Day 44  Mostly Sunny – High 71 Low 48

Today was another complete day of full-out driving, which was made even longer by the loss of an hour with the time zone change. We left Springfield, MO around 7:00 am and arrived back in Columbus, OH around 7:00 pm.

Traffic was surprisingly light in terms of autos, but the truck traffic more than made up for it. We continued to be intrigued by the steady stream of very large, high-end RVs all headed west. In 10 hours of driving, we saw one of these units about every two miles. The one RV we saw headed east must not have gotten the memo! We calculated that all the large RVs have been drained from the northeast and the great lakes states.

As we were driving we were reflecting on the six weeks that we have been on the road, all the things that we have seen, and all of the people we have met and talked with from all over the world. In the over 9,000 miles we drove, we saw the highest point and the lowest point in the US; ironically, they are within 50 miles of each other. We experienced both sunrises and sunsets in the national parks; saw the highest sand dunes in the world; observed wildlife that most people see only in zoos; learned to tell the difference between a variety of cacti; went from the deserts (both high and low) to the Pacific ocean; and had a fantastic time doing it all.

There is a frustrating inconsistency in road signs from state to state and city to city. Maps sometimes don’t “map”; Route 23 on a map is nowhere to be found, because the road sign says Jackson Memorial Highway. In looking for specific addresses, we were constantly mystified at how the post office delivers mail or emergency vehicles find those who need help, since the majority of places do not have their street address posted.

After traveling for a living for decades, we were used to variations in hotels and their amenities. However, what seems to have changed is the concept of ratings; a three star hotel in city A may not be remotely like a three star hotel in city B, even in the same chain. We are also convinced that the people, who design hotel rooms and especially hotel bathrooms, have never actually used one.

Visitor’s Centers are a great source of “inside” information. Most of the people working there really love the area and if you show a genuine interest, will share both their knowledge and their wisdom. Locals and fellow travelers provided us with some terrific ideas. Some of their suggestions were truly inspired; had we not talked with them, we would have missed several great places. In almost all cases, we would have driven right by the spot without ever noticing it or taken an alternate route entirely.

The major difference between this trip and the previous one was greatly increased flexibility. Last year, we had reservations planned for the entire four weeks, which relieved the stress of finding a place for the next evening, but also made us feel like we had to push on to keep on schedule. This year, we went with the flow; if we found a place particularly interesting, we extended our stay and absorbed as much of it as we could.

After 44 days on the road, living out of a suitcase, and 9,000 miles in the car, most people would run screaming from the thought of going anywhere anytime soon. However, we would start out tomorrow, if we had a place we wanted to go. Long range plans for next year include visiting the Gulf coast states in the spring and the northwest in the early fall.

Day 43  Clear and Sunny – High-81 Low-48

We haven’t done this for a while. Today was a ‘put the pedal to the metal’ day. We stopped to gas up, eat lunch, and change drivers. The gasoline was a dollar a gallon less than in California, and they’re the ones who are broke! We drove from Amarillo, Texas to Springfield, Missouri (545 miles). It didn’t seem too bad, but all along the way we looked for an excuse to stop and explore. We didn’t find anything that got our attention.

The weather was perfect for driving with clear blue skies along the entire route. The terrain was very flat with a few rolling hills just before we left Texas. We were surprised to see the red soil in Oklahoma; even the ponds and streams were red with the runoff. They were planting the fields and there were new crops just starting to grow. They were the rich, vibrant green of young plants that have just broken through the soil, so it must be more than just sand or clay. The large herds of cattle didn’t seem to mind, as they were happily munching on the vast grasslands.

The convoy of RVs continued again today. We figure we saw at least one RV for every 2 miles we drove. A few were the small, fifth-wheel type, but the majority was the large, luxury-bus type. They were also towing an SUV or large car. One unit even had two kayaks lashed to the top of the SUV. At our hotel tonight, there is one of these monster units parked behind the building. Now if you spend between $500K to $1 Mil for one of these, why are you staying in a hotel? Because you can! If you have that kind of money, you can do about anything you want.

Along Interstate 40, we saw more wind farms, but it makes sense as it was windy in Oklahoma. Maybe it’s always windy here, “where the wind comes sweeping down the plains”. We also passed three huge trucks each carrying one blade for a wind turbine. When they are on a 150-300’ tower they don’t look big. When you see each blade up close, it is enormous. We guessed that they were 75 feet long. The trucks were so long that they were in a convoy with escort vehicles in the front and rear with lots of flashing lights.

The city limit sign for Oklahoma City is about 20 miles from downtown. It is a BIG city that could easily take an hour to drive through even with no traffic. As we drove toward center city, there was every type of franchise known to man and some that haven’t made it national yet. If they didn’t have it, you don’t need it! Selecting an exit was difficult. Some of them allowed you to exit, but there was no way to get back on the highway and we didn’t want to get caught with no way to return. That would be a good addition to “The Next Exit” book; they should publish those exits that are easy off and back on.

Interstate 44 from Oklahoma City northeast to Joplin, MO is a toll road; it seemed very strange as there are very limited services. One thing that made us laugh, were the signs announcing one of the few rest stops or service plazas that included the phrase, “Free Restrooms.” It makes you wonder where the pay restrooms are. There was also a very heavy police presence; we saw several people get speeding tickets. To be fair, they did give you a warning with signs saying, “Minimum speed 50 Maximum 75 No tolerance.”

We might try to make it to Columbus tomorrow; however, it is 640 miles and, for us, that is pretty ambitious. We will do what feels right.

