It was another chilly morning at 57 degrees. Bob even found a snowball (in the freezer).
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We reluctantly got up and turned on the fireplace to warm things up a bit. We left to go partake in the free breakfast in the breakfast room at the campground. There was a lot of breakfast items to choose from. After breakfast, we came back to the camper and got ready for our road trip to Santa Fe. We left at 10:00 and it was a beautiful day–a little cool to start, but we knew it would warm up. The hour drive took us through the valley and over the mountains into Santa Fe (elevation 7130 ft.).
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We parked the car and walked through the streets to the Loretto Chapel built in 1873.
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Outside the chapel, this tree was adorned with hundreds of rosaries that people had left there.
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Inside, the chapel altar was gorgeous, but the star of the show was the spiral staircase.
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This “miraculous staircase” has two 360 degree turns and no visible means of support. We sat and listened to the audio description of how it was designed and built. What a feat that was!
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From there, we walked a few blocks to the San Miguel Church.
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It is thought to be the nation’s oldest active church built in 1610. The ceiling has massive wooden beams.
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The sanctuary has wooden pews, hand-carved wooden statues, and paintings of the saints.
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The altar was a beautiful piece of carved wood.
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The 780 pound San Jose Bell that once hung in the bell tower is now sitting in the back of the chapel.
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There was a mallet laying next to the bell, so Bob had to give it a tap. What a beautiful sound it made.
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The sides of the display where the bell hung were covered in religious medals and charms that were left by people. We marveled at how many there were. After resting in the quiet of the chapel for a bit, we left and moved on.
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Walking up and down the streets, we could see a lot of adobe-type architecture on the buildings. I really like that look!
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Our next stop was the Capitol Building.
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It is designed in the shape of the state’s official emblem, the Zia sun symbol.
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We crossed the Santa Fe River that runs through town as we walked to check out some of the shops around the town square.
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I was on a mission to find a Kokopelli ornament for my New Mexico souvenir. I usually buy an ornament from all the places we travel to as a remembrance of our trips.(Kokopelli, for those of you that don’t know, is a fertility deity depicted as a humpbacked flute player with antenna-like protrusions from his head. He represents the spirit of music and you see it everywhere.)
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We stopped by a shop to look for one and Bob found this really cool hat he liked.
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We tried a few more shops and after finally finding what I was looking for at the five-and-dime store.
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From there, we crossed the town square to the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi.
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Inside it was gorgeous! This church was built in 1869, but the parish was established in 1610.
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Our final stop was the Palace of the Governors. Built in 1610, it is thought to be one of the oldest public buildings in the United States. It functioned as a seat of government until 1909 and is now a history museum. They were doing some renovations so we couldn’t go inside.
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We stopped to quench our thirst in the Roof Top Pizzaria before taking the drive back to Albuquerque.
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With the research that I did, I uncovered the best place in town to have an Indian taco (Tewa Taco), so we stopped at the Pueblo Harvest Cafe. We ordered 2 Indian tacos and each of us took 1/2 of it home. It was delicious, but more than one person could eat.
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With our stomachs full, we made a quick stop for a few groceries and a stop at the car wash before going home. Back at the campground, Auggie got his dinner and a special treat–a steak bone to chew on. Bob always holds it for him and Auggie nibbles on it so gently.
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Without dinner to worry about, Bob got a quick hair trim and Auggie got his evening walk as the sun was setting casting a pink glow on the mountains in the East.
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In the West, it was a pallet of oranges, reds, and yellows in the sky.
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We relaxed with some TV as we waited for the stars to come out. It was a whirlwind day of new experiences! Tomorrow we have some petroglyphs to find and a walk through Old Town Albuquerque on our last day here.