Living Our Dream

Santa Fe, NM Part II: Walking Tour

One thing we noticed on the tram tour was the fact that there were several food carts around the square. They were selling hot dogs and brats, fajitas, and all sorts of good-smelling foods. As soon we got off the tram, we walked right over to the square to check out the goodies. The food cart that caught our eye (and noses) was the one that won the award for the Best Food Cart of 2008. They were selling carnitas. Carne means "meat" in Spanish, and carnita means "little meat."

 

We bought a carnita to share. In the photo below, Paul is enjoying his turn at taking a few bites of the carnita, which is beef, fried onions and peppers, and salsa - all wrapped in flat bread.

 

After our snack, we walked around the square and some of the side streets. There weren't quite as many picturesque little alcoves off the main sidewalks as there were in Albuquerque, but there were a few.

After we walked some of the side streets and got around the square almost back to where we had started, we noticed people eating something out of Frito bags. On further investigation, we found out what they were eating were called a Frito Pies, and they were sold at the lunch counter in the Five and Dime Store. They cut open the edge of a snack-size bag of Fritos, ladle in some chili, and sprinkle shredded cheese on top. You eat it right out of the bag. Well, it sounded so good, we decided we had to give it a try. Yum! What a great idea for a picnic, camping, Super Bowl party, etc! Eating out of the Frito bag really saves on cleanup.

 

After our second shared snack, we continued our walking tour. We wanted to get a closer look at some of the places we passed on the tram tour. A block from the square is the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, which is also known as St. Francis Cathedral.

 

The cathedral was built by Archbishop Jean Baptiste Lamy from 1869 to 1886 on the site of an older, adobe church. French-born Archbishop Lamy chose Romanesque Revival style that stands out in stark contrast to the surrounding adobe structures.

The truncated towers were originally intended to have 160 foot tall steeples, but the steeples were never completed because of lack of funds. In fact, the archbishop had to rely on funds from at least one Jewish contributor to get the cathedral completed to its present state. The Hebrew inscription over the doors was probably the archbishop's "thank you" to his Jewish benefactor.

Loretto Chapel  is located about a block from St. Francis Cathedral. The chapel was built from 1873 to 1878 for the students of Loretto Academy. The chapel is Gothic Revival style. The chapel is known for its spiral staircase. Today, the chapel is a privately-owned museum.

Early May is an excellent time to visit Sante Fe if you are a fan of lilacs. They were in full bloom and fragrance during our visit.There was a bush to the right in the photo below in front of San Miguel Church, which is located a few blocks from Loretto Chapel right along the Old Santa Fe Trail.

San Miguel Church is still a functioning Catholic parish. The church was built around 1610 and the original adobe walls still lie within the stucco exterior. The roof was destroyed during the Pueblo Indian rebellion of 1680, but the roof was replaced in 1694 after the Spanish returned to Santa Fe. The present bell tower and the massive stone buttresses were added in 1880.

The photo below shows the interior of the San Miguel Church. There are cutouts in the floor in the front that show the original adobe steps to the altar under the existing wooden floor.

 

From San Miguel Church we walked back to the car for the drive back to Albuquerque. We really liked Santa Fe, and one day wasn't nearly enough time there. We knew it wouldn't be, but it was all the time we had on this trip. We are definitely planning to return someday.

We spent the next day catching up on laundry and did some grocery shopping. Then the following day, we continued traveling west.

Santa Fe, NM Part I: Tram Tour

Santa Fe, NM, is only about an hour's drive north of where we were staying in Albuquerque, so we decided to take a day trip. Santa Fe, which means "holy faith" in Spanish, is the capital of New Mexico.

We started off our visit to Santa Fe with a tram tour of the city. We have found these one to two-hour guided tours to be an excellent way to get a quick overview of a city we have never visited before, to learn some history, and to get a sense of where things are located. The tours usually cost under $20 a person (this one was $15).

