Dear God -- The Election: Pandemic Road Trip Part 6

When I consult my email notes for Nov. 3, this is what I find:

Town of Walala no bathroom

Manchester Fire Department

Pretty Greenwood

Fort Bragg, wine and thrift stores

Fort Bragg thrift one-eyed wiener dog.

Avenue of the Giants

And, dear god – the election

A quick search on Google informs me that Walala is actually Gualala, CA. I must have heard Michael say the name, and I just made Anglo assumptions. I don't blame Gualala for not having a bathroom readily available to people driving through. For one thing, there's a pandemic going on. For another, what picturesque little town wants to be a bathroom pit stop? It must be an ongoing issue however, because we began to notice that a lot of the little towns had Port-a-Potties on their main streets. A civilized gesture, in my opinion.

As for the Manchester Fire Department, it must have been a beautiful old building, or I wouldn't have made a note of it, but apparently I didn't get a photo of it, and a cursory search on Google Images doesn't turn up a pretty pic. So I'll leave that as a mystery to explore in the future. It gives me an excuse to go back, right?

The photo above is pretty typical of the main streets of the little towns we passed through on November 3rd. When we got to Fort Bragg, we found the Paul Bunyan Thrift Shop, and apparently there was a one-eyed wiener dog tied out front, but alas, I didn't get a picture of him. I can state with confidence that we got plenty of goodies in the thrift shop however, because that was the case in every single thrift shop we visited. I am far too good at finding stuff I want to buy. In my defense, I had packed light with just that possibility in mind, and the few things we had brought along were starting to get grubby. We had yet to stay in a hotel with a laundromat, so we improvised. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Thrift stores, fire departments, and one-eyed wiener dogs notwithstanding, this was a trip up the coast, and the ocean (along with estuaries, inlets, and river and stream outlets) was the main point of this part of the trip, so we continually stopped to ogle interesting shoreline geology. 

The palm trees growing on those wave-lashed rocks are some of the toughest plants I've ever seen.

Here's another classic coast geology shot, for fans of wave erosion:

But the shore was only half the attraction along that part of the Coast Highway, because eventually we made our way up to the Avenue of the Giants. I took a bunch of photos of those giant sequoias, but I don't have the skill to capture the quality of the light in those forests. My digital camera overcorrected in the gloom and made everything look too bright. Still, the shapes were interesting. And we did see some fun carvings.

We settled in Garberville for the evening, next to the Humboldt Bar & Grill (which is a Mexican Food joint) across from an excellent thrift shop, The Garberville Thrift Shop, where I managed to get the most elegant articles of clothing I bought on the whole trip (and in the past year, actually). Michael bought a fishing pole.

It had been a day of wonders. I feel grateful we were on the road, prowling along a fascinating coast on a highway that took us through charming towns. We stayed occupied the whole day, so we missed all the not-news you always see on election day, all the speculation that you get in place of actual information about how things are going. By the time Ernie and I tuned in to CNN, stuff was actually happening.

It was the kind of stuff that makes you pull your hair out. Mike's confidence evaporated under the onslaught of no-one-winning-in-a-landslide. I found the AP website on my laptop and kept refreshing it, hoping to see a clear victory for Biden looming in the search fields. Instead, he seemed to be far behind in most of the swing states.

However, the people on CNN saw it differently. They had information from each precinct, and an understanding of how each city would report results. They remembered who tallied early votes and mail-in votes first, and who did it last. And they never talked about Trump having a better chance of winning. He was behind in the Electoral College the night of the election, and he never got ahead. Biden was the one with a better path, and one of the things that proved that was when Arizona was called for Biden early on.

No wonder Trump got so mad when that happened. It was the bellwether. It was the reason I was able to tune out around 10 p.m. (back to the Murder Channel, because somehow that was more soothing) and get to sleep that night.  I found out the next day that none of my brothers were able to sleep that night. They all stayed up until the wee hours of the morning, and each of them finally gave up just before they would have discovered that Biden was kicking ass in the swing states, thanks to those mail-in ballots.

