Trip to Santa Fe Plaza

A trip to Santa Fe is a step into cultural history and a busy arts center.  On the day we went, they were having a arts and crafts festival. Oh what joy for me!!

The Plaza is evidently a busy place even without this special event.  

In front of the Governors Palace the Native Americans sells there hand crafted jewelry.

Not my pic, but here is another view. 

After "shopping" a little while, we decided to take a tour of the city.  The tour guide was very informative.  I tried to capture a few pics of the city. 

Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi

I thought the top of this building was unique.  This building is The Lensic, Santa Fe's Performing Arts Center. This is a pseudo-Mooris, Spanish Renaissance built by Nathan Salmon and E. John Greer. It's name is derived from the initials of Greer's six grandchildren. It opened in 1931. 

Shades of blue doors and windows are almost everywhere you look. The blue paint (color of the sky) is thought to ward off evil spirits.   Today, the blue door is simply a sign of welcome.  Evidently, there are many reason as to why the doors and windows are painted blue. I like the sign of welcome theory. 

In a previous post, I mentioned all the wood fences, well, there is a reason as to why they have wood stick fences around the property....

...They are used to keep the coyotes away.  Evidently, the coyotes do not like the smell of the wood. I can't remember what kind of tree the tour guide mentioned. I have tried to research it, but can't find any info. Maybe someone can tell me?

About 60 miles southeast of town, the Santa Fe Trail begins to gently slope up toward the mountains.  This sculpture represents JOURNEY'S END. 

  

Wagons of this type were loaded with clothing, bulk cloth and sundries. Crowds lined the dusty 

streets, excited that supplies had arrived. 

    Santa Fe Trail map. 

Albuquerque - Old Town and Turquoise Trail to Santa Fe

OLD TOWN

Visiting Old Town is unique. Of course, it is a shoppers delight. I loved the historic ambience of Old Town. 

Venders with their wares of turquoise and silver jewelry. 

Restaurants.  Notice the hot peppers. 

TURQUOISE TRAIL

The Turquoise Trail is a National Scenic Byway. The byway stretches from Tijeras to Santa Fe. It is a beautiful drive. 

Along the way, we visited the small community of Cerrillos. The Cerrillos mining district is one of the oldest and most marked of the Old Spanish Mineral Developments in the Southwest. 

The town is sadly run down now.  There are a few houses. I thought it interesting what they use for fencing. 

  This type of fencing can be found around most adobe houses. 

Here is an entrance door; just standing on the property's edge to an old adobe house. 

SANTA FE

Santa Fe is a beautiful city and the oldest capital city in the United States and the oldest city in New Mexico. They build all of their homes and businesses to blend in with the landscape.  In fact it is an ordinance, which was passed in 1957, that any new and rebuilt buildings must exhibit a Spanish Territorial or Pueblo style. 

Since we were just driving the Turquoise Trail and had the dogs wth us, we didn't take time to go to the plaza but I hope to return soon. 

Albuquerque - July 20 - 22, 2015

Traveling from Amarillo to Albuquerque was a nice.  The landscape is pretty in my opinion. Some was flat land that gradually turned into rolling hills. Along the way you could see windmill farms and grain elevators. 

In the distance we could see storm clouds and rain, however, we didn't drive through any storms. 

New Mexico welcomes. 

We camped the first night around Albuquerque at Tourquoise Trail Campground and RV Park.  It is a small park with some long term (maybe even permanent) campers and one night campers. That was us...one night. 

We moved on in to Albuquerque to Kirtland AFB FamCamp. We purchased tickets for the Sandia Peak Tramway at the ITT office on base. The tickets were good for anytime that day so we choose to visit in the evening so that we would be there when the sun went down.  

Fish rock

We had a nice dinner at the top, watched the sun go down and saw the lights of the city. It was a beautiful perfect evening.