There are several tour companies, and we chose Loretto Line Tours based on their online description as Santa Fe's oldest tour company. Our tour started at 10:30 AM from the La Fonda Hotel near the old town square. As with all early Spanish settlements there was a square, which is shown in the photo below.



Santa Fe was established in 1610 by the Spanish. It was the capital of Nuevo Mexico, a province of New Spain. Along the square is the Palace of the Governors, which was built in 1610, and which served as the seat of government in Nuevo Mexico for several hundred years.



The Palace is the oldest continuously occupied building in the United States. It is an adobe structure. As we learned last year in Taos, adobe is a mixture of mud, sand, and straw that is used to make bricks. After the bricks are dried in the sun, they are used for construction. The inside and outside of the adobe brick walls are then covered with a smooth coating of more adobe. The smooth covering is subject to cracking and weathering, and must be renewed every year. As with most old adobe buildings, the original walls of the Palace of Governors have been covered with stucco for easier maintenance. The building currently houses the New Mexico History Museum, but a new building for the museum adjacent to the Palace is scheduled to open on May 23, 2009.

The museum also sponsors a Native American artisans program. Jewelry, pottery, carvings, drums, leatherwork, and other handicrafts are sold by the artists on the porch of the Palace.

All artisans are screened to be sure they are making the crafts themselves by hand. There are no imports and no manufactured goods. The members of the program participate in a lottery every morning for a selling spot on the porch of the Palace. The crafts are expensive, but they are outstanding quality. They are all handmade in authentic Native American designs and by authentic methods.

The square in Sante Fe was also the terminus of the Santa Fe Trail. The Santa Fe Trail, which ran from Missouri to Santa Fe, was a trade route between the United States and Mexico starting in the early 1820s. Spanish colonial policy restricted trade prior to that time, but after Mexico won its independence in 1821, trade restrictions were relaxed. The trail served as an invasion route for the United States Army in 1846 during the Mexican-American War, and it also brought American settlers to New Mexico. The trail fell into disuse after the railroad reached Santa Fe in 1880. The photo below is a life-size sculpture depicting a wagon train traveling the Santa Fe trail.

When Spanish settlers came to northern Nuevo Mexico in the late 1500s, there were already villages of Puebloans living in the area. Pueblo is the Spanish word for "village," and it became the name of both the people who lived in New Mexico and their adobe dwellings.

The Spanish, as well as the Anglo settlers who came later, adopted the adobe building style that Santa Fe is so famous for. We really like the adobe-style architecture with the smooth walls, rounded edges, and mellow tan colors. Some examples of adobe-style architecture that we passed on the tour were the New Mexico Museum of Art...

 

...the Institute of American Indian Arts Museum...

...and the Pink Adobe Restaurant.

Even the Loretto Inn is designed to look like a multi-level pueblo.

 

The tour travels up Canyon Road, which is the center of the art community in Santa Fe. In the 1950s, artists and gallery owners started buying up homes along Canyon Road and converting the homes to art galleries. The galleries, one of which is shown in the photo below, all have the well-known, Santa Fe pueblo style.

The tour stops at a group of galleries where we were given a chance to stretch our legs and look around for a few minutes. In the photo below, Paul is sitting in a sculpture garden beside a large rabbit.

 

Margery particularly liked the bronze sculptures of children outside another gallery. These sculptures sell for $3,000 to $5,000.

 

Probably the most impressive sculpture was an acrylic-painted bronze statue of an Indian princess by Dave McGary titled "Walks Among the Stars." The tour guide told us the price of this sculpture is $320,000. The detail of the beaded costume and fringe is amazing.

In the next photo, Margery is checking out the detail in the blanket the princess is carrying.

The next photos show some of the picturesque galleries along Canyon Road.

 

 

After the tram tour, we continued our visit to Santa Fe on foot. We'll tell you more in our next post.

