Sante Fe and Her Churches

Sante Fe … Wow how wonderful this town is with its mix of the old and new. The square was bustling with activity since it is their 400th anniversary. Music, dancing, and poetry readings were happening all day and into the evening. There were even some colorful characters.

I am drawn to churches, maybe not so much on Sundays, but drawn to them all the same. I love how simple some are and how some are so ornate you wonder how they were created especially since they are so old. I always love how I feel in them in a non-formal setting. Sante Fe is a deeply religious community and churches are bountiful here. We were able to see the oldest church in America, San Miquel, dating back to 1598. The Pilgrims did not build their first church until 22 years later in Jamestown.

The two churches I will tell you about next I thought are really special.

The Cathedral of Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, built in 1869, took my breath away and moved me to tears with its beauty. The church has recently been restored to all of its glory. We were able to meet the two artists who restored it. They had the help of 40 volunteers – not present.

Thank you gentlemen, magnificent job!

I only wish you could see how detailed the painting is throughout the church.

Loretto Chapel is the church with the inexplicable spiral staircase. The abbreviated version, as much as I can make it that way, goes like this. In 1852, after a horrible journey, the Sisters of Loretto came to Sante Fe from Kentucky to teach and since there was no convent or school for them they had to build one. After they were built they decided to build a chapel and began to build the larger than usual chapel, 25’ x 75’ x 85’ high. This chapel was placed under the patronage of St. Joseph “in whose honor we communicated every Wednesday that he might assist”. The chapel was nearly completed and they realized a dreadful mistake was made. The choir loft was built with no stairs. Due to the loft being so high there wasn’t room to build a traditional staircase. Many carpenters were called – none of which could help. It looked as if there was only two alternatives: use a ladder, which seemed impractical, or tear down the whole thing and rebuild. The Sisters decided to make a novena to St. Joseph to help resolve the problem.

On the last day of the novena a gray haired man came to the convent with only a donkey and a tool chest which consisted of a hammer, a saw, and a T square. He asked the Sisters if he could try to build the staircase. It took 6 to 8 months build the spiral staircase. When the Sisters tried to pay the man, he vanished. They went to the local lumbar yard to pay for the wood and they knew nothing of the wood. To this day there is no record of payment for the job. The staircase makes two complete 360 degree turns, there is no center support pole as most circular stairways have. It hangs with no support. Architects say gravity should make the staircase crash to the floor the minute someone stood on it, yet it is used weekly.

Legend says it was put together using only wooden pegs – not a nail in it. At the time it was built it had no banisters and they were later added. The wood, when the staircase was built, was spliced along the stringers with 9 splices on the outside and 7 on the inside. Each piece perfectly curved. How was this done in the 1870’s by one man with primitive tools? It cannot be done today! The wood has tried to be identified but cannot be specifically identified. It appears to be a “edge grain fir of some sort” but experts all agree the wood is not from New Mexico and is a mystery. The Sisters like to say that their prayers were answered. I like to say miracles do happen.

The Most Beautiful Day Trip

I have to give another thank you to Don and Sherlee for suggesting we take this day trip. If you ever go to Albuquerque or Sante Fe, this is a must. I can say this is the prettiest drive I have ever taken in my life. In total we drove 200 miles – 60 of which was bringing us back to Albuquerque from Sante Fe, which was not scenic, but the other 140 miles were breathtaking. Tommy and I found ourselves not even talking for 30 or 40 minutes at time. We were just taking it all in. This is the route we took from Albuquerque. Interstate 25 N to US 550 N to Rt 4 N – at Rt 4 is where it all begins!

Valle Caldera National Forrest is 89,000 acres of pristine beauty. Calderas are volcanoes that erupted leaving meadows and hills behind. One meadow is 15 miles long by 5 miles wide. You can see elk and deer grazing in the summer but will leave in the winter since it is hard for them to obtain food in the high country.

Bandelier National Monument is 33,727 acres of forests, canyons, and streams with an elevation of 6066 ft. Ruins have been excavated and the Tyuonyi, on the floor of the Frijoles Canyon, is a village and contained 400 rooms and housed approximately 100 people. Cave houses, Cavates (cave-eights) were plentiful due to this soft type of rock made from volcanic tuff and looks like Swiss cheese. The rooms were carved only using stone tools. The ceilings were blackened by smoke to harden the tuff.

The people needed to construct ladders to enter the caves. Tommy and I climbed the 140 feet of ladder to enter the Caves Kiva. This climb was something else, but was worth it. Glad I did it. Kivas (KEE-vah) are underground structures that are important part of the ceremonial cycle and culture and was the center of the community for the religious activity, education, and decision making. You would enter using a ladder through an opening in the roof. We were even able to see petroglyphs, which are writings or carvings, on the cave walls.