Before Ernie and I went to sleep, we had a little talk. "He could win again," I warned. "I'm been trying to think about how I'm going to cope with that, and the only plan I can come up with is to turn off the news for the next four years. When I log on to Facebook and Twitter, I'm only going to stay long enough to post a few things, I'm not going to read anyone else's posts, because I can't handle the doom. And when I can face it, I'm going to find some way to join a legal resistance. Because it's going to get ugly. That SOB is going to take vengeance on all his enemies, and no one in the government is going to be able to stand up to him."

"Yep," Ernie agreed. (He actually said more than that, but that was the gist of it.)

Comforted, we went to sleep, unlike my poor brothers.

When we got up in the morning, the future was so bright we had to wear shades.

The kitty pictured above is one of two hotel felines who live at the Ocean Cove Lodge in Jenner, CA.

New Mexico Thrift Shopping in Plague Times

Economists have various indexes they like to use to gauge the health of the economy, but I'm a working-class gal, and I've got one that tells me more than any graph could: the Thrift Store Index. Basically, it's a measure of how many cute pairs of pants you can find in a group of thrift stores in any given year. It's a also a measure of how many of those thrift stores can continue to stay in business from one year to the next. Right now, that index isn't looking too good in New Mexico.

I'm a fiend for thrift store clothes, probably because I'm greedy. Why have a sensible, skinny closet that only contains what you need when you can have a fat, overstuffed closet that requires serious excavation in order to actually get at the clothing entombed therein? Is there any thrill that equals driving home with a trunk full of pretty new finds (for which you may have to buy new hangers)? All of this becomes even more silly when you reach the point in your life where you don't have as many places to actually wear that wonderful, hip stuff you just scored. I mean hell, once you're getting close to retirement, do you even need to change out of your sweat pants? 

All of that is beside the point, however, because despite common sense, the heart wants what it wants, and this is the case even during a plague-induced recession -- possibly even more so when trends that you may have been seeing for several years in a row are clarified. In New Mexico, I've seen a steady decline in the economy for at least five years, while Arizona's economy has improved. Even the delightful Pie Town is losing customers.

Arizona and New Mexico are next-door neighbors, but they're different in a few critical ways. Arizona has larger cities, including growing communities of tech workers lured away from California. Chunks of New Mexico are controlled by the Federal Government for very good and top-secret reasons, (even without Area 51), and those jobs pay pretty well, but most other people in New Mexico work service jobs or have small farms. The mining industry has pretty much left the state, and New Mexico's other claim to fame, it's art community, is struggling in the new century. Younger people don't tend to collect art, and older people are at the point in their lives where they're downsizing their households and trying to sell off the art and Indian jewelry they once collected with such enthusiasm. There are casinos in New Mexico, but they support various Indigenous communities and are dependent on traffic, which has slowed a lot in recent years. And the minimum wage in New Mexico is currently $7.50 an hour. It's due to go up starting in 2021, and that may help working-class people in New Mexico -- it certainly has in Arizona. But I suspect the art crowd has decided New Mexico is old news. They're the ones who were most likely to get tired of their pretty, expensive, hip clothing and donate it to thrift stores. That's how that trickles down, and that spigot is going dry. 

That leaves New Mexico with plenty of what it already had: tradition, culture, Indigenous communities, national and state parks, amazing geology, fabulous food, and serious tenacity. If the fat cats abandon the place, it has a chance to rediscover itself. I'll keep going there at least once a year. That says something. 

As for the thrift stores, New Mexico still has 'em, and you should still look for them. Also used book stores, little art galleries, amazing restaurants, and the Very Large Array of radio telescopes near Socorro. 

Reruns is in Grants. I got the cute pants in the photo at the top of this post from the Habitat for Humanity thrift store in Espanola. The pretty horse and the shot of the gorgeous front door came from The Inn at the Delta in Espanola, and the yummy pies can be found at The Gatherin' Place Cafe in Pie Town. The book store is in Santa Fe, Books of Interest. 

