Tag Archives: Santa Fe

Hiking the Trails in the Mountains above Santa Fe

One of the things we did on our trip Santa Fe last month was going hiking. I asked a friend of mine who spends a lot of time there and hikes and he suggested the Dale Ball Trails. This is a public trail network of about 25 miles located right outside Santa Fe up in the mountains. So we decided to go do that. We weren’t going to do 25 miles, we went for 2.5 miles seeing how we are flatlanders Oklahoma where the elevation is about 400 ft compared to Santa Fe’s 7200 ft.

Heather near the start.

Son Logan who doesn’t really like hiking but is always up for anything.

The trail is very well marked and was in very good shape. Not very many technical areas at all.

Our merlin app was going crazy on all the birds here. There were the small extremely small and rude birds that hard to see and don’t sit still long enough to take a photo. So this is one of several photos I made of trees hoping that I could spot birds later. The laugh is on my because I can’t spot any birds in it.

Yucca cactus!! I’ve hiked a lot in Oklahoma and have yet to run across this cactus. I spend sometime growing up in Albuquerque, New Mexico and it was pretty popular there. Nobody could afford the cost watering grass so xeriscape landscaping (landscaping using plants and methods that require very little if any supplemental watering) was popular. Yucca plants were often planted underneath ground story windows as a security measure. If you have ever run into one of the “swords” of the plant you would understand.

Trail Shadows - Dale Boll Trails in Santa Fe

I’m not a forester but the trees I think were pinon pine and juniper.

More cactus, prickly pear.

Even though the trail is adjacent to houses and close to town you never really see the houses. Also the trail was not that steep. There was a climb at the start but afterward he wound around at the same elevation.

So anyway, almost 2.5 miles at a pretty slow pace. We were taking our time and I was taking lots of photos.

This is a screenshot from the Dale Ball Trails website showing the trails. I added the red showing our approximate route. The Dale Ball Trails has about 25 miles but their trails interconnect with other trails including forest service trails in the Santa Fe National Forest. I would hate to guess how many miles of trails are on the total network.

A good time was had by all but we crashed afterwards.

I am linking with Through My Lens.

Skywatch Friday – Santa Fe and Jemez Mountains

So like I said last week, while in Santa Fe we spent every evening at the rooftop pool and lounge. It was pretty popular especially at the end of the day.

So here are Heather and Logan on the rooftop. The clouds were just right and gave everyone a healthy pink look.

A view looking west.

And another view looking northwest.

And looking east, a reverse sunset.

And another midday view. The skies of Santa Fe are magical.

I am linking with Skywatch Friday

Shadows of New Mexico and Colorado

Mornings in Santa Fe are always cool and shady.

A shadowy pedestrian bridge at Bandelier National Monument about an hour or so from Santa Fe.

Chimney Rock National Monument - Visitor Center

Shadows are welcome at the sunny Chimney Rock National Monument near Pagosa Springs, Colorado. The woman on the left is my wife.

Metate and Mano Set at Chimney Rock National Monument

A mano and a metate on display at Chimney Rock National Monument. The metate is the big rock and mano is the small one. These are used by the Ancestral Puebloan People to grind maize, nuts, and seeds into flour. This takes grinding labor into a whole new realm. Can you imagine the work that would be needed to make a meal? As a side note, these stones are found all over the southwest. My brother found one while we were hiking out in the desert of central Utah. I don’t know what happened to it. We moved a lot and these things are heavy. It probably got left near one of the houses we lived in. It’s not like you could throw it away and I don’t think most of them are worth much. Nowadays if I saw one on a hike I’d take a photo and leave it be.

I’m linking with Shadow Shot Sunday

Through My Lens – Santa Fe’s Canyon Road Summer Walk

On our recent vacation to Santa Fe and other places, my wife Heather and I decided that by gosh we were going to check out the Canyon Road Art Galleries. So in the evening one day we ventured over there and we stumbled into the Canyon Road Summer Art Walk. It happens the first Wednesday of every month in the summer. The event even has its own web site.

The first thing we saw were these two women and a guy drumming their heart out in some sort of warrior pose. What a great introduction.

The streets were closed to cars so we just followed everyone else. It went on for about a mile.

Art galleries and people everywhere you look. We didn’t go into any of the galleries. There was plenty to see outside.

And everywhere people were talking with each other. Heather said it was like everyone knew each other.

So we walked a mile out to the end of the event and walked back.

It’s the best way to see Canyon Road in my opinion. I say that and I had never been there before.

It was a blast. It is the first Wednesday of each month from 5 to 8 pm.

The Magical Shadows of Santa Fe

The light in New Mexico is different. The sun is intense, the trees in the desert areas are sparse and small. The shadows are wonderful.

A bench with shadows at an art gallery on Canyon Road.

Tree Shadow we saw on a hike on their Dale Boll Trails just outside of town.

Also on the Dale Boll Trails, prickly pear cactus makes for interesting shadows.

I am linking with Shadow Shot Sunday

Saturday’s Critters – Road Trip Edition

We went on vacation for a week or so at the very end of June. Sorry to say I did not get very many “live critters” but I had my handy Merlin app so I was able to identify the little birds that I could not see but could here.

Juniper Titmouse and Pygmy Nuthatch Merlin screen

At a bar in Santa Fe I spotted this Desert Dogs sign painted on the walls. I thought it was cool.

Merlin App - Northern Yellow Warbler and Song Sparrow

Pagosa Springs, Colorado was dry as a bone. The San Juan river was way down and there was a burn ban in the area. We walked by the US Forest Service Ranger Station and they had Smokey Bear out.

