Santa Fe

October 10, 2018

Up at 7:30 AM, it was 36°F outside the van and 48°F inside.  The foliage around our campsite reminded us a lot more of New England than the Southwest.   If you continued into the mountains just a little past our campground, there was snow. How ironic, we chose to travel east via a more southern route in order to stay warm and we see the high today in Concord, NH was 82°.  Are we sure there’s “no climate change?”

 There's fresh snow on these peaks.

We headed back into Santa Fe for breakfast, choosing Trip Advisor’s #4 rated restaurant, Clafoutis, which specializes in French cuisine.  Wow, it was great, and definitely photo worthy.  Best croissant I’ve had since we left France in July!

After breakfast we visited the oldest church in the United States, San Miguel Chapel, which was built in 1610.  Its classic simplicity was beautiful, and so typical of the dominant architecture found in Santa Fe.

Leaving the church, we visited the “oldest house in the United States” which was built in 1643. Hmmm, I think the Hoxie House in Sandwich was built in 1637, but I wasn’t going to argue with the docent, he probably didn’t create that sign.

We spent the next two hours touring the New Mexico History Museum.  It was fascinating and covered in detail how this area was part of Spain until 1810, and then became part of the US in 1850.  Sadly we were reminded how first the Spanish and then the US took these lands from the Indians…all in the name of greed.  The Spanish hoped they would find the same gold in this area that they found in Peru and in the Yucatan, and the US wanted the land for farmers and the railroad.

There was a very moving exhibit about how Indians were shipped off to boarding schools in order to cleanse them of their culture.

The museum included many exhibits about the impact of the settlement of the West, the coming of the railroad, the development of atomic energy, the mining of uranium, and the storage of atomic waste.

 Can you imagine riding inside a stage coach like this for months on end?

Today's trains still play a dominant role in Santa Fe

There was also an exhibit that focused on how both Hollywood and the record industry celebrated Santa Fe. Clips from Roy Rogers and Gene Autry movies were continuously running as well as recordings of various ATSF Railroad songs.

We had a late lunch at Santa Fe Bite, which is celebrated for its green chili cheese burgers.  We loved them!

We left Santa Fe around 4 PM, driving 135 miles east to the Santa Rosa State Recreation located on a large lake created by a dam on the Pecos River, just north of I-40/US 66.  As we entered the town of Santa Rosa on Route 66, we drove over the bridge on which Henry Fonda stood as he watched a freight train pass him in The Grapes of Wrath.

Our campsite for tonight was a modest one; we stayed in the overflow primitive area, since all spaces in the one open campground in the park were occupied.  No showers for us.