Day 13: A fun day in Santa Fe

According to some local resources, there are some “Things Not to Miss” when one visits the lovely capitol city of Santa Fe.  We took that advice, and had a great day.  In the heart of downtown Santa Fe is the Plaza.  For four centuries, this plaza has served as the center of the city.  Initially, it was the area around which the Spanish officials built houses and barracks.  Now, the plaza is surrounded on three sides by shops.   Across the street from the Plaza is the Palace of the Governors, built in 1610.  It is the oldest continuously occupied public building in the U.S.  These days, it is available for touring.  Also, local people sell their beautiful wares—mostly jewelry—on the building’s front porch area.  Naturally, there are several historic churches downtown.  One of them is Loretto Chapel.  It was constructed in 1882, and is the site of the legendary miraculous staircase.   When the chapel’s designer suddenly died before the building was complete, the Sisters of Loretto realized they needed a way to the choir loft.  Space was too limited for a traditional staircase.  The sisters prayed for a solution, and soon a mysterious carpenter showed up and offered to build the staircase for no charge.  The structure uses no nails or supports, and the wood is not found locally.  It is essentially a perfectly built spring.  We saw the inside of the chapel, and the staircase is perfect and beautiful.  Very near downtown is Canyon Rd.  This is a wonderful six-block area of galleries and shops, and most of the buildings were originally among the first homes in the city.  We also saw the Oldest House, built in 1620 and possibly the oldest structure in the nation.  It is now a gift shop.  In the same alleyway as that shop is San Miguel Mission, billed as the country’s oldest church.  So, you see, Santa Fe has a wonderfully long history.  Just outside town are the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.  The tallest peak there is Santa Fe Baldy, elevation 12,622 ft., capped in snow, and visible for miles around.  We drove up a beautiful drive to get nearly to its peak, where we could see the ski lifts that will soon be in use.  Just for fun, we also drove up another nearby road through Pecos Canyon.  The road led up a mountain to the town of Cowles, which consisted of nothing but the sign identifying it.  When we got to Cowles, the road ended.  We just turned around and came back down the mountain.  This was another beautiful, remote drive.  We did see several groups of fly fishermen, fishing in the beautiful Pecos River.  One more thing I want to mention about Santa Fe is the appearance of the buildings in this city.  Most of the structures are low, and are built in the adobe style.  This characteristic started several hundred years ago as a natural response of the area’s original inhabitants to using the available building materials.  The city embraced this pueblo style in 1912, and now, most buildings—homes, businesses, schools, banks, government buildings—have that appearance.  The city had wonderful foresight back in 1912.  Everything blends in to the beautiful surroundings here, and nothing is distracting.  I could look at a hillside, or across a valley, and hardly notice the buildings or even whole subdivisions.  That was some great city planning.  Tomorrow:  Albuquerque!

Palace of the Governors...

...where Native Americans sell their wares.

 

Santa Fe Baldy, visible for miles around

Beautiful Pecos Canyon Dr.

Beautiful view in Pecos Canyon

Example of the adobe style used in a subdivison