“The church at San Miguel del Vado was built in 1806 at the principal vado of the Pecos river on the old Santa Fe Trail. This is where custom taxes on caravans, entering New Mexico, were paid to the Mexican government. The original church is still in use.”
The Lil Men (Daryn and Isaiah) for Easter~ 3.31.2013
I’m resting after a long day of restraint. I don’t know if I’m physically exhausted from being out and about or mentally exhausted from resisting lots of candy and my mom’s frito pies? My aunt kept telling me “but it’s Easter!?” I decided it was better to skip the deep fried chips because the track was closed today. We went by and I was ready to run in the sun, but the locked gates seemed to say “go the heck home!”
We spent the afternoon at a park here in Santa Fe. I grew up playing at that park. It was a beautiful day. The boys had a good ole time running amuck. My sis and I played a basketball game against the two lil men and we lost! When my cousin got there with his two lil girls, I didn’t know what to think!? I’m so not accustomed to frilly/sheer dresses and tights! Haha…. Time for some RnR– hummmm or maybe some cardio!
In October of 2012 we went on our last hike before the winter. Here are some of the breathtaking photographs I snapped as well as a couple of short video clips I put up on my YouTube channel. One of the highlights was a hairy tarantula. None of us had ever seen a tarantula that was not in captivity. It was a bit unnerving but exciting! If you have never been to Tent Rocks National Monument~ it is a must see. I live in such a beautiful state.
“The Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument is a remarkable outdoor laboratory, offering an opportunity to observe, study, and experience the geologic processes that shape natural landscapes. The national monument, on the Pajarito Plateau in north-central New Mexico, includes a national recreation trail and ranges from 5,570 feet to 6,760 feet above sea level.
The cone-shaped tent rock formations are the products of volcanic eruptions that occurred 6 to 7 million years ago and left pumice, ash and tuff deposits over 1,000 feet thick. Tremendous explosions from the Jemez volcanic field spewed pyroclasts (rock fragments), while searing hot gases blasted down slopes in an incandescent avalanche called a “pyroclastic flow.” In close inspections of the arroyos, visitors will discover small, rounded, translucent obsidian (volcanic glass) fragments created by rapid cooling. Please leave these fragments for others to enjoy.”
Information from the BLM web site~
~Amazing Clouds~
Photograph by Felicia Lujan
Tent Rocks National Monument
~Arrows to the Sky1~
Photograph by Felicia Lujan
Tent Rocks National Monument
~Arrows to the Sky2~
Photograph by Felicia Lujan
Tent Rocks National Monument
~Arrows to the Sky3~
Photograph by Felicia Lujan
Tent Rocks National Monument
~Felicia~
Tent Rocks National Monument
~Daryn and Mike~
Photograph by Felicia Lujan
Tent Rocks National Monument
~Big Rock~
Photograph by Felicia Lujan
Tent Rocks National Monument
~Cochiti Lake Recreation Area~
Photograph by Felicia Lujan
Tent Rocks National Monument
~Daryn~
Photograph by Felicia Lujan
Tent Rocks National Monument
~Daryn Hides~
Photograph by Felicia Lujan
Tent Rocks National Monument
~Hairy Tarantula~
Photograph by Felicia Lujan
Tent Rocks National Monument
~Daryn and Felicia~
Photograph by Mike Lujan
Tent Rocks National Monument
~In the Valley~
Photograph by Felicia Lujan
Tent Rocks National Monument
~Layered Beauty ~
Photograph by Felicia Lujan
Tent Rocks National Monument
~Little Cave~
Photograph by Felicia Lujan
Tent Rocks National Monument
~New Mexico Wild Flowers ~
Photograph by Felicia Lujan
Tent Rocks National Monument
~On Point ~
Photograph by Felicia Lujan
Tent Rocks National Monument
~Phallus in Stone~
Photograph by Felicia Lujan
Tent Rocks National Monument
~Rolling Clouds~
Photograph by Felicia Lujan
Tent Rocks National Monument
~Where I Hide~
Photograph by Felicia Lujan
Tent Rocks National Monument
~Through the Crack~
Photograph by Felicia Lujan
Tent Rocks National Monument
~A Tree from Stone~
Photograph by Felicia Lujan
Tent Rocks National Monument
Congratulations to my cousin
Corine Garcia. She has been
working toward a degree in
Albuquerque, and it is time
to acknowledge her success
and tenacity. It seems like just
yesterday that she was
rockin’ her lil fly bike at
grandma’s house! I am very
proud of her. Unfortunately
I missed her celebration this
weekend while I was out of
state, so I wanted to take the
time to tell her how awesome
I think she is! Keep up the
good work woman!
