The Magical Holidays in Santa Fe

Several years ago in the Sunday San Francisco Chronicle we read an article about Christmas in Santa Fe. I have always loved luminarias, since introduced to them when I lived in El Paso, Texas. In the back of my mind I kept the thought to visit this city at that time of the year. A roadtrip in December can be fraught with weather issues. We decided to proceed anyway. The weather was not an issue except on the Eastern side of Echo Summit in the Sierras.

If anyone wants to experience this magical time of the year in Santa Fe without taking a roadtrip, I would recommend Susan Topp Weber's book Christmas in Santa Fe: lovely pictures depict all the area's happenings and history as well, from Thanksgiving well into January. Since we were there only for the Winter Solstice, Dwight's birthday and Christmas, we missed many events and celebrations. We did enjoy, actually over the top enjoyed, the time we were there. Susan has a charming little shop just steps from the downtown plaza, next door to The Shed, where we enjoyed a taste of the local cuisine.

Casita Alegria was home for 8 nights and located in the San Mateo section of
Santa Fe, New Mexico. The back yard was fenced to Shasta's delight.
And just outside the huge East facing window in the living room
were filled bird feeders. There were many LBBs we could not identify
but we did identify Mountain Chickadees and Black Throated Sparrows,
both additions to our bird list. The location was great and walking
in the neighborhood excellent since there were many unpaved streets
 and an abundance of wildlife.

Coyote in the fresh snow that fell during the night after Christmas.
His partner has already disappeared into the yard he is facing.

LA MONTANIA FOOD CO-OP

The first full day in Santa Fe we just settled and checked out the immediate area. We found a wonderful co-op to buy most all we needed to stock our kitchen for a week or so. The employees went out of their way to be helpful in every respect. There was even a small gathering of employees who serenaded while you shopped. Across the street was a great bike/walking trail along a creek. 

Besides this excellent co-op, there are two Whole Foods in Santa Fe with her population of almost 68,000.

Panoramic view of Santa Fe from the trail mentioned below.

On the DorothyStewart Trail near St. John's College and not far from Museum Hill.
The weather was brisk and very windy at times. I was happy to have my parka!
Some illustrous Santa Fe residents have gotten permission from many
individuals to use their easements for public hiking trail. We took a
number of hikes in different parts of the outlying areas of Santa Fe.

MUSEUM OF INDIAN ARTS AND CULTURE

Sculpture on the plaza between the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture
and the Museum of International Folk Art.

The Museum Hill Cafe came highly recommended from a number of different individuals so we decided to partake of their Sunday brunch. We were not disappointed and they lived up to their ad.

Welcome

Fresh and bursting with flavor is what Museum Hill Cafe has to offer. Serving the Santa Fe area, we provide great tasting food that's prepared fresh with the highest quality of ingredients. Treat yourself today with a meal from our delicious menu. At Museum Hill Cafe you are sure to enjoy the great atmosphere, friendly service, and affordable prices.

Take your taste buds on an unforgettable journey at Museum Hill Cafe.

In the museum's Roland Sculpture Garden was the exhibit Courage and Compassion: Native Women Sculpting Women. Since it was in the garden, we were able to take pictures.

Sculpture by Roxanne Swentzell (Santa Clara Pueblo)
Inside of the museum no pictures were allowed.
The sculpture on loan to the museum of Roxanne's
piece depicting the creation story of her pueblo
gave me shivery chills it was so powerful.
Her pieces are massive so standing in front of
it was just so awesome!

Sculpture by Estella Loretto (Jemez Pueblo)
She also has a piece in front of the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi.
It is a bronze statue of St. Keri, the recently canonized first Native American saint.
The link above provides some pictures of it: a most beatific statue.

Inside we also took in the exhibit, Turquoise, Water, Sky: the Stone and its Meaning.

This extraordinary exhibit showcased 'the museum's extensive collection of Southwestern turquoise jewelry" and examined "all aspects of the stone including geology, mining, authenticity and value." It seemed only fitting this exhibit was in Santa Fe since the earliest turquoise mining took place in the tenth century A.D. about 25 miles south of Santa Fe.

This link to the Arizona Turquoise Mines reveals much about the turquoise used by the Native Peoples in their jewelry.

TOWER GALLERY

I highly recommend checking out this link to experience the
Tower Gallery,

The Black Mesa  is a spiritual place for the local Native Peoples
 and is most impressive to view from many directions.

The Sangre de Cristo ("blood of Christ") Mountains, with snow atop, in the distance 

PUYE CLIFF DWELLINGS

Cathie and Elijah Naranjo-Smith, who was our Santa Clara Pueblo guide,
climbing down from the mesa through what use to be an ancient water conduit.
He mentioned, with much humility and humbleness, he was a potter.
Well, when we returned home and could check out his work (see below)
we were blown away with his talent. He is Roxanne Swentzell's first cousin
so like she, comes from a long line of artists.

