ENCHANTED SANDS

[Music] good evening ladies and gentlemen this is jack douglas the states that make up the american southwest namely texas arizona and new mexico have at least one powerful common bond their history culture and traditions have been strongly influenced by the spanish mexican conquistadores and the american indian now these colorful ties to the spanish mexican and indian cultures are especially noticeable in new mexico as we will see during the next 30 minutes on your armchair the enchanted sands [Applause] when you first fly over certain parts of new mexico you wonder how the state ever got its nickname land of enchantment from the sky it appears to be primitive a tough terrain of ice and rock and sand but you have to believe it the enchantment is there all right as we'll soon see that huge square in the center of the circle is actually a concrete slab the four corners monument in northwestern new mexico and on this very spot four states meet new mexico arizona utah and colorado as we continue our flight we'll see pueblo after pueblo indian adobe villages now there are 18 inhabited pueblos throughout the state and tens of thousands of indians who do not live in pueblos such as the semi-nomadic navajos throughout your vacation trip to new mexico you will constantly be reminded of the indians history culture and customs and even a trekking line will serve as a reminder and you'll see a lot of the rio grande which has its source in the rockies of colorado and cuts right through the heart of new mexico as it flows southward into texas [Music] this is the way it was in the early 1500s when the spanish conquistadores came to this land in search of cities of gold now this is not a sacred dance but a social ceremonial and among these dancers are represented some of america's greatest indian tribes the navajo the sioux the cheyenne the pawnee [Music] airborne again we're approaching albuquerque new mexico's largest city but not the capital which is santa fe this is the newer sector of albuquerque now we're flying low over the older sector known as old town and here the influence is decidedly spanish mexican old town plaza is delightful a town square that retains the charm and atmosphere of the old world now notice the church in the background the church of san felipe it was built in 1705 or six anyway the first entry in the parish books is dated early 1706 and records the baptism of a child services have been held here at san felipe every sunday since its completion and incidentally its adobe walls are seven feet thick the patio market is more than just a tourist attraction it is old and historic and above all it's a shopper's paradise the signs tell the story the enchanted mesa is a trading post so to speak and one of the most colorful shops in all of new mexico it specializes in handmade indian crafts so fine and unmistakably authentic that many of the shops best customers are discriminating indians our indian beauty is inspecting a piece of fine line pottery from the akoma pueblo and here she examines daily colored necklaces of turquoise seashells and beads these are not expensive and if you've been reading the fashion magazines you know that these indian necklaces are the vogue from fifth avenue to the isle of capri but let's follow this attractive young lady and meet a great native artist this is an earth painting here's the sun lightning summer clouds far away rain the artist is known simply as pablita and her studio is right here at the rear of the store experts rate pablita among the finest native artists of her time can anyone buy these paints no because i have to go in several directions to sacred areas to gather my rocks and sands in the mountains and i grind it up at home on the matari [Music] then i pour it into little small seashell trays and most of these colors come from new mexico [Music] about 15 miles from old town you can one day drive known as the sandia loop drive you'll travel on excellent highways through the cibola national forest higher and higher you'll climb ultimately to sandia crest at an elevation of ten thousand six hundred feet there's a fine ski lodge here at santia peak and even in the off season when skiers are wondering about next year's snow the ski lift ride is well worth the trip most visitors leaving warm and sunny albuquerque come unprepared for the cool altitude so the lodge thoughtfully provides capes for the ladies and jackets for the men moments later you'll be overlooking the rio grande valley as late as may and early june the last snows are still in the process of melting notice the icicles hanging from the bows of that [Music] tree finally the top of the crest and they say that on a clear day which is almost always in new mexico you can see for a distance of a hundred miles well roughly that's four percent of the length of the continental united states and that's a long long view so long that no camera can really do it justice payment springs is a small village in the heart of the jemez mountains on route you'll see adobes you may wish to abandoned some are not also along the wayside wild horses and you know there's