•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•
HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my
brother and sister. I love
you both very much!!!
•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•
Because time itself is like a
spiral, something special
happens on your birthday
each year. The same energy
that God invested in you at
birth is present once again.
~Menachem Schneerson
~Felicia holding her baby brother and sister~ Thomas and Laura (The Twins) in March of 1980~
~The birthday cake with Orchids I made for Shnoop n Loop~
~ToOoo Many Candles~
~Isaiah, Thomas and Laura listen as we sing Happy Birthday~
From left to right: my lil bro Thomas, my grandma Emily, and my brother Brian (retired USAF)
Today I thought about 11s since it is 11.11, but I also took time to think about our veterans. These men and women who are serving and who have served our country are special people. This weekend, my older brother is visiting from Arizona. He recently retired from the United States Air Force. Today I take the time to remember all of the veterans in my family. I also take the time to thank them for my freedom.
Yesterday was “National Boss Day” which has been observed in the United States and Canada since the late 1950s. I didn’t even know until I got the sweet little message below~ handmade by my sister. Laura is awesome on so many levels. She is considerate, smart, funny, and a pleasure for me to be around. She and I could talk for hours about nothing at all and everything all at once. I have always felt that she is the best listener I know. I am always able to talk to her and she genuinely cares about what I have to say. That is a rare trait today. Most people glaze over when I talk to them or would rather pay attention to the world around them. My sister~ she is an amazing woman. She is a professional with class and respect. When it comes to her career as a certified auditor, she is meticulous and constantly strives for perfection. Lately my sister has been exploring her creative side a bit more which I love! She always takes the time to make me feel special. There is really no one like her. I am lucky that God blessed me. In her, I have found my best friend. Marilyn Monroe once said “this life is what you make it. Not matter what, you’re going to mess up sometimes, it’s a universal truth. But the good part is you get to decide how you’re going to mess it up. Girls will be your friends~ they’ll act like it anyway. But just remember, some come, some go. The ones that stay with you through everything~ they’re your true best friends. Don’t let go of them. Also remember, sisters make the best friends in the world.” Ahhhh~ Mz. Monroe~ she was so right!
~~A Hand Crafted Message for Boss Day~~ Made for me by my sister Laura.
Justin was unexpectedly taken from us in a car accident in 2002 here in Santa Fe, New Mexico. I created this movie close to 10 years ago, but tonight I took some time to add a beautiful song by Daughtry titled Gone 2 Soon. In loving memory of a man we lost before we even had a chance to start.
Today is my maternal grandmother’s birthday. I believe she would have been 96 today. My grandma Corine absolutely loved to celebrate her birthday. One of the cutest photos I have of her is with a little helium balloon floating over her while she sported a tiny birthday hat and a big smile. Her birthday and mine fall in the same month as the Fiestas de Santa Fe~ “a New Mexico tradition since 1712.” I wish my grandma would have been around this year to see the Fiestas de Santa Fe mark a 300 year anniversary. She surely would have been celebrating by wearing her silver squash blossom necklace and her favorite “butterfly design” concha belt. Not long ago, one of my mom’s younger sisters passed on my grandma’s belt. The belt has become one of the precious treasures in our family collection which I will preserve and care for until I myself die.
