Santa Fe:

December 1,2 & 3
Santa Fe, New Mexico

Santa Fe is the beautiful capital city of New Mexico.  The elevation rose gently as we traveled north from Roswell.  The vegetation grew greener and the scrub pines were taller.  The distant Sangre de Cristo Mountains encircle the city with their soft peaks and tall pines.  The air is cool and dry with a copper colored sandy soil.  Cacti plants are the preferred landscaping around the adobe style one story level homes, reddish brown with soft rounded edges.

The central architectural building in the city of Santa Fe is the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi.  In 1598 Franciscan friars came to what is now New Mexico.  These priests joined the Spanish colonists who had migrated north from Mexico City.  No building in Santa Fe can be built taller than the Cathedral giving it a majestic appearance.

There is a central green space in the center of the city, reminiscent of downtown Jackson Hole, Wyoming.  We stopped at a local bakery  for coffee and sat in the park to watch the people walk and play on this early morning Saturday.  We had a sweet conversation with mother of a 7 year old blonde little girl named Sophie.

The shops of Santa Fe were filled with silver and copper  jewelry, native pottery, ponchos and sarape’s.  There is an area adjacent to the park where Native American’s were selling their jewelry.  They had extraordinarily beautiful pieces.  I bought I pair of earrings from a young man who indicated he had just finished making them the night before.  He was delighted to share his art work.
In contrast to the art of Donal Judd in Marfa, the native arts are colorful, reds, yellows and turquoise. The triangle and square shapes dominate many painted art works.  The pottery is equally colorful, however, I preferred the Acoma style.  It is incredibly detailed with a repetitive decign, mostly in black and white but some have brown images The Acoma is native to the Pueblo Indians and is among their most prized pottery styles.

The Georgia O’Keeffe museum is located downtown featuring her works.  Ghost Ranch is located about 60 miles north of Santa Fe, which is where she spent 40 summers doing her work.  “When you take a flower in your hand and really look at it, it’s your world for the moment.  I want to give that world to someone else.”  Her role in the American art movement contributed to the development of American modernism.
“The power of Georgia O’Keeffe’s artwork derives from her master of essential elements of art making: line, color, and composition.” A brilliant colorist, O’Keeffe created strong, vibrant works with colors that glow with energy and vitality.”  (The museum)

Evidence of the Pueblo culture is embedded in the city of Santa Fe, their homes, language, food, customs, hair styles, and clothing.  These native peoples are direct descendants of the Anasazi people that had lived in this area thousands of years ago.  The Pueblos are one of the oldest cultures in the nation.  Their name is Spanish for “stone masonry village dweller”.  Today there are 19 Pueblo tribes in New Mexico.  The Zia Pueblo regard the Sun as a sacred symbol “Their symbol, a red circle with groups of rays pointing in four directions, painted on ceremonial vases, drawn on the ground around campfires, and used to introduce newborns to the Sun.” This symbol is the design on the state’s flag and on their license plates.

On Sunday, we were invited to a lovely brunch at Cathy Ansheles and Bill Stanton’s home. Beth and Don along with their brother Buzz and his wife Gail were there.  Friends of Cathy and Bill’s, Connie and Robert were there as well.  We had met Connie and Robert on the island last summer.   It was a delicious feast and such fun catching up with the Ansheles family.

The  Rancheros De Santa Fe Campground just outside of the downtown area has been our home for 3 nights. It is typical of the area with cactus plants all around.  They do not have shower facilities so we improvised, a little bit chilly.  The weather here is delightful, sunny and warm in the daytime but a bit frosty at night.  We needed to use the heater in the van.

Santa Fe is absolutely lovely, very livable!!!