We did find one live critter. A young mule deer was wandering around the river bottom grazing.

Mule Deer - San Juan River, Pagosa Springs, CO

There were lots of birds in Pagosa Springs.

Song Sparrow, Gray Catbird, Red winged Blackbird" "Northern Yellow Warbler" and "Violet-green Swallow"

On the way back to Tulsa we stopped in Guymon, Oklahoma in the panhandle. They had this cow sculpture out in honor of the local cattle and meatpacking industry.

So that is it for our trip in terms of critters.

I am linking with Saturday’s Critters

Checking Out the Museums of Santa Fe

After driving all day the day before, we had no desire to drive anywhere so walked on down to the Georgia O’Keefe Museum downtown and checked that out again.

A painting she did in 1970 well after she moved to New Mexico. Showing she still was interested in urban scenes.

Another painting she did outside of New Mexico. This one was done in Quebec.

And this one was a favorite, based in flowers she saw in the desert of New Mexico. She didn’t find a luxurious flower plot like this. She took common flowers and bunched them together.l

This is a quote from her written on the museum wall. Obviously flowers had an economic advantage over using live model.

Then we wandered over to the nearby Institute of American Indian Arts We had never been there before and it was very interesting. The art was great and a lot of it was about recovering Native Identity and rejecting attempts by outsiders of describing who Native Americans are. I’m sure I’m butchering the intention and I apologize for that.

What Have We Become? Basic Assumptions, 2017

Much of it was text based. I loved the pair of works above and below named: “What Have We Become? Basic Assumptions” where face is carved out of an Anthropology journal.

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The canoe above suspended from the ceiling was built out of paper. The young man underneath the canoe is my son.

These are just two museums. Santa Fe has many many more, plus the art galleries.

I am linking this with Through My Lens.

Shadow Shot Sunday – Palace of the Governors

One of my favorite places in Santa Fe is the covered walkway at the Palace of the Governors. For my whole life I have seen Native American vendors setting up to display and sell their jewelry. This time I saw a guy, looking like an inspector of some sort, checking out all the vendors and filling out a checklist. I also noticed that each vendor area is numbered so I got to wondering how are these vendors regulated. Was the jewelry made by Native Americans? I had so many questions.

So I checked the interwebs and it turns out the vendors displaying their wares are very tightly regulated via the Native American Portal Program administered by the New Mexico History Museum. The vendors must be a member of recognized tribe and they have to show technical mastery of their skills and crafts. All sold items must be handmade by the vendor or a member of their household, using traditional methods and materials (e.g., turquoise, coral, silver, beadwork). I’m thinking that the jewelry on sale is legit. Up to you to get a good price for it though.

I am linking with Shadow Shot Sunday

The Cathedral of Saint Francis of Assisi in Santa Fe, New Mexico

The first thing we looked at in Santa Fe during our recent vacation was the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi right adjacent to our hotel.

Franciscan Friars and settlers came to the area in 1598 and in 1610 the city of Santa Fe was established and the first church was built. The church was destroyed in 1680 during the Pueblo Revolt. The Spanish returned in1693 and by 1714-1717 a new church in honor of Saint Francis was established. In 1853 the Diocese of Santa Fe was established and construction started on the Cathedral in 1869. It was dedicated in 1887. Complete except the spires were not funded and never built.

Almost all the buildings in downtown Santa Fe are adobe or faux adobe. The Cathedral is of Neo-Romanesque design with round arches and Corinthian columns. It’s quite beautiful inside and out.

Kateri Tekakwitha - First Female Native American Saint

On the grounds of the Cathedral is statue of Kateri Tekakwitha (1656-1680). The first Indigenous American Saint. Canonized in 2012, she is known as the Patron Saint of Ecology. She had a Mohawk father and a Christianized Algonquin mother You can read more about her here.

The grounds have a Station of the Cross installation that is very powerful.

On Cathedral Square is this sculpture honoring the priests and settlers who came and claimed the area for Spain.

Saint Francis of Assisi himself.

And a ceramic installation of the Virgin of Guadaloupe.

The inside of the church is gorgeous. It is a very active church with many different activities for members and non-members and is welcoming to all. Check out their website for more information.

The sanctuary is very peaceful and there were a lot of people praying during out visit.

I love all the stained glass windows. They are beautiful.

I am linking with Through My Lens

The Story Behind Saint Francis Dancing on Water

We had our family vacation earlier this month. Our first stop was Santa Fe, New Mexico. The morning after we got there we were eager to get outside and walk around because driving from Tulsa to Santa Fe takes a long time. Our first stop was the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi which is in the middle of downtown and adjoined out hotel. We were a little early for the Cathedral to open so we walked around the grounds of the Cathedral. I’m always looking for shadows and I came upon this sculpture.

Saint Francis Dancing on Water Sculpture - edited

It made a great shadow and the adjoining plaque said it depicts Saint Francis dancing on water. And it was like, what!?!? I am not Catholic but every depiction I have seen of Saint Francis of Assisi is that he was a very serious guy. I have never seen a painting or a sculpture of him being joyful. So that kind of jarred my thought process and I thought I have to go check this out.

It turns out that it is a different Saint Francis, Saint Francis of Paola, a Franciscan hermit, who modeled his life after his namesake from Assisi. He is most known for his crossing the Straits of Messina. He didn’t have enough money to take a ferry so he prayed and blessed the sea and then laid his coat down and walked across the Straits. Because of this miracle, he is regarded as the patron saint of boatmen, mariners, and sailors. I call him the Joyful Saint Francis.

I love finding out stuff like this. The interwebs can be fun!!

I am linking to Shadow Shot Sunday

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