I am sure that my grandma’s concha belt must be at least 30-40 years old. Since she loved to have her picture taken, I was sure I would be able to find a few of her wearing it. The earliest image I was able to find was one taken of her in her front yard in July of 1984. She was obviously already in fiesta mode with her cowgirl hat cocked to the side, some shades, her cowgirl boots, and a denim outfit with her concha belt as the center piece. A couple of weeks ago, I decide to wear the belt. I was surprised to see just how many compliments I got that day. My friend Gail was the first to say she liked the belt~ and I quickly said it was my grandma’s. She told me the belt was likely worth at least $1,000 because of the price of silver. Actually I think it is worth much more than that because one can put no price on intrinsic value. Others complimented me on the belt and said that “the conchas were a unique shape” and that the belt “was very eye catching.” It made me feel proud to think that my grandma had such good taste and style. She was a fashionable woman~ and she always took care of herself right up until her last days by painting her nails and wearing her best jewelry.
Grandma Corine and Felicia
For those of you who don’t know what a concha belt is, here is a very brief history. The first news articles I was able to locate were printed by the Albuquerque Tribune in the late 1950s and early 1960s. At one point, the Duke of Albuquerque helped “the duchess adjust a Navajo concha belt that was presented to the titled visitor by the Fred Harvey Co.” In 1959 the Las Vegas Optic printed an article titled “1959 Fiesta Show Opens In Santa Fe” on the same page where fashion show model “Mrs. R.D. Jameson” was featured. Apparently Mrs. Jameson was “always well groomed” and sported “tailored fashions.” The article said “informally at home or attending to her many duties in town,” Mrs. Jameson was “a familiar sight in her pleated squaw skirt cinched with a concha belt and topped with an always immaculate white blouse held at the neck with a silver conch.” By this time it was apparent to me that the concha belt was culture blind~ it was and may still be in style.
~~Corine Garcia in July of 1984~~ My maternal grandmother strikes a pose “Santa Fe Style” fiesta mode with her cowgirl hat cocked to the side, some shades, her cowgirl boots, and a denim outfit with her concha belt as the center piece.
The only historical article I was able to locate on the concha belt was printed in the 1959 Tribal Fair Edition of the Gallup Daily Independent. This article titled “Navajos Began Concha Belt,” said that these belts have been part of “the southwest for many years and have been also been adopted by non-Indians as part of the casual western style of dress.” The belts “contain a series of mounted stones, usually, turquoise.” and the word concha derives “from the Spanish word meaning shell because of the use of silver medallions, lightly raised in design that are used in rows and fastened to the belt proper, with other-strips of leather.” This article says that the belts date back to around 1860, but I would need to research more primary source documents before I could really confirm any of this.
There were also articles through the 70s and 80s, and by 1990 the New York Times News Service had picked up on the fashion trends of the Southwest. New Yorkers were buying up broomstick skirts and gathered three-tiered skirts with hand-stitched designs. One of these skirts was actually named “The Fiesta.” Wow~ when it came to the concha belt, New Mexico was ahead of the fashion capitals of the United States. If my grandma was alive, I would have loved to tell her that she played an early part in a fashion movement that is still around today. There may have been no better gift to give her for her birthday than that news!?
This month will go down in history. This month my sister Katelin and other ladies from the Pojoaque Valley sliced their way through several volleyball teams to bring home a trophy and two MVP medals. The Elkettes were part of the 2-day~ Penasco Invitational Volleyball Tournament. The tournament took place in Penasco, New Mexico from September 7 thru September 8, 2012. On the first day of the tournament the ladies had a pool play, which is used to establish the bracket. Even on the day of the pool play the Elkettes showed up on top- yes- number 1 on the bracket!
Katelin and Her Team Holding the Bracket Chart with their Brand New Trophy in Front ~September 2012~
After making it through the quarter finals and the semi-finals the town of Penasco received a message. The message was loud and clear from the PHS Junior Varsity team players. They were on their game and they were fit to take the finals from a varsity team in a varsity tournament. I am sure that by this time, Escalante was second guessing the offensive movements of their setter. My sister Katelin’s position is setter. I was so happy to hear that out of 8 teams and close to 100 ladies, Katelin was one of 6 to receive a Most Valuable Player (MVP) medal for this tournament. She was selected by a team of coaches and refs.