Day 42  Clear and Sunny – High-78 Low-38

The weather this morning was the same as it has been everyday since we arrived in Santa Fe: crystal clear skies, crisp autumn temperature, with humidity around 3%. The drive from Las Cruces to Santa Fe does not seem to increase in altitude much; however, we discovered that we had ascended over 3,000 feet to 7, 000 feet. We were reluctant to pack the car to start heading east, but all good things do come to an end, or so they say.

As we have mentioned, the area outside the cities in New Mexico is in abject poverty. Except for agriculture, it seems that most jobs are in the service industry. In the past, there has been a market for day laborers to do handyman chores, gardening, or supplement skilled workers. Since the job market tanked, the day laborers are waiting on the corners of many of the streets for someone to offer them a job. This same scene was played out in California and Arizona as well. They told us that it is tough, as there just isn’t any work. One man, who is a construction carpenter, told us that he has not built anything new in over a year. This is in stark contrast to our last stop in Santa Fe, Canyon Road.

Canyon Road is zoned strictly for “residential arts and crafts.” It is a ¾ mile street where there is Spanish colonial, Spanish/Pueblo and American territorial architecture which has been burnished and mellowed by the passage of the years. On this little street, there are more than five dozen galleries with paintings, sculpture, Native American crafts, traditional Spanish crafts, Santa Fe fashion, mixed media, photography and antiques literally spilling out of the doors and windows and sculpture gardens in the front yards. The artwork on display was incredible; the various artists captured the essence of New Mexico and the melding of the diverse cultures that have defined this area for over 400 years. The galleries were on par with ones we have visited in New York, Toronto, Mexico City, and the other artist colonies such as Carmel, CA.

If you were decorating your dream home, Canyon Road would certainly be on your list of places to visit to find the perfect composition  or creation to accent a room or more likely, to find a treasure to build a room around. The paintings and drawings were beautiful and made you want to linger to just take in their artistry and remember the emotion you felt while viewing them. The sculptures ranged from the lifelike to the whimsical. One of the artists featured life-size sculptures of children playing that were incredibly realistic while another displayed hundreds of lawn sculptures called spinners.

The galleries on this street are not for the frugal minded or bargain shoppers. With no price stickers, we followed the axiom, if you have to ask you can’t afford it. In one gallery, they had a modern glass sculpture that sparkled in the pinpoint light. The price was $65,000. The gallery owner said it could be ours. We told him we had to eat a few more years. We did have fun wandering through the galleries admiring the outdoor sculptures, paintings, and architecture. We were there early, so easily found street parking, but we’re sure by noon that would not have been possible. The crowd build slowly while we were there; the ones the we talked with were from all over. One couple we met from Florida were there on business, but hoped to pick up some artwork while there. After a two-hour tour of the galleries, we connected to Interstate 40 and headed east.

We have noticed roadside memorials all over the west along many streets and highways. The crosses are understandable on the dangerous, twisting mountain roads, but the ones on wide, flat highways are a little puzzling. In the east, we are used to seeing simple crosses or crosses with a few flowers. In New Mexico, these roadside memorials can be simple crosses, but more likely are an elaborate display with a multitude of silk flowers, ornate crosses, statues and pictures. Since we were in New Mexico for El Dia de los Muertos, we observed that these more elaborate memorials were placed on most every grave in the cemetery.

As we traveled across New Mexico into Texas, the landscape changed very little. It was extremely flat with arid sandy soil and scrub brush for mile after mile. As we got closer to Texas, the aerial haze reappeared. Since there were no factories or other obvious sources of pollution, it seemed to be blowing dust. At one stop for gas, there were dust swirls blowing all around the station.

There were huge cattle ranches along the road, and at several places we saw large pens with thousands of head of cattle. There were old-fashioned windmills pumping water for the stock. However, in both eastern New Mexico and western Texas, there were large, power-generating windmill farms. While not as large as the ones we have seen in California and Wyoming, they were still impressive.

The multicolored buttes that we saw along the way were reminiscent of the ones in Colorado and Utah. The New Mexico and Texas buttes seemed to also be slowly dissolving like a bar of soap sitting under constant drips of water.

The interstate didn’t seem to have much car traffic; however, there were a lot of trucks. The speed limits ranged from 65-75 mph, so we were able to make good time. We did notice dozens of huge, bus-sized RVs pulling SUVs heading west. These vehicles were elaborately painted, custom-made, and huge. Some were so big that the lone Greyhound bus that we have seen during our entire trip seemed small. For several miles, we were on old Route 66. Looking at a map, our route back to Columbus through St Louis will parallel historic Route 66, known as The Mother Road. We have been on sections of this road several times in the southwest.

Tomorrow will probably be a full day of driving. We met a man from Oklahoma and asked him what there was to see and do. He asked if we rode horses or liked the rodeo. Since we answered no to both questions, he said, “Then there’s not a damn thing for you to do in Oklahoma.” Hopefully, we will find a few other adventures along the way before we call this trip history. With a bit of luck, maybe there will be some kicks on Route 66!

Day 41  Clear and Sunny – High-63 Low-31

We are staying in a Hampton Inn in Santa Fe. The General Manager, Carol, is a real cheerleader for the area. Each morning she asks guests what they are planning to do and if she can be of any help. Is so, she gives them maps, suggestions, and a list of must sees. Yesterday, she talked about Taos with the people at the next table. Her suggestions sounded like a good time, so we extended our stay.

After stopping at Bean & Gone for a coffee to go, we hit the road to Taos. There are two routes to get to Taos, the low road, which follows the Rio Grande gorge up to Taos and the high road that goes along the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo mountain range and passes through a lot of little quaint towns. We went up the low road and came back the high road.  The high road was a very pleasant drive, nothing like the twisting, hanging over the side of a cliff roads we have been on in the last month.

