Trail to Santa Fe: 2014

Woke up to the sounds of ravens outside the window. Not exactly the 'birdsong' I like first thing. Then, waiting for the shower (have 1 bathroom for 4 of us) I just had a brief song by resident coyotes! Lee has seen them often here amongst the adobe houses. I tell you these were very close! Off to town for breakfast.

Had brunch outside at a small French restaurant. I had Crepes Jarden. It was pretty good and we had a fun waitress from the east coast. Then it was off to shop a little more.

After I picked up a thing or two, we all got back together and went to see some of the many galleries in Santa Fe. Lee said Santa Fe is third in the nation for the number of art galleries - behind New York City and Los Angeles. I believe it! If you are ever in Santa Fe, go down Canyon Blvd. it is incredible. Here are a few of the wonderful sculptures outside the various galleries...

This one's for you, Ben

This is the La Fonda Hotel. The architecture is similar to what is found around town.

Notice the ravens also around the base. They are not real.

Children playing in the sandbox. Aren, this one's for you. You always loved sandboxes! (Better to play with your toy trucks in! )

And this one's for you Anna...

The other side of this bear has bronze bees all over his fur!

Truffle Pig

This sculpture of a cowboy has not been fired yet. The artist is selling his statues before they have been made. On all castings in this gallery, there was a sign up sheet for pre- sold statues. Half required down, second half when delivered. I believe this one cost $24,000. So you better have $12,000 to put down to reserve yours!

As you can see, I took a lot of pictures of sculptures. That's mainly because they were outside. I wasn't sure if I was allowed to take pictures of artwork inside the galleries. But there was plenty of beautiful beautiful paintings and other media. Come visit sometime! (Emma!)

Doesn't this one make you want to join them? This one must be for you Emma!

Just a few more pictures of Lee's lovely house...

One of these on each side of the entry way

Lovely Southwestern art!

The Master bedroom, or the 'boot' room!

Better view of the boots...

Sitting room

Kitchen

Breakfast Nook

Time to go home. Our Southwest flight was full but the planes have a lot more room than, say, Delta planes. We had a stop in Phoenix although it did continue on to Minneapolis. But as we were approaching the Phoenix airport, the stewardess said on the loudspeaker " It is 106 thousand degrees in Phoenix!" That got a laugh. I guess 106 degrees was almost too high to comprehend! We were very lucky in Santa Fe. It never really felt that hot, except for climbing those steep ladders in Bandelier! I hope to go back and visit Santa Fe again soon, maybe stay longer. Thank you Lee!

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Today we are off to Bandelier National Monument ! As we head north out of Santa Fe, the topography and the scenery starts to change. I can't seem to capture all that I am seeing with just a camera. But it will have to do.

Rio Grande River

As with other National Parks and Monuments there are now so many people that visit that the Park Service has set up shuttles to move people in and out of the park. We don't mind - we got there fairly early and it is still pretty cool. I know it's supposed to get hot today but that seems far away right now. We were cautioned before we left the visitor center to bring water, and use the rest rooms!

This monument preserves the dwellings of the cliff dwellers from hundreds of years ago. I won't go into all the history as that would take too long. What also is taking me so long is choosing which pictures to post!! I admit I took oodles of pictures, all of which I love for the breathtaking views.

Here Jacky and I are just starting out. Look how happy, clean, and non-sweaty we are! Little do I know what lies ahead,the physical challenges for myself.

This is the first of the dwellings we can explore. The only way to get inside is to climb this ladder.

View from the inside. Here you can also see the next people wanting to see inside. There was only room for Jacky and me.

Partway up the cliff. You can see that we are climbing. Also below is the remains of the village after the Indians became agricultural.

One of many pictographs. This one resembles a snake like creature that is seen in ore than one place.

The rock that we are looking at is actually volcanic rock. I assumed it was sandstone but it is not. This is called Tuff and is similar in it's composition I think. It does make the rock look like Swiss cheese! But the Indians took advantage of that and, working with hand tools, dug out dwellings that lasted hundreds of years..

Here you see the outline of the people that lived on the floor of the canyon. They came after the cliff dwellers. You can't get a sense of the shape and size of their community until you are partway up the cliff and can look down.

There were lots of flowers in bloom as well as cactus everywhere. Of course I had to stop and take pictures!

A section of painted wall that has been uncovered and preserved.

We eventually left the cliffs and went down into the canyon where there is a small year round stream. In 2011, hundreds of thousands of aces were burned in a wildfire and, shortly after, there came a hard rain that sent water crashing through the canyon. You can see evidence of this all over. But look at the trees that grow down at the bottom here!

The water crossings weren't well made...

We did come across a Mule Deer doe and her twin fawns. We watched them for quite a while, until noisy people came down the trail.

Jacky, John, and I went to the Alcove. The way up was these ladders - 140ft vertical climb. I really had no idea what I was up against...

Even though I am not fond of heights, I decided to try it...

The views on the way up were incredible!

John on his way up. This is the second, and longest, ladder. I was proud I got up it! There are no safety things in place if you notice...

Take another look at the steepness of this ladder...

This is the Alcove - what we are climbing to.

Spectacular view!

The mile high club. We made it!!!

Just to prove I made it too! Notice I look less perky and clean than at the beginning of our trek. This is the only covered kiva. You are not allowed to go inside though.

Storage rooms? And just how do you get your food here in the first place???

On the way down. Look how narrow this trail is here! And there are people trying to go the other way at the same time!

Made it all the way down. Limped back as quick as could be to catch the shuttle so we could get to Los Alamos and the Bradford Museum. Took a picture though as we were leaving. It reminded me of The Painted Desert, except on a much larger scale. Breathtaking, isn't it?