Travel and Adventure by Various Travel Authors

By Glenda Winders

The story seemed too absurd to be true.

According to the professor in my English literature class, D.H. Lawrence's wife, Frieda, had mixed his ashes with cement and created a block that was on display in Taos, N.M. Sitting in that college classroom decades ago, I pledged that if such a block existed, someday I would see it for myself.

The opportunity finally arrived during a springtime getaway to Santa Fe with my daughter, Lesley. Inquiries around town had revealed that such a block of cement did, indeed, exist, so on a crisp, sunny Saturday morning we headed for Taos.

Against the advice of friends who had suggested taking the "high road" for the panoramic views, we opted instead to drive along the Rio Grande River so that we could visit some wineries along the way, promising ourselves that we'd take the scenic route back. Once in town we fortified ourselves with a plate of nachos and bowls of green chile stew at the Adobe Bar in the Taos Inn and then drove north toward the D.H. Lawrence Ranch on Lobo Mountain, where the ashes were reported to be enshrined. With every turn, the roads became less maintained until finally we were on the muddy, snow-covered track that would lead to the compound. It took some backing up and revving the engine in our rental car, but then suddenly there we were at what was once called the Kiowa Ranch. The small, rustic buildings were locked, but we were able to peek through windows to see what life was like when Lawrence and his friends were in residence.

The memorial was an undersized stucco building with narrow double doors held shut by means of an open padlock. We slipped inside and found the block of cement that may or may not be D.H. Lawrence's final resting place. (Scholars still disagree. Some believe the man Frieda married after Lawrence's death disposed of the ashes in France, where the body had been exhumed and cremated. Others think Frieda brought the ashes to New Mexico but didn't mix them in cement.) It is marked simply with the initials "DHL," emblazoned with painted sunflowers and topped with a statue of a phoenix, the bird with which Lawrence identified.

Frieda's grave is just outside the door to the memorial, and nearby is the cabin where the couple stayed during visits to the ranch that Lawrence claimed "changed me forever." The tree that Georgia O'Keeffe painted when she visited and immortalized as "The Lawrence Tree" still stands a few feet away from the cabin's porch.

Very close to the cabin is a tiny cottage that housed Dorothy Brett, an artist friend of the Lawrences. Mabel Dodge Luhan, the arts patron who owned the ranch, lived in Taos. According to the legend, after Lawrence's death Luhan and Brett wanted to sprinkle his ashes throughout the ranch, but Frieda decided to build a memorial that would house the urn. When the other two women threatened to sprinkle his ashes after Frieda's death, she directed her new husband to mix up the cement.

Just before she died, Frieda gave the ranch to the University of New Mexico on the condition that it would be used for educational and cultural purposes. The university has honored that promise, but budgetary constraints threaten the ranch's future. The DHL Ranch Initiative is currently seeking to raise matching funds from the public for a Save America's Treasures grant from the National Park Service.

While we tramped around the grounds, I educated my daughter about Lawrence's life and work. The next day, however, it was her turn to be the teacher. As an anthropology major in college, her dream had been to visit some American Indian cliff dwellings, so Sunday morning found us headed out of Santa Fe again, this time northwest to Bandelier National Monument.

We set off walking from the visitor center and soon arrived at the ruins of the Tyuonyi Pueblo, a circular adobe structure that once contained 400 rooms and housed 100 people.

As we walked around and through it, Lesley explained what life would have been like for the ancestors of today's Pueblo people who would have been living there 800 years ago. She described families working together to construct homes while domesticated dogs and turkeys wandered at their feet. Men would have tracked animals, woven clothing and blankets, and held ceremonies and meetings in smoky underground rooms called "kivas." Women would have spent their time making pottery, grinding corn and transporting water.

From her — and guidebook explanations that corresponded to numbers along the trail — I learned that the cliffs overlooking Frijoles Canyon were formed by volcanic eruptions more than 1 million years ago. What looks like pink sandstone is actually 1,000-foot-thick volcanic ash that has compacted into a soft rock called "tuff." The men used their stone tools to enlarge naturally eroded caves into homes and then lit fires within them to harden the interior surfaces.

The high point of our visit — both literally and figuratively — was hiking another half-mile along Frijoles Creek to the Alcove House. The entrance is 140 feet above the canyon floor and must be reached by four rustic ladders. The guidebook warns that people with physical limitations or a fear of heights shouldn't attempt it, but for those who can, the payoff is a dramatic view of the canyon and the surrounding area. Once we reached the top, we had access to yet another "kiva" where we descended the short ladder down into the dark heart of the cliffs and imagined tribal elders gathering in dim light to plan an extended hunt.

As we climbed back down and retraced our steps through the canyon, we discussed the ultimate fate of the early Pueblo people who had created this culture and likely outgrown the area's resources, such as firewood, water and food. By the time Spanish explorers arrived more than 400 years ago, the settlement had been abandoned. Later it was named for Adolph F.A. Bandelier, an Illinois businessman-turned-archeologist who came to New Mexico to study the Southwestern peoples whose spirit inspires visitors like us yet today.

IF YOU GO:

Ashes or not, the Lawrence Ranch provides an important piece of literary history. For information or to make donations for the ranch's upkeep, contact Sharon O. Warner at the University of New Mexico, 505-277-6248.

Hotel La Fonda in Taos is home to nine of D.H. Lawrence's paintings that were banned in Britain in 1929 and remain so to this day. Although tame by 21st century standards, they remain behind closed doors and are only shown for a few minutes at specified times each day. Call the hotel at 800-833-2211 to make sure you don't miss them.

Taos has much to offer in addition to the Lawrence ranch and artwork. Check out www.taos.org for information about the Taos Pueblo, the Kit Carson Museum and other historic sites.

Bandelier National Monument is adjacent to the Los Alamos National Laboratory. Be sure to save time to visit the museum there. (www.nps.gov/band; www.lanl.gov)

Plan the route for your adventures carefully because highway signage near these attractions is sparse.

Glenda Winders is a freelance travel writer. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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