Albuquerque part3

So this is part three of what will probably be four parts to the tale of ABQ.
The morning of the second day in ABQ was an early one. Oscar needed to wake up to do a prison youth poetry thing and Oscar and I took the opportunity make it an impromptu roast of El Profe(Rich). It's a dangerous thing to put Oscar and I in the same room when starting the dozens. Poor Rich just happened to be the unfortunate recipient. Oscar went off to a meeting and so did Rich. As it was the only day that was light enough during the day I set up a trip to Santa Fe. I called Rich and Fish and Jessica to see who wanted to go. Jessica, Maria, Nina and Reyna were the first ones to get back to me so after a delicious breakfast of poached eggs and goat-cheese on a green chili brioche at a place which I think was called the gold star cafe, we headed off. The drive was a beautiful hour long drive through ever changing landscapes of dusty hills, red mesas, and dark lava outcroppings. When we arrived in Santa Fe we looked at the listings of the museums in Santa Fe. There were a lot of great ones and if we had more time we would have stayed for more but because of time we prioritized and went to the Native American art and culture museum. The museum is nestled on museum hill which lies at the edge of Santa Fe overlooking the mountains. The museum was part of a complex of museums which were all made of red adobe. Inside the museum was amazing, enlightening and emotional. There was everything from ancient pottery to post modern art pieces. The museum is much larger than it seems from the outside so make sure you leave at least two hours for it. We saw most everything but at the end we had to rush a bit. My favorite parts of the museum were the plaques with testimonials, sometimes from the artists, sometimes from experts and sometimes just from native peoples. They were really moving and complimented the exhibits so well.
From there we headed back to ABQ because I had a sack full of prizes for the Nerd Slam. We got there just in time. The nerd slam was held at the National Hispanic Cultural Center underneath two cotton wood trees. It was the biggest crowd I had ever seen for the nerd slam. I would say there were between 250 and 350 people there. All different kinds of nerds had gathered. The trivia portion got off to a rough start but with a little tweaking it got better. Shappy was a great host as always. I read my Sci-fi vs. Fantasy nerd poem which I'll post on the poems page later today. As soon as I type it up.
The rest of the day was great. I ate at a vegetarian restaurant called La Siringitu. It had the best barbecue tofu I have ever had. The greens were really tasty too. Later I got to watch Louder Arts take their second round in a high energy packed bout against Jersey and Urbana. They all did really well, but Rachel Mckibbins took the show with her poem about her relationship with her Mom, amazing as always. The night ended with more craziness as naked guys swam in the pool and ran through the lobby. I was not one of them. The night ended for me in the hotel room talking and arguing with a room full of poets. Yaay.