The photo of my mom and me was taken on the outdoor patio of Los Potrillos Restaurant. We celebrated her 99th birthday there. And the bull pictured below is from our delightful hotel in Santa Fe, the Silver Saddle Motel.

 
 

The Good and Affordable Stuff -- Updated for 2016!

I posted the original version of this report a couple of years ago, but I thought I'd better keep updating it.  A few things usually change, and some things remain the same.  One of the things that stayed the same this year was price range (for the most part).  All but one of the shops that I visited had the same, ultra-low prices, ranging from  $1 per item to $15. 

Our favorite used book store in Santa Fe disappeared, last year but this year we found a sign promising it would make a come-back -- so watch this space next year. Ernie made out like a bandit in the book department, finding good buys at all of the thrift stores we visited.  

So here is the post that started this tradition:

In the last quarter of the 20^th Century, a gal used to be able to find wonderful little shops in Albuquerque, Santa Fe, and Taos. These shops carried handmade jewelry, unique clothing and shoes, art and folk art, perfume and lotions, books and nick-nacks, pots, plates, wind chimes, fossils – you name it. The cost of the items started at $2 and went up to a few hundred dollars, but you could get quite a lot in the $15 to $45 range. My mother and sister and I looked forward to visiting these shops every time we visited New Mexico.

But many years have passed since those days, and recently a woman came into the Heard Museum Book Store during my regular shift and asked me if there was a shopping district like that in Phoenix. She told me that visiting those quirky little shops used to be one of the highlights of her trips in the Southwest. Lots of cities had them; locally we had the Mill Avenue shops in Tempe, and Tucson had its own shopping district near 4^th Avenue. Flagstaff still has something resembling a cheap-and-fabulous shopping district, but not to the extent you would have found back in the 1970s and '80s. “What happened?” the traveling lady asked me. “Was it the economy?”

I suspect it was the opposite. Those shops were enormously popular. I think the landlords who owned that property decided they should raise the rents. They raised them so high, the owners of those little shops couldn't pay. In New Mexico, expensive jewelry, rug, furniture, clothing stores, and art galleries moved into those spaces. The top 5% of the population can afford to shop there now. The rest of us seem to be out of luck.

It's sad to see our paradise lost, but there are some alternatives for those who are willing to hunt a little harder. My search always starts with thrift stores. Prices there usually run from $1 to $15 for clothing, and quite reasonable for a gamut of other stuff. Places that advertise themselves as consignment stores or vintage clothing shops often charge more, but their items still cost considerably less than what you'll find in the expensive stores in the shopping districts. Second hand shops also run the gamut, price-wise, but are always worth investigating. And some of them carry new work by local artists and artisans.

Here are some of the places my mom and I have discovered in New Mexico:

BOOMERANG THRIFT BOUTIQUE in Española carries a wonderful variety of hip clothing, including smaller and larger sizes. While we were there, they were running a sale, so we got our items for even less. The price range was $1.50 to $9.50. They carry an eclectic selection of other second-hand items as well. They're on the southbound side of HWY 84-285, near the southern end of town.

THE WATER STORE in Española is under new management and has re-opened as of this publication.  They have a thrift section stuffed full of clothing priced from $1 to $4. If you're in the area, it's worth checking to see what's going on with them – they're on the northbound side of HWY 84-285 that leads through the town to Taos.

Habitat for Humanity Thrift Store in Española has updated its dressing room, so it's more comfortable to try things on in there now. That shop has one of the best selection of Ladies' pants/slacks I've ever seen.  I bought five pairs from them last year, at $1 apiece.   

In Taos we always check out the COMMUNITY AGAINST VIOLENCE store on 1046 Paseo Del Pueblo Sur. From the road, you simply see a sign that says CAV. This year they only had half as much clothing as they did last year, but my mother and I both found a few things we liked, and they're worth checking out.

 On the other side of the street at 1024 is a consignment store called PIECES that has a trendier selection than most of the other thrift stores.  Their prices are very reasonable, from $5 to $45.  I found several fabulous blouses there this year (2016), and my mom found two gorgeous skirts and a couple of blouses.

