Category Archives: Apple Store

Gathering of Nations POW WOW

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One more day at Enchanted Trails

I was watching the news Friday night and they were talking about the Gathering of Nations POW WOW being held on the University of New Mexico campus.  Before I started fulltiming I had read about this annual event and thought at the time that it would really be neat to attend.

I hadn’t even planned in being in the Albuquerque area at this time, but Albuquerque is the only place in New Mexico that has an Apple Store.  So it was fate that brought me to this city on this weekend.

I decided to stay another day to see the POW WOW and I am really glad I did.

POW WOW at “The Pit”

The Pow Wow was being held in and around what is know as “The Pit”. on the U of NM campus.  Got out my GPS and found where it was located and then just followed the crowd.  This is a pic of “The Pit” which is probably used for indoor sports activities as well as concerts, etc.

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The cost for admission was $17 and another $10 for parking. OUCH!  There goes the budget!  But it was money well spent and where else could I see so many Native Americans in their full dress.

I got in just when the dancing started.  They would introduce each tribe as they came onto the floor.  Some of them had traveled a long distance to take part in the activities.  This is a pic of the participants as they were being introduced.

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I got this pic of some of the women in dress waiting to get onto the dance floor.

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Finally a pic of all the participants on the floor dancing.  I don’t know how they could even move as there were so many people.  All the while the drums are beating loudly and many different types of rattles could be heard.  Their native dress is so colorful.

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Then they started an individual dance competition.  It was really something to see.

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Pose with a bald eagle…

There were many vendors all along the outside of The Pit who were selling their wares.  Lots of jewelry, but also furs, feathers, etc.  They also had a big tent with many vendors in it.  I really enjoyed walking through it.

There was one vendor that was promoting helping injured raptors and they had many that were perched on their hands.  You could get a picture taken with a bald eagle.  This lady would hold the eagle unto they were ready to take the picture.

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Then she would remove it’s hood and they would snap the picture.

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Very cool stuff…

As you can see there were lots of different items for sale.  I would have loved to purchase this but there is no room in my rig for it.  I guess I could have put it on the front of my toad, Billy.  HA!

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There were many other unusual items as well such as all the beads you could even imagine.

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Also special tennis shoes made for a tribe by Vans.  How cool!  I almost bought a pair.  Sorry, it is a bit out of focus.

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Calendar girls…

Then the treat of the day was finding these three beautiful 2013 calendar models who posed for me.  They had a booth inside the tent and each one represented a different month for the calendar and they were gorgeous.

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Had a great day…

I am really glad I decided to stay another day.  I had a wonderful time at the 2013 Gathering of Nations Pow Wow.

Love Trader Joe’s and the Apple Store

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Off to the Apple Store…

I entered the Apple Store on my Garmin and it said it was about 16 miles from the Enchanted Trails RV Park.  I had scheduled my appointment online for 2:00pm.  I got to the store at  1:00pm so I went to the Genius Bar hoping they could take me sooner.  No such luck.  They are very busy and told me to come back closer to the time I had scheduled.

The Apple Store is located in a very high class shopping area know as Uptown.  Lots of very expensive stores.  I did find a Starbuck’s and stopped in there for a coffee and “Very Berry” coffee cake.  Then I just walked around until my appointment.

The Apple Store is really a very friendly environment.  I walked to the back where they checked me in and then they found a seat where I could sit until they could wait on me.  They had all my information regarding my speaker problem with the phone. Within a few minutes I was showing another guy my phone and he was writing all the information into an IPad.  Stuff like what I had done to see if the speaker would work, etc.

He took my phone and said they would check it out in the back and replace the speaker if needed.  He mentioned it could take about 25 minutes.  Within 10 minutes he was back with my phone and demonstrated that the speaker now worked.   GREAT!!  I can now hear when someone is calling me.  That is what a phone is for, isn’t it?

They were very professional and when I asked if there was any charge he said absolutely nothing.

Trader Joe’s in the same shopping center….

I walked out to my car and happened to notice a Trader Joe’s on the other side of the parking lot.  I haven’t shopped at a Trader Joe’s for a long time and had to go.

I usually buy my groceries from a list that I create on my IPhone.  Whenever I think of something I immediately write it down.  I usually don’t buy anything else unless it is on the list.  It usually keeps me from overspending.

However I only had a couple items on my list when I entered Trader Joe’s, but went ahead and shopped the entire store and bought my items that weren’t on my list.  I love eating seafood and if you check out the seafood in Walmart it is rather bleak.  Most times I usually buy any seafood from a good grocery store instead.

However, I did see some great seafood items at Trader Joe’s that I just had to have.  That and a packet of sushi that I used to enjoy many years ago.  I had the sushi for dinner that night.  YUM!  YUM!

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I also bought my favorite Italian Roast coffee.  I used to drink this coffee for many years before fulltiming.

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Very windy…

The rest of the day was very uneventful.  I was glad to get home after shopping as the wind was blowing very hard. New Mexico winds can get rather gusty at times.

Billy as in Billy Goat…

When Jim and I went 4 wheeling in Rockhound State Park he suggested a name for my Suzuki Samurai.  He said it was just like a Billy goat since it could go just about anywhere.  So Billy it is!

My Lazy Daze “The Breeze” as in the song by Lynyrd Skynyrd and Billy.  That sounds cool.  They make a great pair.

Will leave here on Saturday…

Saturday we will be heading north.  I didn’t want to travel on Friday because Amazon will be calling for my interview.  I missed the last time they called because my IPhone speaker wasn’t working and didn’t even here the call.  So they rescheduled it and I really need to get it right today.

I am leaving in the morning and found a Harvest Host winery that I can stay at for the night just north of Albuquerque.  Harvest Host offers many great places to stay like wineries, farms, and orchards and it doesn’t cost anything.  These places are located in every state even Canada and Mexico.  They don’t have hookups but with solar panels who cares anyway.  Besides I need to try a different wine for a change.