Before getting to Santa Fe... while we were in Las Cruces, we learned we could buy an RV in New Mexico and not have to worry about registering it in Connecticut. Hmmm. That piqued our interest. We looked at a great Winnebago Vectra diesel pusher, but it felt wrong.
Then, when we got to Santa Fe, we dragged Dave and Joyce to Albuquerque to check out two diesels, a Newmar Kountry Star and a Holiday Rambler. The latter was beautiful, and we took it for a test drive.
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| The guys check out the drive and handling. |
To make a long story short, we liked it and made an offer, but the dealer refused to budge on the price, so we walked away. Sticking with Harvey the Marvey RV for now! More money to party with...
Only problem continued to be the WIND, which was still blowing horribly -- note the storm below.
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| We drove in this mess.... |
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| So much dust on the road from Albuquerque the mountains are obscured! |
Santa Fe Smiles
Once the wind died down, we thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful town of Santa Fe, and extended our stay there a day (especially since we wasted a day looking at RVs). Check out the wonderful architectural style of this very cosmopolitan, artsy city.
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| The town's central plaza. |
We visited the Flea Market (where Native Americans sell their wares) along the veranda of the Palace of Governors, and two beautiful old churches -- including the Loretto Chapel, with the famous "miraculous" spiral staircase. The staircase is shaped in a double helix and ascends twenty feet, making two complete revolutions up to the choir loft without the use of nails or apparent center support. It has been featured on the TV show "Unsolved Mysteries."
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| The Flea Market is outside the Palacio Real -- a fortress and castle built around 1610. It housed the government under three flags--Spanish, Mexican, and American. The city says this is the OLDEST PUBLIC BUILDING in the U.S. |
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| Loretto Chapel |
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| For some reason, Beau STILL keeps taking blurry photos! |
I made sure that we visited the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum -- a BIG treat for me. I was a bit disappointed, however, that we did not have the time to go out to the Ghost Ranch where she spent so many years painting. We are jamming in as much as we can in short periods of time on this trip!
Strolling the town, we also just happened by a gallery devoted to Chuck Jones, the head of Warner Bros. studio for many decades, and the creator of such classic characters as Pepe Le Pew and the crazy martian you see in many WB cartoon classics. He also directed many Bugs Bunny films.
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| Dave outside the Chuck Jones gallery on a Daffy Duck bench; us in front of the O'Keeffe museum; and another shot of the plaza. |
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| C'est Pepe! |
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| Love the bronze sculpture of the bears -- there is a little bee on the one bear's nose! |
Outside the city, we took a trip to one of the 19 Pueblos in the area, but were disappointed to find that the one we visited -- Santa Clara -- was basically a small enclave of rundown private adobe homes selling pottery. We went in one of the houses and an old Indian woman was there watching her TV, and selling some pottery pieces off her living room table.
Weird.
We then traveled up in the mountains to Bandelier National Monument -- a trip that was breathtaking.
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| Hi Joyce! |
I will end with a few views of our RV park, Santa Fe Skies:
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| A sunset as seen from our RV site. |
OMG - After all this, I am STILL behind. Have to fill you in on the visit to the Pecos Historical Monument and then our even more amazing trip to Durango, CO, and our terrific reunion with Steve and Lori, a couple we met in the Keys.
Till next time -- hope I catch up on this #$%!**# blog soon!
Tanks, Panky
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