TREASURES, located much farther North on Paseo Del Pueblo, is always worth a visit, though we have only bought a few items of clothing there. She also carries antiques and folk art from local artists; she specializes in the quirky and unique items.  I bought two blouses from her this year, paying more than I usually do for thrift clothing, but they were gorgeous and would have cost far more in an upscale shop.  And she has a lovely little garden out front. Just up the road from her (going north) are a couple of affordable import stores, like the CAMINO REAL IMPORTS AND GIFT SHOP. They've still got that Jesus sale going on (see photo below).

As you're headed out of town toward the High Road To Taos Scenic Highway, you'll see THUNDER LIZARD DIRECT CORAL IMPORTERS. They specialize in beads, so if you're a bead junky in recovery, don't go in there.

In Santa Fe, there are a lot of thrift stores on the southern end of town on Cerrillos Road, and you don't have to drive near the complicated tangle of the main plaza to visit them. These shops include GOODWILL, one of my favorite thrift store chains. I love the way they organize their stuff by color. GOODWILL discount days vary from place to place, so expect blouses to cost about $4.99 to $5.99 when they're not on sale.

The HOSPICE CENTER THIFT STORE AT 1303 Cerrillos Road offers clothing and antique/collectible items, and their clothing is always 2nd-hand fancy stuff. They were having a 50% off sale the day we visited, so we got several gorgeous items for a steal. Call them at 505-473-0972.

If you want a break from clothing shopping try A BIT OF EVERYTHING at 1836 Cerrillos Road. They don't have anything you can wear, but they're a 2^nd hand/antique /collectible emporium that offers – you guessed it, a little bit of everything. You can call them at 505-983-0665.

So yes, the halcyon days of cheap and fabulous, quirky and hip shopping districts are gone. But it's possible to roll with the punches. And though people who have to shop for smaller and larger sizes sometimes don't have as much luck when shopping for second hand clothing, thrift shops usually offer more than just apparel. These are the places you might find pretty dishes, garden décor, books, etc. Second-hand book shops are always worth investigating, and they could use your patronage. 

The Good and Affordable Stuff -- Updated for 2015!

I posted the original version of this report a couple of years ago, but I thought I'd better update it.  A few things have changed, and some things remain the same.  One of the things that stayed the same was price range (for the most part).  All but one of the shops that I visited had the same, ultra-low prices, ranging from 25 cents per item to $15.  One shop had prices that doubled, but I suspect that shop will bring its prices back into line with the market.

Our favorite used book store in Santa Fe disappeared, but Ernie was able to find books at all of the thrift stores we visited this year, and actually came back with a bigger haul than in previous years.  He was quite happy with his spoils.

In the last quarter of the 20^th Century, a gal used to be able to find wonderful little shops in Albuquerque, Santa Fe, and Taos. These shops carried handmade jewelry, unique clothing and shoes, art and folk art, perfume and lotions, books and nick-nacks, pots, plates, wind chimes, fossils – you name it. The cost of the items started at $2 and went up to a few hundred dollars, but you could get quite a lot in the $15 to $45 range. My mother and sister and I looked forward to visiting these shops every time we visited New Mexico.

But many years have passed since those days, and recently a woman came into the Heard Museum Book Store during my regular shift and asked me if there was a shopping district like that in Phoenix. She told me that visiting those quirky little shops used to be one of the highlights of her trips in the Southwest. Lots of cities had them; locally we had the Mill Avenue shops in Tempe, and Tucson had its own shopping district near 4^th Avenue. Flagstaff still has something resembling a cheap-and-fabulous shopping district, but not to the extent you would have found back in the 1970s and '80s. “What happened?” the traveling lady asked me. “Was it the economy?”

I suspect it was the opposite. Those shops were enormously popular. I think the landlords who owned that property decided they should raise the rents. They raised them so high, the owners of those little shops couldn't pay. In New Mexico, expensive jewelry, rug, furniture, clothing stores, and art galleries moved into those spaces. The top 5% of the population can afford to shop there now. The rest of us seem to be out of luck.

