Santa Fe, New Mexico (July 1, 2005)

Along the route of our trip, we looked for cities we had heard about that had some unique characteristics for visiting whenever our itinerary allowed. Santa Fe was the first of such short visits. I've heard much about the unique appearance of the city that's influenced by the Spanish as well as by the native Indians and Mexicans. So, as we left Bandelier National Monument to go to White Sands, we made a point to stop by the capital city of New Mexico.

One of the uniqueness about Santa Fe is its architecture. Many of the buildings have the adobe appearance and colors, with rounded corners. The uniformity of the architecture in the downtown area gives the city that distinctive look. By and large, most buildings share the same darker earth tone exterior color. Then, there are artists everywhere. While there were plenty of Indian artists, we also found many other kinds of people peddling their arts on the street or alleyways. And of course yes, galleries lined the downtown streets, along with museums focusing on various themes.

Aside from strolling the streets, we went inside St. Francis Cathedral. The cathedral was under rennovation at the time, but still showed its beauty. I captured some images of the altar and stained glass windows using slow shutter speed. Even at a cathedral, we still found Indian influence. Where else would you find Kateri Tekakawitha statue gracing the front of the cathedral? We also drove to the National Audubon Society on Canyon Road in hope of seeing birds in a sanctuary. Unfortunately, this visit was a bust. We hardly saw a bird there. The lesson is to call first to have a sense of what experience you might get - migrating birds don't usually plan their trips to coincide with yours. The weather was very pleasant when we were there - probably in the low 70's.

With a half-day stopover, I cannot pretend to know a lot about this city, but it's certainly on our list of a longer visit at a later time. There are many sources of information on the Web, but www.santafe.org probably gives you a comprehensive view of the city.

A few pictures are posted HERE.

Home About Us Friends Family Copyright

Last updated: March 15, 2011