Latvian Ethnographic Open-Air Museum

The Latvian Ethnographic Open-Air Museum is one of the oldest outdoor museums in Europe and first opened in 1924. It's a bit like Skansen in Stockholm. It's full of building recreations from the 17th to 20th century. They have live demonstrations by folk artisans during the summer but it's definitely not summer now.

It was quiet and mostly closed this time of year, but the price was really cheap to go and check it out. It's just 4 euros for a family ticket during the off season. I see that's about half price, so it isn't expensive any time of the year. It's still fun to time travel in a place like this and I'm sure it's even more interesting when everything's open.

It's accessible from old town Riga on bus 1. That shouldn't be confused with the tram of the same "name" since tram 1 tracks end one stop short of the museum on the other side of the lake. Who gives the same line number to related types of public transit lines? Well, apparently Riga does.

The place is huge since we only saw a quarter of it. I can see a big part of the charm is the natural environment and walking through the trees by the lake. Nature never closes. It just needs us to pay attention to it as we move about. There's always some beauty to be found any time of the year and any weather.

First Week in Riga

I visited Riga for a weekend before moving here, but now we're newly arrived to live here for 3 years. Our apartment isn't ready yet so we're in a hotel for a few weeks. It happens often enough that someone is moving out just as you're arriving, so there needs to be a little time to fix it up for the next occupants. It looks like it'll be well worth the wait.

These pictures show you around the neighborhood of our hotel which is also where our apartment will be: Old Town! The oldest parts of a city are usually the most amazing parts. They just don't make them like they used to. 😜

Pikes Peak

Pikes Peak Colorado is at 14,115 ft / 4,302 meters. I would say it was a difficult hike full of peril, but in reality there's a paved road to the top. It was a bit of a drive but it wasn't difficult. It's also a beautiful drive so it's definitely a treat to experience it.

It's an easy way to see the world from the top of a mountain which is a special way to look at things. You have to see it in person to really get the feel of it since it really defies these pictures and words to describe it. Pikes Peak is a bit like looking out of the window of a plane... without the plane... and standing close to really long drop offs.

Garden of the Gods Powwow

This is a double treat with the Garden of the Gods in Colorado and the 9th Annual Powwow at the Rock Ledge Ranch next to it. The powwow celebrated Native American culture with dancing, food, and vendors. First, here's pictures of the Garden of the Gods.

Pueblos in NM

We passed two Native American pueblos while driving from Santa Fe to Colorado Springs. Puye Cliff dwellings near Española were more rugged and authentic with nice views of the area. The actively maintained Taos Pueblo had many shops and tourists but was still interesting to see. We didn't have time for Bandelier since it was further off our route, but I was told by several people that Puye Cliff is better in some ways because it isn't as highly visited. We just did a quick self-guided tour but the guided tour to the top looks interesting.

Santa Fe NM

Santa Fe is a great vacation destination and it was a favorite part of our home leave roadtrip. Wikipedia says "it’s renowned for its Pueblo-style architecture and as a creative arts hotbed" which gives it a distinct vibe of all around cool for me. We were only there a couple of days but this will be worth going back to many times in the future to see all of the stuff we missed.

Chickasaw Cultural Center OK

If you're ever in Oklahoma on I-35 between DFW and OKC then I recommend stopping at the Chickasaw Cultural Center in Sulphur OK. We did during our home leave roadtrip. You can wander around the grounds for free but the museum is well worth the entrance fee. The lunch special for $6 is also good value for some great Chickasaw food. The whole place was a high quality experience. I didn't take any pics inside the museum because it was just too interesting for wasting time with a camera.

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