Tuesday, October 17th, 2006
Apodaca Park at Solano and Madrid in Las Cruces has one of the 67 remarkable sculptures in “The Trail of the Whispering Giants.”
These monumental sculptures are the life work of Peter Wolf Toth.
Mr. Toth was born in Hungary and escaped to the United States during the 1956 Hungarian Revolution.
In 1972 at the age of 24, with no prior sculpting experience, he carved an American Indian sculpture at Wind and Sea Beach in La Jolla, California. Shortly thereafter, he decided to dedicate however long it took to create 50 such sculptures, one for each state.
He didn’t stop at 50 and has now created 67, one or more in each state and the rest in other countries, including Canada.
The sculptures honor Native Peoples and are called as a group The Trail of the Whispering Giants.
Each sculpture is a gift to its location. He accepts nothing for them. He supports himself with other work while doing the carving.
The sculpture given to New Mexico is called “Dineh” and was finished and mounted in the park in 1986.
“Dineh” is a native word for “human beings.”
Another view:
Here’s a partial index of the Giants.
Tags: Trail of the Whispering Giants, Dineh, Peter Wolf Toth, Apodaca Park, Las Cruces
Monday, October 16th, 2006
This guy’s been here for a couple of years, so it’s not a Halloween thing. Any garden is long gone.
“Just me and my Bud Light.”
Tags: Scarecrow
Sunday, October 15th, 2006
We’ve had several nights and mornings of rain — unusual for Las Cruces and for this time of year. Cloudy most of the day, the Organs cleared in about 20 minutes this afternoon.
Tags: Organ Mountains
Saturday, October 7th, 2006
Here’s the new St. Genevieve’s Church.
Tags: St. Genevieve’s Church
Thursday, October 5th, 2006
The first St. Genevieve’s Church was built in 1859. In 1886, the church’s adobe structure was replaced by a brick cathedral, which was fronted by two 44-foot bell towers.
In 1967, this structure was demolished and a new church built at a new location — a huge historical loss.
In 1998, a monument to the old cathedral was constructed at the church’s original location.
Here’s a drawing of the old church from the monument’s plaque:
The monument:
Tags: St. Genevieve’s Church
Tuesday, October 3rd, 2006
The sun breaks over the Organ Mountains.
Tags: Sunrise
Sunday, October 1st, 2006
An underpass west of Las Cruces.
Tags: Underpass
Saturday, September 30th, 2006
The thugs who broke into Las Cruces Reptile Rescue and killed and stole dozens of reptiles have been caught. Both are 17 and have confessed.
These two also trashed the facility beyond use, and stole considerable property.
Sadly, they will not be punished for their extreme cruelty. The New Mexico animal cruelty statue explicitly excludes reptiles. This needs to be changed immediately.
These thugs were caught with 19 stolen turtles — strange how their parents did not notice the sudden, huge influx of turtles into their home… nor the new bicycle… nor the other stolen property suddenly acquired by their kids.
The 10-foot albino Burmese python, Gloria, stabbed extensively “in the neck” by the thugs appears to be recovering. They claim the 15 snakes still unaccounted for were released into the desert — if true, they will not survive out of their habitat.
Tags: Reptile Killers Caught, Python, Animal Cruelty
Friday, September 29th, 2006
This is the only sign welcoming you to the Las Cruces. The design is almost constructivist. The Organ Mountains can be seen in the background.
Tags: Las Cruces