Albuquerque, NM Part V: Sandia Peak

Although the Sandia Mountain Range is only about 17 miles long, it dominates the horizon northeast of Albuquerque. The mountains lie within the Cibola National Forest. The highest point is Sandia Crest at 10,678 feet. Sandia means watermelon in Spanish, and it is thought the name may be a reference to the pink color that the mountains take on at sunset.

Sandia Peak Tramway ascends the western face of Sandia Peak to one of the highest points on the mountain. The elevation of the upper terminal is 10,378 feet. The lower terminal of the tramway is located at the northeastern edge of Albuquerque. The photo below shows the lower boarding platform looking up toward the first of only two cable support towers.

 

The tramway is the world's longest passenger aerial tramway at a total diagonal distance of 14,657 feet (over 2.7 miles), and it has the third longest single span at a length of 7,720 feet from the second tower to the upper terminal.

The tram is powered by a 600 hp electric motor, and there is a 429 cubic inch Ford industrial engine as a backup. It takes approximately 14 minutes to travel each way.

The tramway started service in 1966 and was built by Bell Engineering of Lucerne, Switzerland. The tram cars were replaced in 1986, and new track cables were installed in 1997.

The photo below was taken from the back of the tram car just after we passed the second tower. There is a slight sway as the car passes over the tower.

As with most aerial trams, there are two cars. As one ascends, the other descends. Shortly after passing the second tower, we passed the other car.

The views from the tram are impressive as it passes rugged rocks and spires.

 

The photo below is Golf Ball Rock.

 

And the next photo is The Cannon.

 

The Sandia Mountains are made up primarily of granite, but they are topped by a layer of sedimentary rock. The sedimentary rock, which is mostly limestone, indicates the mountaintop was once under water. The mountains are a fault block range at the eastern edge of the Rio Grande Rift Valley. The mountains were uplifted when the rift was formed. The photo below shows the sedimentary rock at the crest.

Shortly after we got to the top, we watched our car depart for its descent.

 

As impressive as the views were coming up the mountain, the views at the top were even more spectacular. They say you can see an area of 11,000 square miles.

In the photo above, the darker, greenish line that runs across the picture near the horizon is the Rio Grande River lined by trees and other vegetation as it runs down the rift valley. The next photo is a little different location and also shows the green line that follows the Rio Grande.



On the eastern face of the mountain, which is not as steep and rugged at the western face where the tram is located, is the Sandia Peak Ski Area. The bottom of the ski area is accessible by road, and the top of the chair lift is located just west of the upper tram station.

 

In addition to the ski area, there are numerous Forest Service hiking trails on Sandia Peak. Paul walked a short distance down one of the trails, but the trail was a little too close to the edge for Margery. She waited at the top and met him when he returned.



We did walk a short nature trail together; and, yes, there is still a little snow left. They had a 19-inch snowfall a few weeks prior. The sun was warm, but the air was a cool 51 degrees.



Along the nature trail, there were plaques describing some of the rocks and plants. We were a little too early for wildflowers, but one interesting thing we saw was a hanging lichen called Old Man's Beard. It is not a parasite, and like Spanish Moss, it obtains moisture and nutrients from the air and only uses the tree for support.



Also at the top of Sandia Peak is High Finance Restaurant. The name scared us a little, but we checked their menu. Although we initially thought the prices were a little high, we were hungry; and the green chili cheeseburger really sounded good. We rationalized the price wasn't all that bad considering it was a half-pound burger and it included fries, so we decided to split one. Man, was it good!

After our shared lunch, we caught a tram back down the mountain. We headed back to the motor home and got ready for our next excursion.

Albuquerque, NM Part III: Museums

Albuquerque has more than its share of museums. We did some research online, picked up some brochures, and we selected several that we wanted to visit.

Albuquerque is well known for its annual balloon festival held every October. Balloonists come from all over the world to participate in various activities and competitions, and the beauty of the balloons attracts many visitors. Therefore, we thought the Anderson-Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum sounded interesting. The Balloon Museum is located at the Balloon Fiesta Park north of the city.

