Santa Fe NM - Part 3

The Loretto Chapel, just off the Plaza in Santa Fe.

 

When the Chapel was completed in 1878, there was no way to access the choir loft twenty-two feet above. Carpenters were called in to address the problem, but they all concluded access to the loft would have to be via ladder as a staircase would interfere with the interior space of the small Chapel.

Legend says that the Sisters of the Chapel made a novena to St. Joseph, the patron saint of carpenters. On the ninth and final day of prayer, a man appeared at the Chapel with a donkey and a toolbox looking for work. Months later, the elegant circular staircase was completed.  It had two complete spirals without center or side supports.  Upon completion, the carpenter disappeared without pay or thanks.  It was originally built with no railings - those were added later.

 

 

 

 

The ornate stained glass in the Loretto Chapel made part of its journey to Santa Fe via wagon. Purchased in 1876 from the DuBois Studio in Paris, the glass was first sent from Paris to New Orleans by sailing ship and then by paddle boat to St. Louis, MO. where it was taken by covered wagon over the Old Santa Fe Trail to the Chapel.  These are the original stained glass windows.

 

A few days later we visited the tiny community of Chimayo (pronounced Chim I O' with the accent on the O) located about 45 minutes north of Santa Fe.  The village is well known for the chapel, the Santuario.

This is the chapel.

These rock arches represent the seven days of creation.

Very interesting artwork in the various buildings and courtyards.

Chimayo is also well known for the weavings done there.  We visited two weaving places - many beautiful rugs, table runners, coasters, purses, clothing, etc.  It was so interesting to see the weaving actually being done as we watched.  I was told it takes about two days to "load" one of these looms, getting it ready for the weaving.

The man weaving this rug told me he makes up the pattern as he does the weaving.  I can't even imagine doing that.

We spent part of a day in a historic coal mining town and ghost town named Madrid (with the accent on the Mad).  It used to be a deserted town, but has been taken over and rejuvenated by hippies and has shops, restaurants, a spa and museum.  The locals in Santa Fe call it Hippieville. 

We learned the town has no sewer system, so every store has porta-potties.  Also, the water there is icky so it has to be filtered before being used in homes and restaurants.  Can't say any of us wanted to move right in!

The buildings are very old and have been repurposed as shops, restaurants, etc.

This plaque is on the building above, just to the left of the stairs. 

Resident birds sitting on their nest in a corner above a shop door.

 

The driveway in front of a glass studio is "paved" with glass pieces. It reminded me of the sidewalk at Shipwreck Beads in Washington.

An interesting sculpture using old metal parts outside a store.  How welcoming is that?

Our final stop in Santa Fe - two new "shoes" (tires) for the trailer at Garcia Tires.  Very nice and accommodating folks. We couldn't get up to their shop, so they did the work in the street.  It was a dead end street, so to turn around, we had to ask two big trucks to move, back up, pull into a McDonald's driveway, back up into the street then go forward!!!  All us RVers know just what that is like.

Santa Fe NM - Part 2 - International Folk Art Market

The Santa Fe International Folk Art Market is celebrating its 10th year.  This year, there were over 50 countries represented in more than 150 booths.  Many of the artists are from very poor countries, and it is difficult to obtain passports and visas for them since they do not represent the average type of traveler.  Visas are not granted if it is felt they are a "return risk." Many artists are sponsored by organizations or individuals who help with their expenses and other challenges that occur.  16,000 - 20,000 people attend the market each year.

The posters behind the booths where you pay state:

It’s not a market.  It’s a miracle.

 

90% of sales go home with the artists and their organizations.  These sales often represent 10x what they might earn in one year in their country, improving lives and sustaining traditions.

The average income for the artists is $17,000 for the three-day market.  Not only does this income help their individual families but many artists help their communities as well. 

The market is held on "Museum Hill" and there is no parking in that area during the market.  They have an amazingly efficient shuttle bus service from remote areas and an army of cheerful, helpful volunteers.  We arrived a little before the opening time and this is the line.  Once it opened, we reached the entrance in just a few minutes.  They clearly have done this before and it is so organized.

The quality and the variety of items were amazing.  I took pictures of a few booths just to give you the feel of the market - lots of color and very festive.

This is Lliya Kazakov from Kazakhstan.  I bought a hammered silver pendant from him.  He didn't really speak much English but was very nice and very talented.  His work is his family's only source of income.

This gentleman is chip carving.  He did beautiful work and Alan enjoyed watching him.  How he could work with all those people around is amazing.

A wire and bead flamingo.  Cathy, it was way too large for your motorhome, but I sure thought about it for you.

A beaded elephant and lion.  The women who beaded these animals are very oppressed in their village.  The money they have been able to earn has helped to gain them "status" and they are being treated somewhat better in their own village.

Santa Fe NM - Part 1

Us at the Visitors' Center.  This deer was made mostly from bark.

We started our exploration of Santa Fe with a tour in a small open-air bus.  Frank, our driver, was very knowledgeable and gave us a constant stream of information about what we were seeing.

On the bus - Betti and Ken Hendrickson behind Alan.

Right where we got on the bus, was the Spitz clock.  The Spitz Jewelry Store was established in 1881, and this clock, which was bought second hand in Kansas City, stood in front of the store from 1915 until l967.  It has been donated to the citizens of Santa Fe and is getting a new coat of gold leaf.  It is hand wound and still today, someone has to wind it to make it run.

The La Fonda Hotel - pretty typical architecture around the Plaza (center of the old city).  Buildings were made of stone and mud because the only vegetation around was pinon and juniper - no real  lumber to build structures.

The Plaza.

Lots of flowers around.

Santa Fe is full of artwork everywhere you look.  It is the second largest art market in the US - NY is the largest.  There are 250 galleries representing about 4000 artisans.  Some of these were taken from the tour bus and some as we walked.