Much of the land along Route  285/68 (the low road) is owned by several different Indian tribes. As in many states, some of the Indian reservations support themselves by running gambling casinos. All the Indian casinos that we have seen throughout the Southwest are moderate in size. For example, Camel Rock Casino located 10 minutes north of Santa Fe, is one of the older casinos in the area.

None of the Indian casinos approach the grandeur of those in Las Vegas. However, today we passed the largest casino in New Mexico and the largest Indian casino that we have ever seen. Buffalo Thunder has a 395-room Hilton hotel, 61,000 square feet of casino space, 13,000 square feet of shops and a 36-hole golf course. The exterior was designed in traditional pueblo adobe architecture, so it fits well with the surrounding area. It was extremely busy. There were cars along the road waiting to pull into the parking lot. The gaming floor must have been packed as they would announce names when a gaming table was available.

This large facility is contrasted to the abject poverty that can be seen along side of the road. We saw many dirt roads, run down shacks, old rusted cars, trucks, and mobile homes, and trash everywhere. It reminded us so much of Mexico where there are the few very wealthy, the many very poor, and little in between. That appears to be the way it is on the Indian Reservations.

As we drove through the town of Espanola, we noticed the same phenomenon as here in Santa Fe, that is, every franchise you can think of has arrived since our last visit. Of course, the population of New Mexico has increased over 25% since we were last here, so growth in the retail sector was inevitable.

After we left Espanola, we stopped at a nice coffee shop/restaurant complex called Embudo Station situated on the Rio Grande River. It was an idyllic spot and allowed us to get up close to the river. It was flowing fairly well, where in Santa Fe it is down to a small trickle. When we stopped at the Visitor Center for the Rio Grande Gorge area, the volunteer told us that it is flowing at 435 cubic feet per minute. In the spring, it can get up to 6,000 cubic feet per minute. Since they are using so much of water from the Rio Grande for irrigation in Colorado, the flow of the river has diminished. In fact, he told us that not one drop of the Rio Grande or Colorado River reaches the ocean anymore.

The traffic in Taos was heavier than we expected. Our first stop was St Francis of Assisi Mission in Rancho de Taos. The village of Ranchos de Taos was settled by the Spanish in 1716. “The Ranchos Church,” San Francisco de Asis, was completed in 1815. The mission has been an inspiration to artists and photographers for years. The most notable, Georgia O’Keefe, depicted the mission in some of her landscape prints.

The last time we visited Taos, the Pueblo was closed for a tribal ceremony. Today, we were able to visit the oldest continually inhabited community in the US. The two main pueblos, situated on the north and south sides of the Red Willow Creek, are believed to be over 1,000 years old. The buildings are actually individual dwellings with common walls and no connecting doors. The only change made is the addition of doorways to the outside. When built, access to the individual homes was by ladder and down through the roof.

The history of the inhabitants of this pueblo is similar to all others we have visited. They were forced to change by the Spanish conquistadors and the Franciscans, fought and won their freedom from the Spanish, lost their freedom in the re-conquest, and fought against the US takeover of their land. Although three mission churches were built and two destroyed during this time frame, the pueblos remained.

It was interesting to see a fully constructed pueblo; however, it was sad to see how the people lived. There were a few cars. It appeared that most journeyed via public bus. The lower floors of the pueblo had been converted to artisan studios or shops. The only source of water was the Red Willow Creek and we don’t even want to talk about sewage. They are struggling to keep their identity, yet the young seem to mirror the youth everywhere. They dressed and acted like typical teenagers. The pueblo charged $10/person and $5/camera which seemed unwarranted. Yet there were plenty of people willing to pay it to glimpse a society that Europeans and Americans tried to destroy. We left unsettled and a little sad.

Since we didn’t get to see the Royal Gorge Bridge in Colorado, we decided to make the 18 mile drive to see the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge. It is a cantilever truss bridge across the Rio Grande Gorge. At 650 feet above the Rio Grande, it is the fifth highest bridge in the United States. The view of the canyon being cut by the Rio Grande was spectacular. It didn’t even shake too much as trucks passed!

We finished the day by returning to the city of Taos. The town is a mixture of Spanish, Indian, and American influences. Lured by the scenery, this area has been a destination for artists since the 1800s. This tradition continues to thrive as can be seen by the number of galleries, studios, and shops in the area.

Taos has a rich history. Kitt Carson, mountain man and army general, lived here and his home has been converted to a museum. There are also museums for the Governor of the Arizona-New Mexico territory; another for the artist and founder of the Taos Artists Society, and also one for southwestern art and design. Much like Santa Fe, it’s all about the architecture, ambience, and the shopping.

We drove back the high road through thick pine forests overlooking magnificent mountains. We traveled at about 8,500 feet above sea level. The snow from over a week ago peppered the mountainside where the trees prevented the snow from melting. We read today that the city of Taos gets 35 inches of snow a year, while the mountains get 300 inches per year. Since ski season officially starts around Thanksgiving, it looks like they will be getting more snow soon. The sun set while we were going down into Santa Fe. We had a bird’s eye view of a beautiful sunset, a spectacular end for our visit to the Land of Enchantment.

Tomorrow we plan to drive down Canyon Road in Santa Fe before we head east to Amarillo.

Day 40  Clear and Sunny – High-65 Low-31

It doesn’t seem possible, but the sky is much bluer in New Mexico. The haze that we have seen in the rest of the Southwest is gone. When we look at the pictures we have taken here, the sky just pops. Once the sun goes down it gets very dark because there is no big city light pollution. Last night the moon seemed closer than at any other place we have been.

Today, we resumed our visit to National Parks, Monuments, and Historic Parks. There are many in New Mexico, but some are only accessible via dirt roads. We did White Sands several years ago, so today we chose two lesser known locations.