It's sad to see our paradise lost, but there are some alternatives for those who are willing to hunt a little harder. My search always starts with thrift stores. Prices there usually run from $1 to $15 for clothing, and quite reasonable for a gamut of other stuff. Places that advertise themselves as consignment stores or vintage clothing shops often charge more, but their items still cost considerably less than what you'll find in the expensive stores in the shopping districts. Second hand shops also run the gamut, price-wise, but are always worth investigating. And some of them carry new work by local artists and artisans.

Antique stores are also a mixed bag. We have a lot of them in Arizona, and almost all of them are low-priced. I walked into an antique shop in Taos on my recent trip to New Mexico, and I had to conclude that the place was too close to the pricey downtown district. The item I looked at (a gorgeous buddha) was $550. But you don't know until you look – that's part of the adventure. What sort of treasure you find depends on how much you're willing to dig, and whether or not you're bothered by dust. My tolerance for weirdness and unexpected adventure is high, and I've waded through worse things than dust to find the fabulous – on a recent journey in the Cave Creek foothills for garden rocks I fended off swarms of thirsty yellow jackets. Fortunately, bug swarms are rare on the thrift store circuit, and most shoppers can find a few places they like.

Here are some of the places my mom and I have discovered in New Mexico:

BOOMERANG THRIFT BOUTIQUE in Española carries a wonderful variety of hip clothing, including smaller and larger sizes. While we were there, they were running a sale, so we got our items for even less. The price range was $1.50 to $9.50. They carry an eclectic selection of other second-hand items as well. They're on the southbound side of HWY 84-285, near the southern end of town.

ENCHANTING BARGAINS THRIFT STORE in Española is also on the southbound side of HWY 84-285, a bit farther north than BOOMERANGS. Just drive until you see DANDY'S BURGERS and then pull into that little plaza. Their price range is $1 to $10. On this last trip I found 2 pairs of pants and 3 blouses I liked, and my mom found 5 fabulous blouses. Our tastes are quite different, yet we both found things we liked. (My husband bought 4 books.)  NOTE: THIS STORE CHANGED OWNERS RECENTLY, SO THE NAME MAY HAVE CHANGED.  BUT THE LOCATION AND PRICES ARE THE SAME.

THE WATER STORE in Española is under new management and has re-opened as of this publication.  They have a thrift section stuffed full of clothing priced from $1 to $4. If you're in the area, it's worth checking to see what's going on with them – they're on the northbound side of HWY 84-285 that leads through the town to Taos.

Habitat for Humanity Thrift Store in Española has a dressing room that's kind of uncomfortable.  It's in an overstuffed closet behind the register.  But that shop has one of the best selection of Ladies' pants/slacks I've ever seen.  I bought five pairs from them on my last trip, at $1 apiece.   

In Taos we always check out the COMMUNITY AGAINST VIOLENCE store on 1046 Paseo Del Pueblo Sur. From the road, you simply see a sign that says CAV. This year they only had half as much clothing as they did last year, but my mother and I both found a few things we liked, and they're worth checking out. On the other side of the street at 1024 is a consignment store called PIECES that has a trendier selection than most of the other thrift stores.  Their prices are very reasonable, from $5 to $45.  I found several fabulous blouses there this year (2015), and my mom found a gorgeous skirt.

TREASURES, located much farther North on Paseo Del Pueblo, is always worth a visit, though we have only bought a few items of clothing there. They also carry antiques and folk art from local artists, and they have a lovely little garden out front. Just up the road from them (going north) are a couple of affordable import stores, like the CAMINO REAL IMPORTS AND GIFT SHOP. They must have sold out of all their Jesuses by the time we got there (see photo), but I got a lovely urn-style garden pot and my husband Ernie bought a faux-alligator-skin wallet and a nifty t-shirt. (That was the only time I saw him get excited about an article of clothing on the whole trip.)

As you're headed out of town toward the High Road To Taos Scenic Highway, you'll see THUNDER LIZARD DIRECT CORAL IMPORTERS. They specialize in beads, so if you're a bead junky in recovery, don't go in there.

