A page a day
Life on California's beautiful Central CoastArchive for New Mexico
Santa Fe 2012
I’m in Santa Fe with the fabulous Elizabeth Werhane for three days of sightseeing, chile eating, hiking, art observing, window shopping and history seeking great times.
I never fail to come back to this state with love in my heart – it’s just as beautiful as ever and the people have been fabulously nice to us. We met the nephew of the late Selma Rubin, the wonderful activist who recently passed away in Santa Barbara, and enjoyed a beautiful lunch at a new Canyon Road restaurant, The Tea Garden. We also grabbed breakfast at my favorite Cerrillos breakfast spot, Tecolote Cafe, also the best breakfast bet of none other than novelist George R.R. Martin. We’ve been threatening to stop by his house and ask him how book six is going, but alas, we don’t know exactly where it is.
Tomorrow we’re off to Bandalier National Monument and then driving the Enchanted Circle to Taos. It’s perfect weather for traveling!
Got in a five mile run this morning and we walked almost six miles during our sightseeing today.
Painting in the lobby of the Buffalo Thunder.
Another old favorite, a little more faded with time.
Cute donkey mom and baby.
Chimayo
On our way to raft on Friday we took a quick detour to Chimayo, which is the destination for an annual pilgrimage. The dirt beneath the chapel is believed to have healing powers. There is a little room to the left of the chapel where you can scoop up some of the “holy dirt” and take it home.
They were holding mass in the chapel while we were there, so we didn't go in.
The cemetary and church are nearly 200 years old.
The cemetary is within the walled courtyard.
Across from the chapel is a small restaurant.
More chiles.
There are crosses everywhere.
My guess is that the pilgrims carry the crosses with them when they walk, but I'm not sure.
This horse lived next to the parking lot.
Cochiti Lake Christmas
Erik’s mom Nell got all her Christmas decorations (and most of her household goods) from garage sales. For $20, a tree and decorations can’t be beat! It even came with a pretty great star for the tip top.
Tree. Not real.
Shining star.
Outside the house. The snow is ice now.
Snow in Santa Fe
Last night it snowed about three inches. It’s beautiful and cold! I walked to the square and took a few photos.
Famous burro.
Kasha Katuwe – Tent Rocks
A National Monument located just outside of the Cochiti Reservation.
Snow in the slot canyon.
Tree growing sans soil.
Tent rocks.
Near the top.
On the way down.
Back in New Mexico
We’re spending the night in Farmington, New Mexico. We had to come down here to come to the bank, unfortunately. Oh well. Tomorrow we’re on our way to Utah.
I drove the van from Cortez to here! White knuckled all the way. I am so greatful to Erik for doing almost all the driving .. it’s not an easy vehicle to keep a handle on.
Chama .. almost to Colorado!
Chama is the home of the historic Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad, which were once part of the Denver & Rio Grande Railroads, built in 1880. The population of Chama now, 1,200 people, is just 200 more than it was after the railroad boom, when it hit 1000.
Like the railroad that used to service Los Alamos and Los Olivos, it’s a narrow gauge train. The most beautiful part of the route has been preserved, and if you have a spare $75 to $100, you can take a trip on the train.
We won’t be doing that but checked out the station while we got mail and went to the bank in Chama.
Depot.
Down the tracks.
The coal tipple shown in the photo above is the only wooden one surviving in the U.S. It was built in 1924 and is still used, though is currently undergoing renovation.
I snapped this photo of a gallery called “Local Color” because it’s such a journalism oxymoron.
Local color.
The only place we stopped between here and the Ghost Ranch was a neat spot called the Echo Amphitheatre, which makes the neatest echo sounds when you send noise up into its depths. Definitely wished I had an audio recorded to be able to share the noise with you.
Echo. ECHO.
We are on our way to Durango, but may not be able to get there until tomorrow because we’re still waiting for the license plates.
Chimney Rock
From a distance.
When you get up to the mesa that is of equal height to it, it looks more like this:
At the top.
But what that photo doesn’t show is that the winds were blowing ferociously up there, so hard that all I could do was snap the photo and come on down.
Part of the reason was this storm:
Summer storm.
It hasn’t rained yet, though the winds are still blowing something fierce.
On the way back to camp I saw this awesome lizard. 10 big points for whoever can tell me what kind it is. Erik used to know, but doesn’t remember now. It sure is pretty!
Lizard on a rock.
Some of my sharper readers may have noticed I had an unfortunate spelling error on Abiquiu in my earlier post. It has been corrected.
Colorful rocks
Even a writer like me can appreciate why famous painters love this sort of country.
Pedernal from way off.
White rocks.
Red rocks.
Rainbow rocks.
Driving into Ghost Ranch.