About 35 miles east of Santa Fe is Pecos National Historical Park. Part of the National Park system since 1965, it was originally a National Monument. In 1991, the widow of E. E. Fogelson, Greer Garson, sold 5,500 acres to the Conservation Fund, which donated it to the National Park Service. This property greatly expanded the park’s scope and mission and was renamed Pecos National Historical Park. Pecos preserves 10,000 years of history including the ancient pueblo of Pecos, two Spanish Colonial Missions, Santa Fe Trail sites and the site of the Civil War Battle of Glorieta Pass. The park was expanded in 1990 to 6,600 acres.

Pecos is the site of a Pueblo village that was the center of trade between the native Americans who farmed the area near the Rio Grande and nomadic tribes who hunted the plains. It was also a military power that could subdue other pueblo communities. At its peak, Pecos was home to nearly 2,000 residents. Families lived in multi-storied pueblos where they occupied rooms on all levels. Underground rooms (kivas) were constructed for ceremonial rituals, community gatherings, and weaving.

In the fall of 1540, the Spaniards and the Franciscan priests arrived with the goal to make the Indians Catholic citizens of the Spanish empire. The priest and his subjects built a small mission soon after arriving. The largest of New Mexico’s mission churches was built on this site in 1621. This church was destroyed in 1680 when the Indians revolted against their Spanish conquistadors. A smaller church with a larger convento (mission quarters) was built after the Spanish re-conquest in 1692. The mission declined in the 18th century, and the remaining Pecos Indians emigrated to other pueblos. All that remains of this society are large mounds of unexcavated pueblos, restored kivas, stone walls, and adobe ruins of the adjacent Spanish mission complex.

This year, Pecos added a new 2.2 mile trail called the Glorieta Pass Battlefield trail. Glorieta Pass was the site of a decisive American Civil War battle that ended Confederate’s ambitions to cut off the West from the Union. In 1993, the Civil War Sites Advisory Commission gave it a Priority I rating, which identified Glorietta Pass as being not only one of the most important, but also one of the most highly endangered battlefields in the country. Since we didn’t remember that the Civil War made it this far west, we thought we should document it here.

As we were walking around, we saw several signs warning of rattlesnakes. At one point we heard a noise; within seconds we realized that it was the rattle of a rattlesnake. We did not stick around to confirm our suspicion.

After a quick-lunch in Santa Fe, we headed 50 miles in the opposite direction toward Los Alamos to Bandelier National Monument. The canyon and mesa that make up this park were created a million years ago by two huge volcanic eruptions that spread volcanic ash over a 400 square mile area, a thousand feet thick. Although the rock looks like sandstone, it is actually volcanic ash that has been compacted over time into a soft, crumbly rock called tuff. Some areas of the tuff erode more quickly than others giving the rock a Swiss cheese appearance.

This area was first occupied by the Ancestral Pueblo Indians in the late 12th and early 13th centuries. Based on population density and preference, the Ancestral Pueblo people lived on the mesa, on the floor of the canyon, or along the canyon walls. The most interesting part of our visit was the cave homes. Archeologists speculate that cavates, cave rooms, were dug out of the tuff. Two story cliff homes, of similar design to those at Mesa Verde, were built in front of the cavates. These cave homes would have been built out of mud-plastered walls with entrance via the roof. For warmth in winter, the cave dwellings were built on the south-facing canyon walls.

The monument’s sheer canyon walls contain many cave dwellings as well as petroglyphs (pictures pecked into rock surfaces) and pictographs (pictures painted on rock surfaces). Surface dwellings include the remains of two large villages. Kivas are found near all three locations.

It was a wonderful day. Even though the temperatures were in the 50s and 60s, the sun seemed to keep you warm. The air smelled of fall. As you walked, the leaves crackled under your feet. We were at between 6500 – 7000 feet above sea level so there were far more trees and evergreen than in Santa Fe. At one point, we read that this area was called an ecotone, a transition area between two ecosystems. Each has its own flora and fauna. However, the ecotone has more flora and fauna than the sum of the two ecosystems.

Off to Taos tomorrow.

Day 39 Clear and Sunny – High-63 Low-31

The essence of Santa Fe has not changed! The plaza and the surrounding area, which forms the core of Santa Fe, was just as we remembered it; yet, it seemed busier than before. We had planned our day so we could see and learn about some of the oldest buildings in New Mexico and the US and then go to a nearby national monument. However, there is so much to experience and take in; we spent the day in downtown Santa Fe. The history comes alive, and this truly is an area where many cultures have coexisted for four centuries.

We parked our car in the municipal ramp garage and walked all over town. We were glad we did as the parking enforcement officers were out in force. We saw them put boots on two cars and ticket many. We talked to one of the officers and he said that one of the cars has over $1,200 in unpaid parking tickets. Once the boot is on, the owner still must feed the meter until the tickets are paid or risk more tickets. If the tickets are not paid in 72 hours, the car is towed. We made a good choice.

Our first stop was the on the Santa Fe plaza was the Palace of the Governors. It was built in 1610 and is the oldest continually occupied public building in the United States. The woman in the Visitor Bureau told us that when George Washington was born the roof of this building was already leaking! It has served as the political seat of multiple governments for its first three centuries starting with the Spanish. In 1909, it became the first site of the Museum of New Mexico. The Palace of the Governors’ four-foot thick walls, long galleries, small rooms, and secure courtyard mirror its original purpose as a presidio, a garrisoned fort, on a remote frontier. Through the Palace doors have passed Spanish soldiers, Pueblo peoples, Mexican governors, U.S military personnel, soldiers of the Confederate States of America, New Mexico territorial governors, and merchants who came by way of the Santa Fe Trail.

