Albuquerque Museum, Back to Old Town, and a Visit with Family

This morning we went to the Albuquerque Museum of Art and History.  We found out that admission is free on Sunday morning. Free is always good. :)

We wandered through looking at the paintings and reading the backstories about them and the artists.  It was pretty interesting.  We couldn't take pictures inside, but we took some of the sculptures and walk outside.

The best part of our visit was the walking tour through Old Town.  We returned to all the places we had been the other day, but this time we learned the history.

One of the most interesting is a tree behind the church.  From the street, it just looks like a plain tree stump.  When you walk around it, you realize there is a sculpture inside.

We learned from the walk that it was carved by a man who lived across the street after he returned from World War II.  We were told he had said if he made it back after the war he would create a shrine to Our Lady of Guadalupe.  What is even more amazing is that the whole tree was there until about 8 months ago when it was blown down.  However, it snapped right above the statue keeping it intact.

We ate lunch in Old Town and then returned home before we headed out for dinner.  We were going to  see our nephew, Jeremy and his son, Colton.  Our sister in law, Susan, was also there. She had flown in  today to pick up Colton and take him back to Texas for a few weeks.  It was a real treat to see all of them and we had a wonderful visit over a great dinner that Jeremy prepared. Thanks, Jeremy!