In Santa Fe, there are a lot of thrift stores on the southern end of town on Cerrillos Road, and you don't have to drive near the complicated tangle of the main plaza to visit them. These shops include GOODWILL, one of my favorite thrift store chains. I love the way they organize their stuff by color. GOODWILL discount days vary from place to place, so expect blouses to cost about $4.99 to $5.99 when they're not on sale.

The HOSPICE CENTER THIFT STORE AT 1303 Cerrillos Road offers clothing and antique/collectible items, and their clothing is always 2nd-hand fancy stuff. They were having a 50% off sale the day we visited, so we got several gorgeous items for a steal. Call them at 505-473-0972.

If you want a break from clothing shopping try A BIT OF EVERYTHING at 1836 Cerrillos Road. They don't have anything you can wear, but they're a 2^nd hand/antique /collectible emporium that offers – you guessed it, a little bit of everything. You can call them at 505-983-0665.

So yes, the halcyon days of cheap and fabulous, quirky and hip shopping districts are gone. But it's possible to roll with the punches. And though people who have to shop for smaller and larger sizes sometimes don't have as much luck when shopping for second hand clothing, thrift shops usually offer more than just apparel. These are the places you might find pretty dishes, garden décor, books, etc. Second-hand book shops are always worth investigating, and they could use your patronage. 

The Good (And Affordable) Stuff

In the last quarter of the 20^th Century, a gal used to be able to find wonderful little shops in Albuquerque, Santa Fe, and Taos. These shops carried handmade jewelry, unique clothing and shoes, art and folk art, perfume and lotions, books and nick-nacks, pots, plates, wind chimes, fossils – you name it. The cost of the items started at $2 and went up to a few hundred dollars, but you could get quite a lot in the $15 to $45 range. My mother and sister and I looked forward to visiting these shops every time we visited New Mexico.

But many years have passed since those days, and recently a woman came into the Heard Museum Book Store during my regular shift and asked me if there was a shopping district like that in Phoenix. She told me that visiting those quirky little shops used to be one of the highlights of her trips in the Southwest. Lots of cities had them; locally we had the Mill Avenue shops in Tempe, and Tucson had its own shopping district near 4^th Avenue. Flagstaff still has something resembling a cheap-and-fabulous shopping district, but not to the extent you would have found back in the 1970s and '80s. “What happened?” the traveling lady asked me. “Was it the economy?”

I suspect it was the opposite. Those shops were enormously popular. I think the landlords who owned that property decided they should raise the rents. They raised them so high, the owners of those little shops couldn't pay. In New Mexico, expensive jewelry, rug, furniture, clothing stores, and art galleries moved into those spaces. The top 5% of the population can afford to shop there now. The rest of us seem to be out of luck.

It's sad to see our paradise lost, but there are some alternatives for those who are willing to hunt a little harder. My search always starts with thrift stores. Prices there usually run from $1 to $15 for clothing, and quite reasonable for a gamut of other stuff. Places that advertise themselves as consignment stores or vintage clothing shops often charge more, but their items still cost considerably less than what you'll find in the expensive stores in the shopping districts. Second hand shops also run the gamut, price-wise, but are always worth investigating. And some of them carry new work by local artists and artisans.

Antique stores are also a mixed bag. We have a lot of them in Arizona, and almost all of them are low-priced. I walked into an antique shop in Taos on my recent trip to New Mexico, and I had to conclude that the place was too close to the pricey downtown district. The item I looked at (a gorgeous buddha) was $550. But you don't know until you look – that's part of the adventure. What sort of treasure you find depends on how much you're willing to dig, and whether or not you're bothered by dust. My tolerance for weirdness and unexpected adventure is high, and I've waded through worse things than dust to find the fabulous – on a recent journey in the Cave Creek foothills for garden rocks I fended off swarms of thirsty yellow jackets. Fortunately, bug swarms are rare on the thrift store circuit, and most shoppers can find a few places they like.