 

The museum traces the history of balloon flight from the earliest days. It also details the use of balloons during wartime and for scientific study.

The first recorded flight of a hydrogen balloon was made in Paris on Aug. 27, 1873 by Jacques Charles along with Noel Robert. They flew 22 miles before landing. Charles then took off again by himself and flew an additional 35 minutes for the first solo flight. The photo below is a scale model of Jacques Charles' balloon.

Shortly after the first manned flight of a hydrogen balloon, the Montgolfier Brothers launched the first passenger-carrying hot air balloon on Sept. 19, 1873. The passengers were a chicken, a duck, and a sheep. The flight, which also took place in France, proved the balloon could carry relatively heavy weights and that living beings could survive. There was some concern that the altitude might be a problem.

The Montgolfier brothers tested a larger balloon with human passengers in tethered flight on Oct. 15, 17, and 19, 1873. Pilatre de Rosier and Marquis d'Arlandes then made the first hot air free flight on Nov. 21, 1873 in the Montgolfier Brothers' balloon.

The museum also talks about the use of balloons during war. Balloons were used by both sides for observation and reconnaissance as early as the Civil War.

There was also the little-known story about Japanese attacks on the continental United States during World War II using balloons. Thousands of large, helium-filled balloons carrying bombs were launched from Japan in the hope some balloons might find a target. A few made it to our shores, but the U. S. Government squelched all news of the balloons so as to not panic the American people and to not provide any information back to the Japanese as to the success of the balloons or their landing points.

There is a large room at the back of the museum with a number of gondolas from recent scientific flights and around-the-world attempts.

The museum also has a section called "Balloon School" where they have some hands-on exhibits showing how balloon fabric is tested for porosity and tensile strength, how knots are tied, and how hot air balloons are inflated. They also have a balloon flight simulator that Paul had a good time trying out.

 

The simulator has a 3-D screen showing the terrain with a target landing area off in the distance. There is a pull-cord control on the right to simulate fueling the burner to make the balloon rise and a cord on the left to simulate dumping hot air to make the balloon descend. A gauge on the screen shows wind direction (which varies with altitude), altitude, and the amount of propane left in the tank. Although he didn't land on the big red X, he scored a 76 out of 100, and he didn't hit any trees or crash. Not bad for the first try.

Another interesting museum we visited was the Turquoise Museum. Since the southwest is known for its silver and turquoise jewelry, we wanted to learn more about turquoise. The Turquoise Museum, which is located near Old Town, has a collection of thousands of turquoise specimens from over 100 mines located all over the world. There is information on how turquoise is mined, graded, polished, and used for jewelry. Unfortunately, photography is not permitted, so we can't show you the beauty of the many varieties of turquoise.

We learned the name turquoise probably comes from the French word for the country of Turkey. Although turquoise does not occur in Turkey, it was traded at the Turkish bazaars to Venetian merchants who introduced it to Europe. The Turks obtained turquoise from Persia (present-day Iran).

We think of turquoise as being more or less a blue-green color, but the mineral ranges from light green to deep blue and everything in between. Green is the result of higher concentrations of iron in the mineral and blue is the result of more copper.

Most of the turquoise used in the U. S. today comes from China where it exists in larger quantities, where labor costs are lower, and where there are fewer environmental restrictions on mining.

The quality of turquoise varies greatly and depends on color, hardness, and matrix. Some of the most valuable turquoise is called spider web because of the thin lines of the dark matrix that runs through the mineral.

Much of the turquoise mined is too soft and/or does not have good color. Turquoise can be stabilized by infusing it with plastic, and the color can be enhanced by the addition of wax, oil, resin, or plastic. Some turquoise is made by grinding the mineral to a powder and mixing it with plastic. Some so-called turquoise is even pure plastic colored to look like turquoise. Therefore, it is important to buy turquoise from a reliable source.

