February 20, 2003
The eyes have it . . .
Sunday 2/16
I finally pulled into Jemez Springs and found Giggling Star. The cabin I’ve rented is much more than I expected. There are three cabins here, dating back to the 1920s, and a hot spring beside the Jemez River. It’s quiet. No TV. No phone. My cell phone had a “No Service” warning on it, and I grinned as I shut the damn thing off. The cabins have been restored beautifully, complete with fireplace and a deck that looks down on the hot springs and river. Perfect.
Even more perfect is the fact that it’s just across the street from Los Ojos, a bar and restaurant that Lara and I used to frequent during our day trips here in the early ‘90s. PigPen and Crystal would wait tired, wet and panting in our Ford Bronco II while Lara and I would go into Los Ojos (Spanish for “The Eyes”) for a beer and a bowl of incredible green chile stew.
As I walked across the street to return to Los Ojos for the first time in years, I was a little worried. Would the chile still be good? Would the saloon still be smothered in animal pelts and antlers? Yes, on both counts. I ordered enchiladas, stacked, smothered in green chile and a cup of green chile stew on the side. It was just as good as I remembered it. Maybe better. The bar patrons looked like extras from a lumberjack movie, which I always found a bit odd. They’re the true locals here, in this town of Buddhist monks, wayward priests and new age drifters. (Well, I guess the “real” locals are the folks from the pueblo, but that’s another story . . .)
After my dinner and three Fat Tires, I came back to the cabin, lit up a cigar and sat on the back deck, listening to the roaring silence of the Jemez River, the occasional barking of a dog. A brilliant moon came up.
Then I crashed, waking up 10 hours later with plans to explore some local ruins.
Posted by Bob Benz at February 20, 2003 12:03 AM