Katelin Lujan Holding Her MVP Medal ~September 2012~
Katelin Lujan is Awarded Her MVP Medal ~September 2012~
~Lil Wayne~ Gifting Katelin with a Game Face and Some Heat!
You know I had to ask what Kate listens to to get her game face on? (even thought I know~but for the record ). I mean which beats get her going? She quickly rattled off a list of her favorite artists with Lil Wayne on top as usual! She said that his song “My Homies Still” gets her going, but she also liked to listen to 2Chainz, Big Sean, Nicki Minaj, Tyga, and Waka Flocka. When you need to get focused, there is nothing like music to get you there!!
Our dad was proud to mention that Kate is the only player who plays the entire game as the setter. He said “everyone else rotates out.” I asked him why he thought it was important for her to be a part of a team and he said “because it keeps her mind sharp, it keeps her busy, it keeps her GPA up, and it keeps her physically fit.” Her mom Julie also added “I am very proud of her for being on the team and making MVP.” This flamin’ Lujan from Pojo is a Junior this year, but I am sure she is ready to bring the heat her senior year!
Katelin Lujan, Pojoaque High School #3 Sophomore Year ~2011~
It has taken a while, but I finally have everyone at home in recycle mode. Frankly, now that we are being more conscious about our waste I am a bit surprised. Today we took four garbage bags full of plastic to the recycle center. The bags only contained those items designated a number 1 or a number 2. Now Daryn checks his waste before he throws it away. I am proud of how he has really come along with this. We have also been recycling glass, steel, tin, and plastic shopping bags. I should be recycling newspapers, but I’m not there yet. I think it is because I do reuse them around the house for other things like cleaning mirrors or glass, and in the pup crates. There are always people there at the Buckman Road Recycling & Transfer Station (BuRRT) when we go. The recyclers are almost always older people. It is nice to see them flash a smile at a young Spanish boy while he dumps his plastics into the bin and does his part in loving our planet. I know it makes him feel good to recycle.
Daryn recycling plastic containers today at the Buckman Road Recycling & Transfer Station (BuRRT) in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
The easiest recycle guide for plastics that I have been able to track down came from The Daily Green web site. The site is “A Consumer’s Guide to Green from GoodHousekeeping.com.” Brian Clark Howard created a guide with images titled “What Do Recycling Symbols on Plastics Mean?” He calls it “your guide to figuring out what those recycling codes on plastics mean.” For us it has been a worthy lesson. If you get a chance, check it out and start to or continue doing your part to save our beautiful planet.
Thomas, Laura, Felicia and Jessica Lujan in June of 1983 Arroyo Jacona- Pojoaque, New Mexico
Today I went to the valley to deliver a birthday present to my dad. Now that I am older I can appreciate all the little things about the town I grew up in. There are gorgeous rock mountains which would make a great subject for a work of art. There are so many quirky houses like the one up on the hill where the old track and field once stood. I remember all the stores that are no longer around. The best memory I evoked today was pulled from the smell of motorcycle exhaust. I realized how much the smell reminded me of riding. I could almost taste dirt in my teeth? As soon as I smelled that exhaust, I remembered this cute photo of the twins, my cousin Jessica and I. I was 8 years old going on 9, my brother and sister were 4 years old going on 5, and my cousin Jess must have been about 7.
