Return to the Son of the Revenge of the Land of Manãna

By Mike Nettleton

So where exactly is the Land of  Manãna? And why is there a picture of a cheeseburger with green stuff globbing out of it on your computer screen? And why does the title of this blog look like the marquee of a very badly made black and white horror film?

(Mike inhales deeply)


Yuh see, it's like this. 



The Land of Manãna is New Mexico; more specifically Albuquerque. This is where Carolyn and I lived for a dozen or so years, met, and commenced to live in sin and then marry in 89. We have many old friends there and visit periodically. Part of the reason is to help with my S.A.D.D's which is brought on by the grey of Oregon this time of year. Another part is the food. We'll get to that in a minute.

Why is it called The Land of Manãna? Well because no one seems to be in much of a hurry there. Take your car to the shop and ask when it will be ready? The answer . . . Manãna. When is the rent due? Manãna. How about that overnight UPS delivery? Manãna.
The exact definition of Manãna is "I don't know, maybe tomorrow, maybe the day after, I'll call you, Ese, okay?

The highlights of this trip, along with catching up with old amigos was a couple of field trips with our friend Faye. We rolled down Interstate 25 to a magical wildlife refuge called The Bosque Del Apache, just south of Socorro. 

The Bosque is home to cranes, swans, geese, ducks, coyotes, deer, cougars and literally thousands of other varieties of birds, mammals, amphibians, rodents and reptiles. (A confession here. The first spectacular shot is snitched from the Bosque's web site. We took the one of the crane. 

The second field trip out of Albuquerque was west to Acoma Pueblo better known as the Sky City. This is typical of the terrain on the way out to Acoma, with towering mesas reminiscent of a Western movie.



Acoma Pueblo is built atop a sheer-walled, 367-foot sandstone bluff in a valley studded with sacred, towering monoliths. Since 1150 A.D., Acoma Pueblo has earned the reputation as the oldest continuously inhabited community in North America.  The mesa-top settlement is known worldwide for its unique art and rich culture. 

 Those fun-loving Spaniards invaded in the early 1600's bringing small pox, Catholicism and tyranny in their wake. Using Acoma Indian slaves they began construction of the massive San Esteban del Rey Mission in 1629. Since there are no trees of any size nearby, beams had to be cut from trees near Mt. Taylor about 30 miles away and transported to the construction site. The priest insisted the trees and beams could not touch the ground and still be sanctified so the Acomas had to hand carry the massive vigas (beams) all the way. It's no surprise that the natives revolted against the Spanish and threw them (in some cases literally) off the mesa several times. 
I said there were no trees up there and that's a small lie. Our Acoma guide, Gary led us to a lone cottonwood in the middle of the settlement. "This," he said "We call the Acoma National Forest. Try not to get lost in it." That Gary. What a kidder. A great guide and storyteller though.

Before I finish, I should explain the cheeseburger. Remember the cheeseburger? (The battle cry of the gastric wars of '97)

At the entrance to the Bosque Del Apache is a run down looking building called The Owl Bar and Cafe. Don't be fooled by it's exterior. Inside is a saloon that could have been lifted right out of a Randolph Scott western movie. (Gasp . . .Randolph Scott!) This place is world-famous folks. Even been written up in The New Yorker and everything. And they serve a green chile cheeseburger that is sublime, transcendent and packed with spicy goodness. About 27,000 calories worth. No pilgrimage to New Mexico would be complete without one (or maybe more) of these babies. Ours was brought to us by a sweet, gray-haired lady who had been waiting tables there since I was in Junior High. You do the math.

Well, I hope you enjoyed this mini-travelogue. Watch this space for more spine-tingling bloggish action. When? Oh, Manãna.