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Published: April 7th 2009
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Santa Fe Hotel
One of the lovely (and more expensive) hotels in Santa Fe. Almost all the buildings in the city were Southwester in architectural style. Chapter 13 New Mexico
March 14: One of the mottos for New Mexico is the “Land of Enchantment.“ Well, I believe it, because I woke up this morning to blue sky and clear ground! All traces of snow, gone!! That was the fastest snow storm I ever experienced. If I hadn’t taken pictures of it, I would be convinced I had dreamed it. As I drove to Santa Fe, however, I saw traces of snow along the highway and, of course, up on the mountain sides.
I drove into the Santa Fe area in the mid-afternoon and got my first view of the snow capped mountains. They were beautiful against a brilliant blue sky with marshmallow clouds. I also started seeing the wonderful adobe-style architecture that Santa Fe is famous for. I will start sightseeing tomorrow. Tonight I will stay in a rustic-looking RV park about 10 miles out.
March 15: I dressed for church this morning, having gotten directions from the manager at the RV office to a nearby Methodist Church. I never did find that church or any other one! I’m used to seeing a church on every block, but that is not the story here.
Jewelry Sellers
Indians selling their beautiful jewelry line the downtown square in Santa Fe. It was cold that day! After 30 minutes of driving I came to several Catholic churches and one Episcopalian, but I couldn’t get the RV into the driveways. Since I was downtown by that time, I found a parking lot that I could get the RV into and proceeded to walk around the historic, but highly sophisticated, Santa Fe square. The shops along the streets were full of gorgeous antiques, art, clothes, furniture and jewelry with prices to match. Along one side of the square, the Indians had their jewelry laid out on blankets. Such lovely things. Fortunately for me I am not much of a jewelry wearer, so I was not tempted. Fortunately for the sellers, it seemed many others were interested. The economy did not seem to be suffering much in this area.
I mentioned earlier that I did not find a church in which I could worship, however, there are several beautiful, old Catholic churches which are part of the early missions in the Southwest. One is the Cathedral of St. Francis in downtown Santa Fe. I took several pics of the beautiful interior. I also spent some time in my own private worship and gratitude for the beauty of nature
Cathedral of St. Francis Interior
The Cathedral of Stl Frances in Santa Fe is very ornate. This picture is of the mail altar area. The exterior was being cleaned and restored so I couldn't get a picture of it. and the beauty of the many wonderful works of art I have encounter. The Cathredral certainly lends itself to such a time of worship. I wasn’t able to get outside pictures because the church is being remodeled and the complete exterior, including bell tower, was tented! I did walk down some side streets and came to the Loretto Chapel. This is the one with the “miraculous” staircase inside. In case you have never heard the story, the staircase is spiral with two 360 degree turns. It was built by a mysterious carpenter with no nails or screws, only wooden pegs, for support.
March 16: Today I toured the Railroad Market and Canyon Drive. I can’t say much for the Railroad Market--mostly made up of a high-end kind of mall. Canyon Drive, however, was chock full of shops and galleries. I could have spent two days there, except I could not find a place to park the RV. The road is very narrow. It used to be an alley where merchants brought their wares to the city square. At some point it became fashionable on its own. I thought I would never find a place to turn around as I
Side Street Market
One of the many side streets full of quaint stores and goods in Santa Fe. squeezed past other traffic and took it many open mouthed stares!
March 17: Happy St. Patrick’s Day from Albuquerque. I left Santa Fe and the snow covered mountains this morning and drove to Albuquerque. They have mountains here, but not snow covered at present. One mountain must have snow sometimes, however, because it is billed as a ski resort with the longest chair lift in the world. I love the hills around here, though. They are desert, covered with small juniper trees and they fold back and forth on each other like a wrinkled quilt. I would like to try and get that look into a painting sometime. After driving around downtown Albuquerque (lost again!) I finally found the “Old Town” as it is called. Block after block of old Spanish buildings full of all kinds of interesting stores. As usual for the Southwest, everything centered around a town square with a church on one side. I spent much of the day in this area. For one thing I found plenty of parking for the RV and it turned out to be free!
I was disappointed that I couldn’t visit with Marge Davison--a cousin-in-law who lives in the
Wooden Flower Shop
All the flowers in the shop were made from wood and beautiful!! Albuquerque area. She was out of town at the time. I hope I will be able to connect with her later. Marge’s late husband, Jack, was Uncle Oscar’s son.
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TARENA
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NEWMEXICO
MARTY, WOODEDN FLOWERS WERE MOST UNUSAL. WERE THEY AS PRETTY AS PICTURE. HOW IS YOUR BROKEN ARM (ELBOW) DOING? ARE YOU OUT OF PAIN YET? SHARED THE NEWS WITH ALL MY CLAN HERE. EVERYONE SD GET BETTER SOON!!!