I have never really been what I would call an extreme girly girl. When I was a youngster I could run hard with the toughest boys in the neighborhood- and hey I can still say that I pride myself on running with the toughest in the gym! I didn’t care if I would get dirty, look messy, or if all the girls liked me. As a matter of fact, there may have been a few who I told to “eat my dust!” Haha… I am almost positive that was one of the many silly phrases my dad made up while we were thrashing the New Mexico earth with rubber tires! Being that we were from the valley, three-wheelers were a regular part of growing up. Most of our friends had them, and me and the twins would beg to ride. We had two 110s- one red and one blue. They were just the right size for us and didn’t have enough power to “throw us around.” Come on? Don’t you know what that means? Both of my brothers still love to ride. Thomas and Isaiah have an armory of bikes for hunting, fishing, camping and fun. Brian and his family love to visit the Dunes with their click.
When I was a kid, on several occasions we took the three-wheelers through the arroyos or “the back way” to Sam and Kim’s house. They were friends with my parents and we would make a day of it. We packed all kinds of stuff in the 3×6 compartment in the rear of the ‘wheeler. Then there were countless times that Laura, Tom and I cruised to Ponce’s to load up on junk. We gathered all the money we could find and would buy candy up the wazoo and maybe put more gas. It was always fun to ride through the river and get covered in mud. A few times I remember getting stuck or stalling out and being really scared that I couldn’t pull start the bike again or that it would simply sink away into oblivion! I would go as far as saying that not one inch of the Pojoaque Valley was left untouched by my family- no matter the season. In the winter, we used the three-wheelers to pull each other on whatever would make a good sled.
When I started blooming into girlhood, I was still in love with riding. We climbed mountains- crossed rivers, raged through arroyos, blazed around trees, passed through sand, and loved every minute. I can’t forget about the time I flipped backwards a bazillion times with my friend Tammy. Now that was funny (right Tam?). There was a big hill at Lino’s house and our parents were having a get together outside. Tammy wanted to take me up the hill (which is no longer there) and I was hanging on for dear life! I think I told her to gas it- and from there it was a blur. We landed up flying through the air backwards and then came to a stop with a mouth full of dirt on the ground. Ouch… We laughed about it when I met her coffee a while back. It was funny because we were so addicted to riding that we just pretended like nothing happened so we wouldn’t get in trouble. Tammy’s glasses were all cracked and crooked and we just got right back on the bike. Haha!
The older I got, the more I loved having a set of wheels to get from point A to point B or B to Z. One of my good friends lived in El Rancho, so I would take the three-wheeler to her house from mine in Arroyo Jacona. Me and Ang would take the three-wheeler to our friend Kim’s and we would meet up with others in our “riding crew!” Kim was another lover of the wheels. I remember her doing some things on her bike that would surely make a boy cry! She knew how to handle her wheels and had mastered the hills near her home. I miss her. Today I was sad to I realize that next year she will miss our 20 year class reunion. She had really been looking forward to it.
Who would think that the strangest smells could induce the most precious memories? When exhaust fumes tickled my nose, I was immediately transported back in time. I guess you never know when, where or what will trigger memories. I am just glad that I now have a means of recording them.
Hillside near the Mora Cemetery where my great great maternal grandfather Roman Valdez was laid to rest. **Photograph by Felicia Lujan (2012)**
**A SHORT BACKGROUND**
Recently I was taken to see a building on the main drag in Mora, New Mexico. One of my oldest Valdez relatives gave me a personal tour of the street in the small town which my maternal ancestors called home, and my contemporaries call home. With the help of Facundo Valdez, I have slowly been collecting pieces of my Valdez family history. There was one particular building I was most interested in that day. It was the site of a former saloon and possible restaurant owned by my family. The Valdez family goes back in that area farther than people can remember first hand, but Jose Maria Valdez was instrumental in securing the Mora Land Grant. In 1851, he and Vicente Romero submitted a petition to secure the grant for the settlers of Mora. On my last visit to Mora, I captured many stories and took a variety of photographs, but for tonight I wanted to share my trials and tribulations with this particular piece of that history.
