Santa Fe.
Yeah, I could get used to this life...staying in a beautiful house I don't pay for, eating fantastic food, bumming around in museums, hiking canyons, going to archaeological sites, reading plays and novels, writing in my journal...
...yep. That's been my life the past 2.5 days.
But sadly, this must, like all things, end.
I'm in my last night in Santa Fe, drinking a margarita or two and reporting to you, my friends, the trip thus far.
Yesterday I bummed around Santa Fe's plaza area. Checked out an Egyptian exhibit at the Art Museum and an exhibit on the "disappeared" (political prisoners, refugees, victims, etc.) in Nicaragua, as well as a gallery of paintings reflecting the Native American opinion of war at the Native American Cultural Museum. The plaza was cool...lots of Native American craftsman selling their wares, and a bulk of historic buildings. And for lunch I had possibly the best damn meal I've had in a long time:
Green Chile Stew, Pozole (a type of corn simmered in chiles and pork), and an enchilada. Totally spicy, totally awesome.
Then I continued my tour of interesting places in Santa Fe. I found one: the oldest church structure in the United States, the Church of San Miguel:
Even cooler though, was Loretto Chapel, which contains a "miraculous" staircase. According to legend, this stair case stood erect by the will of God alone (there used to be no anchors holding the stair case in place. It spiraled from the ground to the choir loft in a double helix without support--a feat apparently impossible according to the laws of engineering).
And here it is, decorated for your Christmas pleasure:
Cool? When I asked the woman working in the chapel why it was anchored now, she simply said that it was for decoration only, that it wasn't "really" anchored to the adjoining pillars.
God Bless, then.
So that was yesterday.
Then today I went on a bit of an adventure. I drove southwest to Tent Rocks National Monument, where I hiked around these bizarre volcanic formations, as well as into a slot canyon. This chilly winter hike was, well, gorgeous. Just look:
Then I drove a loop through the back country between Albuquerque and Santa Fe. I was driving through snow covered trees, and once again...gorgeous. Just look:
I ended up at Bandeliere National Monument, home to cliff dwelling ruins of the ancient Pueblo Indians. Yep. I even managed to get my archaeology fix on this trip. Who knew?
So, now it's further west. Arizona to Vegas to Cali. More to come.
1 comment:
I've heard of that staircase. The nuns needed some way to get to the top level of the church, and so they prayed until a carpenter appeared at the door and offered to build them a staircase. He did it without nails or glue, and then before the nuns could pay him, he disappeared as mysteriously as he arrived. They believed Jesus himself had come to answer their prayers.
It's one of those stories I wish very much were true. Some prayers should be answered so dramatically.
One of my friends spent two summers building costumes for the Santa Fe Opera, but I don't think she ever made it to Loretto Chapel. It looks lovely.
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