Soda Falls, a natural occurring dam, was neat to see.

You will enter a town of White Rock and you must go to Overlook park. I think the name says it all. You could see forever.

Los Alamos is the town of the government secret stuff. You would see hundreds of acres of mountains, meadows, and prairies. Then poof a building in the middle of nowhere with nothing around it ….hmmmm … strange.

The pictures I have taken, as I have said before in a previous post, cannot let you see what we saw. Anyone that know me knows that I am a talker. The beauty of this day left me quiet.

Old Town After the Dentist

Old Town here we come – after the dentist. Tommy’s tooth broke and we went over to the hospital’s Dental Clinic at Kirtland AFB. They were so gracious to see him for an evaluation and has a full appointment at 7:30 am tomorrow. Thank you.

We drove to Old Town Albuquerque to see the shops with pottery, paintings, jewelry, and more. Listened to Amauta, a group of musicians who play Panflutes, Andean flutes, guitar, and rain sticks. The music in magical and so calming.

Hooptie, along with her owners, visited the oldest church in Albuquerque, San Felipe de Neri. The church dates back to 1706.

A relaxing late lunch at the Church Street Cafe

was a delicious end to a charming day in Old Town.

While waiting for Tommy at the dentist this morning I was able to do laundry and met several really nice people. One of them is Sherlee who lived here in Albuquerque for years. She and her husband, Don, were kind enough to come over this evening to the RV and give us pointers for a day trip for tomorrow to see some of prettiest country around Albuquerque and Sante Fe. Sherlee and Don now live outside of Seattle and gave us tips on what to see there as well. We just may meet up with them when we get there.

Our neighbor in the RV park is Roger, an officer in the Alaska Air National Guard, brought his computer and maps over tonight to give us the low down on where to go, routes to take or avoid, and things to watch out for in and on the way to Alaska. He has made this trip 6 times! He gave us a very thorough briefing! Thanks Roger.

Pork and Brew Championship and Sandia Peak Tram

Spectacular day here in New Mexico. Drove to Rio Ranchos to the Pork and Brew Championship. Fun day with great BBQ, music, chain saw carving, mechanical bull riding, and of course, Pig Racing.

Those little piggys are fast!

Drove through the countryside and took in the landscape.

Strange speed limits here.

We are staying at the foot of the Sandia Mountains which are beautiful. The Sandia Peak Tram is the worlds longest aerial tramway.

From the base to the top of the 10, 378 foot Sandia Peak has a variety of landscapes from rugged rocks,

to evergreen trees,

to snow the snow capped peak.

The tram has 2.7 miles of travel to the top which takes about 15 minutes to ascend to the peak. When at the peak you have a panoramic view of 11,000 square miles. Amazing! The ski season was extended this year because of the new 14 inches of snow they received 2 weeks ago and today is the last day of the season. It was 75 when we parked the car and it was 25 at the top. The terrain on one side of the mountain was massive rocks while on the other side was tree lined. It felt like you were at two different places depending which side of the mountain you were at.

Now I don’t have words to describe the view from the tram and up on the peak. Pictures cannot do justice to what the eye can capture and take in. We are awestruck with the sights we have seen in our country and this is only in the 1st two weeks of our trip!!!

Strange Weather in These Here Parts

Hurricane force winds this morning, 50 MPH gusts on a regular basis. Decided to leave Amarillo anyway and head to Albuquerque, NM. We’ll see how far we can go with the winds. Hard keeping her on the road. Locals say this is normal and today is just a little windy.

Prairies and plateaus, so majestic, purple mountains in the distance. I still cannot get over the vast expanses of farmlands and ranches. Cattle roaming. To be able to see miles and

miles of nothing and everything at the same time. Dust storms come up and they can block whole mountains.

Look at the base of the mountain, see the red dirt rising up.

This is The Panhandle Plains.

We’ve crossed into New Mexico, more plateaus and “hills”, the terrain is rockier and I think you can see further here than in Texas. It’s getting greener here with evergreen bushes and some trees vs.the tumbleweed type we were seeing in TX. Dare I say it’s becoming more beautiful? Excitement is growing inside me for NM is where I envisioned the vacation really beginning. I have always wanted to come here.

We stopped for lunch at a rest stop and when we got back on the road, the clouds were dropping fast. We are 60 miles east of Albuquerque and Yes it’s snowing again! Hope it’s just a snow squall.

Arriving in Albuquerque bring us sunny skies, snow capped mountains, and warmer temps to 52. Amazing how just 1 hour can change things so much here.

This is the view from where we are staying at Kirtland Air Force Base. Not to shabby!

So today we have had high winds, some rain, dust storms, snow, and sunny skies. Funny weather it these here parts.