The New Mexico History Museum, which opened in May, 2009, is located behind the Palace of Governors. It does an excellent job explaining the state’s history and its connection to the history of the nation. The new museum includes both permanent and temporary exhibits that span the early history of the indigenous people, Spanish colonization, the Mexican Period, as well as travel and commerce on the legendary Santa Fe Trail.

It is easy to miss the entrance to the Palace of Governors as you walk through what may be the most well-known public market. Dozens of New Mexico Native American artists display and sell their handmade arts and crafts under the portal of the building every day. This is a regulated market where artisans must be members of New Mexico tribes and pueblos and must follow stringent rules to ensure the authenticity of their goods.

The San Miguel Chapel is the oldest church structure in the U.S. The original adobe walls and altar were built by Tlaxcala Indians from Mexico under the direction of Franciscan priests around 1610. The church was damaged during the Pueblo Revolt of 1680, but was rebuilt in 1710 after the Spanish re-conquest; it served for a time as a chapel for the Spanish soldiers. The wooden screen behind the altar, which includes a wooden statue of Saint Michael dating back to at least 1709, was added in 1798. Though the church has been repaired and rebuilt many times over the years, its original adobe walls are still largely intact despite having been hidden by later additions.

Our next stop was the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi. In 1598, the Franciscan Friars entered what is now New Mexico. The priests accompanied the Spanish colonists, who had migrated from Mexico City. Although there have been three other churches in this same spot dating back to 1610, the only part of these churches still existing is the small adobe chapel dedicated to Our Lady La Conquistadora in the front corner of the main sanctuary. In this chapel is a statue the Virgin Mary brought from Spain in 1625. It is the oldest representation of the Virgin Mary in the United States. The current church was constructed starting in 1869 and was completed 1887. The church initiated its Celebration of Cuarto Centenario (400 years) in September.

Since we had been to the Basilica de Guadalupe in Mexico City, we had to visit the Santuario de Guadalupe in Santa Fe. This is believed to be the oldest shrine in the United States honoring the Virgin of Guadalupe, the patron saint of Mexico. It is an excellent example of Spanish colonial architecture with adobe walls that measure three to five feet thick. Built in the late 1700s, the building has been restored. Santuario contains the Archdiocese of Santa Fe’s collection of New Mexican santos (carved images of the saints), Italian Renaissance paintings, and Mexican baroque paintings. Among the treasured works is Our Lady of Guadalupe, one of the largest and finest oil paintings of the Spanish Southwest, dated 1783. The parish is very small and financially challenged. When they wanted a sculpture of the Virgin of Guadalupe for the outside of the church, they commissioned a Mexican artisan to do the work. In 2008, 39 of the parish faithful wanting to retrace their roots went to Mexico City to bring the statue home. The trip took them over 12 days.

The history of the Loretto Chapel began when Bishop Jean Baptisite Lamy was appointed by the Church to the New Mexico Territory in 1850. Bishop Lamy, seeking to spread the faith and bring an educational system to this new territory, began a letter writing plea for priests, brothers and nuns to preach and teach. In 1852, the Sisters of Loretto of Kentucky responded to Lamy’s pleas by sending seven sisters to Santa Fe. The school was started in 1853 and grew from very small beginnings to a school of around 300 students. During the construction of Cathedral of St Francis, it was decided that the school needed a chapel. The sisters pooled their own inheritances to raise the $30,000 required to build the chapel. Property was purchased and work began on the Loretto Chapel. Influenced by the French clergy in Santa Fe, the Gothic Revival-style chapel was patterned after King Louis IX’s Sainte-Chapelle in Paris.

The chapel, like churches in Europe, had no staircase to the choir loft as it would use too much space. In Europe, the all male choir were expected to ascend a ladder to the choir loft. However, this caused a problem for the sisters of Loretto and women in the choir to ascend the ladder. The sisters did the only thing they knew how to do; they began a nine-day novena to St Joseph, the patron saint of carpenters. On the ninth day, a carpenter came to the school and offered to build the staircase. The staircase took 6-8 months to build. There are no nails, screws, glue, or center support used in construction. He only used hundreds of square wood pegs. The staircase confounds engineers, architects and master craftsmen. It makes over two complete 360 degree turns, stands 20 feet tall, and has no support. It rests solely on the floor and the choir loft. The stairs are truly an amazing sight and a genuine mystery.

Our last stop of the day was the New Mexico State Capitol (also called the Roundhouse). It is the only round state capitol in the United States. The building was designed to resemble the Zia Sun Symbol when viewed from above, with four entrance wings that protrude from the main cylindrical volume. Architecturally, the Capitol is a blend of New Mexico territorial style and neoclassical influences. Above each entrance is a stone carving of the State Seal of New Mexico. The building has four levels, one of which is below ground. Dedicated on December 8, 1966, the building was designed by W.C. Kruger. For a state that has so much history, the capitol was a real disappointment. It did not look nearly as grand and stately as the US Capitol or the Ohio Capitol. Of course, like the New York State Capitol, it is of a different era and architectural period. It is also a very small state with limited financial resources, so no doubt there is sound reasoning behind the design.

We had a perfect day with beautiful weather. There were many tourists walking throughout center of the city but few in the churches and museums. I guess the lure of spending money and window shopping had its rewards for them.

Tomorrow we will be going to a couple of national monuments in the area and probably lots of other things along the way.

