth wood floor, a bucket of roller skates for the kids, several razor scooters outside in the bike rack, an old short schoolbus dedicated to kids, the annex for unsettled kids, in case our ROCKING got too loud. If it is too loud, you are too old, or too young. Dan kicked in on the pizza, and soon had some kid friendly pizzas out (you know cheese and more cheese) and the place was moving along. The kids were running in a pack at this point, and the adults were trickling in. We had some pizza, some great conversation, and decided it was time to start the rocking.
What our shadow spirits look like when we play
We played a set, and Juniper turned down the lights and started poi-ing, the kids were running through intermittently (sometimes followed by a stray wolf) and good feelings were flowing like the Mimbres River in monsoon season. The crowd was few, but good, and those who came out seemed to have a great time. Eventually Dan came out of the kitchen and sat down at the drums, and joined our set. We are starting a program in every town we play where we teach someone to be our drummer. Next time we visit he’ll have had time to practice with the CD.
We got to use their New Mexico solar dryer! Totally energy efficient!!
It was hot in New Mexico.  I mean HOT! It was the kind of hot there that you just would sweat by sitting still. I didn’t know this, but this was the worst time to visit the desert. Right before the rainy season, and right after the beautiful spring, the month of June is spent on surviving. With that knowledge in hand, we were grateful that anyone came out at all. It was a fun night, and the kids even got some forward work on their roller skating. It was all fun and games until about 10:30, when kid A takes that last fall that they can’t get over, because they are too tired. We split, and headed back to the ranch.
The whole gang! Next to the century plant that the kids liked to climb.
The next day was spent doing laundry, swimming, and staying indoors till the heat subsided. I must confess the kids spent a lot of time playing video games, which seems like an egregious crime when you are in such a beautiful and strange part of the country, but somehow, I just couldn’t muster the energy myself to take them outside to do something “more constructive”. I can’t say I was a true ball of fun this day, but it was nice to just sit still and stare at the wall. I used to be much better at sitting around for no reason, so even though my impulse was to shoot up out of my chair and direct something, I suppressed it and stayed down. Just hanging out. The good life.
Nothing but luxury for travellers visiting Deming, New Mexico
Then our departure day came, and I knew I was going to have to turn up my internal speed a few notches to gather the energy to repack all our bags and get them in the car, and to deal with all the things about travel that make you uncomfortable. We forgot to check if the trains were on time, and just left anyway. Before we left, like any good mother, I made everyone get together for a group photo. I understand you value those later, and gee, we had such a good time in New Mexico! I needed more evidence!!
The sunset from the viewing car over New Mexico/Arizona
We got to the beautiful amtrak station parking lot, and waited an extra hour and a half. We called amtrak and they assured us the train was ON TIME even though when I called, the train was already 45 minutes late. Those are the things about Amtrak that are so, so, so undeniably amtrak. If Amtrak was a potential mate, you would certainly call it off.
The kids loved the architecture of the Tucson Amtrak Station
We got on the train, and the conductor knew we were coming, and got us four seats together. Too kind! At other points in our travel, no one was there to help us, and what with the kids, it can get a little dicey to be all split up. We went into the viewing car, where an amtrak employee had organized a trivia match that had gotten a little loud! She was giving away prizes and had half of the people in there scrambling to do mental math questions. Festive! We met some folks from Mendocino county, and then it was time to go to bed….. We got to Tucson about 1 hour after everyone had completely crashed out.
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