Albuquerque is proving to be a very interesting place. We have been out almost every day, and we're not done yet. There is still more to come.

Albuquerque, NM Part II: History - Petroglyph National Monument

On our way back to the motor home from Old Town, we stopped at Petroglyph National Monument, which is located a few miles north of Albuquerque. Petroglyphs are images that were etched into stone. Petroglyph National Monument protects a variety of natural and cultural sites containing up to 20,000 images that include animals, birds, people, and geometric and other designs. Most of the images were carved by Native Americans, but some were carved by early settlers.

The photo below shows the entrance to the visitor center. Notice the chili pepper ristras hanging from the posts.

 

Paleo-Indians were the first pre-historic inhabitants of the area. Later inhabitants include the Mogollion (pronounced Muggy-YONE) and the Ancestral Puebloans. By the time the Spanish arrived in the 1500s, there were villages of Puebloans, as well as groups of Navajo, Apache, and Ute. The Native American rock etchings at Petroglyph National Monument were probably done 400 to 700 years ago, although some may have be as much as 2000 to 3000 years old.

In the 1600s, heirs of Spanish land grant recipients carved crosses and sheep brands into the rocks. In the 1800s, other explorers and settlers also chiseled their names and dates into the rocks.

The rock at Petroglyph National Monument is volcanic basalt. The lava flowed from a large crack in the earth's crust to the west. Several cinder cones that formed along this fissure can still be seen at the western edge of the national monument.

Exposed rocks in arid regions frequently develop a dark coating called desert varnish. The earlier images in Petroglyph National Monument were made by hammering directly against a stone face or boulder with another stone to chip through the desert varnish to expose the lighter-colored rock below. Later, a technique was developed where one stone was used as a hammer to strike against a second stone, which was used as a chisel. This later method provided better control.

There are two hiking trails where petroglyphs can be viewed - a shorter one to the top of the mesa at Boca Negra Canyon (about one hour round trip) and a longer one at Rinconada Canyon (over two hours round trip). There is also a trail at the western edge of the national monument (right up the road from the interstate exit where our campground was located) to the cinder cones. Since it was mid-afternoon, we opted for the shorter trail at Boca Negra Canyon.

As we said, this trail involved a climb to the top of the mesa. Margery took off with a pretty big lead after Paul backtracked a hundred yards or so to the car to get the binoculars.

 

The trail was pretty rugged with large boulders and bowling ball-sized loose rocks along the path. We haven't mentioned Margery's knees for a long time because they have been doing so well. This steep, rugged climb was no problem either.

There were numerous petroglyphs visible on the way up the trail. The one below is a person with a geometric shape below.

Unfortunately, some of the petroglyphs, like the upper left corner of the one shown in the photo below, have had pieces chipped away by vandals, souvenir hunters, or by freezing and thawing.

 

This next petroglyph is starting to fade and has a large crack running across the middle.

On the way up the trail, we could see Sandia Peak off to the east with the northern suburbs of Albuquerque in the foreground. We're looking forward to exploring Sandia Peak later in the week.

The trail back down to the parking area follows a slightly different path. We saw the petroglyphs in the next photo on the way down the trail. The figures on the left are two birds facing each other.

 

No one really knows what the petroglyphs mean. Did they have religious significance? What was their message? Were they art? Were they someone's way of saying "I was here" or "This is my territory?" Or were they just ancient graffiti? We'll probably never know.

Back down in the parking area, Paul noticed curly dock growing in various locations. Although it is a difficult-to-control weed in the lawn or garden, the plant is fairly attractive in this desert setting. Curly dock, which is sometimes called wild rhubarb, is also edible.

From Petroglyph National Monument, it was only a short distance back to the motor home where we had dinner and relaxed for the evening. There is a lot to do and see in the Albuquerque area, so check back to see what else we're up to.