Redware pottery bowl

Polished brown jar with sgrffito
butterfly and arrow design

In addition to our excersion to the Santa Clara Pueblo's land, for Dwight's birthday in the evening, we went to hear N. Scott Momaday speak. At the Hotel Santa Fe, the only hotel in the city owned by the native peoples, each Monday evening there is a gathering of Santa Feans to hear a speaker. We were so fortunate to "be in the right place, at the right time" to hear this wonderful man tell stories. I have read all of his books and enjoyed them all. When we came out of the hotel, a light snow was falling. The glow of electric lumarias, the outline of the impressive adobe building and the falling snow . . . magical!

GEORGIA O'KEEFE MUSEUM

Portrait of the artist

New Mexico landscape

Gerald's Tree

PALACE OF THE GOVERNORS

This National Historic Landmark represents Spain's deep roots in American soil. Its thick adobe walls are topped by massive timbers, a hallmark of what came to be "Santa Fe style." "The Palace is an iconic part of downtown Santa Fe."  It is here along the promenade during the day that artists and craftspeople bring their creations to sell. The space is limited so their is a daily lottery for space. To stroll along looking at one display after another of the what these individuals make was a delight. 

Each artist was proud to show you his or hers initials on each piece. A card was included with each purchase as well.

The necklace's artist is Ronnie Auilar (Santa Domingo Pueblo)
The studs are by Carol Calabaza (Santa Domingo Pueblo)
The earrings were purchased in Kayenta at the local Arts and Crafts Store.

Lloyd Garcia (Santa Domingo Pueblo)
created these "apple coral" earrings.

Teri Cajero, a fifth generation potter of the Jemez Pueblo.
I love her work in unusual designs, many with hearts
which is a draw for me.

EL MESON

Christmas Eve we had a celebratory dinner at the highly recommended downtown eatery (#12 of 473 restaurants). Each dish (tapas) was melt in your mouth delish! If you ever are in Santa Fe and want the ultimate culinary experience, don't miss El Meson.

CANYON ROAD

This is the place to be on Christmas Eve in Santa Fe. The road is lined with over 300 galleries and on this evening the area is lined with "faralitos" (in the rest of the Southwest they are called luminarias) and other magical Christmas lights. There are bonfires to gather around to warm oneself. Thousands of people turn out to walk up and down the road, signing carols or just ooh and ah-ing over the magic of the lights.

SANTA CLARA PUEBLO

On Christmas day we drove to the Santa Clara Pueblo to observe their dance which is performed after mass. The Matachines Dance, which was done at many of the other Pueblos as well, takes many hours of practice in their kiva to perfect the footwork, so we were told by Elijah who is a dancer at this pueblo.

No pictures are allow, in fact if a camera or mobile phone is sighted during the dancing, the device will be confiscated and not returned.

The dancing was spectacular to watch. We felt honored to be able to see the Matachines Dance in person.

It snowed the night of Christmas. When we took our walk, you can see our footprints in the
photo above, it was so quiet and lovely. It snowed off and all day but we ventured out
in Stella who negotiated the hilly streets with ease. We had some trepidation
about our roadtrip and Winter driving since our 4 wheel drive Subaru
was no longer with us. Stella did great in the snow! No problems!

MUSEUM OF INTERNATIONAL FOLK ART

The end to the posts of our roadtrip pictures, so feel free to

Roadtrip into New Mexico

Driving along the North rim of Canyon de Chelly then along the Eastern side of Arizona, still on the Navajo Reservation, the scenery remained breathtaking. Since we were driving through the Navajo Reservation, we could observe small communities of houses as well as scattered single homes often hogans. I read later in a weavers tour brochure available at the Folk Art Museum in Santa Fe, this area is rich with Navajo weavers who have joined together to form sort of cooperatives. They have their own sheep, or other such animals producing fine fleece, that they shear, then spin their own yarn which they dye often with native plants then weave their rugs. With all these hours of labor it is no wonder the price of rugs is what it is. Navajo rugs speak to me, so a tour of these "cooperatives" sounds like it would be awesome!

GALLUP

During our brief stay in Gallup we visited the Richardson's Trading Company on Old Route 66 where the founder still comes to work even though he is in his mid90's. In this place one could spend days and still not see everything.  It is like a museum rich with very high quality, often very old, jewelry, rugs (check out this link to see awesome rugs!), saddles, kachina dolls, pottery and more. The people who work here are extremely knowledgeable about each weaver whether presently weaving or now passed, where each piece originated, and how it arrived at this trading post. Native Peoples come here to leave their heirlooms for dollars which they will use to survive. Some come back and retrieve their hocked pieces, others are not able to do so they are offered for sale.

Once we had worn ourselves out with taking in the museum quality atmosphere and asking numerous questions, we enjoyed lunch at Genaro's Authentic Mexican Food (#2 of 90 restaurants in Gallup). The simple place in an old neighborhood just off old Route 66 was packed with locals. We managed to get a table and a delightful waiter who explained the local dishes the restaurant offered. We ordered way too much food! But we enjoyed the variety of flavors and tasting new to us foods like the pozole which is unlike pozole eaten in California and comes with all entries instead of rice. I had not had a delish sopapilla since I moved from El Paso where I use to eat them regularly at Leo's. Overstuffed, we took Shasta to Red Rock Park for her lunch then took a hike into the beautiful red rocks dotted with patches of snow.

