Santa Fe

What a beautiful day in Santa Fe!  Our room at The Old Santa Fe Inn is so cozy that I almost don't want to leave -- almost.  I really want to explore this great city more though, so after a lovely breakfast, we head for the Old Town Square.  Mister and I discover the Native American Vendors's at the Palace of the Governor's and are instantly swept away by the lovely hand-crafted items.  It is not possible to walk away without a purchase for our home, thus a lovely little pot is making the trip with us.  The plaza is already buzzing this morning allowing us to take a seat and just observe for awhile.

On our list of must sees today is the Loretto Chapel and it's oh so famous staircase.  While driving, we read about this and are eager to see it.  From the website, "When the Loretto 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 to find a solution to the seating problem, the Sisters of teh Chapel made a novena to St. Joseph, the patron saint of carpenters.  One 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, and the carpenter disappeared without pay or thanks.  After searching for the man (an ad even ran in the local newspaper) and finding no trace of him, some concluded that he was St. Joseph himself, having come in answer to the sisters' prayers.  The stairway's carpenter, whoever he was, built a magnificent structure.  The design was innovative for the time and some of the design considerations still perplex experts today.  The staircase has two 360 degree turns and no visible means of support.  Also, it is said that the staircase was built without nails - only wooden pegs.  Questions also surround the number of stair risers relative to the height of the choir loft and about the types of wood and other materials used in the stairways' construction."

I will let you judge for yourself.  It is a great old chapel.  Love, love, love it.

We wandered town for a little longer, enjoying the atmosphere and "back in time" feel to it.  It would definitely be possible to live here.  So many little nooks and crannies, inviting a person to find a story.  Oh I wish we had longer on this trip.  This is definitely one city we will have to return to.

As we leave Santa Fe, it is time to point our car east and back to Dallas.  It has been a great road trip and I look forward to many more.  As we leave the city -- a quick stop for a picture of the flowers that have fascinated me along the highway for two days now.  Beautiful.