Day 38  Clear and Sunny – High-63 Low-41

We investigated the history of the Las Cruces region so that we could understand why they call the Mesilla Plaza area historic. Mesilla Plaza is in the southwest part of Las Cruces near our hotel. To commemorate its historical significance, Mesilla Plaza was declared a state monument. Since then, it was also added to the National Registry of historic places. We had fun walking around and reading the historic markers and looking at all the buildings. Many of the adobe buildings built during in the 1850s still remain today. The building’s architecture, construction, and decorations were very reminiscent of many of the small towns we visited when we lived in Mexico.

In the 1840s, Americans viewed westward expansion to the Pacific as a right and a necessity. U.S. attempts to buy western lands from Mexico failed. The U.S. set into motion events that lead to a declaration of war on May 13, 1846. In 1848, the Mexican War with the United States had ended with the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Las Cruces became U.S. territory and the Army surveyors divided Las Cruces into 84 blocks. They reserved one block each for a church and a cemetery; family leaders drew lots to decide which of the remaining property they would own.

A small group of citizens, unhappy at being part of the United States, decided to move south of the border into Mexico. By 1850, Mesilla was an established colony. At that time, the population of the town was concentrated around the Plaza for defense against Apache raids. In 1851, to protect its citizens in Las Cruces from Apache attacks, the US built Fort Fillmore in the Mesilla Valley near the border. As a result of the fort, the United States declared the whole Mesilla Valley region, including the colony of Mesilla, part of the United States. Mexico also claimed this strip of land, causing it to become known as “No Mans Land.” This boundary dispute was resolved in 1853, with the Gadsden Purchase. So, much to the chagrin of the residents, the colony of Mesilla became a part of the United States.

After its annexation into the US, Mesilla was the capital of the New Mexico and Arizona territory. During that time, New Mexico’s most notorious outlaw, William H. Bonney, a.k.a., Billy the Kid, stood trial in a Mesilla courtroom for the murder of Andrew “Buckshot” Roberts. He was found guilty and sentenced to hang. The building in Mesilla that housed the jail and courtroom is still standing and the iron jail cell that held him during his trial is on display in the Gadsden Museum.

After our short journey back in history, we headed north on Interstate 25 toward Santa Fe. Other than Albuquerque, there are only very small towns along the route. The first thing that happened was another inspection stop of all traffic by the Border Patrol. The pickup truck ahead of us was very thoroughly inspected; they even checked under the truck and the wheel wells. We were asked if we were US citizens and told to go ahead.

As we drove along, the landscape was very flat, arid, and desolate. Mountains were in the distance, but there was very little change in the topography. There were no cacti only miles of sand and scrub brush. Most of the area along the route looked impoverished. We knew when we went through an Indian Reservation as the houses were no more than shacks. Junk cars and boats were stacked along side of the road. It mystified us where they would use boats. We were also somewhat surprised when we saw billboards that said, “We need doctors, nurses, and dentists.” Shortages of medical professionals are becoming a real problem.

The exceptions to the desolate landscape were the gravel plants, pecan orchards, and chile farms. When we got off Interstate 25 at Hatch for gas, we noticed a store with its roof covered with chiles. We then saw a sign declaring Hatch, New Mexico as the “Chile Capital of the World.” The residents are quick to point out that New Mexicans spell their chili with an e on the end instead of an i. In fact, in 1988 the New Mexico State Legislature passed a facetious memorial threatening to deport to Texas any New Mexican caught using the word “chili.” Chiles are the state’s top cash crop; New Mexico ranks first in the country for the amount produced and acreage planted. The chiles are being harvested now and all along the main road in Hatch, were stands selling chiles, dried chiles, and ristras. Ristras are strings of red chiles hung up to dry for later use in cooking. They have become very popular as decorations. We stopped to watch one man who was making the ristras from fresh chiles that were just picked. He also was selling Pecans and we learned that they are harvesting them now as well.

In late afternoon, we arrived in Santa Fe. We remembered it as a small city with eclectic galleries and shops selling Indian, Mexican, and New Mexico arts and crafts. Since we were last here, the area outside the city limits has been overtaken with every chain store, warehouse store, and restaurant imaginable with the traffic to go with it. We have planned out tomorrow and hope that downtown has kept the ambiance and charm we remember.

Day 37  Clear and Sunny – Low-52 High-80

We returned to Saguaro National Park and visited the Rincon Mountain district on the east side of Tucson. Rincon is the larger, higher, and more remote of the two halves of the park; it includes an extensive mountainous area with hills as high as 8,664 feet.

Saguaro National Monument was established in 1933 east of Tucson. The bottomland area was chosen because it had a tremendous population of giant old saguaros. It had few young or middle-aged saguaros, because of livestock grazing and the cutting of the young trees since the late 1800s. In 1937, there was a catastrophic freeze, and during the next decade the giant forest was suffering massive mortality from bacterial necrosis. The Park Service bulldozed and buried thousands of rotting cacti in the hope of stopping what it mistook as a new, virulent disease. These efforts failed, and the alarm over the presumed fate of the saguaros became a reason in the establishment of the west unit of Saguaro National Monument on the other side of Tucson in 1961. The monument was finally made the nation’s 52nd national park in a bill signed by President Bill Clinton in October, 1994.

As we neared the park, we noticed many bicyclists on the road. They seemed to be everywhere, and when we entered the park, we had to wait while several paid their fee and rode in. The ranger told us that some bicyclists ride 8-10 times around the 8 mile scenic loop in a day. With many curves and hills, it has to be a great ride. Many passed us and were soon out of sight because we stopped to take pictures or look at the panoramic views at the overlooks. Other less athletic riders struggled with the hills, and we passed each other several times on our tour.