In 2004, I conducted an oral history interview with Facundo Valdez. In that interview he told me that my great great maternal grandfather Roman Valdez owned a saloon on the main street in Mora. The following week I checked the New Mexico Business Directories and did not find the saloon. I was very disappointed. Shortly after my maternal grandmother passed away in 2007, I decided to check the directories again. I had a feeling that she was encouraging me supernaturally to do so. I couldn’t believe it when I located an entry! As a writer I was very familiar with widows and orphans in typesetting, and to my amazement, I fell victim to just that. I had missed the entry a million times because it was a dangler under the next alphabetical town! My grandmother once told me that she would sing in the saloon as a young girl. I think she wanted me to find that entry and I did. There it was plain as day on page 400 of the 1906 New Mexico Business Directory, which reads “Valdez Roman A, saloon.”
**Archuleta Bar** The former location of the saloon owned by my great great maternal grandfather in Mora, New Mexico. **Photograph by Felicia Lujan (2012)**
**TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS OF MY VALDEZ RESEARCH**
So far I can confirm that there was a saloon named after my great great maternal grandfather Roman Valdez. I have now confirmed the site and have taken photographs of the building which currently stands marked “Archuleta Bar” in black spray paint. This bar was “owned and operated” for over 25 years by Frances Archuleta who passed away in 2003. Her maiden name was also Valdez. In the 1880 Territorial Census, Roman Valdez was living in Herreras (Mora). He was 24 years old, and he was a “farmer.” His wife Porfiria was 21 years old. Here is my problem— I am stumped with the 1900 census records (12th US Census- Precinct 1- Mora County). There are two Roman Valdez men captured there in the same precinct, but I have a strong feeling they are the same man. Not only do they live in the same precinct, they are notably close to the same age? One man is listed as a “Bar Tender,” but was married to a Margarita Valdez. I do not recognize this woman’s name? She was 20 years younger than he, which is significant and there was an Ortega “sister” in the household?
According to a handwritten pedigree chart I obtained sometime back from Gabriel Meléndez my cousin, the Ortega surname is in this line. That chart should be accurate, as Meléndez is the Professor and Chair of the American Studies Program with the University of New Mexico. The age of this Roman Valdez and his profession is right on and in line with the 1906 ownership of a saloon, but what about the other entry in the 1900 census? That entry lists Roman Valdez with his wife, and my great great maternal grandmother Porfiria Maes. Could Roman have been married to two women simultaneously? I am not sure? Since it has been a few years since I have seen Gabriel, I may need to contact him and see what else he has come up with in regard to our family history? By 1915, the Valdez Saloon disappears from the New Mexico Business Directory, and by 1920 Roman was again listed as a “farmer” at 62 years old with Porfiria Maes Valdez (his wife) at 61 years old (14th US Census- Precinct 1- Mora County).
(LEFT) Photograph of my great great maternal grandfather Roman Valdez. The photo was given to me by Facundo Valdez Jr., and was found in Santiago Chapel behind a picture of the Virgin Mary. My great maternal grandfather Alfonso Valdez helped rebuild the chapel for the 3rd time in 1942 along with his brother Candido Valdez and other builders from the Mora Valley who cared to restore it. (RIGHT) Tombstone of Roman Valdez in Mora, New Mexico **Photograph by Felicia Lujan (2012)**
I will need to confirm that Roman died on April 2, 1924. My uncle took me to the grave site and I took beautiful photos of the tombstone and the hillside near the cemetery. Maybe I will ask to be buried there as well? I will need to track down a sacramental burial record and a certificate of death to confirm that he was about 67 years old when he died. He was still very young if that’s the case. So you see there is still so much to iron out, but at least I now have photographs of a site I have been wanting to visit for a very, very long time- the Roman Valdez Saloon.
*****
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Silently, one by one, in
the infinite meadows of
the heaven, blossomed
the lovely stars, the
forget-me-nots of the
angels.
— Henry W. Longfellow
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Basically this blog will have whatever is on my mind more than often in the form of Poetry, but we will see what happens down the line. Sincerely, Taylor Menczynski
A way to put my thoughts into words... May be I am just talking to myself...may be aloud...These are my thoughts in a poetic form, which are very much a part of me and which makes me what I am...
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