always something of interest to see when you drive the new mexico countryside the jemez mountains are of interest not only because of the spring and numerous hot springs but also because the mountain itself is the residue of an enormous long extinct volcano you'll see a lot of professional photographers here photographing models against these fascinating natural backgrounds [Music] this magnificent peak is called battleship rock now i honestly don't see the resemblance to a battleship but it is an inspiring example of nature's majesty santa fe the capitol is noted for its variety of churches this is santa fe cathedral made famous by willa cather's novel death comes for the archbishop now we're approaching the oldest church in america the mission of san miguel built in the time of 1620 more than a hundred years before the birth of george washington yes santa fe is that old and older and on the side street in santa fe you'll see the oldest house in america that adobe dwelling in the center of the picture they measure time in terms of centuries in this proud state of new mexico chimayo just north of santa fe is the church of the nino the christ child and to this church come the parents of small children they place the child's booties before a small paper mache statue of the christ child for these people believe that he walks here at night to give the people his protection about 500 feet from the church of the nino is el sanctuario the so-called church of the holy mud on the side of the church is a rectangle of moist earth or mud and this mud according to the believers has curative powers now look closely and in the background you'll see the crutches and braces of those who came here scooped up the mud and say they were cured of their affliction el sanctuario in chimayo as lovely as a picture postcard [Music] while you're in chimayo you'll want to visit ortega's ortega's the blanket weavers who during world war ii were commissioned by president roosevelt to develop the design for the famed air force division the thunderbirds the man on the right is david ortega the weaving of the chimayo blankets has been done in this village of chimayoni mexico in this manner for the last 200 years the only thing that has changed has been the use of commercial wool in recent years we the ortega family are now in the seventh generation of weavers ortega's is not a large shop there's no mass production here as you can see there are a few looms and with only slight changes this is the way the ortegas have weak blankets and similar goods for seven generations [Music] here on the way to taos is another unusual rock formation this one is called camel rock and the ever present always welcome rio grande the best known of new mexico's pueblos the pueblo known as taos is to be found here seemingly in the middle of nowhere the valley floor is enormous and from a distance you can barely see the pueblo but the sign is reassuring only two miles to go and suddenly there it is like a chapter out of the distant past this is it taos biggest and the oldest of the indian pueblos its most distinguishing feature is that five-story communal dwelling quite likely the first skyscraper apartment building in america ladders are used in place of a stairway which presents a problem for the small fry this group of children is a mixture indians from taos the pueblo and non-indians from the town of taos just a stone's throw away and what a heartbreak it is when you're not old enough to climb down a ladder the taos pueblo dwellers are mainly farmers and here late in the afternoon we saw them returning to their adobes from the fields and farms once inside their homes the rest of the world is shut out of course at night some will walk the short distance to taos the town and more than likely they'll stop in at ramone's room a charming night spot that can't help being intimate because frankly it's too small to be anything but ramon hernandez studied under the great vincente gomez and listening to him play and talk is a pleasant way to spend a night in taos friends i would like to play one of my favorite flamenco timings because it brings the happy feeling of spain into our beautiful new mexico [Music] do [Music] do [Music] in taos don't overlook the kit carson home now preserved as a non-profit museum the great carson hunter soldier scout lived here during the 1850s serving the government as a brilliant indian agent who restrained the war-like apaches and persuaded the navajos to seek the ways of peace this old wagon is a relic of the period but the wood is so rotted and fragile that a sign is posted to prevent it from being ruined visitors are most welcome to tour the home and see the mementos left behind by one of america's truly authentic western heroes kit carson [Music] this too was part of kit carson's domain the zuni mountain almost as flat as a table top nearby is another of the better known indian pueblos the zuni pueblo now this happened to be a sunday and we followed the zuni indian called blueing his friend john and his grandson hiram on their way to church young hiram is justly proud of his beautiful clothes but gee