Our very first observation upon entering the park was that the saguaros were bigger, more complex (more arms), and less densely populated. The growth rate of the saguaro is controlled by the amount of rainfall, plant size, and soil type. A tiny seedling has very little water-storage tissue and a relatively large surface area through which water is lost. Soon after a rain, it exhausts its meager supply, stops growing, and goes into hibernation like mode. Larger plants contain more water relative to the enclosing surface area, and can continue to grow for several weeks after rain. We concluded that there must have been more rainfall on the east side of the park than on the west. In fact, all the cacti looked healthy; most were sprouting new growth and throwing out buds. Many of the other desert plants were getting leaves. This side of the park looked more alive, which really enhanced our visit. There are over 15 trails in the northern most section of the park with the longest being 11 miles. The sun seemed especially searing today, so we decided that hiking was not on the itinerary.

As we left Tucson and headed east on Interstate 10, we noticed several things. The bridges over the interstates in Arizona are decorated with patterns in the concrete or painted with scenes indigenous to the area. They were very well done and illustrated the culture, plant and animal life, and native designs. Once we entered New Mexico, we realized how much the bridge decorations enhanced the driving experience. There were a significant number of long container trains going both east and west along Interstate 10, but primarily west. The containers were stacked two high on each car. When you realize that each train car represents two trucks on the highway, it is amazing how the trains are reducing congestion on the interstates. We did notice many railroad cars with automobiles and a significant number of others that had logos indicating a connection to China painted on them.

We had been to Las Cruces about 12 years ago. As we approached the city limits, we noticed how much it has grown in the last 12 years. It is primarily an agricultural area with farms growing chilies, cotton, pecans, peanuts and onions. Tonight we had dinner at a Mexican restaurant that we had gone to on our earlier visit. It was very good and more authentic than most Mexican restaurant in the east.

We plan to head north to Santa Fe, New Mexico for a couple of days. From there, we will head across interstate 40 to Ohio. Originally, we had planned on going to two National Parks in Texas: Guadalupe Mountains and Big Ben. We discovered that Guadalupe Mountains has no roads and Big Bend is not close to any hotels. So, if we decide to buy an RV and hike massive distances, we will put them back on the itinerary. With the elimination of two parks we were left with only San Antonio on our must see list for Texas so we decided to go there this spring from Florida. It should only take us two days to get there and seemed to make far more sense than driving across the entire state of Texas.

Day 36  Clear and Sunny – High-81 Low-49

We decided to switch it up a bit today. Instead of going to the Rincon district of Saguaro National Park, we drove south to visit two Spanish missions built in the 18^th century.

The first mission was St Xavier de Bac. The settlement in which the Mission is located was called Bac, “place where the water appears,” because the Santa Cruz River, which ran underground for some distance, reappeared on the surface near Bac. The celebrated Jesuit missionary and explorer, Father Eusebio Francisco Kino, first visited Bac in 1692. Eight years later, Father Kino laid the foundations of the first church, some two miles north of the present site of the Mission. He named it San Xavier in honor of his chosen patron, St. Francis Xavier, the illustrious Jesuit “Apostle of the Indies.”

The present church was built from 1783 – 1797 by the Franciscans. Little is known about the actual construction of the church, the architect, or the artisans, but many believe the labor was done by the Tohono O’odham Indians. For some reason, one tower was not completed. There is no historical documentation to explain why it was never finished.

The mission is a blend of Moorish, Byzantine, and late Mexican Renaissance architecture. The church is a series of domes and arches that create interior spaces for art. All the wall paintings are original. Time and the harsh desert weather have taken a toll on the church and the entire mission complex. Currently, the church is going through a restoration to clean, repair, and preserve the church. We asked one of the parishioners if they were going to paint the unfinished tower. He said he has asked the same question many times and has not gotten an answer.

One thing that we found strange is a statute of Father Ignacio Joseph Ramirez y Arellano lying in state below a statue of St Francis. It is believed that after Father Ramirez died he sweated and emitted a sweet odor. Those that witnessed it believed that St Francis had something to do with it. Those who continue to believe pin there needs and requests on the shroud covering the Father. Today, El Día de los Muertos (the day of the dead), it seems only fitting to hear this story.

San Xavier del Bac Mission is a fully functioning parish church within the Diocese of Tucson. We arrived at the mission around 9:30 so were able to freely walk through the interior of the church. From 10 AM to 1 PM, the mission was closed to the public as they were performing christenings.

We continued south on Interstate 19, to Tumacacori National Historic Park. As we arrived, we were very fortunate to join a tour that was just starting. The volunteer leading the tour was very knowledgeable and had a real passion for the spirit and history of the park. Tumcacori was established as a mission in 1691 by the same Jesuit priest, Father Eusebio Francisco Kino. The purpose of the mission was to convert the natives to Christianity. Using Tumacacori as his headquarters, Father Kino established other missions in what is today southern Arizona and northern Mexico until his death in 1711. Each mission was exactly one day’s ride on horseback from the next mission. Although the mission was established in 1691, the first church was not finished until 1757. After Carlos III, King of Spain, expelled the Jesuits from Spanish lands in 1767, the Franciscans arrived in 1768. All that remains of the first church is the foundation.

Construction of the present day church was started in 1800 and completed sometime after the last resident priest left in 1828. The church, made of adobe bricks and covered with plaster, was the centerpiece of the community. The walls of the church were 9 feet thick. Stone walls surrounded the church and the nearby buildings like a fort. The people ate, slept, and worked within the walls and supported themselves by raising sheep and cattle and growing fruits and grains. The buildings used for cooking, sleeping, and blacksmithing were torn down once the church was abandoned. Besides the church, there are significant remains of the mortuary chapel, presidio, granary, and convent. Once the resident priest left, a caretaker saw to the maintenance of the church. Once the railroad arrived in Tucson, the presidio moved to Tucson. Feeling insecure and exposed, residents migrated away from the church compound until it was finally abandoned in 1848.