Masks in the dining room of the Thunderbird Grill, where we had a great lunch on the balcony overlooking the Plaza.

Rock, paper, scissors!  Reminded us of The Big Bang Theory.

Possibly flamingos for Cathy Benton?

No doubt about this being a flamingo!

My favorite statue - near the Plaza.

Cow heads for Sandy's sister, Karen.

 

A very fancy and, no doubt, expensive cow head.

 

Sounds like a good motto to me - and did they have wonderful cupcakes.



 

Betti and Ken Hendrickson's cat, Sweetie.  She goes for several walks a day and has quite the fun personality. 

The Saga of the Fried Microwave

We finally decided we needed to leave Creede CO due to the heavy smoke.  It wasn't at all enjoyable to be there and more important, it couldn't have been healthy.  After calling several places that couldn't accommodate us for a month or so, we decided to head to Sierra Village in Taos NM.  It was about 5 miles east of Taos, located in the mountains, and even had a woodcarving pavilion and what appeared to be an active carving program.

On July 1, we drove to Taos and moved into our temporary spot until after the July 4th weekend.  The park had seen better days but we hoped it would work out.  On July 3, we were able to move to our permanent spot.  We noticed the power was very low, in fact, it was in the red section of our volt meter without turning on our water heater or refrigerator. 

Our "permanent" site at Sierra Village.  So pretty.

Alan went to talk to the park owner, Ken, and he sent a couple of guys to check out the electric pole.  They worked around for awhile and then plugged us back in.  The whole entertainment center popped, cracked and made terrible noises.  They worked awhile longer and the same thing happened to the microwave this time.  One more time and lots of terrible noises but I couldn't tell exactly where they came from.  Come to find out, they had wired for 220 and then plugged us in three times.  By the end of that day, more than half our electric outlets did not work, our microwave was fried and we still had power too low to turn on any appliances. 

The park owner knew our problems were now his problem, so he called a mobile RV repairman to come out on July 4.  Danny (the RV repairman) and his wife, Judy, arrived about 11:00 am.  He was very nice and capable and after 8 hours of working plus two trips into Taos for parts, he had all our outlets working.  There was no hope for the microwave, so he and Alan removed it and set it on the picnic table.  We were really glad we were not paying Danny's bill. 

Here is our bed after I had to unload the whole linen closet to find the outlet for a washer and dryer (if we had one put in).  Just one part of the mess after a 8 hours of work by Danny

Where our microwave was, now just a big, empty hole.

 

Poor old microwave looking forlorn on the picnic table.

Before I go on, here are some fun pictures taken in this terribly underpowered RV park.

The pickup truck of our next door neighbors, Becky and Mitch, at Sierra Village.  Where do you suppose they are from??? 

This is Peanut, a very fun dog belonging to JeanAnn and Mike, some nice folks we met from Houston.

Again, we were faced with trying to find a long-term place to stay on short notice.  We found another park in Taos but they couldn't accommodate us until July 24, so we decided to head to Santa Fe NM until then.  We moved to Santa Fe on July 8, arriving about 11:00 am.  Ken and Betti Hendrickson arrived shortly after that.  They have been very flexible - first planning to meet us in Creede then in Taos and finally here in Santa Fe.

In the early afternoon, we called Danny, the RV repairman, who lives near Santa Fe.  He had generously offered to help us find a microwave (MW) that would fit in the space we had.  He and Judy arrived about 2:30 and he and Alan took off to find us a microwave.  (Was I extra brave letting them pick it out?)  Judy and I stayed at the trailer and visited.  Before long, we had loud thunder, lightning and one of the worst rain storms I have ever seen.  Water was rushing down the street in front of us - it had to be several inches deep.  I was able to lower one end of the awning so the water wouldn't pool in it, but I just don't have the strength or height to take it all the way down.  Needless to say, the water was pouring off the awning too, and we even had some hail and quite a bit of wind.

Pretty soon, Danny and Alan arrived and backed under our awning to unload the new MW.  Danny had literally backed up to the front door of Lowes so they could load it in the downpour.  It is now about 4:00 and they start to install the MW.

You know how nothing ever seems to go right some days?  Well - the installation template didn't match the new MW, the new template they made was a little off so holes had to be redrilled, the MW wouldn't slip in the space,  so they had to remove the tank gauge panel, they got it up and working and the door wouldn't open, necessitating cutting a hole in the wall.  On and on.

Meanwhile, I had planned to make dinner for Betti and Ken and then added Danny and Judy.  It kept getting later and later and Danny and Alan were still working in our kitchen.  Finally, I slipped the ground meat from the fridge and browned and seasoned the taco meat at Betti and Ken's house.  I kept running next door telling them not to give up on us.

About this time, they figured the door wouldn't open. Cutting the hole in the wall was a major process - the walls of this trailer are very tough.  By this time, Danny and Alan were getting really tired, too.

Finally, they were done but it was nearly 8:00.  Alan and I did a fast clean up of counter space, trying to remove sawdust, pieces of wood, etc.  I quickly put the taco salad together and we ate shortly after 8:00, only several hours after it was planned.  We had a nice dinner and Betti and Ken brought rootbeer floats for dessert, a big hit.  We can't thank them enough for being so patient that night.

We were exhausted and had quite a bit of cleanup left to do the next day, but here is our new MW.  Alan and Danny did a great job of picking out a simple-to-use model, just like I wanted.

Ken, the Sierra Village owner, has been very fair and honest through this whole thing.   He paid Danny's original bill that had to be several hundred dollars, refunded the remainder of our money for a month's stay and will be paying for the new MW.  Looking back, we wish he had just said the very low power was all he had available and we could have decided whether to deal with it or not.  Sigh.  RVing is always an adventure.