Just North of Gallup in the late afternoon with the
sun mostly set so the colors of the rock formation
is not as vibrant as in midday.

Red Rock Park just East of Gallup where we hiked before

departing to Albuquerque

We stayed in Old Town Albuquerque. We were within walking distance to the Rio Grande River along which are bike/walking/running trails. Along the river the city supports restoration of the bird habitat (famous for Sand Hill Cranes in the WInter) and has just received national recognition for its effort with a national prestigious annual grant. 

At night Old Town was awash with luminarias, both paper bags ones as well as electric. The whole area was simply enchanting!

INDIAN PUEBLO CULTURAL CENTER 

This impressive center is owned by all 19 Pueblos and tells the stories, both past and present, of each one. In Pueblo Harvest Cafe we enjoyed a delicious dinner of New Mexico native cuisine of which blue corn and chiles (not always hot but always tasty) are central ingredients.

PETROGLYPH NATIONAL MONUMENT

This spectacular lava mesa has over 17,000 petroglyph images created from 400 to over 2000 years ago!

Kachina figures 400 to 700 years old with an even older one on the right.

A Yucca blossom on the left.

A live rabbit taking in the scene.

A rock shelter at the top of the mesa facing snowy mountains and at dawn the rising sun.

CORONADO STATE MONUMENT

This spot where these ancient Pueblo peoples settled is not only spectacular but conveniently located near the Rio Grande River. The original paintings lifted from the kiva walls are enchanting, telling stories of not only everyday life but of spiritual aspects as well. In respect of the "no photographs" there is no pictures of the Pueblo ruins which are behind the scene below.

As you contemplate a way of life unlike your own

Stella carries us to Arizona

Once leaving Zion National Park we continued to Kanab where we had the most delicious lunch of family cooked Mexican food at Escobars Mexican Restaurant (rated #4 of 33 eateries in Kanab). This eatery also garnered "Certificate of Excellence 2014."

Juniper berries . . . so beautiful sparking in the sunlight.
Coyotes eat the berries in the Winter as do
many of the birds living in the Pinon/Juniper forests.
At Canyon de Chelly we saw a Bendire's Thrasher,
a new to us bird, gleening Juniper berries. It haas an awesome song!
The Native Peoples we encountered called this
tree a Cedar tree; using the dried berries in jewelry
and dreamcatchers like the one below we bought.

We back tracked to Best Friends Sancturary which is set in Angels' Canyon with its beautiful red sandstone cliffs. Best Friends owns nearly 3,700 acres, and they lease another 17,000 acres of state and federal land. What an awesome place and on a mission, not just local but nationally and internationally as well, advocating a "no kill" policy of animals, fostering spay and neutering programs, and working to eliminate "puppy mills." Shasta loved the place trotting about like she owned the place!

This Canyon Wren was at the overlook for the
Horseshoe Rock outside of Page, Arizona.
We saw our first one on the Riverwalk,
Zion National Park. What a stunning bird with a lovely voice.

Another spectacular view outside of Page, Arizona, of the Colorado River.

After three nights in Page, Arizona where we hiked a fabulous trail over red sandstone with panoramic views each morning with Shasta, we traveled to Goulding's, Utah. Both Dwight and I read Under the Eagle: Samuel Holiday Navajo Code Talker while on the Navajo Reservation. The use of the Navajo language during WWII to protect messaging hit me a so ironic since the United States government spent much money and effort in eradicating the Native Peoples' language. In many places we visited we noticed a conserted effort to save the languages from extinction. In New Mexico over half of the Native Peopes children in elementary school speak their native language.

MONUMENT VALLEY, UTAH/ARIZONA

We called the apartment on the bottom floor, left hand side,  of the right most building home
for three night and four days. The first two days there was rain/sleet/snow cancelling
the balloon launching those days of the annual three day event here.

We hiked even in the inclement weather enjoying the glorious surroundings.

The Navajo people were very welcoming of us to partake of their music and dancing.

For me hiking the circumference of West Mitten (the left butte) 
on the Wildcat Trail was the highlight 
of this incredibly magnificent spot on the planet. 
It is no wonder that this area is one of the most photographed on the planet.
We took with us on our hike a brochured identifying some
of the native plants we might see along the path. The information
included medicinal uses as well as the dyeing, and the Navajo name.

Monuement Valley is actually inhabited by the Navajo.
They are gracious to allow us to visit and hike on their lands.
We felt honored to see this Navajo family's home. Some still live in the "old
way" while others have running water and electricity.

CANYON DE CHELLY, ARIZONA

Spider Rock from Spider Rock Overlook

Ancient ruins from the White House Overlook

On the canyon floor farming is still carried out by the Native Peoples.

Shasta and Cathie taking in the view from Antelope House Overlook.

As you soak in the beauty of these places, may you