Santa Fe

This morning we decided to drive to Santa Fe. We had in mind to soak up some of the southwestern ambience of the plaza and environs and to take advantage of the rare opportunity to shop at Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods. It’s just over an hour’s drive south, through Espanola. We drove past casino after casino in the pueblos south of Espanola, no doubt patronized by folks from Santa Fe.

As we approached the plaza, it was obvious that something big was going on. The parking lots were full, and the streets were jammed. We had picked the opening day of the annual Indian Market for our visit. After driving around for nearly 40 minutes, we were lucky enough to find a parking space about half a mile south of the plaza. We walked past the state capitol and through the winding streets towards the plaza. Hundreds of white tent stalls displayed authentic Indian arts and crafts, attested by the signs in each vendor booth.

We strolled around, really not too interested in the wares because we have no place to collect them. We made our way to the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi and explored its history and architecture. A replica of the Franciscan crucifix of San Damiano in Assisi is hung high over the main altar. We were glad we got to see the original, since this one was actually too high up to be seen in much detail.

We looked at the lovely stained glass windows depicting Franciscan saints and the colorful stations of the cross. An unusual outdoor series of stations is in the works for Archbishop Lamy Gardens next to the church. Each station will be represented by a life size bronze statue tableau. Two of these were on display, along with the planned layout of the garden.

We walked next to the New Mexico History Museum, where we took advantage of the air conditioning to eat our sandwiches discreetly seated on a bench in a large hallway. Then we purchased our tickets to tour the museum and the adjoining Governors Palace. The most interesting exhibit in the museum to us was the special exhibit on Ernest Thompson Seton called "Wild at Heart." Seton was hired to shoot wolves, but ended up defending them. He was also involved in the early boys’ outdoor organization he called Woodcraft Indians and helped found Boy Scouting. He wrote several books, including Wild Animals I Have Known and several other children’s books. He was a gifted wildlife artist who meticulously illustrated his books with thousands of pen and ink drawings.

The Palace of the Governors is the oldest continuously occupied government building in the United States, so its history goes back centuries. It has undergone lots of changes, some of which have been made visible by hatches and windows opening on archeological digs of the walls and foundations.

After our tour of the palace, we were hot and tired. We walked around a bit and then found the public library, where we sat in the periodicals reading room to rest and read.

When the library closed at 6:00 p.m. we walked back to the truck (still there) and drove to Café Castro, described by Yelp reviewers as having authentic family style New Mexican cooking at very reasonable prices—and especially great green chile and chile rellenos. Our meal was good, topped off by sopapilla with honey.

We shopped at both Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods, filling up the back seat with lots of goodies. I was glad that Ken was driving home. We arrived at the campground well before the 10:00 p.m. gate closing.