Here are some of the places my mom and I have discovered in New Mexico:

BOOMERANG THRIFT BOUTIQUE in Española carries a wonderful variety of hip clothing, including smaller and larger sizes. While we were there, they were running a sale, so we got our items for even less. The price range was $2.50 to $9.50. They carry an eclectic selection of other second-hand items as well. They're on the southbound side of HWY 84-285, near the southern end of town.

ENCHANTING BARGAINS THRIFT STORE in Española is also on the southbound side of HWY 84-285, a bit farther north than BOOMERANGS. Just drive until you see DANDY'S BURGERS and then pull into that little plaza. Their price range is $1 to $10. On this last trip I found 2 pairs of pants and 3 blouses I liked, and my mom found 5 fabulous blouses. Our tastes are quite different, yet we both found things we liked. (My husband bought 4 books.)

THE WATER STORE in Española is under new management and hasn't re-opened as of this publication, but they used to have an upstairs thrift section stuffed full of clothing priced from $1 to $4. They were my mom's favorite place, and she's hoping they'll be open again when we visit next year. If you're in the area, it's worth checking to see what's going on with them – they're on the northbound side of HWY 84-285 that leads through the town to Taos.

In Taos we always check out the COMMUNITY AGAINST VIOLENCE store on 1046 Paseo Del Pueblo Sur. From the road, you simply see a sign that says CAV. This year they only had half as much clothing as they did last year, but my mother and I both found a few things we liked, and they're worth checking out. On the other side of the street at 1024 is a consignment store called PIECES that is pricier than my mom likes, but that still has a lot of interesting stuff in it. My mom doesn't like to spend more than $5 for anything, so don't let that discourage you from looking at them.

TREASURES, located much farther North on Paseo Del Pueblo, is always worth a visit, though we have only bought a few items of clothing there. They also carry antiques and folk art from local artists, and they have a lovely little garden out front. Just up the road from them (going north) are a couple of affordable import stores, like the CAMINO REAL IMPORTS AND GIFT SHOP. They must have sold out of all their Jesuses by the time we got there (see photo), but I got a lovely urn-style garden pot and my husband Ernie bought a faux-alligator-skin wallet and a nifty t-shirt. (That was the only time I saw him get excited about an article of clothing on the whole trip.)

As you're headed out of town toward the High Road To Taos Scenic Highway, you'll see THUNDER LIZARD DIRECT CORAL IMPORTERS. They specialize in beads, so if you're a bead junky in recovery, don't go in there.

In Santa Fe, there are a lot of thrift stores on the southern end of town on Cerrillos Road, and you don't have to drive near the complicated tangle of the main plaza to visit them. These shops include GOODWILL, one of my favorite thrift store chains. I love the way they organize their stuff by color. GOODWILL discount days vary from place to place, so expect blouses to cost about $4.99 to $5.99 when they're not on sale.

The HOSPICE CENTER THIFT STORE AT 1303 Cerrillos Road offers clothing and antique/collectible items, and their clothing is always 2nd-hand fancy stuff. They were having a 50% off sale the day we visited, so we got several gorgeous items for a steal. Call them at 505-473-0972.

If you want a break from clothing shopping try A BIT OF EVERYTHING at 1836 Cerrillos Road. They don't have anything you can wear, but they're a 2^nd hand/antique /collectible emporium that offers – you guessed it, a little bit of everything. You can call them at 505-983-0665.

So yes, the halcyon days of cheap and fabulous, quirky and hip shopping districts are gone. But it's possible to roll with the punches. And though people who have to shop for smaller and larger sizes sometimes don't have as much luck when shopping for second hand clothing, thrift shops usually offer more than just apparel. These are the places you might find pretty dishes, garden décor, books, etc. Second-hand book shops are always worth investigating, and they could use your patronage. Try BOOKS AND MORE BOOKS on 1341 Cerrillos Road in Santa Fe (505-983-5438), just down the road from HOSPICE CENTER THRIFT STORE. They're an honest-to-goodness, old-fashioned book store, and if Ernie and I had spent any significant time in there we would have bought way more than the 4 books we did.

By the way, we were there 10 minutes. Paradise Found.