whiz what a time to run into uh-huh a real-life girl well her name is kathy and grandpa blewing prods hiram into acting like a gentleman now watch this adorable meeting they shake hands they're still holding hands [Music] and they were still holding hands and not saying a word when we tiptoed away the zunis are experts in the making of costume jewelry especially work that involves silver and polished stone we found the zunis to be an attractive intelligent people and quite tolerant of pale-faced tourists like ourselves [Music] in the zuni pueblo the monday morning wash generally refers to the outdoor bread oven and not the washing machine while the mint folks stand around admiring her technique mom washes out the char and soot this type of oven by the way is called an arno and we're told it was introduced to the indians by the spanish after the colds are red hot the coals are removed and the bread is baked by the retained heat of the oven [Music] bandelier national monument in northern new mexico is another absolute must on your vacation itinerary yes there's lots of wildlife here and camping grounds and cliffs shaped by the powerful forces of erosion but more important vandalia is the site of the ancient indian ruins in frioli's canyon first though watch as our camera pans the canyon wall notice those pit or pock marks all right here's a closer view now those pit marks are actually caves the homes of the indian cave dwellers there are hundreds of fascinating indian ruins of bandolier ruins that pre-date columbus this round pit which once had walls and a roof is the kiva a semi-sacred ceremonial room of the pueblo people the stairway to the kiva posts that supported the roof of the kiva [Music] an ancient treasure of a different kind uranium ore was found here at haystack mountain near grants new mexico in 1950 patty martinez part indian part spanish made this strike without knowing what he had discovered and the man who helped him mr carol gunderson formerly the mayor of grants tells the story during the summer of 1950 he brought in a box of rocks to my office i dropped him on the floor and told me that he wanted me to find out what kind of rocks they were it so happened that i was able to send these rocks to the santa fe engineering department and they advised me that they were uranium or robs and that was the beginning of a multi-million dollar industry in western new mexico [Music] throughout the west and the southwest you'll find reminders of mining towns that failed no gold no silver and uranium of course in those days was known only to the scientists now this is a typical ghost town you'll whiz by it in a matter of seconds but if you've never seen a ghost town before the first one will stay in your memory a long time they came here with high hopes they built their homes they vanished and left their homes to the mercies of the desert sands [Music] by contrast this beautiful setting is our introduction to one of the truly great tourist attractions of the world and rated by many as one of nature's finest handiworks yes carlsbad caverns is also in new mexico just short of the texas border a guided tour of the caverns takes four hours so we can hardly do it justice in the time we have for example just one room is as high as a 22-story building and as long as 14 football fields a thousand feet underground here's a word of welcome from one of the many excellent guides at carlsbad jack as part of your tour to carlsbad caverns national park we of the national park service would like you to join us and also the people of america here 829 feet underground in king's palace carlsbad caverns and meeting mr frank kendall mr kendall had the experience of coming down in the old ore bucket with early day explorer jim white well i think this is not only the greatest attraction in the state of new mexico but i think it's a great scenic wonder in the whole world nowadays people come from all over the world see these wonderful caves cabins and if you see anyone or which i've done lots of times ask them how they like the trip in the caverns they'd always say wonderful it's a hundred percent attraction but if someone should say well i didn't care much for it you know i think you should have a dadgum head examiner while judging by the popularity of carlsbad not very many people need to have their heads examined now these are just ordinary cavern scenes typical of caves and caverns throughout the world but perhaps the next time we visit new mexico we can really show the folder of carlsbad well our armchair vacation has ended much too soon but we've seen at least a few things worth remembering the indian culture and way of life of today and of the yesterday's beyond recall wild horses and ghost towns historic landmarks and skiing lifts ancient traditions and talented artisans will remember ramones and taos and the home of christopher kit carson natural wonders you can count them by the dozen in new mexico and the people pablita patty martinez blowing little hiram and kathy the outspoken miss the people the places the names the faces they're all here in the land of the enchanted sands [Music] you