The original timbers of the roof were looted soon after its abandonment for building of homes and barns in the community. Cattle rustlers then used the grounds as a stopping off point before they continued their cattle drive. People who traveled through the area sought out the thick walls of the sacristy for protection and warmth. Fortune hunters dug holes in the thick walls looking for treasures that never existed.

People who moved to the area around 1900 knew the area as campo santo or holy ground. Theodore Roosevelt put it under National Park Service protection in 1916 as a National Historic Park. Unlike St Xavier de Bac, there is no intention of restoring the church, but to preserve the ruins so that the history of the church and its people speak from 200 years ago.

After touring Tumacacori, we took a scenic route back to Tucson. In Sonoita, we passed a huge border patrol station; they must have had over 100 vehicles. As we motored along, we passed a sign that warned of a border patrol check point. Although we were more than 30 miles from the border, the stop was exactly like those when you enter the US from Mexico or Canada. The road was blocked with cones. There were three border patrol officers and not only were they concerned about our citizenship, but what was in the car. After a short discussion and a look through all the windows, we were on our way.

This evening we went to a restaurant near the hotel that was close to Arizona State’s campus. It was really fun seeing all the college kids running from place to place in Halloween costumes. Some of the costumes were recognizable like Ghost Busters, Pilots, and Ronald McDonald, but others required signs. Bill especially enjoyed the scantily clothed co-eds. Who knew Raggedy Ann had cleavage?

It was a great day. Tomorrow we are heading east to New Mexico. Unfortunately, we don’t get an extra hour of sleep as Arizona doesn’t observe daylight savings time.

Day 35  Clear and Sunny – High-63 Low-50

We left Phoenix this morning and headed to Tucson, Arizona. It was a short 116 mile trip south on Interstate 10. As we drove, we wondered what attracted the first settlers to move to this flat, hot, and arid place. Communities seem to pop up out of nowhere with little to sustain them except possibly work in Phoenix or Tucson. On this trip, we have seen few trains. However, today there had to have been 10 different, very long container trains traveling along Interstate 10. We aren’t sure where they came from or where they were going, but they were definitely moving lots of merchandise. There were also several orchards along the highway that we believe were pecan trees. On the negative side, it seems like the haze has followed us on our journey since we left Utah. At one of our overlook stops, we read that it is smog from California that settles into the lowlands.

Our first stop in Tucson, which was recommended in one of our southwest photography books, was the Arizona-Sonoran Desert Museum. We learned that the museum is the second most visited attraction in Arizona, ranking just after the Grand Canyon. Located very near the Saguaro National Park, the Arizona-Sonoran Desert Museum is a zoo, natural history museum, and botanical garden all in one. Exhibits re-create the natural landscape of the Sonoran Desert Region featuring over 1,200 species of plants. There are almost 2 miles of paths traversing 21 acres of desert. Similar to the Boyce Thompson Arboretum, many of the plants looked starved for water, but without irrigation that is exactly what the desert looks like at this time of year. Not pretty, but it is what it is. We particularly enjoyed the Earth Science Center that featured a cave and exhibits of regional gems and minerals as they would be discovered in a mine. The colors and shapes of the various minerals were amazing.

The zoo showcases more than 300 animal species. As we walked around, we saw mountain lions, prairie dogs, big horn sheep, ocelot, and fox in their natural habitat. They also had a walk in aviary with 40 species of birds, a walk in hummingbird aviary, and a water habitat that you could view from below water level. It was great to see the animals that roam the desert, but are rarely seen.

Starting on October 25, the museum has two Raptor free flights per day. Raptors are birds that eat live prey. They have excellent vision, sharp talons or toenails, and hooked or curved beaks. The free flight is a demonstration in the open desert that showcases the natural behaviors of these native birds. They have several different kinds of birds that they use in their free flight demonstrations. While we were there, we saw three Harris’ Hawks, two males and a female. The birds were obviously trained; however, it was impressive to see them soaring overhead or swooping down to land on a nearby cactus.

As we approached the Saguaro National Park., we noticed many large, square water ponds. When we inquired at the visitor center, we learned that they were groundwater infiltration ponds. The water authority takes water piped in from the Colorado River for agriculture, but not immediately needed for this purpose, and pumps it into one of 12 infiltration basins. From the basins, the water percolates down through the unsaturated groundwater zone into the aquifer. They can then pump the water out of the aquifer as needed for human use.

Saguaro National Park is split into two sections, one on each side of Tucson. The Tucson Mountain District is to the west and the Rincon District is to the East. Today we visited the Tucson Mountain District, a 32 square mile area of the Sanoran Desert. We started at the Visitor’s Center by watching a 15 minute slide show on desert life. The most impressive part was when the slide show ended. The screen rolled up and the curtains parted to show you floor to ceiling windows, 30 feet across with a spectacular view of the living desert. This is off-season for the park, but there were probably 5 different families in the Visitor Center with us. When we left to go on the scenic drive, there was not another car in sight. The 6 mile scenic drive was along a rutted dirt road. The scenery was very similar to that around Phoenix and Tucson with the exception of the density of Saguaro cactus. They stood as far as the eye could see and were just a few feet apart. We learned at the visitor center that Saguaro cacti grow very slowly. They don’t flower until they are 30; they grow arms at 70; and rarely live longer than 200 years. In a small area, you could view various specimens that showed the entire Saguaro life cycle. We thoroughly enjoyed the drive and hope to return one day in the spring to see the desert in bloom.

We haven’t finalized our plans for tomorrow, but will be doing more sightseeing in the Tucson area.